Eldritch Horror Theatre

Time zones...

At that moment, the discussion in the room came to an abrupt halt.

Someone had actually appeared at daybreak without the slightest warning.

The door remained shut tight, making them almost wonder if he had been hiding in the room the entire time.

But how could that be? The four of them had been waiting here for quite a while, and they had even searched the place upon entering before Hao Ke explained his true reason for gathering them.

In a silence like Suffocation, Qiu's first reaction after coming to her senses was actually to take two steps back, subconsciously keeping her distance from the shattered pit in the floor.

"Excellency Grimshaw..."

Hao Ke, who had just sworn he would come, barely reacted any better.

"Thanks for your trouble. Have you been waiting long?"

"Not too long... but it still took some effort to track them all down."

Hao Ke finally recovered a bit and immediately assured him they hadn't waited long.

"All of them? Your circle doesn't seem very large, then."

Fu Qian glanced around the room and offered a casual critique.

"...Aside from these three, who I deal with the most, there's actually one more. But she wasn't at her place, and I couldn't reach her right away."

Given their pitiful numbers, Hao Ke clearly found it hard to refute the assessment, but he still tried to emphasize that their total group could have been one person larger.

Were these the only ones he was close enough to?

Of course, as far as Fu Qian was concerned, this turnout was already pretty good.

To Hao Ke, last night's experience had undoubtedly been bizarre. A mysterious figure had suddenly appeared, confirming that his longstanding fears were justified and that disaster was about to strike this place.

Then, the figure had shattered the trap with a single punch, leaving him with no choice but to believe it.

Under those circumstances, when asked to gather more people, deciding exactly who to bring was undoubtedly a delicate matter.

He had to choose people who would believe him, and whom he could trust in return.

Judging by their earlier exchange, Hao Ke hadn't even told them the truth; the excuse he had used was that he'd run into trouble and needed help.

Given that context, no matter what they said, the fact that they were willing to rush over so quickly proved their bond was far from ordinary.

No wonder Hao Ke was willing to risk his good intentions backfiring, just to try and save these few from a potential threat.

Truly moving.

"Everyone."

Amid his silent praise, Fu Qian's gaze swept over everyone's faces with a gentle smile.

"So, has there been anything unusual going on in West Plain lately?"

...

Isn't that what you're supposed to be telling us?

Because of his overly intimidating entrance, Hao Ke's three old friends clearly didn't dare to take the mysterious figure's actions lightly.

Yet, his very first question still gave them a sense of cognitive whiplash.

According to what Hao Ke had just told them, West Plain was currently enveloped by a terrifying Shadow. He had called them here precisely because this mysterious figure could offer them a chance at survival.

But the mysterious figure's opening line was to ask them what was unusual?

How absurd.

Was he really just here for a chat?

It wasn't just them; at that moment, even Hao Ke was a bit stunned.

As for the purpose of bringing everyone together, he had undoubtedly leaned toward his previous guess: as long as they were willing to believe the claims about the Shadow and could prove their worth, Excellency Grimshaw would lend a helping hand in passing.

But as mentioned earlier, for a group of people who constantly felt they were just overthinking things, what new insights could they possibly offer regarding anomalies?

"Apologies, Excellency Grimshaw."

Fortunately, they were all seasoned veterans with years of experience, so they knew how to read the room.

After a quick exchange of glances, Qiu was the first to speak, her attitude still impeccable.

"Although Hao Ke has nagged us about it more than once, we really haven't discovered anything out of the ordinary."

Naturally, she failed to provide any useful information either.

"Could you first tell us what this so-called Shadow actually is?"

Not only that, but she carefully probed with another question a second later, clearly dissatisfied with remaining in the dark about the situation.

"Me."

To her surprise, amid Hao Ke's worried gaze, she actually received an immediate answer.

Even if the answer itself was unbelievable.

"Didn't I tell you from the start? I crossed several time zones specifically to come here."

Fu Qian pointed at himself, a mysterious smile playing on his lips.

"The Shadow of West Plain has already arrived."

...

"You must be joking, Excellency..."

Upon clearly hearing his words, Qiu's previously excellent expression management completely and utterly collapsed.

At a loss for words, her first instinct was to look at Hao Ke, only to find him in nearly the exact same state. For a moment, a bone-deep chill washed over her from head to toe.

"You're right. I was indeed joking."

However, before the ice could fully set in, the situation took another sudden turn.

Facing an audience that was quietly slipping into combat stances, Fu Qian remained seated, as steady as Mount Tai.

"Now, take that level of Insight, and re-examine the question I just asked."

...

Something seemed a bit off, yet also perfectly right.

So, he was just dissatisfied with their perfunctory answers and used this method to stimulate them?

They had to admit, it seemed quite effective, even if it was a bit too stimulating.

As Excellency Grimshaw's explanation reached his ears, the roller-coaster of emotional swings made Hao Ke's blood surge so violently he felt his ears ringing.

However, seeing the other three—who had fared even worse in comparison but were now genuinely gritting their teeth in deep thought—a profound sense of admiration welled up inside him.

The three of them had seemingly entered a highly efficient state of focus because of it—and had even produced some results.

"Regarding an anomaly... I just thought about it carefully and suddenly remembered Yuri... the one who didn't show up. I think I know where she is."

Qiu was once again the first to speak. As she talked, she studied everyone's faces, her expression bearing an indescribable strangeness.

"...Where?"

Although they didn't quite understand why Qiu had suddenly connected an anomaly to that fifth person, everyone was undoubtedly relieved that she had broken the oppressive silence. Someone immediately prompted her.

"At her other place."

"Yuri has another place? Why didn't I know about this?"

This time, Hao Ke was the one surprised.

"Because she didn't buy it that long ago. She uses it as a dating spot with her boyfriend."

...

"She really likes the guy, so for now, she doesn't want him to know her identity as a transcendent."

It was clear that Qiu and Yuri were quite close, given how intimately familiar she was with Yuri's romantic life.

"All right... so the anomaly you're talking about is that you didn't think of this earlier?"

The old friends listening to her were left somewhat speechless.

"No. I've always known, because I even went there yesterday."

Qiu continued to shake her head.

"It's just that when I carefully recalled it just now, I suddenly realized I can't remember how I said goodbye to her yesterday."

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