Eldritch Horror Theatre

The supreme edition of seeing stars?

Fu Qian didn't make a sound, merely offering a silent critique of the sudden anomaly.

He noted this because it was clearly a hallucination; hundreds and thousands of fireflies hadn't genuinely appeared out of thin air inside the car.

Although Fu Qian only needed a single thought to scatter them all, he was in no rush to do so.

Just as when Madam Yingzhu had made her move earlier, he had held back out of sheer anticipation.

Indeed, this hallucination was deliberately created by the examiner.

She had even relied on the very item inside her box to do it—an oddly shaped Ring crowned with a massive golden bead.

Of course, the band of the Ring was also gold.

Although she had been quick to slip on the jewelry, a fleeting glimpse was still enough for Fu Qian to see the contents of the box clearly.

Of course, it only looked like one. In reality, it was a miniature Golden Saint Robe.

The instant he laid eyes on it, Fu Qian knew it shared the exact same nature as the left-hand Glove he had worn during their exploration of the Underground Ruins.

Just as he had suspected earlier, he really had stumbled upon the organization belonging to Sage and the others.

He just wondered if those old acquaintances had made it back safely.

...

"Don't worry, they won't actually burn your eyeballs out. They'll merely obscure your vision slightly until we arrive."

As Fu Qian was reminiscing about the past, Madam Yingzhu's voice drifted over from beside him once again.

"As long as you don't resist too intensely, the process won't be overly painful. Though, of course, it should still be enough for you to savor."

She clearly wasn't fond of Fu Qian's behavior along the way, and she made absolutely no effort to hide that distaste in her tone.

And clearly, unlike the previous two locations, the Workshop's level of secrecy was much higher.

It made perfect sense—whether it was this method, or the item Madam Yingzhu had taken from the box.

Even the codename she had chosen for herself.

It was centered around equipment, just like that team back then.

Of course, compared to those logical details, Fu Qian was actually far more interested in the box itself.

The fact that an examiner with a seemingly ordinary physique had kept a trump card wasn't all that surprising, to be honest.

But the fact that this trump card could be concealed to such a degree was undeniably astonishing.

The material of the box was clearly highly specialized, making it highly effective at blocking prying eyes.

Fu Qian believed that even if the Night Watchers bumped right into it, they would be hard-pressed to notice any anomalies.

It was miraculous, but when he considered that this might be the handiwork of Old Man Sage—and that he was part of the new generation inheriting the legacy of the Blind Eye Society—it all seemed much more reasonable.

"Why so quiet? Has the calling of destiny been temporarily interrupted?"

Fu Qian's current reaction seemed to grant Yingzhu and Oz a good deal of amusement.

Heh... Hahaha...

Unfortunately for them, the only response they received was a string of laughter that started low before erupting into wild abandon.

Though it grew increasingly unbridled, the sheer delight in his voice was rather infectious.

"Finally, something interesting."

He hadn't moved, and there wasn't a shred of pain in Fu Qian's voice.

"From the very beginning, the only thing you two should have done was bring this out sooner."

...This guy really was beyond saving!

Considering the subject was currently blind, Yingzhu and Oz exchanged a glance after hearing his words, not bothering to waste any effort on controlling their facial expressions.

But perhaps it was precisely this baseless delusion that gave him the confidence and decisiveness to perform the way he had earlier...

This slightly complicated emotion lingered on their faces for a long time, so much so that after Fu Qian's critique, the atmosphere in the vehicle fell into a heavy silence.

Fortunately, the young man who was chuuni to the extreme was too immersed in the thrill brought on by this change to care much about anything else.

...

"You need to wait here for a moment."

It was Oz who finally broke the eerie silence.

After saying this, having already parked the car, he exchanged a glance with Madam Yingzhu.

As the latter gave a slight nod, Oz opened his door and stepped out first, leaving her behind to keep watch.

"So this is the Workshop?"

Fu Qian seemed to have absolutely no objections, merely observing his surroundings with casual interest.

This location, reached after their long journey, was clearly situated underground, and was exceptionally quiet.

The space wasn't large, but it still felt empty, as a single glance confirmed there was indeed nothing around them.

"...It's further down. You'll see it."

After a moment's hesitation, Madam Yingzhu finally gave a slow response to his question.

How honest.

He naturally knew that a whole other world lay deeper down, but Fu Qian still inwardly expressed his appreciation for Madam Yingzhu's truthfulness.

"So Oz went to find someone who can decide if I get to go down?"

"Yes. And down there, you will obtain your own Weapon, or perhaps what you call your destined calling."

Yingzhu's tone was calm, sounding surprisingly optimistic about Fu Qian's prospects.

Weapon...

Upon hearing this, Fu Qian lowered his head to look at her hand, where the lone golden accessory was still worn.

Just like Ais and the others back then.

Everyone had one and exactly one piece of equipment, never wearing another even if they acquired it to avoid interference—though it seemed that was no longer the case.

When Oz returned, there was someone else by his side.

It was a young woman, her entire body shrouded in a heavy cloak, though her fine figure was still faintly visible.

And, of course, there was the edge of the Golden Breastplate inadvertently peeking out.

Indeed. As Fu Qian examined that half of a familiar face, he was absolutely certain it belonged to his former teammate, Ais.

Her luck truly was extraordinary for her to have survived such a perilous place.

Not only that, it seemed she had found a blessing in disguise and made a breakthrough.

Aside from her golden armor, nestled within the shadow of her hood, the upper half of her face bore a Golden Face Ornament that covered one of her eyes.

Fu Qian was naturally familiar with this piece of equipment as well. It was the exact one worn by their companion Scrooge, and he clearly recalled the devastating power of the deep red rays it fired.

The restriction of one piece per person he had just been pondering was shattered by Ais in the blink of an eye—and broken more than once, at that.

Although it was completely covered, the right arm beneath Ais's cloak clearly displayed a different contour.

And within Fu Qian's perception, it was quite clear that this was because she was wearing an Armguard on it—Charlotte's piece.

He remembered that both of those fine gentlemen had clearly held some affection for Ais back then. Now, their exclusive equipment had all ended up on her, practically forming a complete set.

The tangled web of cause and effect at play here was truly a marvel.

"Welcome."

As he mused, Ais had already stepped in front of him, looking over with a smiling face.

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