Eldritch Horror Theatre

Murderous intent surged within the Restricted Zone.

"You actually dare to admit it!"

As soon as the words left Fu Qian's mouth, even Yuan Shan gave a visible jolt, staring at him in disbelief.

"Why wouldn't I?"

A demigod's wrath was nothing to take lightly. Although Yuan Shan hadn't made a move yet, invisible vortices seemed to form in the air, creating a suffocating pressure.

Besides, there were still three guards of roughly Tier 4 inside the Restricted Zone who could rush over at any moment.

Yet Fu Qian remained completely unfazed.

"It saves us the time of testing each other out. Isn't that better?"

"You brought me down here to confirm exactly that, didn't you?"

Yuan Shan's expression was icy, her gaze piercing.

"I hope you use that precious saved time to explain yourself properly. Otherwise, you'll have a hard time leaving here today."

'You don't need to tell me that. I was prepared for this before I even arrived.'

Fu Qian thought to himself.

When Poker Face mentioned earlier that Yuan Shan wanted to see him, he had already anticipated this exact scenario.

But Fu Qian came anyway.

The reason was simple: the Blood of Thorns hadn't been found on Henrik.

If he had confirmed earlier that Henrik had the mission objective on him, he wouldn't have paid attention to anyone. He would have just harvested the target and completed the mission right then and there.

However, since the Blood of Thorns was missing and he had confirmed there was someone pulling the strings behind the scenes, he had to make this trip. Otherwise, he would end up as nothing more than a shield to divert attention.

Now it was time for a battle of words.

"It's actually quite simple. Like you, I don't believe this entire incident was Henrik acting alone."

Fu Qian's words were calculated to astonish.

"What do you mean?"

Yuan Shan was initially startled, but her tone soon leveled out, though her gaze remained freezing cold.

"Don't tell me you've been staying inside the base this whole time just to enjoy the perks of leadership."

"I came to Shangjing just to live a leisurely life and casually look after the daughter of an old friend. But after learning a few things, I couldn't help but grow suspicious."

"Go on."

"I once crossed paths with a man named Lu Yuan and witnessed some bizarre research. Some of the things I saw at the banquet gave me some rather unpleasant associations, so I wanted to confirm what exactly had been stolen."

Fu Qian chose to use the Rebirth Club as a shield.

"Lu Yuan?"

Yuan Shan narrowed her eyes.

"That's right. An old gentleman without a single hair on his head who was completely obsessed with experiments involving corpses and limb splicing."

"The Rebirth Club?"

"You know about them?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

Yuan Shan scoffed.

"That bunch of lunatics ran rampant out at sea, turning the whole place into a toxic mess. I'm well aware of the situation."

"But word has it that an accident occurred there three months ago. Not only was Bai Jinting of the White Tower Group assassinated, but the Rebirth Club also suffered heavy losses. Everything, including the Laboratory, was utterly destroyed. That old acquaintance of yours likely died in the incident as well."

"Unfortunately, given the special nature of the Ring Archipelago and with Ibrahim strictly locking down the news, we know very little about what actually happened. We've only heard that the assassin still hasn't been caught."

'That was actually me, too.'

Fu Qian thought to himself.

"Yet based on such a groundless guess, you dared to trespass into the Night Watchers Base and even strike to kill?"

Yuan Shan glared at him.

"First of all, my original intention was just to sneak in and take a look. Second, I didn't strike to kill."

Fu Qian waved a hand.

When he knocked out the young girl and the two guards, he had deliberately controlled his strength; the blows were far from lethal.

Yuan Shan mentioning earlier that he had injured three people proved exactly that.

As for the final Tendril Barrage Devastator, he had merely demolished a building. The Night Watchers had deep pockets; surely they wouldn't care too much about that.

"That isn't the main point. The point is that I was targeted right afterward. Last night, for instance, I encountered a bizarre assassination attempt."

"And then, this morning, I ran straight into Henrik. While Wen Li could certainly be considered his prey, isn't that all a bit too coincidental?"

"Assassination?"

"Exactly."

Fu Qian described the incident with the maid and the rabbit.

"That talking rabbit—I'm absolutely certain it wasn't Henrik's doing."

Yuan Shan fell into deep thought.

"Continue."

"So I grew even more certain that Henrik's defection isn't that simple, and that someone else is pulling the strings. Because of my unusual actions, they noticed me and decided to eliminate an uncontrollable variable."

"While I'm still not sure who they are or what their goal is, the way I see it, Henrik is just a pawn being used."

Yuan Shan stared at him for a long time before finally nodding, the murderous aura around her dissipating slightly.

"Have you ever heard of the Origin Council?"

'The Origin Council? Now that's an unfamiliar term.'

Fu Qian shook his head.

"It's normal that you haven't. Unlike the Rebirth Club, which operates out in the open, the Origin Council is a deeply hidden secret organization."

"Compared to the Rebirth Club, the Origin Council operates entirely without a bottom line. Many incidents involving pollution and curses are tied to them, and they have always been a primary target for our extermination efforts."

"So you suspect they're the ones orchestrating this?"

'Yuan Shan had indeed suspected this all along.'

"I never believed Henrik would do such a thing to begin with, but unfortunately, I didn't have any proof. If the information you brought is true, then it serves as corroborating evidence."

"If that really is the case, I'm afraid Henrik will be discarded very soon."

Fu Qian silently deduced.

Henrik was already almost completely mad and couldn't divulge any information. If the Origin Council's sole objective was the Blood of Thorns, then it was highly probable they would abandon him at the right moment.

"In fact, I believe his current actions are just drawing fire for whoever is behind the scenes."

"Is that why you haven't left the base? Because you were worried about them luring the tiger away from the mountain?"

"Yes. For one thing, I couldn't be certain of their true objective. For another, this thing has remained unstable."

Yuan Shan pointed at the tightly sealed room and added a few more restricting bands over it.

"After the item was taken, the remaining parts of the corpse underwent a violent mutation. Not only did it warp the surroundings into this state, but it even faintly affected the other sealed corpses."

"Because of that, I've had to constantly deal with it. It's only just now basically stabilized."

"All we need to do next is wait for headquarters to send someone over to deal with this once and for all."

"I see."

Fu Qian nodded.

"Still, you're quite something."

A smile suddenly broke across Yuan Shan's face.

"I like a man who acts without hesitation. Any interest in joining the Night Watchers?"

"No."

Fu Qian answered with absolute finality.

"I just run The Bookstore."

"You could at least listen to the benefits first. Don't be in such a rush to refuse."

Yuan Shan's eyes danced. Just as she was about to say something else, her expression abruptly turned stern, and she stepped to the side.

A moment later, she returned and looked at Fu Qian.

"They found Henrik."

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