Eldritch Horror Theatre

Rachel's "hearsay" had naturally come from Li Min.

With the ship rapidly repaired, Lane stirred up the tides to carry it back out to sea.

Every member of the special team boarded, embarking on their path to survival.

The ship had barely set sail before Rachel eagerly came knocking. She must have spoken with her good friend at the very first opportunity.

Li Min's attitude of active cooperation was truly beyond reproach.

"Thanks for the warning."

Even though it wasn't exactly good news, Fu Qian still gave a slight nod of thanks.

"So, have you felt anything unusual?"

"I..."

After some simple adjustments, the clothing over it looked much more natural.

Li Min didn't need to breathe or anything of the sort. Anyone out of the loop would assume at most that Rachel's arm was injured or crippled; they would never guess it housed her external brain.

It made sense. Strictly speaking, the abnormality she carried was far greater than anyone else's.

"So, does Captain Lane have a plan?"

Since Rachel clearly had no valuable feedback to offer, Fu Qian turned his attention to the other members.

"The news you brought was just too shocking."

Seeming somewhat accustomed to Fu Qian's rapid shifts in topic, Rachel gave a bitter smile.

"Even after the conflict just now, there are still quite a few who harbor doubts. Because of this, Lane's current plan is simple: sail straight for the border and confirm whether it's truly impossible to leave."

"A reasonable decision."

Fu Qian found this perfectly understandable.

"After all, this is essentially just a cooperative relationship. Unifying the team's opinions in a crisis isn't easy."

"Yes. In fact, the guy who died just now was one of the hardest to get on board."

As Rachel said this, she fought the urge to look at the hand Fu Qian had used to crush a man's skull.

"That's why he died."

Fu Qian sounded completely unsurprised by her assessment.

Huh?

Rachel's head snapped up, her confusion mixed with a sudden, creeping horror.

"Why that look? I was merely doing Captain Lane a favor."

Fu Qian shot her a strange glance.

"When faced with a difficult decision, you naturally push the disobedient troublemaker forward. If I kill him, it conveniently unifies opinions and disciplines the team. If he actually killed me, Lane could use 'acting without authorization' as an excuse to warn him and stop him from acting up again in the short term."

"All in all, that was the greatest contribution our salty friend could have made to the collective. Otherwise, how could we have been ready to set sail so quickly?"

These two guys didn't even know each other originally, right? How could they have such an unspoken understanding when it came to being utterly devoid of humanity?

Rachel suddenly felt a bit of pity for the man who had died.

"Actually, Lane specifically sought me out."

However, she quickly reined in those meaningless emotions and brought up another matter.

"He said that if you were willing to offer some advice on the operation, everyone would be extremely grateful."

"Easy enough."

Fu Qian readily agreed.

"I, Fang, have always been happy to help."

...

When he followed Rachel up to the deck, the previously battle-ready team members wore rather complicated expressions.

After all, it was hard to feel good about a person who brought news of despair without offering any solutions.

Not to mention the skull he had violently crushed just moments ago.

"Mister Fang, we will soon enter the first adjacent area."

Lane's demeanor was relatively natural. He pointed ahead, taking the initiative to explain.

Sailing at full speed, the small ship had already reached the edge of the Floating Island Area and was about to enter waters that appeared connected, yet were clearly demarcated.

The distinct boundary was marked by the sheer, straight edge of the torrential rain.

"The current plan is simple. We maintain a straight course and try to explore to the edge."

"Although the sky looks strange, it serves as an excellent guide to help us determine our direction."

"Do you have any suggestions on this, Mister Fang?"

'He really knows how to squeeze every drop of use out of people. I just arrived, and I'm already being used to play the bad cop?'

Fu Qian scoffed coldly in his heart.

Asking his opinion on a plan based around "it might not be the worst-case scenario" was clearly meant to let him continue acting as the hope destroyer.

'Fortunately, I've always been good at this.'

The next moment, Fu Qian did not hold back.

"Very bold."

"...What do you mean?"

This comment even caught Lane off guard; it sounded vaguely mocking no matter how he listened to it.

After exchanging a look with his team members, he immediately pressed the question.

"Every one of these shapes is a fragment from a certain region of the Ash Sea, so theoretically speaking—"

Fu Qian pointed at the dark waters right in front of them, where the rain was pouring down in torrents.

"This place is very likely the depths of the Ash Sea, a place you would never have wanted to venture into. And now, you're prepared to just ram straight in?"

...

It seemed that was really the case!

The professional hope destroyer truly lived up to his name the moment he struck.

The attentive listeners had prepared all sorts of rebuttals, but they never expected to be completely dismantled from this angle.

When they looked up again in silence, it felt as though indescribable horrors were swimming beneath the storm-tossed sea, quietly waiting for their group to deliver themselves to their doorstep.

For a moment, even the ship's speed slowed down.

"Then what does Mister Fang think we should do?"

After slowing their advance, Lane asked through gritted teeth.

"We can't possibly stay where we are, and we obviously have no way of judging the danger level. Not to mention, whatever monsters might be inside will likely roam around."

"I thought that, as an expert in maritime hunting, you would have more ideas for these situations."

Fu Qian, however, shook his head in slight disappointment.

"It's very simple. If you're worried about danger, why not scout ahead first?"

He pointed at Lane.

"Don't you have a Harmonica that makes a special sound? Why not use it to say hello first? Or does that thing only work on merfolk?"

The Harmonica...

Lane subconsciously patted his pocket.

This guy really knew a lot.

Although it could be explained as information gleaned from Rachel, he grew increasingly suspicious that this guy was one of the two people by the tree where the mermaid had been strung up.

"The Harmonica can indeed do more, but what if there really is a Divine Being in there? Wouldn't it startle it instead?"

"Well said. This is a matter of choice."

Fu Qian actually agreed with the rebuttal.

"It depends on whether you want to face an alerted Divine Being or an unalerted Divine Being."

This...

The two scenarios Fu Qian described quickly flashed through everyone's minds.

Rationally, no one wanted to face that kind of powerful entity. But compared to a threat out in the open, a monster lurking in the shadows, ready to deliver a fatal strike at any moment, seemed far more terrifying.

"Stop for a moment."

Amidst the silence, the torrential rain ahead was clearly audible. Lane finally made a decision.

As the turbulent waters brought the ship to a sudden halt, he pulled out an exquisite Harmonica.

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