Eldritch Horror Theatre

It had a certain DNA-mutating beauty to it, making the term "contamination" quite fitting.

As Amira explained, Fu Qian sized up the tangled mass, clicking his tongue in admiration.

The sight was visually striking; even Reginald and Amira looked rather pale.

He naturally knew what was inside the man's stomach—otherwise, why would he have operated with such professional precision to ensure not a single bit was harmed?

"Understood. So why haven't you made a move yet? Are you waiting for him to wake up?"

Wiping his knife and putting it away, Fu Qian signaled his understanding, asking the question with a beaming smile.

...

As a proactive volunteer who had dedicated himself to the team this entire trip, he felt he had plenty of standing to ask.

However, both Amira and Reginald reacted identically. They looked Fu Qian up and down—especially at his freshly wiped hands—and remained silent for a moment.

After nearly ten seconds of scrutiny, Amira finally broke the silence.

"Never better."

His smile undiminished, Fu Qian repeated his earlier answer.

...

"It's time to act," Amira said to Reginald after a brief silence, having seemingly made up her mind.

"Are you sure?"

Reginald didn't look entirely convinced.

"I'm sure. He's taken enough risks, and you've seen the results." Amira spoke firmly, pointing unapologetically at Fu Qian.

"Actually, there could be more," Reginald replied, not so easily swayed.

"We don't have the authority to do that!"

"But we can ensure he doesn't suffer irreversible harm."

"Ensure it a hundred percent?"

...

"An Ke, what do you think?"

Reginald didn't argue with her. After a moment, he turned to Fu Qian and asked the question with a faint, enigmatic smile.

Although this was the fourth time this question had come up, it felt a bit abrupt at this specific moment.

Reginald's posture seemed deliberate, as if Fu Qian's previous answers had been so shocking that he wanted to see what he would say this time.

"I think... there really could be more."

As it turned out, Fu Qian actually nodded in agreement with Reginald.

"Do you even know what 'more' entails?"

Before Reginald could reply, Amira reached her limit and shot Fu Qian a stern look, signaling him to keep a low profile.

"Don't be so hasty. Mr. An Ke has offered many valuable insights along the way, and I'm sure this time will be no exception."

Reginald, however, revealed a rare smile, thoroughly pleased with Fu Qian's death-courting spirit.

"So, how exactly does Mr. An Ke think there could be more?"

After interrupting Amira, he checked that the patient beside them was still temporarily stable, then adopted an attitude of eager listening.

"Simple. Like this."

Looking completely relaxed, Fu Qian rolled up his left sleeve, baring the inside of his arm to his two teammates.

...

In that instant, the expressions on Reginald and Amira's faces froze.

There, clinging to his somewhat lean arm, a dark brown flatworm was buried deep, sucking furiously.

"How... could you... when?"

After a long silence, Reginald's mature composure won out, and he kept a straight face without making a sound. Amira, however, finally couldn't hold back.

Her emotional agitation seemed to impair her ability to even form a coherent sentence.

"Just now."

Fu Qian mimed the action of plucking off a leech.

"You hid one right then..."

Amira immediately understood, recalling his rapid two-handed operation from earlier.

With that kind of efficiency, a slight cover-up meant that slipping one or two away would go completely unnoticed.

But why...

"As for why I did this, it's actually quite simple."

Fu Qian seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.

"Although you two have been dodging the question, I've been constantly thinking about exactly what you want my help with, and I've made a few guesses based on your behavior along the way."

"For example, as I mentioned earlier, you seem somewhat slack in your work."

"Your goal is clearly defined, yet not only did you not rush the volunteer to get things done, you even had the leisure to test me. When I asked about certain details, you explained them with endless patience..."

"You didn't seem to be in a hurry. You were stalling for time..."

"Once I realized this, a thought naturally surfaced—could the thing you need me to do be something I'm already doing? That is, simply staying in this Nightmare for as long as possible?"

He directed this question at Amira, but unfortunately, after her shock passed, her expression became unprecedentedly complex, and she showed no intention of answering.

Fortunately, Fu Qian didn't press the issue. He even let the leech on his arm continue its work.

"But after beating around the bush for a while, the situation suddenly changed. I've observed the layout of this building, and the path from our last destination to this brother's ward is absolutely not a normal patrol route."

Fu Qian traced a line in the air.

"There's only one explanation for this behavior. Some change made you adjust your operational strategy and directly bring me to the most severe case."

"So I thought back to any changes that might relate to me, and the answer was that there were none. I think that was precisely the reason..."

"You wanted to see a change in me. That's the real meaning of me being a volunteer."

"When a victim of the Painting World Nightmare enters another Nightmare and makes contact all along the way, could something happen? Like a resonance between the two Nightmares? In the ideal scenario, could it reveal a path into the Painting World?"

This time, Fu Qian aimed his question at Reginald.

"Keep talking."

Unfortunately, the latter was in no mood to answer either, his tone stiff.

"As for the modified strategy, it's actually simple too. When we discovered this brother's situation might be bad, we immediately chased after him. Naturally, this could be explained as you wanting to deal with the hidden danger as quickly as possible. But at that moment, Amira did something."

Fu Qian gestured toward Amira's face.

"The instant she drove everyone away, she took off her mask."

"While it's true there was no longer any risk of exposure, the only person left didn't need to communicate with her anyway, making the action a bit too deliberate. I interpreted it as a hint."

Fu Qian pointed at himself.

"The goal was to get me to take mine off too."

"Merely staying in the Nightmare brought about no changes, so your revised strategy took things a step further. It shifted to having me make the most direct contact possible with personnel at risk of contamination, right?"

"When did you start thinking this?"

Showing neither guilt nor denial, Reginald asked expressionlessly.

"Why did you think I took off the mask?"

Fu Qian chuckled, finally plucking the leech off his arm.

"When there was still no effect afterward, why did I take it a step further and let this thing that had sucked the blood of a contaminated person bite me too?"

When it came to subjective initiative, they knew absolutely nothing.

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