Eldritch Horror Theatre

It was said that when insects encountered extreme situations, they displayed a variety of stress responses to fend off external threats.

Such as playing dead.

At that moment, as Fu Qian made an earnest effort to find common ground with his colleague, Persuader's agitation clearly spiked.

The specific manifestation of this was that, following Fu Qian's final words, the entity grabbed his own head and forcibly twisted it a full one hundred and eighty degrees. Leaving only the back of his head—covered in messy black hair—facing Fu Qian, he didn't make another sound.

"Brother Persuader, why go to such extremes!"

Such a reaction naturally moved the chief culprit. Fu Qian let out a sorrowful cry and made to step forward.

Persuader, however, truly embodied the professionalism of his species. Even in the face of such a threatening gesture, he didn't react in the slightest, committing to his feigned death to the bitter end.

Of course, Fu Qian didn't actually step forward either.

The friendship of gentlemen is pure as water. How could the dignified Dayun Mingwang ever force someone against their will?

Despite the impassioned generosity of his words, his friend remained entirely unresponsive.

Fu Qian reflected for a moment, realizing his past actions might have given the other party reason to worry about the risks involved in his dreams. Even if Persuader wanted to, he might not dare to accept the invitation. Understanding this, Fu Qian gave a slight nod.

"Or, if you have any old acquaintances, you can tell me. I'll find a way to get them to help you out when the time comes."

......

Still, there was no reaction. Persuader seemed to have thoroughly made up his mind to play the dead bug.

"So you don't have any old acquaintances. Interesting..."

Fu Qian still didn't mind, letting out a thoughtful "Oh."

"Could it be that we come from different places?"

"...You are incomprehensibly boring."

As the saying goes, utmost sincerity moves even metal and stone.

Brother Persuader, who had previously adopted the ascetic posture of a green lamp and ancient Buddha, was finally moved by this unwavering persistence. He let out a hoarse, eerie response.

"Does the answer to that question hold any meaning for you?"

However, it was obvious that neither he nor his visiting old friend cared at all about a detail like a scratchy voice.

"Of course it does."

With the benevolence of a true healer who had just successfully cured a case of extreme withdrawal, Fu Qian's tone was brimming with gratification.

"This way, I won't have to beat you to death."

......

"Heh... do you think I'd fear a threat like that? Do you really believe that dying in here is true death? Aren't you being a bit too optimistic?"

It was an undoubtedly excellent prognosis. Brother Persuader's emotions had been successfully mobilized.

Perhaps a bit too successfully. Faced with that rapid-fire trio of questions, Fu Qian was momentarily dazed, half-wondering if Madam Harriet's will had somehow invaded.

"So, being killed in here doesn't mean you die?"

"Of course not."

Persuader smiled eerily.

"It's just that every death will make you sink deeper, that's all."

"And precisely because of that, there's absolutely no need for you to be afraid. To us, it has already become insignificant."

So that was how it was.

Fu Qian let out an "Oh" of sudden realization.

"Then why are you standing so close to the door?"

......

"I remember now. Last time, you mentioned that taking action in here could agitate the accumulated nightmares behind the doors, resulting in unimaginable consequences."

"So you're playing the gatekeeper now, right? You'd rather be beaten to death by me to protect the peace of The Corridor? You're definitely not just getting ready to jump inside if things look bad?"

His face full of admiration, Fu Qian expertly fired back his own trio of questions.

"...You should probably get going. It's quite obvious that more than a few people are missing you."

Persuader, clearly unable to handle the verbal barrage, stiffly changed the subject once again.

But he wasn't just spouting nonsense to stall. Fu Qian could feel it too.

Right at that moment, a specific, peculiar agitation was surging through The Corridor.

And a sudden intuition told Fu Qian that as long as he chose to respond, he would directly descend into this newly manifested dream that was intimately connected to him.

"Alright. Brother Persuader, please wait here. I shall return shortly."

Fu Qian didn't waste any more words. He offered a quick parting greeting and immediately responded to the pull.

And right up until The Corridor dissolved before his eyes, Persuader didn't utter another word.

......

Brother Persuader might not be a native of the Bookstore World.

Even though the entity had retreated into a shell of silence after being repeatedly provoked, Fu Qian had still managed to glean a subtle confirmation of a certain theory from his reactions.

Admittedly, the guy's physical appearance was a bit haphazard, but during their initial encounters, Fu Qian hadn't actually considered this possibility.

After all, the Bookstore World was teeming with all sorts of monsters and demons. Plus, Persuader was clearly very familiar with it, and he even grasped the concept of the Warehouse. Nothing about him had felt out of place.

But during this escort mission, the small shop he had finally encountered in Laerdin had deeply intrigued Fu Qian, naturally prompting him to do a bit of reverse thinking.

The prior incident in Fenghou City had virtually proven that the bizarre circumstances surrounding Bernard and Loretta were entirely due to their connection with the Nightmare Corridor.

Considering that he had undeniably relied on the power of The Corridor to cross over, it was almost certain that Loretta had relied on the exact same channel to leave the black tea in Laerdin.

Therefore, given that the Nightmare Corridor clearly possessed this kind of cross-dimensional authority, was it possible that someone from its destination had traveled in reverse to arrive in the Bookstore World?

Or, perhaps, they had wanted to come over but hadn't quite made it, leaving them trapped inside The Corridor—just like he was right now.

If that were truly the case, it wasn't hard to guess why Persuader was so familiar with certain information. It came from the countless souls that had been annihilated within this space.

According to his introduction during their very first meeting, the spaces behind those five doors represented dreams dominated by a higher will, and the myriad of elements within those dreams were built by every character who had perished inside.

Ever since he appeared just now, Persuader had kept himself glued to that door. The most likely explanation was that he was ready to jump inside the moment things went south.

His performance of abandoning all hope and playing dead in despair was simply too amateurish in Fu Qian's eyes.

Of course, Fu Qian was still inclined to believe his claim that he couldn't see the specific details of the dreams.

That belief wasn't based on Persuader's character, but on basic human nature.

After suffering such a massive loss last time, even the most careless fish wouldn't be wild enough to just bite the hook directly.

But that didn't matter. Wasn't that exactly why he had issued an invitation?

......

Fu Qian would never make the mistake of blind optimism.

The state he was currently in was such a potent negative affliction that even the Witch had immediately sent him back, unwilling to let it accumulate for even a single second longer.

If he didn't gather as much information as possible and do everything he could to stand on the shoulders of his predecessors, but instead expected to just follow his gut, he wouldn't just get himself killed—wait, had someone actually died?

As he pondered, the light before his eyes rapidly brightened.

And Fu Qian's gaze was naturally drawn to a streak of dark red.

Thick and glaring, a large, gruesome patch of blood was smeared across a snow-white bedsheet.

And nestled amid those sheets was a naked body, its pallor only slightly less white than the linens themselves.

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