Eldritch Horror Theatre

It happened quickly.

Madam Yingzhu and the others had clearly arrived down here earlier, only to be drawn over by the noise.

They must have harbored lingering doubts and hadn't completely followed the order to leave the area.

Unfortunately, they weren't fast enough.

"People should be allowed to live in false peace... but not me."

Surveying the surrounding ruins, Fu Qian stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his voice flat and devoid of emotion.

"Getting lost is a feast for the seeker of truth, and I shall gladly partake..."

Amid the increasingly hurried footsteps, his figure—already damaged beyond recognition—vanished into the silent Underground.

[Task Evaluation: Black Sage]

[Knowledge is power, but it is also a curse.

Fleeing for her life, Ais finally realized where the static in her mind was coming from when she regained her senses outside the Ruins.

Her body and mind had both been defiled, yet that very corruption had become her only means of escaping that desperate situation. It was a brilliant irony.

After waiting a short while and seeing no other survivors, they chose to seek out a cure on their own.

The Workshop, originally used only for smelting Weapons, appeared to be their sole option, and this time, flesh and blood became the forbidden materials.

Fortunately, this world never lacked for hot-blooded fools.

The Society, having suffered heavy losses, adopted an unprecedentedly proactive stance.

And when idealistic young people answered the call, the organization made sure they contributed their value to the absolute fullest.

Ais knew full well what kind of disaster this would invite, but she could no longer afford to care.

Ultimately, amid anxious testing and waiting, they welcomed the final piece of the puzzle.

Despite some setbacks, a forbidden attempt was finally executed.

Even if, in the end, it was their own bodies and minds that were reduced to materials.

And the legend of the Lord of the Rings, who answered the call of destiny, spread throughout this organization that would soon truly become a joke.]

[Kills: Ais, Charlotte, Scrooge]

[Reward: SAN Value +23; Rift Smelting]

[Current SAN Value: 145, Current inspiration: 99]

...

There's actually content related to the last operation. As expected, the higher the exploration progress, the more detailed the task summary is, huh?

Listening to the prompt by his ear without much surprise, Fu Qian immediately found it interesting that the summary included details about the previous task.

It sounded obvious that after the exploration failed, the three standing guard outside never attempted to enter the Clock Tower Hall, but instead abandoned the Sage and fled.

Judging from their fruitless wait after escaping, the Old Man Sage—who had his arm severed by the Pure White Angel at the time—likely didn't meet a good end.

Regardless, the situation was more or less exactly as he had imagined.

Because of the previous failed operation, the existences of those three had been smelted together in a peculiar way.

So much so that upon their return, they risked having their bones ground to dust by the Night Watchers to design such a specific smelting scheme.

Looking at it that way, does that mean I was ultimately the culprit who forced them into such a desperate measure?

I can only say that the karmic entanglements of the world are truly wonderful beyond words.

Fortunately, by compounding my sins, I've now helped them find release.

I even reaped some rather interesting observational results.

Compared to the task rewards, Fu Qian was clearly more interested in the final scene he had witnessed.

Though it was just a fleeting glimpse, he had already seen a double-digit number of suns—just like the group of prisoners he saw after shooting the sun in the Sacred Night Capital.

Indeed, the moment he saw that multitude of suns, this was the first thing that came to Fu Qian's mind.

Even though one was prisoners in a cage, and the other was a multitude of cages.

However, just like the lecture he gave within the organization earlier, when facing an incomprehensible and abstract existence, one could apply some conventional logic, but one shouldn't let it narrow their perspective.

Teaching by example was even more important than teaching by words. For him, the term 'academic literacy' was never just empty talk.

And as facts proved, vigilance in solitude truly was a Virtue.

Thirteen. Whether it was the suns or the prisoners, it was always this number.

Even though it was currently hard to determine the logic behind it, and he couldn't even rule out the possibility of pure coincidence.

Yet this consistency alone made Fu Qian deeply feel that his evil plan—which very likely caused the Warehouse to crown him with the title Black Sage—was well worth it.

And without a doubt, the entity behind that rift flower was well worth tracking down in future operations.

Coincidentally, there seemed to be a similar concept among his task rewards this time.

...

[Name: Rift Smelting]

[Type: Consumable]

[Description: A cluster of crystals blooming like a flower. Its interwoven mirrored surfaces turn it into a labyrinth of light, making it difficult to gain Insight into the essence of the wound.

Upon simultaneous contact with a sufficiently pure transcendent trait and a sufficient volume of Gold, the crystal cluster will dissociate and shatter, automatically smelting to generate a transcendent item of the corresponding Rank.

Limited to Tier 2 and below.]

[Note: Hollow Bright Flower, the scab of the world.]

This... a single-use Vacuum Flower?

Reviewing his task rewards, Fu Qian's interest in the item that appeared in his hand suddenly grew a bit more.

Just as the description stated, it was a sphere about the size of a human head, seemingly formed by countless clustered crystals.

Its visual effect was truly dreamy and entrancing; even the dim lighting of the Warehouse couldn't conceal its brilliance.

However, holding it in his hands, it had almost no weight, as if it were merely an empty shell pieced together from countless two-dimensional surfaces.

According to the instructions, once he found a trait later on, tossing this in along with some Gold would allow him to directly manufacture transcendent items—just like that organization whose upper echelon he had just finished wrecking.

The Tier 2 restriction was also quite high already.

At the same time, the item's description confirmed the notion of the wound, even explicitly stating that the smelting utilized the power seeping out of the rift.

It really is an interesting reward.

For a task numbered 3, the earlier academic harvests alone were already worth the price of admission.

Not to mention, judging from the summary, the legend of the Lord of the Rings has already spread widely throughout the Post-Blind Eye Society.

As expected, a brave youth can always create a Miracle.

[Today's work has been completed. You may now leave the Warehouse. Weekly work progress: 4/4]

Amid his deep satisfaction, the voice in his ear also prompted that he had completed all his clock-ins for the week.

Carefully placing the crystal cluster on the table in front of him and confirming there was no reaction, Fu Qian readily accepted the good advice. Taking on the posture of clocking out on a Friday, he put on his mask.

...

Only the last ray of the setting sun remained, and the moon was already visible on the other side of the sky.

Gracing the place with his presence to provide guidance once more, Fu Qian walked straight to the window and studied the twilight.

Because of his recent experience, it was hard not to feel a strange sensation when looking at the sun again.

It was just a pity that neither The Prisoners nor the Red Moon seemed to have any intention of chatting—

His musings came to an abrupt halt, and Fu Qian frowned, looking behind him.

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