Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Evacuate immediately! The Art Gallery is temporarily closed!"

As Fu Qian admired the painting, a voice rang out from below.

Compared to the bewildered visitors, the voice was far more composed. It clearly belonged to a professional.

That was fast. Was this place built next to a police station?

Fu Qian didn’t even need to look to know the newcomers weren't the Art Gallery's regular security.

Still, their response time was a little too fast—it had only been a few minutes.

Fu Qian stayed where he was, continuing to admire the art, and quickly reached a conclusion: this was absolutely his own authentic work.

Not to mention the trace of familiarity that had helped him pinpoint his location, which served as further proof.

...

According to the Witch, he would have painted this seven years ago.

That amount of wear wasn't too strange, especially since the change wasn't drastic.

Both he and the Witch knew perfectly well that decay would eventually arrive. What the two of them had done back then was merely allow the process to unfold naturally.

The problem was that even though the painting only looked slightly older, he couldn't feel a trace of power radiating from it anymore.

In just that short span of time, as a newly advanced Tier 2 with 99 inspiration, Fu Qian had already examined it from top to bottom several times.

Aside from it being exceptionally well-painted, he simply couldn't spot anything extraordinary about it.

He could even tell that its originally mottled corners had undergone meticulous conservation to slow their deterioration.

Under such careful maintenance, the imposing aura that had once unleashed an apocalyptic snowstorm was completely gone.

Had a new one been painted, leaving this one discarded?

That was highly unlikely.

The Witch had explicitly stated that if he painted another one, everyone inside would die. It was hard to imagine seven years cultivating such a harmonious atmosphere.

Things were truly getting more and more bizarre.

"Staff members need to evacuate too! This is an emergency, and we must confirm the area is secure!"

The voice had finally reached his back, interrupting Fu Qian's artistic contemplation.

Phew!

Fu Qian turned around to size up the newcomer.

The man was wearing a familiarly styled outfit.

He was a slightly scrawny young man who, even with his bowler hat, was still a bit shorter than Fu Qian.

Indeed, whether it was the clothing or the accessories, it perfectly matched the classical and solemn style of the security team led by the Countess back then.

The only difference was the metallic gleam flashing through the gaps of his heavy black coat as he moved. It was an oddly shaped firearm.

Has progress been this fast? Even an ordinary security officer is directly equipped with this kind of weapon?

"Alright."

Amid his musings, Fu Qian cooperatively accepted the instruction.

The situation was truly a bit suspicious. Even if he wanted to play the royal escort, he needed to find out where the Pope was first.

It wouldn't hurt to gather more information to avoid a situation of more haste, less speed.

As for why the young officer had mistaken him for a staff member, the reason was quite simple.

The garment he had casually thrown over himself earlier was also a heavy robe.

Its style was somber, and its craftsmanship wasn't particularly refined. Coupled with the fact that it had been tossed in a place like the underground storage room, the probability of it being a work uniform was extremely high.

The only issue was that the style was a bit too austere. It probably wouldn't seem very approachable when giving tours to children.

"Follow the path I came from and head down to group up. I need to continue evacuating the others."

"Remember to stay with the others and assist my colleagues in verifying everyone's identity—"

The young officer's words came to an abrupt halt, his gaze freezing on the bottom edge of Fu Qian's robe.

His professional instincts aren't bad. They say very few people pay attention to what others wear on their feet.

Fu Qian offered silent praise.

His clothes had been pulverized, and naturally, his shoes had suffered the same fate.

The robe was quite baggy, reaching almost to Fu Qian's ankles.

But that was only almost. Right now, his two bare feet were completely exposed.

He had been so engrossed in admiring the art that he hadn't paid much attention to his attire, unexpectedly allowing the officer to notice it with a final glance.

Fu Qian didn't try to make up an excuse about taking off his shoes to show respect to a master artist, because in the very next moment, the young man had his weapon drawn.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

With the unusually thick gun barrel aimed at Fu Qian, the young officer asked the question in a cold voice, his eyes sharp.

"Does the commotion downstairs have anything to do with you?"

His reaction is quite fast. He's exactly the talent I need.

Fu Qian snapped his fingers.

"What is your name?"

"...Lafferty."

The officer hesitated for a moment before giving his name.

"Very good, Lafferty. Now tell me, who am I?"

Hmm...

The young officer looked Fu Qian up and down, falling into deep thought.

...

Since he had decided to do a little investigating, having an entry identity would be for the best.

Considering his lack of understanding of the current situation, this capable young officer should be able to provide a rather suitable suggestion for an identity.

So, the moment the officer noticed his bare feet, Fu Qian had already attempted to activate the Lucid Dream.

The facts proved that this item was usable here.

In an instant, Lafferty was already racking his brains.

However, given Fu Qian's excessively bizarre appearance, this was clearly no easy task.

As time passed, the officer's face contorted visibly.

"Uh... are you that missing staff member?"

In the end, he didn't disappoint Fu Qian's expectations. At a certain point, he slapped his thigh hard, looking as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

"To think you were still inside. Where have you been hiding these past two days... Let me think, is your name Anke?"

As he spoke, Lafferty reached into his pocket, pulled out a stack of photographs, and quickly flipped through them.

But the next moment, his hands froze.

Fu Qian followed his gaze, only to see that the figure in the black-and-white photo was also a young man.

Of course, that was one of their few similarities. Their facial features and other characteristics were far too different; the man in the photo even had slightly curly hair.

"You're not..."

With his hands visibly trembling, Lafferty let out an incredibly weary sigh, looked up at Fu Qian, and froze once again.

The face in front of him was now exactly the same as the one in the photo.

This was what you called professional!

Fu Qian gave a soft hmph. For him, altering his face was now as natural as breathing.

He had even slightly adjusted his height by using the reference in the photo.

"Alright, tell me about what happened to me."

Wasting no time, Fu Qian gestured for Lafferty to continue.

"...As a newly hired staff member, you vanished without a trace five days ago. Considering the effort you put into getting this job and the rent you had just renewed, this was obviously very abnormal—"

As he spoke, Lafferty's voice suddenly trailed off. He frowned, staring at his empty hands.

There should have been a stack of photos there.

As for why they were gone... Fu Qian, standing opposite him, blinked to feign surprise.

Just a moment ago, the Lucid Dream had ended without warning.

And thanks to his excellent internal clock, Fu Qian was absolutely certain that it had lasted exactly one minute.

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