Eldritch Horror Theatre

When joining a poker game, the single most important thing was figuring out your role at the table.

To achieve this, there were a few step-by-step tricks.

For example, the first step was figuring out which person present was the fool responsible for contributing resources.

Building on that conclusion, you then searched for your own kind.

You had to dig beneath the surface, verifying similarities piece by piece to confirm your own kind.

Applying this theory to their current predicament, Old Man Li and the other two were highly likely to be the resource providers.

In fact, when he first guessed why they were here, Fu Qian had leaned toward this exact theory.

Much of his subsequent effort had actually gone into figuring out exactly what kind of resources they were contributing.

And building on that foundation, Fu Qian had never given up searching for his own kind.

He possessed no lethal means of attack, held the lowest Rank, and suffered the deepest accumulation of corruption. He had even endured two outbreaks, leaving his body covered in the joy of a bountiful harvest.

But as mentioned earlier, drawing comparisons meant looking beneath the surface.

People could not be judged by their appearance; one had to look at his actual contributions to the team—

For instance, providing the basic elements of the incident, including but not limited to the target's name, the curse upon her, and the family's inheritance.

And after explaining all that, he had immediately demonstrated the dangers of the corruption firsthand to clarify the sheer urgency of their situation.

Finally, he had used that intense desire to survive to subtly urge the team forward every step of the way.

He might fall far short in terms of elegance, but when it came to team spirit and contributions, he was, in every respect, a key figure who sacrificed himself and silently gave his all—just like Fu Qian himself.

Even a moment before their team ideals fractured and Fu Qian washed his hands of the whole affair, Lu Yi had displayed a rare mental agility. He had continuously pointed out the logical flaws in Fu Qian's arguments, trying to set things right.

Even though that final scene was exactly what Fu Qian had been waiting for all along.

This man's performance along the way had been quite perfect. Even measuring a noble mind with a petty heart, it was difficult to find any solid flaws in his act.

But following the mysterious demigod's showdown, with the entire incident smoothly reframed as an Ancient Blood Clan conspiracy, could he still maintain that composure?

As it turned out, being an unsung hero was acceptable, but having someone else take the credit for your work was simply unbearable.

...

So it really wasn't a natural disaster, but something driven by subjective will?

Gorgeous yet decaying scenery blurred backward on both sides. Hidden entirely beneath a heavy robe, Fu Qian moved like a phantom through the ancient Ehm Palace, sighing inwardly.

The exquisitely embroidered red and blue hem of his robe fluttered like bat wings.

He hadn't intentionally gone for a light-luxury style; it was just that this former royal estate was excessively opulent, and this was already the most understated curtain he could find.

After abandoning the team in a style entirely true to his word, Fu Qian had sprinted straight here along a clear route, conveniently throwing this outfit together along the way.

Elegance never went out of style. If one wanted to guide the consensus, they couldn't afford the slightest slack.

His opponent on this trip was far from simple.

Fu Qian didn't believe for a second that Lu Yi had shown his true limits.

Even Old Man Li hadn't spotted any flaws, but then again, that old fellow hadn't seen through Fu Qian's act either, had he?

That was right. In Fu Qian's judgment, there was a very high probability that Brother Lu Yi's situation was similar to his own.

His previously displayed Rank was definitely real, fearless of any piercing golden eyes.

But that might have been a Self of the Old Days, summoned by leaning on the unique characteristics of this place.

If he was the Director behind all this, it shouldn't be difficult for him to achieve that while fully understanding the true nature of existence here.

Wasn't that exactly how the Warehouse had stuffed him in here?

While the Warehouse's Rank was undoubtedly transcendent, Lu Yi, or the power backing him, was clearly no slouch either.

Without even needing to borrow Li He and the others at the start, the other party had managed to conjure the crying and the corruption—effects that screamed of a textbook Deity in every way—laying a solid foundation for Li He's group to develop a consensus.

Such methods deserved the highest degree of caution.

Of course, he was now worthy of that same caution himself.

Without any visible deceleration, Fu Qian's sprinting body suddenly froze in place.

The square stone platform beneath his feet was entirely empty, but in that instant, the crying that had been constantly lingering in his ears came to an abrupt halt.

Almost at the same time, Fu Qian reached a hand out from under his heavy robe.

Because of his earlier demonstration as a flesh-and-blood brute, his sleeves were already torn to ribbons.

Through the gaps in the fabric, one could clearly see a miniature bite mark that had shockingly appeared on the outside of his forearm.

It was crooked and uneven, even missing teeth marks in some places, looking exactly as if a child in the middle of losing their baby teeth had lunged forward and taken a bite.

But there had been no child in sight, nor any force of someone lunging at him.

This dark green mark, far deeper and more severe than the previous corruption, seemed to have grown straight out of his flesh.

...

As expected, stealing the fruits of victory was the most infuriating, classless act.

He had directly connected the surrounding details and explained everything away as a conspiracy of the returning Progenitor.

Regardless of their ultimate goal, his own speech—which effectively hijacked the fruits of victory—was bound to earn him the gnashing hatred of the forces orchestrating this from the shadows.

And if his theory about Lu Yi held true, Fu Qian had no illusions that the man wouldn't realize they were two of a kind.

With this tacit understanding without words between them, what came next was effectively a game played with open hands.

And as everyone knew, in the battle for the ideological high ground, aside from weaving a more beautiful story than your opponent, you could also just beat them to death so they lost the chance to tell their story at all.

Clearly, a similar attempt was already underway.

In this sudden attack, Fu Qian could almost picture an imperceptible figure baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, abandoning its trailing sonic attacks to just bite him directly.

Tree Infants. The minions of that Royal Scion from earlier, the things following closely behind everyone.

Come to think of it, he was the one who had coined the name.

Judging from the various signs earlier, at the very beginning when this predicament first formed, they hadn't necessarily existed in reality.

But the consensus formed by the team's step-by-step exploration had created them out of thin air.

A true manifestation of mind over matter.

At the same time, it was a pity that the degree of mind over matter still wasn't enough, allowing them to launch such abstract attacks while keeping their very existence extremely vague—maximizing how troublesome they were to deal with.

And an attack carrying such blatant hostility proved that while Lu Yi and the forces behind him might not be able to command the Tree Infants directly, they definitely had ways to guide them, turning Fu Qian into a target of their hatred.

Just like the Royal Scion on the dome earlier, who hadn't hidden immediately but instead let everyone get a good look at it first.

In Fu Qian's estimation, that behavior was very likely influenced by Lu Yi's will as well.

Although the Divine Face hadn't fully coagulated into its final form yet, letting that thing make a brief appearance obviously helped accelerate the formation of a consensus.

The addition of an unexpected, unstable factor like Fu Qian had pushed him to take a certain amount of risk to speed up the whole process.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!