Eldritch Horror Theatre

This just goes to show you should trust the professionals—like Brother Hao Ke and his crisis sensing.

Refusing to buy into these peaceful years, he had finally proven himself with Fu Qian's help.

And this tranquil night had finally bared the biochemical imprint on its flesh.

Forcibly stopped from his Blood Crusade, Fu Qian felt no ill will; if anything, he was deeply satisfied.

West Plain really wasn't as peaceful as it seemed on the surface; unimaginable forces were at play here.

Blood Crusade was fundamentally akin to walking through another dimension, yet in that instant, he was left with absolutely no room to struggle. He had been forcefully yanked straight back to reality.

Just because he had gotten close to her?

Watching that rapidly retreating silhouette, Fu Qian felt quite confident in this judgment.

He could even put this confidence to the test.

Truly miraculous.

Yet, just a breath later, Fu Qian emerged from behind a tree, halting his pursuit once again to watch her leave.

Verification complete. He had been stopped at the exact same distance.

It was as if that lady carried a Deity's favor, forbidding anyone from quietly approaching her.

...

Could she actually have a Deity's favor?

Recalling the entire sequence of events, Fu Qian turned his gaze toward a certain mountain in the darkness.

The night was no longer heavy, having reached that darkest hour before dawn, yet not a single trace of a tree could be seen on the mountain peak.

However, the unreasonableness of the change just now easily brought to mind old brother Huang Yuanchang's Decapitation Aura.

All who offended would lose their heads—everyone treated equally.

And if this wasn't just a simple similarity in style, the underlying implications were dire—

Not only did the trio not come up empty-handed, did they even have a commandment protecting their bodies just like the final form of Ill Omen?

That meant Tan Mingxue's earlier claim was a complete misjudgment. Not only had that tree not quieted down, it had entered an active state that might even surpass its previous one.

But the problem was that her judgment wasn't entirely subjective; it was highly likely derived with the help of that Divine Puppet. Did that mean the tree had fooled the puppet too?

Even assuming this Night Watchers' backup measure had indeed failed, if she had already fooled it and gained something, what was she doing running out here in the middle of the night?

The puppet had even been put away by the time she arrived, so it shouldn't be a case of her timing her arrival to cause interference.

He had to admit, not only were there dark currents surging beneath the tranquility of West Plain, they were surging with unusual intensity.

Click!

With a soft mechanical sound, the Metal Cylinder in Fu Qian's hand opened a fraction.

Inside the smooth inner wall, the dark red Claudora's Demigod Flesh lay dormant.

When he first approached that puppet earlier, it had stirred slightly, but it had long since calmed down.

At a glance, it hadn't changed at all since he left the Academy.

Naturally, Fu Qian didn't feel any disappointment over this. He had only just arrived in this esteemed place, and patience was always a fundamental quality for conducting academic research.

As the saying goes, one should be adapting to local customs. Should he also blend into this low-key style of West Plain?

Closing the Metal Cylinder, Fu Qian looked back the way he had come.

For instance, the agreed-upon time with old brother Hao Ke was fast approaching.

...

"I will confirm this one last time: are you really not joking?"

With the first light of dawn, as all sounds fall silent, the somewhat historic small city of West Plain welcomed yet another quiet, peaceful morning.

However, inside a certain heavily fortified mansion, the atmosphere was uniquely anxious.

The speaker was the only woman in the room, and also the only one who had a seat but remained standing.

Compared to her exquisite coat and shoes, her makeup could only be described as plain—as if she had been dragged out of bed in the middle of the night without even having time to wash her face.

In fact, it was hard to say that the resentment radiating from her as she paced back and forth didn't stem partially from that very reason.

"And I've told you more than once—would I joke about blowing up my own house? Use your brain, Qiu."

The one replying was a gruff voice, though it didn't sound very cheerful. It was undoubtedly Hao Ke.

At this moment, inside this meticulously arranged Safe House, there were two others besides him and the irritable lady. They were all roughly the same age.

Among them, the guy sitting closest to the door, who was also the most meticulous in his dress, had his gaze fall once again on the deep pit in the middle of the living room due to their conversation.

The matter Hao Ke brought up when he suddenly sought them out was undoubtedly deeply bizarre.

But regardless, with such a scene laid out right in front of them, it was hard to simply dismiss it.

"But when you came to us for help, you didn't say your own house blew up."

The argument was still ongoing. Although the woman called Qiu didn't refute Hao Ke's statement, she still scoffed at it.

"...If I said my house blew up, would you have come?"

"No."

...

"Regardless, asking for our help under the pretext that a dangerous figure broke into your home, only to switch to that 'a crisis is brewing' routine after we arrived—it's really hard to swallow."

Though she accepted Hao Ke's logic, Ms. Qiu was clearly still brooding over a few things. After expressing her disbelief in his nonsensical reasons, she couldn't help but walk to the edge of the pit and peer down.

"It looks like this was smashed open with a single punch."

Although the four of them had tidied up the place a bit after arriving, sweeping the debris and wreckage inside, the depth of the trap was still astonishing. It was truly hard to imagine the situation Hao Ke had described.

"Besides, it's almost dawn. Where is this mysterious person you mentioned, whose Rank is incredibly high and who is supposedly eager to help?"

"Are we just supposed to wait like this forever if he never shows up?"

Although only one person spoke, she undoubtedly represented the thoughts of the group.

In an instant, several pairs of eyes shifted away from the pit and landed squarely on Hao Ke's face.

"I believe he will definitely come."

Without a doubt, this was a serious question. The already impatient group was now reaching the limit of their endurance.

Even Hao Ke himself wasn't completely unshaken at certain moments.

However, knowing full well that if he let these people go, he wouldn't be able to call them back anytime soon, he gritted his teeth and chose to hold firm.

"So how long are we waiting? Shouldn't we set an exact time? 'Dawn' is a bit too broad."

At this moment, another guy, whose appearance was even more uninhibited than Hao Ke's with a messy head of hair, finally made his presence known and offered his suggestion.

It even sounded perfectly reasonable.

"Apologies. Having just crossed time zones, my grasp of the time was a bit off."

However, the one who answered him wasn't anyone originally in the room.

Under the group's vigilant gazes, a figure stepped out from the backlit corner.

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