Eldritch Horror Theatre

Ultimately, the visual impact was still a bit lacking.

The cell was dead silent, its occupants sitting stiff as boards, but Fu Qian merely sighed inwardly.

Swallowing it didn't actually affect the results of Insight.

And since the object in his hand wasn't very large, he simply tossed it directly into his mouth.

While Mariana and her group were clearly traumatized by his actions, it still fell far short of tearing his own chest wide open.

Regardless, it melted in his mouth.

The object he had caught with Lingxi Finger was visually imperceptible, but it felt even more tangible than the Black Arrow.

It was a jagged flake about half the size of his palm.

It had a slight curve, and strange textures covered both its inner and outer surfaces.

The fingerprints were even alive. Even pinched between his fingers, they continuously writhed and shifted.

And at any given moment, the sensation it gave off was thoroughly repulsive.

...

In theory, this wasn't bad news.

The sneak attack from the shadows gave his opponent a more "human" quality, proving it wasn't purely a mindless corrective force.

The chances of it being the Proxy he was looking for had grown substantially.

As for how he detected the ambush, Fu Qian hadn't doubted Dean Glenn's innocence before, and he still didn't now.

The man currently gagged on the bed was clearly still bewildered by the situation.

It was just that, as someone with strong empathy, putting himself in the shoes of the person he was provoking was a basic mental habit.

As for the three-man strike team from earlier, Fu Qian also found their performance a bit lackluster.

A "Nightmare" that could calmly tolerate a gang of awakened ones had finally lost its patience and chosen to deliver Chastisement after the Dark Moon's descent and the manifestation of a miracle before the prisoners—and this was the method it chose?

To Fu Qian, an attack breaking out of stealth needed to be meticulous, savage, and leave absolutely zero chance of survival.

That was why he hadn't relaxed his guard in the slightest while dealing with those three appetizers; he had already been scanning the area for the main course.

...

Though subtle in execution, this strike truly qualified as a feast.

The sheer foulness of what he had swallowed made it easily the worst thing he had ever tasted.

The Rank of the power contained within it was so high that it felt almost on par with a commandment.

It took Fu Qian quite a bit of effort to digest it... only to subsequently get food poisoning.

Indeed, the object couldn't even be considered a stable transcendent item. At its core, it was a highly condensed form of malicious attack. Expecting to only reap benefits from Insight was overly optimistic.

In fact, back at Unseen Hill, when facing the joint strangulation of the Night Watch Trio, he had done something similar.

This was actually one of the reasons he was confident enough to pull off such a wild move.

In short, with digestion complete, Fu Qian now had five active effects from Insight—three buffs and two debuffs.

The most exaggerated of them all was undoubtedly the Life Countdown from the papal bestowal.

In comparison, this newly acquired one—which he decided to call Turbulence—was equally spectacular.

The moment he swallowed it, Fu Qian felt his will slip its bonds. It felt as though he could casually project it onto every living creature around him and manipulate their actions.

And not just humans.

At first glance, this Deity-like dominance didn't sound like a bad thing—provided that the dispersed will could actually be retracted.

Fu Qian clearly sensed that this wasn't about dominating the minds of surrounding lifeforms with his own will; it was about turning them into him.

The very concept of "self" was being contaminated.

Even at Tier 2, Fu Qian had to exert considerable effort to withdraw a sliver of his will from a passing insect, all while resisting the urge to treat the nearby Mariana as a low-level extension of his own body.

He seemed to have become a source of infection, contaminating every Nightmare creature in range while simultaneously being assimilated by them.

...

"What on earth are you doing?"

Even so, Mariana was still dazed for a brief moment before looking around with a bizarre expression.

That mental lapse was easy to understand.

The effects of Turbulence weren't restricted to himself. As the source of the infection, anyone he came into contact with would also become a contaminant, and they would all start blurring together.

If he relaxed his suppression even slightly, the collective consciousness of this group could soon be described as a single, messy lump.

"That thing was too dangerous. Dropping it anywhere could cause contamination."

Fu Qian spouted nonsense in response while continuing to ponder.

Too dangerous... so he just swallowed the contaminant into his stomach?

Yet, the implications of his answer were genuinely moving.

For a moment, not just Mariana but the other two as well were left dumbfounded.

This self-sacrificing, savior-like posture was just way too out of character for the man standing before them.

The problem was that, apart from this, there didn't seem to be any other explanation... What exactly was this guy's goal?

Bizarre behavior combined with terrifying strength—was bringing him back really a good idea?

The eyes of the two awakened ones flickered as they fell silent.

"Shouldn't we get going?"

Fortunately, Fu Qian's timely reminder stopped them from further torturing their brain cells.

His goal in devouring the object was simple; it just wasn't something to share with outsiders.

It was absolutely an act of self-harm. Not only did it slap him with another negative status, it also likely made him easier to track. But being tracked was exactly what he wanted—it made reverse-tracking that much easier.

Time was tight. The acceleration couldn't stop.

...

"Alright."

Their conflicted emotions were ultimately overwhelmed by the tense situation. Mariana and her companion exchanged a glance and made up their minds.

"It's a bit of a problem. The fact that these three ran up here means the people downstairs have likely already noticed something."

Mariana pointed at the floor, clearly having thought this through.

"Let's try changing into their clothes and see if we can minimize conflict. If it really comes to a fight, let me handle it."

"And Mister Grimshaw, I need you to promise to follow the plan and absolutely not act out of line. Can you do that?"

She stared at Fu Qian with utmost seriousness as she spoke.

"Easy enough. But only after we get out of here."

Fu Qian shook his head casually.

"I think your plan will only lead to one outcome: we get discovered, we get hit with an ambush just like the last one, and you fail to protect everyone—especially Dust. In the end, I'll still be forced to step in."

"Then what do you propose we do?"

Finding it somewhat hard to refute, Mariana wore a cold expression.

"Simple. I take action directly."

Gesturing for them to follow, Fu Qian stepped out and walked to his own cell. Then, under the horrified gazes of the three people behind him, he kicked the outer stone wall to pieces.

Amidst the deafening crash, the night sky and freezing wind instantly poured in.

Indeed, as previously mentioned, this was a fortress-like building, and this row of cells was situated near the very top. Getting down from here would take quite a bit of effort.

"Are you afraid of heights?"

Withdrawing his gaze, Fu Qian turned to look at Mariana.

"No... what are you doing?"

She replied instinctively before immediately going on high alert.

Unfortunately, she was too late. The very next second, she was launched out by a tremendous kick.

Time was precious. When it came to prison breaks, freefall was still much faster.

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