Eldritch Horror Theatre

Knowing when to stop had always been an extremely difficult skill to master.

Even if one mastered it, they would still occasionally be influenced by factors where excessive concern clouds judgment.

Take Chief Yuan in this incident, for example.

Her urgency to eliminate a public threat was understandable, but pushing the boundaries any further would be plain impolite.

The incident was essentially a probe, suspected to have been launched by a Tier 2 Transcendent to verify whether the grave mistake she had committed had been exposed.

Given the gravity of the matter, if their speculation held true, one could easily imagine the decisive ruthlessness of the eyes watching from the shadows.

At the slightest hint that something was amiss, a brutally cruel cleanup protocol would likely commence.

And their side only maintained this somewhat composed stance because he had prepared for a rainy day with a plan or two.

Under these circumstances, setting their goal as securing concrete evidence that Kelin was orchestrating everything behind the scenes?

Setting aside the fact that the enemy already held the initiative, their determination to see if they had exposed any flaws was theoretically far stronger than yours.

Banking your success on the enemy making a stupid mistake was the logic of children playing house. Assuming the worst of an opponent's capabilities was a basic quality for professionals.

The theme of this clash had not been decided at random.

"You never expected to prove that Kelin was behind it?"

Chief Yuan was quick on the uptake. After staring dumbfounded for a few seconds and confirming Fu Qian wasn't joking, she realized what he meant.

"Indeed... if it really is her, this is the worst possible time to confirm it. Otherwise, the moment she notices, the situation will instantly spiral out of control..."

She clearly possessed a tremendous virtue for a leader: she was skilled at self-reflection. Her voice quickly dropped.

"The question is, why didn't you explain this to me beforehand? What if I had accidentally misjudged the boundaries?"

Of course, that didn't mean her dissatisfaction had completely vanished. After reflecting on herself, she still shot Fu Qian a glare.

"I was worried you wouldn't judge the boundaries correctly."

Fu Qian merely blinked, wearing the extremely punchable smile of a smug strategist.

"Rather than telling you everything, I had a better chance of keeping the situation under control if I left things as they were."

...

Fu Qian had phrased it quite bluntly. Naturally, Yuan Shan felt a flash of resentment at this veiled insult to her acting skills.

However, thinking back on their usual experiences, she had to admit he was indeed a cut above her in that regard. For a moment, she was left speechless.

"But if that's the case, the significance of this operation on that front is rather limited."

Letting out a helpless sigh, Yuan Shan shook her head. She chose to endure humiliation and shoulder heavy burdens, focusing her attention on the crux of the matter.

"But that limited significance was the absolute maximum we could strive for. Now we can take stock of our gains and losses."

Gesturing that one couldn't be too greedy, Fu Qian greatly appreciated Yuan Shan's professionalism and instantly returned to the main topic.

"First of all, we directly confronted a unique Tier 2 who was highly distinct in both appearance and abilities. I believe that, no matter what, this will serve as a meaningful clue."

"True, though I can't figure out what connection it could possibly have with Kelin, or even where it sprang from."

Her brows knit tightly as Yuan Shan recalled their previous encounter, clearly utterly baffled.

"That's a good thing. It's precisely because no connection can be seen that we can submit it openly and honestly."

Fu Qian merely offered a comforting smile.

"We can push this straight to the top as the main issue and let the Council or someone similar investigate it. Because it carries enough weight, we'll even have the perfect excuse to urge them on from time to time."

"Indeed... and with this as a cover, it will be much easier for me to have some face-to-face discussions with my teacher."

Nodding slightly, Yuan Shan instantly drew inferences from one instance.

It was clear that, with Fu Qian's help, her overall perspective had been elevated.

Even if she was reluctant to accept that there was an issue with Kelin, she had already placed her thoughts under the assumption that "every move might be monitored."

"Excellent. And then comes the second gain—in terms of confirming whether Kelin is orchestrating things behind the scenes, we had zero gains."

With an appreciative look, Fu Qian held up a second finger, though his words sounded like a tongue twister.

"This point will buy you a precious window of time to secretly observe the West Plain and monitor any other movements. I believe an official report on the situation over there is bound to come out."

"I understand. If Kelin really is behind this, this probe is equivalent to temporarily laying her suspicions to rest."

Yuan Shan had clearly let it go, knowing that even if they secured concrete evidence right now, it would only force the opponent to stake everything on a single throw.

"From that perspective, we really did extract as much as possible within the allowed limits... but are you entirely sure she didn't recognize you, given how many times you consecutively struck at the end?"

...

"The purpose of striking was precisely to ensure I wouldn't be recognized."

Faced with Yuan Shan's doubts, Fu Qian looked absolutely confident, and his words were as punchable as ever.

Her concern was easy to grasp. Although he had used a secret art to conceal his Rank and suppressed his power output the entire time, he had ultimately played more than one trump card consecutively, and some of his forms carried a strong personal flair.

In the eyes of an observant watcher, it was truly hard to say he wouldn't be recognized.

From this point, the overbearing nature of the Pope's mighty power became all the more apparent.

"Alright, I believe you."

Under the influence of his overly infectious confidence, Chief Yuan helplessly chose to believe him.

"Of course, no matter what, the exposure of this information must still be tallied as a loss on our end. You now appear to have a High-Tier Transcendent helper who excels in flesh-and-blood abilities—someone seemingly low-key, but actually bloodthirsty and cruel."

Fu Qian maintained an objective posture as he continued his inventory.

"Your self-awareness is very on point. Is there anything else?"

Yuan Shan had always admired his courage in mocking himself.

'Of course there is. There's plenty more.'

'Like your Whip of Deity Chastisement, my Total Presence Concealment Ability, the Blood Crusade, and even the Embrace Armor I just received from the Red Moon...'

Fu Qian mused to himself.

'And most importantly, my Administrator Identity.'

'If Wen Li really was the bait the Night Watchers used to fish for the "administrator," then the multitude of methods I just displayed—and even that special space-time secret art at the end, The World—would be more than enough to make them even more suspicious.'

'But that doesn't matter. I intentionally used them to make her suspicious.'

'For one thing, how could the probe easily end without a substantial harvest?'

'For another, I am equally looking forward to Excellency Kelin's reaction to this.'

'If there truly is a clear understanding and a set of countermeasures regarding the administrator within a certain circle inside the Night Watchers, I wouldn't mind interacting with them at all.'

Knowing when to stop, probing each other—this operation had closely stuck to its theme from the very beginning.

"There is one more thing... you now have a witness who needs protection."

Fu Qian didn't say this aloud. Instead, he jutted his chin toward where Wen Li was resting.

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