Eldritch Horror Theatre

He truly lived up to his years in the jianghu. His information network might have been lacking, but his intuition remained staggering.

Those events really weren't pure coincidence. The only reason they had happened in such a concentrated cluster was simply that Fu Qian hadn't been around here very long.

Following Laurie's grave remarks, a long silence fell over the trio.

Even Fu Qian, listening in from his end, found it hard to hide his admiration.

It made him wonder—had his recent actions actually disrupted social harmony?

He even took a moment to reflect on himself.

The frequent supernatural incidents and the successive rise of various ancient factions had certainly cast a shadow over everyone's daily lives and work.

Even in the impending large-scale corporate conflict, the unknown whereabouts of Yasui Toki was clearly a pivotal catalyst.

Then there was the inexplicable death of Ji Yicheng. It was hard to say whether the Ji Clan's covert involvement stemmed from some suspicion they held toward Anjing.

"I suspect the special revelation he handed down was meant to spur us into tracking it down as quickly as possible."

Old Man Laurie's concerns continued, and they actually sounded quite reasonable.

"Therefore, with such an opportunity before us, after discussing it in detail with Gene, I have decided to trade a certain degree of risk for a potential reward."

As he spoke, one could hear the lingering complexity in his tone.

It was always harder for the elderly to change their ways of thinking. Clearly, his stance toward the King of the Abandoned Prison couldn't be as pure as Laywoman Tooth-Throat's.

But certain things—especially the terror of the Life Countdown he had experienced last time—left him no choice but to show reverence.

At the same time, he firmly believed that a higher entity of this caliber would never transmit a meaningless message.

Even Laywoman Tooth-Throat seemed unable to refute this point.

"So this is why you suggested everyone temporarily seal their perception and move freely... and why it's best if I keep this a secret from the others for now?"

Taking a deep breath, she looked as though she was finally convinced.

"Yes, everything hinges on how things develop on Gene's end."

Laurie didn't deny it.

...

So not only was there a way to weed out unqualified reserve members, but the Greed Worms' one-way perception sharing could actually be selectively turned off?

Not at all surprised that Laywoman Tooth-Throat was persuaded, Fu Qian simultaneously cleared up one of his own inner doubts.

Otherwise, Laywoman Tooth-Throat's secrecy wouldn't have made much sense.

From this perspective, the fact that transmitting the Emblem and honorific name through Jiang En had worked so perfectly was partly thanks to the Night Watchers. Their relentless pursuit had kept this group in a perpetual state of maximum alert.

Then again, the Night Watchers' pursuit of them seemed to be entirely his own doing.

Just do good deeds and ask not of the future—that famous saying truly does not deceive me.

Even now, it seemed he could do a few more good deeds...

Fu Qian pondered for a moment. He manifested the image of a humanoid statuette draped in a bright red feather cloak within his mind, then transmitted this consciousness across the connection to Laywoman Tooth-Throat.

...

Indeed, while he greatly appreciated the Greed Worms' proactive attitude, Fu Qian did not hand down a boon to reward them, nor did he provide more detailed information about the demigod Serana for their reference.

Instead, he chose to help them open a new subject of study.

The Fool's Idol. This was the mission reward he had obtained during his first contact with the Greed Worms. Its effect was that, after prolonged physical contact, it could strip away a person's supernatural power and convert them into a mortal.

The effect was nothing short of tyrannical. So much so that, even though he hadn't used it yet, Fu Qian always kept it front and center on his desk in the Warehouse.

However, this brought up the same doubt he had when he first acquired it: he had clearly slaughtered an Apostle of the Death God, so why was he given such a reward?

Was there some connection between the two?

From then until now, this question had never been pushed to the back of his mind. In fact, finding the answer was one of his primary purposes in taking over and guiding the Greed Worms.

And now, it seemed they had finally mustered enough spirit to assist him with this exploration.

As for splitting their focus and getting distracted by Serana's affairs?

That wasn't a concern at all.

Their mutual convergence had always been under his control from the shadows. When the time came, with just a little guidance, Excellency Serana could even act as an intimidating pressure source to spur them on.

"Ah—"

It looked like this new divine oracle had been successfully transmitted.

Laywoman Tooth-Throat, who hadn't seen eye to eye with the other two and had been just about to leave, let out an almost instantaneous soft gasp.

"What's wrong?"

Laurie and Gene, already keeping an eye on her, were instantly on high alert.

Unfortunately for them, Laywoman Tooth-Throat ignored them entirely. She walked straight to the side, grabbed some materials, and began sketching and writing.

This scene was undoubtedly seemingly familiar. It was just a pity that her drawing skills were far inferior to Madam Sissi's, forcing her to supplement the sketch with a verbal description.

"Just now, I felt a vague enlightenment. I faintly saw this object..."

...

"It looks like some kind of religious statue? I've never seen it before."

The news Laywoman Tooth-Throat brought was clearly startling, especially since the three of them had just finished discussing how His Excellency the King of the Abandoned Prison's actions carried profound meaning.

Even Gene, who hadn't uttered a single word since Laurie's appearance, couldn't help but be the first to comment.

"I haven't seen it either, but it feels very unique."

Agreeing with his assessment, Laywoman Tooth-Throat looked at Laurie, her tone resolute.

"It is indeed very unique..."

Surprisingly, the latter actually agreed with her stream-of-consciousness opinion, and his tone even sounded rather strange.

"I can't be sure, but the feeling it gives me is sublime yet familiar..."

"His Excellency the King of the Abandoned Prison?"

Although he was agreeing with her, Laywoman Tooth-Throat still couldn't help but cry out in that instant.

Obviously, as the most highly respected among them, Laurie's opinion carried a lot of weight.

Finding out that he actually shared this feeling led Laywoman Tooth-Throat to make a bold guess.

"I'm not sure, but if that isn't the case, that sensation is truly hard to explain..."

There was actually some sort of connection?

The effect was actually this good. As the mastermind directing all of this from behind the scenes, Fu Qian was naturally quite satisfied.

What he transmitted was merely an image without any supernatural elements attached, and what Laurie saw was just a second-hand relay from Laywoman Tooth-Throat.

Under these circumstances, one could say that unnecessary interference factors had been eliminated to the greatest possible extent.

And yet Laurie—who could be considered the veteran in the Greed Worms' ranks with the longest exposure to the God of Death—actually felt something special just from a single image?

This was truly a harvest that spurred the imagination.

Moreover, he had stolen the honorific name of the King of the Abandoned Prison, snatched the God of Death's pawns, and now he had added the image of the Fool?

It seemed his path of profaning Deities was truly past the point of no return.

Amidst his sighs, having confirmed that there was nothing new on the other end for the time being, Fu Qian directly cut the connection.

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