Eldritch Horror Theatre

Though he had much to keep in mind, it wasn't an endless stream.

Amid the Persuader's uncontrollable astonishment, The Corridor emptied once more.

Taking in the scene before him, Fu Qian blinked, verifying a suspicion.

It was bright and windowless, and more than half of the space was composed of metal.

Without a doubt, it was an incredibly expensive underground facility.

The reason he was so certain—aside from the excellent ventilation despite the airtight construction—was that a particular metal table in front of him felt strangely familiar.

If memory served, he had once hurled it as a hidden weapon at a certain Night Watchers squad captain. His surname was Tan, wasn't it?

Fu Qian never liked wasting mental bandwidth on irrelevant people. Just as he was trying to recall the name, a hidden door in the corner swung open, and a familiar face peeked out cautiously.

Who else could it be but Eldest Miss Wen, who had once achieved enlightenment here?

There were two explanations for the scene before him.

First, that not long ago, because he had used the name Eve to shatter Wen Li's previous dream, the shock in her slumber had involuntarily triggered this theme, creating a sequel.

Second, that he had directly scared her awake at the time, and she had actively sought out this dream.

Fu Qian leaned more toward the second option. For one, it came down to his trust in a Psychic Type player like her; she wouldn't be completely oblivious to such anomalies.

For another, Fu Qian didn't believe Wen Li's previous state had been deep sleep—a simple deduction, considering classmate Taylor was also sleeping.

Given that guy's night-owl tendencies, Fu Qian suspected it was actually daytime outside, meaning Eldest Miss Wen was merely taking a midday nap.

As for the sisters Veil and Lotte, if they were currently in Baerluk, it really would be nighttime for them.

Of course, these were just details, harmless in the grand scheme of things.

...

"Mr. Fu, you're really here... Then am I currently..."

Her gaze locked onto Fu Qian. The very next moment, Wen Li's tone—a mix of surprise and joy—proved his guess about her active initiative in a flash.

At the same time, the Illusory Eye above her head was incredibly active. Clearly, the scene before her was making her doubt her own state.

She wasn't a professional dreamwalker, after all; she couldn't shift her cognition so smoothly.

"Yes, this is your dream."

Facing a meeting that could end at any moment because of this, Fu Qian gave a slight nod and didn't hesitate to add fuel to the fire.

"This—"

In that instant, the eye above Wen Li's head dilated to its absolute limit.

After a momentary stunned pause, her first reaction was to raise a hand. Her slender fingers grazed her cheek in a gentle, soothing motion.

With that gesture, the teetering Illusory Eye actually managed to halt its expansion, slowly stabilizing.

In contrast, a slight haze clouded Wen Li's own eyes.

She was using her abilities to force herself to relax.

Though he hadn't spoken, Fu Qian knew exactly what she was doing.

Eldest Miss Wen had indeed come prepared. She had already figured out exactly how to keep the dream from shattering.

...

"Mr. Fu, welcome."

When Wen Li spoke again, there was a peculiar relaxation in her tone, as if she were walking through her own kingdom.

"Is this place still familiar to you?"

Stepping forward gracefully and gesturing for Fu Qian to take a seat, she smiled and looked around.

"Of course. The ventilation duct over there is a safety hazard."

Readily accepting the good advice, Fu Qian sat down comfortably and gestured toward a spot overhead.

He wasn't just talking nonsense. In a time and space unknown to anyone, someone had once crawled in through there.

"Hehe..."

Pursing her lips into a smile, Wen Li didn't pry into the source of that critique. She sat down opposite him, resting her chin in her hand.

"My father once asked me if I wanted to have this place demolished. I refused."

'I can completely understand why Old Man Wen would make that suggestion,' Fu Qian thought as he listened.

Eldest Miss Wen's past experience in seclusion here was certainly enough to inspire wild imaginations, not to mention concerns about her lingering feelings toward the place.

"Mr. Fu, is there something you need me to do?"

Before Fu Qian could reply, Wen Li blinked, apparently remembering something after her brief reminiscence.

"Back at The Bookstore, what we didn't finish saying..."

...

Not only had she come prepared, but her purpose was crystal clear.

Without a doubt, Wen Li's performance earned Fu Qian's high praise.

The situation was obvious. After he forcefully terminated their previous dream communication, she had woken up, realized something was amiss, and managed to put herself back to sleep to verify her suspicions.

However, what she excelled at was manipulating emotions, not hypnosis. Recreating the scene was simply too difficult for her.

Ultimately, although she had successfully re-entered the dream, they were no longer in The Bookstore, but in another scene they both recognized.

She truly lived up to being the genius girl of Shangjing; his efforts to cultivate her hadn't been in vain.

"There is indeed."

At the volunteer's question, Fu Qian smiled faintly and raised his right hand.

...

In that instant, a ripple seemed to wash through the entire dream—and it didn't come from Wen Li.

As the owner of this dream, she was clearly thrilled to have her vague guesses verified, but she still kept the Illusory Eye above her head under excellent control.

The ripple came from another higher will.

Given their previous mutual display of bottom lines, Fu Qian didn't think Yaragiel would let him run wild in any dream going forward.

Especially concerning anything related to the Emblem of the King of the Abandoned Prison.

And his motion of reaching out his hand right now was perfectly identical to when he had demonstrated it to Lotte earlier.

Fu Qian had no doubt that if he chanted an honorific name a few more times, this dream would suffer the same fate as the last and be forcefully terminated.

So he didn't chant it.

In fact, as his hand slowly opened a moment later, his palm was completely empty. He had no intention of manifesting anything.

"What is it?"

Drawn to his action, Wen Li observed him intently. Finding nothing, she asked in confusion.

"Just a joke, don't mind it."

Fu Qian smiled faintly. The words seemed directed at her, yet also at a certain someone looking down from an infinitely high place.

Since he had ambitions of becoming a senior partner, their communication naturally needed a more lively and relaxed atmosphere.

It seemed this intention was successfully received, as the ripple in the dream quickly subsided.

As the saying went, the proper balance depended on Residing in a Single Mind.

Naturally, Fu Qian was quite satisfied with this.

The reason Yaragiel could tolerate the joke without immediately flipping the table was very simple—Wen Li was vastly more valuable than Lotte.

Corrupting her and attempting to use her as a bridge for a Descent—the value of this possibility made Yaragiel reluctant to give up easily.

And this was exactly why his very first move was to confirm to Eldest Miss Wen that she was dreaming.

Although confirming it intensified the shock, as long as she could stabilize it, this layer of cognitive resistance—like this state of walking through her own kingdom—would make it much harder to corrupt her.

And if she couldn't stabilize it and woke up?

Then this volunteer shouldn't force herself anyway.

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