Eldritch Horror Theatre

Mind World Projection. A good explanation.

Revealing top secrets at the threshold of life and death, erasing the team's grudges to fight for survival together—no matter how you looked at it, it was a pretty good situation.

Especially within this team, where he had already secured the infinite right to slack off.

The exchange between Sha Ming and Huang Leji undoubtedly drew everyone's attention, and Fu Qian was no exception.

Even though he had already vaguely guessed some of it, the additional details provided were clearly quite valuable.

According to Sha Ming, the situation before them was quite simple to understand—

This mysterious place that had suddenly appeared, and which grew more real with every step deeper, originated from the missing Huang Zhixun.

His disappearance hadn't been an accident either. Instead, after returning empty-handed the first time, he had sneaked back here alone.

Even though he had brought teammates along this time, the always-shrewd Blood Lion was only planning to use their strength; he had no intention of sharing the spoils.

Through combining with that "Entity," his inner projection had directly manifested into the place before them, trapping everyone inside.

If all of this were true, then between his treachery and biting the hand that fed him, Brother Blood Lion's performance in this tale was nothing short of spectacular.

Yet, unlike the righteous indignation from before, an angry denunciation did not immediately follow Sha Ming's words.

Condemnation depended on the target. It was generally useless against those who truly weren't innocent.

Not to mention that as Brother Sha Ming laid his cards on the table, he had analyzed the group's motives just as mercilessly.

Everyone here was a veteran of the game. Of all the people who had followed them inside, how many actually believed the operation's goals were that pure?

The bloody truth was already laid bare. Figuring out how to escape was the only proper course of action.

Not to mention that there seemed to be a chance they could still grab a share of the benefits.

As long as they could find Blood Lion.

...

"So you mean we have to jump down from there?"

Once they confirmed that there was actually one of their own deeper in, continuing to descend didn't seem quite so terrifying.

Following Sha Ming's confession, the team members' hearts might have been in turmoil, but they eventually started to look ahead.

And after exchanging glances with the group, when Huang Leji spoke again, he was already gesturing toward a corner of the hall.

"What else? Do you think we have any other path to take?"

Sha Ming let out a hoarse laugh at that. As he returned the question, he was already walking straight out.

"Besides, look closely. There's a path leading down. No need to jump at all."

The spot Huang Leji had pointed to was nearly the darkest corner in the entire space.

There were no decorations around it; it looked as if a chunk of the floor had simply collapsed into nothingness.

At the same time, even standing where they were, they could smell wafts of an unpleasant, fishy stench drifting up from inside, like the mud exposed when stagnant water recedes.

"There really is a path!"

Sha Ming's words were clearly hard to refute. While Fu Qian mentally critiqued the situation, someone had already subconsciously stepped forward to follow, immediately letting out an exclamation of surprise.

Old Man Huang Leji glanced over. Seeing that Fu Qian still showed no reaction, his lips moved, but he ultimately said nothing, leading the rest of the group to follow.

Fu Qian found this hesitation perfectly understandable.

He had appeared out of nowhere and still hadn't introduced himself by name, making him impolite to the extreme for a new team member.

But when the group had chosen to instantly establish a "bond" and then try to coerce him to extract his maximum value, they had lost any standing to criticize him for it.

And after they had lost in a naked game of life and death, there was even less to say.

Just as mentioned before, he was now a member with the infinite right to slack off.

In his state of contentment, Fu Qian didn't continue to ruin the team atmosphere, instead choosing to step forward and follow.

...

"What happens if we die down there?"

Leaving the group no time to hesitate, after reaching that dark corner, Sha Ming descended straight down without a moment's pause.

The others exchanged blank looks, and once Huang Leji stepped up as well, they could only brace themselves and follow.

But that didn't mean there were truly no complaints, especially while walking down those narrow, steep stairs covered in dark, viscous muck.

Indeed, this narrow downward passage looked as if it had been soaking in water for god knows how long. As far as the eye could see, everything was shrouded in a layer of dripping wet silt.

It truly felt a bit like the entrance to The Abyss. No wonder someone couldn't help but ask such a pessimistic question.

Bringing up the rear of the group, Fu Qian surveyed the surroundings with keen interest, quite appreciative of the developments before him.

He even felt that Old Man Huang Leji might not be completely filled with negative emotions either.

It was true that the old man had failed to coerce him earlier, but to put it bluntly, it was merely a survival tactic in a desperate situation.

Now, even though it hadn't motivated Fu Qian, Brother Sha Ming had taken the initiative to step up—a serendipitous outcome.

"I don't know. Normally speaking, it wouldn't be a true death, but honestly, I find it hard to believe that Huang Zhen didn't die just now."

Even to a question that was clearly damaging to morale, he actually gave a response.

"What do you think?"

After giving that rather matter-of-fact answer, he stepped down the stone stairs, came to a halt in a puddle of water, and turned around to look at Fu Qian at the back.

It was obvious that having been forced to show his hand, he could no longer keep a low profile, and he didn't want to let Fu Qian stay out of it so easily either.

"That one is probably, definitely dead."

As the murderer, Fu Qian actually gave a slight nod, confessing to his crime with a statement that sounded like a grammatical contradiction.

"Though that doesn't mean dying down here would result in the same fate."

Following that, however, he continued to survey his surroundings with strict scrutiny, stating that one couldn't draw a simple analogy.

At the bottom of the not-too-long stone staircase was an excessively low underground space. The silt on the ceiling was almost brushing against their hoods.

"Then what would the fate be?"

Watching the others come down one by one, cramming into this damp, oppressive place, Sha Ming continued to ask without any emotion.

"We're deeper in here. Theoretically speaking, the situation should be even more severe."

Fu Qian didn't intentionally sugarcoat it; he simply provided a very straightforward logical deduction.

"SAN Value -1."

In the instant he finished speaking, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.

He didn't disappoint; after charging up for a while, Brother Sanxun made his appearance once again.

The voice came exactly from the dripping wet wall behind them.

[SAN Value -5]

Not only that, but he even brought an extra surprise, proving Fu Qian's statement in a single second—coming down here made the situation much more severe.

The notification of SAN Value loss ringing in their ears had actually multiplied by five.

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