Eldritch Horror Theatre

[Current task completed]

Fu Qian naturally wouldn't be bored enough to play a game of hide-and-seek.

The chime came from the Eternally Lucid Mind, accompanied by the Warehouse's friendly notification.

To be precise, the notification arrived a second earlier.

The task completion prompt had appeared when the countdown reached seven, the Warehouse officially confirming his complete escape.

Under these circumstances, his reason for ringing the Eternally Lucid Mind was simple: he had no desire to hitch a ride with Arakiel, and he certainly wasn't interested in letting Him hitch a ride back.

The Eternally Lucid Mind's effect would maximally expel the corruption clinging to his body before his departure.

In fact, at that final moment, Fu Qian thought he actually heard a furious roar brimming with absolute betrayal.

...

Naturally, Fu Qian felt no psychological burden over this.

Everyone was just out for themselves. If He wasn't even willing to offer a senior partner position, did He really expect to be brought along for the prison break?

As for the supposed main character of the plan, Taylor Gulade hadn't even arrived yet. How exactly was the prison break accomplished?

It was actually quite simple—he was never needed to begin with.

Whether it was the pitch to the Persuader, or the compromise reached after all the mutual deception with Arakiel, it had only ever been a presentation meant for show.

The real prison break plan existed solely in Fu Qian's mind, along with the portion Eldest Miss Wen had intuitively grasped.

...

Although Brother Persuader believed the situation was somewhat optimistic, Fu Qian had only ever used his judgment as a mere reference.

Such high-level mystical restrictions, coupled with the corruption that had clung to him the moment he entered The Corridor—seeping into every vulnerable spot—prompted him to assume the worst almost instantly.

That assumption was that within this predicament, there existed a highly active, clear-minded entity of high status who could easily control everything.

He scrutinized him from a position of absolute superiority, ensuring no action could escape His notice.

At the same time, He desperately hoped to squeeze every ounce of value out of him, converting it into a chance to leave The Corridor.

All of Fu Qian's subsequent probes were merely to verify this assumption.

Unfortunately, every single test succeeded.

In light of this, Fu Qian never believed cooperation was possible.

Faced with a long-awaited chance to escape, a nearly omniscient entity in control of everything wouldn't take the slightest unnecessary risk.

The only thing He would do, and the only thing He was doing, was controlling everything.

He would seal off any possibility of secret maneuvers, pushing Fu Qian to the limit so he would "burn himself out" and become the fuel for His escape.

Only upon achieving this might He allow you some incidental benefits—but even that was a hard "might."

Fu Qian was neither as naive nor as optimistic as the Persuader.

This was a place capable of trapping numerous Deities, a restraint that caused even tangentially involved transcendents like Bernard to fall into abnormal states.

Fu Qian had absolutely no interest in wasting his limited resources on Arakiel's struggle against it.

Secretly advancing through Chencang was the strategy he had settled on almost instantly, and it had never changed.

As for the specific details of that strategy?

Taylor's dream was indeed the key, but his role was merely as a messenger.

The real focus lay with his old rival, Jiang En.

...

The greatest value of Taylor's dream lay simply in accurately conveying the Emblem of the King of the Abandoned Prison outward.

Indeed, a supreme symbol of authority pointing directly to its essence was a perfect match for an evil god seeking to break out of prison. How could He possibly give it up so easily?

Realizing that physical corruption would only serve as a stepping stone for others, Fu Qian's focus had always remained on the mental realm. The first thing he had to do was find a way to transmit the Emblem outward.

This involved a delicate psychological game.

When facing Taylor in his dream state—whose imagination had been running wild—Fu Qian's purpose in manifesting the Emblem had merely been to cater to his conspiracy theories. This allowed him to quickly seize control of the dream, leading to physical corruption.

At least, that was how it appeared on the surface.

Brother Persuader, for example, clearly hadn't noticed anything out of place.

As for His Excellency Arakiel, just as previously stated, His prolonged imprisonment had turned Him into an absolute maximizer of self-interest.

Faced with an excellent target for corruption like Taylor, Fu Qian had shown absolutely no hesitation—especially compared to his earlier act of sending Wen Li away.

Under these circumstances, whether He should risk dampening His tool's enthusiasm by making petty moves to nip things in the bud became a matter requiring careful consideration.

After all, in that first dream, immediately sending Wen Li away upon realizing something was wrong made him "appear" to be a principled, upstanding youth who refused to casually let an evil god wreak havoc on the world.

What if, upon realizing an overly despairing truth, he simply gave up any attempt to escape and chose to suppress the evil god through self-sacrifice?

In contrast, even if an Emblem were brought into reality, the extent of its actual impact remained highly questionable.

Even if it truly was His corresponding Emblem, Taylor didn't look like a believer in the slightest. He most likely wouldn't be able to provide any sort of faith Anchor Point.

Even if Taylor suddenly lost his mind and did so, just how much power could he provide for an evil god's Descent?

Devotion, numbers—any of these easily conceivable factors fell far too short of the mark.

Arakiel's final actions proved the result of His deliberation: the benefits far outweighed the risks, so there was no need to intervene.

In fact, Fu Qian agreed with this judgment as well.

This was precisely the result of his carefully calibrated efforts. His earlier claim to be a master of moderation was no empty boast.

In contrast, some of his subsequent actions, such as his interactions with Lotte and Su Gao concerning the Emblem, were clearly deemed to have exceeded the risk threshold and were strictly prohibited.

But in reality, those actions hadn't been important to the true plan anyway. They were merely meant to probe and confuse.

The core of it all lay in the task he had arranged for Wen Li during their second meeting.

The task itself was naturally reasonable and logical, showing no risk related to the Emblem. Otherwise, given the strict surveillance at the time, it most likely would never have been conveyed.

And if Wen Li had acted exactly as instructed, someone with Taylor's personality would have likely fallen into the trap, and the Persuader probably wouldn't have been left alone waiting until now.

But Wen Li hadn't done that. To avoid crossing any "taboos" at the time, he had changed the subject to discuss her cultivation—specifically the Kaleidoscope.

The core of that skill was utilizing Wen Li's control to constantly shift and ravage the target's emotions, thereby creating a mental shockwave.

In such a method, the sequence of emotions undoubtedly had a massive impact on the overall effect. As her former sparring partner, the exaggerated facial expressions he had displayed were indeed the sequence she had originally tested—except in reverse.

And the other issue he had discussed with her at the time was how to influence Taylor's meeting with Jiang En.

What Eldest Miss Wen needed to do wasn't to make Jiang En firmly admit anything, but to make him firmly deny it.

Right up until Taylor pressed him every step of the way, even using the Emblem to test the waters.

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