Eldritch Horror Theatre

So that was the case; it hadn't been an illusion earlier!

Fu Qian was highly satisfied with Reginald's answer, right down to his tone.

Such undisguised disgust, expressed by someone usually so calm and silent, actually lent his assessment more credibility.

With his first glance out the window, he had faintly sensed that something was off. However, since it was a completely unfamiliar starry sky, it was hard to pinpoint exactly what was strange, so he had casually tested the waters.

Chaotic and blasphemous. Now Fu Qian knew where the problem lay—compared to what he had seen with The Order, the starry sky outside looked similar but lacked the true essence. There was a distinct deviation.

Was it really that overbearing? Even the starry sky in a dream had to be perfectly accurate, or else it was classified as a Nightmare?

With control of this magnitude, the one-minute limit on dreams was highly likely related to the starry sky as well.

And if that were truly the case, the Celestial Sphere Cult's reputation as a righteous, orthodox faction was well deserved.

"Thanks for the explanation. I thought it was strange just now, but I couldn't immediately pinpoint the problem."

"Of course you couldn't."

Unfortunately, Reginald hadn't seemed to calm down from that question, and he let out another cold snort.

"If you could confirm it, you wouldn't have entertained those crazy thoughts."

It sounded like his ideological problems were becoming increasingly natural and reasonable in this man's eyes. This was the epitome of silently nourishing all things.

"Makes perfect sense."

Highly satisfied with this outcome, Fu Qian smiled and gave Amira a nod.

"Shall we continue?"

"Let's."

Amira clearly didn't want to dwell on the matter. She simply turned and led the way.

...

"What do you think?"

A moment later, standing before another bloodstained bed, Amira glanced at Fu Qian to ask for his opinion.

"He's sleeping quite peacefully."

Fu Qian was already incredibly adept at this consulting work. He took a single glance and delivered his assessment.

Peacefully...

The commentary undoubtedly brought a moment of silence, yet Amira found it hard to refute.

Because the three of them weren't the only ones by the bed. A uniformed man and woman were nervously working on the prone patient.

Several of the metal bottles they had seen earlier sat to the side. The one acting as the doctor carefully cut open a wound, letting blood slowly flow inside.

His assistant was constantly monitoring temperatures—the temperatures of various parts of the body.

Indeed, just as Reginald had said, it was as if drops of molten metal were swimming inside the patient's body, causing intense agony and even convulsions.

The reaction was so extreme that, much of the time, they didn't even need the instruments; they could track exactly where the metal had moved just by looking.

The doctor was chasing it down, intercepting it, and eventually drawing it out of the body.

Yet amidst this tense scene, the patient maintained a deep sleep, lying there quietly without letting out a single groan.

The convulsing flesh seemed to have nothing to do with him.

"This is a member of the Twelve-Person Club."

After a slight pause, Amira introduced the patient's background.

"His condition in here looks a bit more severe than last time."

As she spoke, the doctor exhaled his bated breath. A cylindrical tube at the patient's neck shuddered, as if some heavy, viscous object had dropped inside it, followed immediately by a sound like boiling water.

The assistant immediately handed over some gauze. The doctor took it, padded his hand, and carefully removed the metal bottle, setting it aside.

Blood poured out like a fountain. Only then did the doctor begin to treat the wound.

"But it still falls within the normal range?"

Having observed the whole process, Fu Qian silently marveled at the miraculous healing while casually asking the question.

From start to finish, the two medical workers remained completely oblivious to the conversation happening right beside them. The mask's effect was truly quite good.

"Why do you say that?"

Before Amira could say anything, Reginald threw the question back, seemingly a little surprised by Fu Qian's conclusion.

"Just a guess."

Fu Qian maintained an entirely nonchalant and open attitude.

"You mentioned earlier that our duty today is to prevent unauthorized incursions into the Real World using the Nightmare as a pathway."

"Although I lack specific working experience, just based on imagination, I figure that between the Nightmare and reality, these twelve people should act like twelve connecting bridges."

"When they enter a dream, their bodies are on one side, and their minds are on the other."

"Unfortunately, this patient's mind doesn't seem to be here at the moment."

Fu Qian pointed at the zombie-like body.

"Could it be that he hasn't fallen asleep in the Real World yet?"

"In that case, this body alone wouldn't be anything too special compared to the Natives. That's why I assumed there was no need to worry. Of course, that's just a guess."

...

Fu Qian's speech drove the Night Patrol Team's silence index to a new high.

For a moment, it almost felt like murderous intent was radiating from Reginald.

Of course, just as the emotional expert Wen Li said, this kind of minor fluctuation was human nature; it couldn't change the overarching situation.

"I'm regretting the decision to have you help less and less by the minute. The changes that Nightmare brought you far exceed the others."

Quickly reining in his minor emotions, Reginald looked at Fu Qian and spoke slowly.

"Originally, you were just an ordinary young man."

"And now? Not ordinary?"

Faced with this elder's unwarranted praise, Fu Qian showed absolutely no modesty.

"Not ordinary. You don't even feel young anymore... Anyway, although it's somewhat unbelievable, you guessed right."

Reginald didn't let Fu Qian derail the conversation, quickly pulling it back to the main topic.

"Yes. There is only one possibility for this state, and that is that he hasn't fallen asleep in the Real World. This situation truly doesn't require attention, because the channel hasn't been established."

'You're so certain. Did the stars in the sky tell you that, too?'

Fu Qian thought to himself. He didn't find Reginald's absolute certainty too strange, though.

The commandments of this world were clearly different from ordinary forms of the Transcendent Tier.

"So, in theory, we only need to confirm that he hasn't fallen asleep in the Real World, and then we can just leave."

Amira chimed in from the side.

"I was just asking casually. I have to say, you offered some unexpected insights. Are there any other questions?"

"I do."

Even though it was merely verbal praise, Fu Qian's initiative seemed to have been encouraged, and he actually continued.

"What would happen if we just killed him right now in this state? I believe you must have tried it."

"...It wouldn't have any effect. The person would briefly disappear, but soon enough, a carriage would deliver another patient with the exact same name."

Amira didn't deny Fu Qian's accusation of murder.

"He will continue receiving treatment here, waiting for his real self outside to fall asleep."

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