Eldritch Horror Theatre

'Oh? I think I actually know this person.'

The name Butters provided instantly reminded Fu Qian of the coffee at the party.

It was unlikely they just shared the same name. That enthusiastic woman in charge of the drinks was actually Ruthless Guy Wen's girlfriend?

That also explained how the crowd had stared at him like a rare animal when he first arrived.

"They were the ones who threw the party?"

Fu Qian immediately asked.

"Yeah... you know her? Besides, I thought you didn't care about parties?"

Looking rather surprised, Butters couldn't help but turn to him, recalling their earlier conversation in the car.

"You asked where it was being held earlier. Are you actually interested in coming?"

"Not interested. If I had the time, I'd rather stay and chat a bit more with our friend from earlier."

Unfortunately for Butters, Fu Qian instantly crushed that small sense of comfort with a firm shake of his head.

"...So why do you think Wen suddenly ran off? Did he sense some specific danger?"

Fu Qian's choice of company left Butters speechless for a moment.

"But if he really felt we were in danger, why wouldn't he warn us? That's what I can't wrap my head around."

When he spoke again, he took the initiative to steer the topic back to their current problem.

"That is indeed an interesting question."

Fu Qian nodded, giving a rare word of praise before looking up.

"Perhaps he's just a bit more cowardly. And since he didn't notice any greater danger, he still has faith in us."

Greater danger?

Butters followed Fu Qian's gaze in confusion, only to watch him tap his crowbar against the underside of the highest stair tread.

Clatter!

Butters had only just noticed something strange about that spot, but before he could get a closer look, the wooden board popped open on impact, sending a tangled mess tumbling down.

Ah—

Already emotionally frayed, Butters let out a shrill yell as the object nearly struck him in the head.

But the tangled mass did not hit the floor. Swaying to a stop right in front of his eyes, it finally revealed its shape—a wooden puppet hanging upside down.

Its head was disproportionately large. Instead of a typical clown face, it bore a disturbingly photorealistic sneer, complete with a tuft of black hair on its crown.

...

It was certainly striking, but it seemed to be just an ordinary object.

Because he had already adjusted his footing before striking the wood, Fu Qian didn't need to dodge. Over Butters's screams, he casually offered a brief critique.

When he had examined the stairs earlier, he noticed what looked like an extra hollow space beneath the top step, so he had simply decided to test it out.

He had to admit, a contraption designed to suddenly pop out and give someone a jump scare was an absolute classic in horror stories.

Even its design perfectly captured the spirit.

Aside from the face, its spindly wooden limbs were entirely non-human, their surfaces densely covered in carved notches and painted a bruised bluish-black.

Dangling upside down so that the eyes were at the bottom of its sneering face—and stopping perfectly at eye level—gave the prop a tremendous amount of visual impact.

Whack—

So much so that, mid-scream, Butters failed to suppress his primal instincts. Choosing to combat his fear with an attack, he swatted the puppet so hard its head flew right off.

"Bastard!"

But he didn't stop there. As if all the negative emotions he had accumulated tonight had violently merged with the lingering mental influence, Butters grabbed the headless puppet and the multiple ropes suspending it, then yanked down with all his might.

With the dull crunch of splintering rotten wood, the jump-scare contraption was completely destroyed, its shattered pieces raining down in a shower of debris. But something felt wrong.

The splintering sound didn't stop; it grew louder. When Fu Qian saw sand and gravel mixing into the falling debris, he instantly realized what was happening. Without a word, he leaped out of the opening, dragging Butters along with him.

Rumble—

Even though the moonlight outside wasn't very bright, tumbling out into it still felt like breaking free of the darkness and finally finding redemption.

Unfortunately, they had no time to savor the feeling before a deafening crash followed immediately behind them.

Like a crumbling sand sculpture, the building that had stood there for years collapsed uncontrollably, reducing itself to a pile of ruins in the blink of an eye.

Through the billowing dust clouds, Fu Qian thought he saw a familiar sight rising into the air once again.

Red and blue lights flickered and wavered like a jellyfish sprouting from the earth, originating from the exact spot where the coffin room used to be.

Although the vision lasted for only a single breath before dissipating once more, it brought that same maddening voice echoing back into his mind.

He still couldn't understand a word of it, but Fu Qian figured it was probably swearing at him.

"The car is still here."

While Butters remained in a stunned daze, admiring his own destructive masterpiece, Fu Qian looked past the ruins to confirm that their transportation hadn't been driven away.

And in the next moment, he caught a whiff of perfume.

And realized that his body seemed to be slowly moving upward.

...

'Did the scenario really end the moment we left the building?'

Though he couldn't analyze the fine details, Fu Qian could instantly determine that it was the scent of women's perfume.

The light around him was rapidly brightening, allowing him to easily confirm that he was currently inside an enclosed elevator car.

Exactly. Without giving him even a moment to summarize what had just happened, the new scenario had already seamlessly begun.

Just as he'd expected, the number of scenarios he needed to complete was not small.

The problem was: how exactly had the previous scenario been completed?

The trigger condition to end the scenario was obvious: leaving that building.

But was it the 'correct' way?

Hard to say, but at the very least, he hadn't made a mistake yet.

Feeling the slight shudder of the moving elevator, Fu Qian silently offered an answer.

Aside from the final exit, he had only done two core things this time—

Rejecting the vampire in the coffin, ensuring she failed to break free from her bindings.

And investigating Wen's whereabouts.

Was there a difference between running out after doing those things and heading straight for the door?

He still couldn't make an absolute judgment just yet. But one thing was right in front of him: two instances had passed, and the mission still hadn't failed.

Going forward, it seemed he would need more comparative testing.

Ding—

Amid his thoughts, a crisp chime rang out, and the upward ascent came to a halt.

The elevator doors slowly slid open. Brighter light spilled in, along with a human silhouette.

Fair skin and a tall figure. Fu Qian narrowed his eyes, his gaze landing on the high ponytail.

Was her name... Eva?

That was right. Standing before him was the very same woman who had opened the door for him at the party.

Considering the chronological order was still uncertain, she might not necessarily recognize him, so there seemed to be no need to rush a greeting—oh?

The next moment, Fu Qian noticed that not only did she not initiate a greeting, but as she walked straight in, her eyes were completely vacant, not sweeping in his direction at all.

It was as if the elevator were completely empty.

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