Eldritch Horror Theatre

[Task updated: Search for the Perfect White Porcelain Doll]

Right then, the task notification finally sounded in Fu Qian's ears.

'So the objective this time is to find this thing? Not bad at all!'

'With so many of them around, I wonder what "perfect" actually means.'

Fu Qian took a moment to inspect them more carefully.

If he hadn't encountered them here, he would have assumed they were ornaments for a girl's bedroom.

In appearance, every Doll was unique.

Their one shared trait was how exquisitely lovely they were; not a single flaw marred their completely harmless faces.

Unfortunately, they were currently dripping with gore, creating an extreme contrast.

On the contrary, the little figures were not only incredibly swift but absurdly strong.

Fu Qian watched one of them lift a piece of bone armor a hundred times its own size and hurl it, snapping a nearby tree cleanly in half.

Then it turned back and continued bathing in the pool of gore, tearing frantically with its hands and feet and provoking wave after wave of miserable shrieks.

Over a dozen more were doing the exact same thing, and every single one looked to be thoroughly enjoying itself.

In barely a minute, the spider monster had been dismantled into an empty husk and a scattering of parts across the ground, completely stripped of life.

Even a slaughterhouse wouldn't be this gruesome!

As Fu Qian offered his mental critique, he could hear the racing heartbeats of the people beside him. They didn't even dare to breathe heavily, clearly shaken by the scene before them.

Even the man who had called him over looked ashen, though he was at least slightly calmer than the rest.

This tough guy was apparently named Delin. Fu Qian had heard the others call him captain earlier; he was clearly the commander of the operation.

By now, the Dolls had turned the spider's remains into a Cradle of Flesh and Bone, jumping up and down upon it in pure delight.

Delin made no move to intervene, merely staring intently at the scene.

After a long while, the group of Dolls finally seemed to have their fill of fun. They began to scatter and leave, until only a single one remained.

The remaining Doll was still absorbed in tearing things apart, completely oblivious that its companions had departed.

Now was the time!

Delin threw his hand down. Silently, a massive transparent net dropped from above, wrapping the last Doll up alongside the spider's remains.

As the giant net abruptly tightened, the engrossed Doll finally reacted, but it was already too late.

Its reaction upon realizing it was trapped was intensely violent.

The net was almost entirely transparent, allowing everything inside to be seen clearly.

The Doll went into a frenzy, thrashing in every direction and stretching the net into contorted shapes.

But the net's durability was exceptional. No matter how much it struggled, the Doll could not find a way out.

"Move!"

At Delin's command, several team members rushed forward.

Seeing itself surrounded, the Doll struggled even more frantically. Its movements produced a horrific screeching sound—like foam rubbing against glass—that grated aggressively on everyone's nerves.

The men leading the charge instantly grimaced in pain.

Enduring the noise, one of them brought out an Iron-Black Box. He carefully opened a small gap in the net and pressed the open box against it.

The Doll's intelligence clearly wasn't very high. Finding an opening at last, it pushed forward without hesitation and dove headfirst into the box.

The moment it entered the container, the violent creature seemed to rust over, its movements instantly becoming sluggish.

Clack!

The lid of the iron box snapped shut, and Fu Qian heard Delin let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Well done!"

Watching his team members return with the box, he nodded in satisfaction.

At this point, the people who had been lying in ambush nearby also emerged one after another.

Fu Qian gave them a quick look and noticed they were generally divided into two groups.

More than half of them—a dozen or so—wore the same standardized uniform as him.

This was clearly a single team, and they all looked to Delin as their leader.

Meanwhile, there was another group of seven or eight people led by a young man around thirty years old.

Delin took the iron box and presented it to the young man.

"Mister Miyamoto, the first one has been caught. Please inspect it."

"Good work, Captain Delin."

The young man offered his praise with a bright smile, then turned to someone behind him.

"Mister Luo, if you would please..."

The man addressed as Mister Luo was the oldest-looking person on the scene.

His temples were graying, and he was draped in a thick gray robe.

Even the young man named Miyamoto spoke to him with intense reverence.

Mister Luo stepped forward without a word. Reaching out a single index finger, he nudged the lid of the iron box halfway open.

The Doll that had been incredibly violent moments ago was now lying completely stiff inside, entirely unresponsive.

The material of the Doll was undoubtedly extraordinary.

It had been drenched in blood earlier, yet after thrashing about, it hadn't retained a single stain. Its entire body was now as pure and white as jade.

Mister Luo bent down and inspected the Doll from head to toe. Looking satisfied, he nodded at Miyamoto.

Yet in that exact moment, before he could even speak, the Doll inside the iron box suddenly sprang to life.

It leaped upward. Although its speed was slightly diminished, its slender arms still thrust straight for Mister Luo's eyes.

'It was faking? This thing actually knows how to play dead?'

The sudden turn of events instantly triggered a wave of startled cries.

Clack!

Delin, who was holding the box, reacted the fastest. He slammed the lid shut almost immediately, but he was still a second too late.

Despite the sudden ambush, Mister Luo didn't show the slightest hint of panic.

Watching the leaping Doll fly right at his face, he made no effort to dodge. Instead, he reached out his right hand with practiced ease.

The Doll's ambush was instantly brought to a halt as he gently pinched it between his fingers.

It seemed like a casual motion, yet the impossibly strong Doll couldn't twitch a single muscle. It could only shriek relentlessly.

Doll in hand, Mister Luo nonchalantly brought it up to his eyes to continue his meticulous inspection.

Crack!

After turning it over a few times, Mister Luo applied pressure to it. A web of fine cracks immediately spidered across the Doll's surface.

The shrieks came to an abrupt halt.

The next moment, the Doll was crushed into pieces, clattering as the fragments rained down onto the ground.

Mister Luo brought his hand to his nose, took a sniff, and nodded at Miyamoto.

"This works. It meets the requirements."

"Excellent!"

Miyamoto was visibly thrilled by the result. He turned to Captain Delin.

"I'll leave the rest to you."

"As agreed, on top of the basic commission, there is an extra bounty for every single one you catch, dead or alive."

"Alright—"

Delin nodded. He handed the iron box to the man behind him, gesturing for him to gather the fragments on the ground.

The man wasn't nearly as bold as Mister Luo. First putting on a pair of gloves, he carefully gathered the scattered fragments from the ground and collected them in the box.

Meanwhile, Delin's gaze drifted toward Mister Luo, seemingly unintentionally.

It was obvious that the old man's display had taken him by surprise.

Unfortunately, after finishing his appraisal, Mister Luo simply retreated into his group, clearly having no intention of paying Delin any further mind.

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