Eldritch Horror Theatre

The hidden Underground, the Depths of No Return.

It was an undeniably fascinating sight to watch more than a dozen faces change their expressions in perfect unison.

Especially since they had all been at each other's throats just a moment before.

"Bravo—"

Not letting the moment go to waste, Fu Qian watched the entire spectacle without looking away before offering his critique.

Although it was only a single word, its dramatic cadence made it momentarily hard to tell whether he was agreeing to answer Old Man Huang's question or cheering at a theater.

"Though I don't know those two, I have met Huang Zhixun before."

Fortunately, Fu Qian didn't torture everyone's nerves for long and immediately provided the answer.

...

Coupled with Fu Qian's still-placid expression, the impact was enough to instantly stiffen the squad's rapidly shifting smiles.

"You know the Blood Lion... Since when?"

Breaking the silence this time was Sha Ming, the man upon whom Fu Qian had placed high hopes.

From his voice, sounding even rougher than before, one could hear the gravity of his current emotions.

"A long time ago."

Fu Qian cheerfully continued answering.

"Unfortunately, every time we met, he lacked the necessary awareness of his own situation."

...

"And you are different, sir... Did you already know what I was trying to do just now?"

Seemingly provoked into deep thought by Fu Qian's remarks, Sha Ming fell back into silence, while Old Man Huang Leji lived up to expectations and smoothly picked up the conversation.

Worthy of being the team's person in charge, his question hit upon exactly what the other members were more concerned about.

"I didn't. I was just sitting down to rest."

Unfortunately, Fu Qian had no intention of maintaining an air of untouchable mystery, bluntly stating that he wasn't that miraculous.

"But your cover wasn't exactly brilliant. Very few people would actively approach an old man, especially in such a bizarre situation."

With this world-weary remark, Fu Qian surveyed his surroundings, his gaze seemingly reminiscing over endless bygone years.

"If the person approaching is also an old man, then it doesn't matter."

This time, however, an unfamiliar voice picked up the conversation.

Not only did the voice sound truly elderly, but the speaker's white hair fluttered as he stepped forward. It was none other than the old man with the demeanor of a clan elder whom Fu Qian had evaluated earlier.

Compared to Fu Qian's current aged disguise, this man looked older, yet he was hale and hearty, his gaze sharp and piercing.

The West Plain Huang Clan's foundations were indeed profound. Aside from the one who had died tragically alongside his lover at the hands of the Ill Omen years ago, they still possessed a Sea-Calming Divine Needle like this man.

As Fu Qian marveled inwardly, the man stared at him with a half-smile, walking right up close before finally stopping.

"I am Huang Zhen. I must say, sir, your bearing is truly extraordinary."

"But because of this, I find myself a bit puzzled. Since you disdain to even reveal your name, why didn't you dodge when you noticed something was wrong? Why willingly bind yourself to us?"

As he introduced himself, he noticeably gestured back and forth between himself and Fu Qian.

"I trust you can already clearly see the bond formed with everyone here."

...

"Bond" was indeed an apt description.

It was true that having an elder in the family was like having a treasure. Old Man Huang Zhen's appearance had clearly dealt a heavy blow to the mysterious figure's arrogance, giving the rescue team's morale a massive boost.

Even Fu Qian gave a slight nod in agreement with his description.

Of course he could see it.

In the very moment when the group had been making a racket and Huang Leji had taken the opportunity to naturally close the final step, something very strange appeared in his perception, and even in his line of sight.

It was a phantom chain, the color of molten iron, pointing directly at him.

Its other end converged at a single point with a double-digit number of other chains.

Unsurprisingly, each one pointed to a member of the rescue team.

This thing's appearance occurred in a mere instant. It could not be dodged, nor could it be severed, as if it were the most fundamental rule of this place.

Or rather, it was.

Since they were the main rescue team and had ventured this deep, assuming they had gained no insights would mean they were being grossly underestimated.

Although the group's acting was quite good and they had invested real emotion into it, as an academic, constantly asking "why" was a bad habit as natural to him as breathing.

There was an anomaly he had noticed right away, one that Fu Qian had not forgotten for a moment—

Compared to their physical injuries, the team's mental state seemed disproportionately poor—even worse than the tunnel-digging squad's.

This could certainly be attributed to them being trapped much deeper, but one had to remember that this team's person in charge was also much stronger. Logically speaking, slightly boosting their morale shouldn't have been an issue.

And yet, before he walked in, even Old Man Huang himself had been repeatedly interrogating them—an action that was essentially only useful for venting emotions.

Something else was additionally bothering them, even if he couldn't see it yet.

So this was the deduction Fu Qian had made almost immediately.

From his experiences along the way, he could already tell there were far too many things here that exceeded mere perception. If he blindly relied on his high Rank to look down on everything now, it would be far too unprofessional.

In short, given this unknown factor, Fu Qian had chosen to casually ignite a conflict.

...

This wasn't the first time the name-calling trio had entered this place. On one hand, it would naturally trigger the team's internal conflicts with maximum efficiency. On the other hand, the resulting chaos would provide the perfect opportunity for anyone with ulterior motives to make their move.

So the current shift in the situation was actually the result of both sides moving toward each other.

The only unusual part was that those with ulterior motives were not just a single person, but an entire group.

The subconscious group action from earlier had an obvious ultimate goal: to get Huang Leji as close as possible without making their target vigilant enough to run away.

Exactly. In Fu Qian's judgment, the conditions for these chains—representing a special bond—to appear were likely extremely simple. For example, merely coming into close contact with anyone in this group.

And one hardly needed to think to know this was definitely not a good thing.

After all, other than dragging someone else down into the mud with them, it was hard to imagine any other action that could inspire such perfectly coordinated enthusiasm.

"Apologies, we just felt this would make for easier communication."

At this moment, as Old Man Huang Zhen's imposing aura reached its peak, Sha Ming spoke up leisurely from nearby, using a much flatter tone to explain the current situation and why they had done it.

"We don't know what this is, but it's clear that, like the other rules, it cannot be defied."

"It started appearing after we came out of that place full of Mirrors."

"For one thing, as long as you get close, you get pulled into the connection. At the same time, no matter how far you go, you can't break free from it."

"Most importantly, once you are dragged into it, whatever changes happen to any individual inside—be it destruction or rebirth—will be directly copied to everyone else."

"For example, right now... do you feel it, sir?"

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