Eldritch Horror Theatre

Faced with the threat of death, people tend to become far more adaptable.

No matter how precarious things were, a leaky boat was still worth sailing if it meant moving forward.

And it seemed White and Jill weren't the only ones to realize this.

This was evident when, as soon as Jill posed her question, not a single person objected. Instead, one pair of eyes after another shifted to White.

Aside from his sheer strength, the core qualification that made him their de facto leader was undoubtedly his familiarity with this place.

"Down below."

And Excellency White seemed quite unwilling to disappoint them.

With a cold laugh, his simple answer made everyone's pupils dilate in shock.

"Deeper down?"

Having kept a low profile to survive until now, she immediately spoke up, her tone carrying a distinct sense of resistance.

"There will definitely be more prisoners down there, and we have no idea what condition they'll be in.

"But the entire route through the sea is completely blocked off. Or perhaps you're planning to carve a path straight through it?"

"Of course, that might not be impossible, so long as you're all willing."

Paying no mind to this feeble skepticism, White let out another low chuckle. Leaving that as his explanation, he turned right around and headed back the way they came, completely indifferent to their reactions.

"I know it doesn't feel right in there... but what's to be found by going further down?"

Glancing at one another, Student Athlete Li was the quickest to follow, though that didn't stop him from voicing his doubts.

"Other types of paths. Ones that lead directly onto the island without needing to go through the sea."

Though he had already walked some distance away, White's voice carried back clearly.

...

So this was probably why Brother Scholar had been so surprised earlier when I asked him if this place was entirely submerged underwater.

It sounded like Siren exclusively used the water route to transport prisoners.

Perhaps they wanted to pile on a bit of extra psychological pressure through the immersive experience?

The air fell exceptionally quiet. Observing the rest of the group—who had been convinced in an instant—Fu Qian followed along, entirely unsurprised.

"So this place is partially embedded in the rock, and there are tunnels inside that lead straight to the island?"

The six-person team quickly fell into formation. Clearly sensing Mr. White's satisfaction up ahead, Jill hurried forward a couple of steps to voice her guess.

"What else did you think?"

Glancing at her sideways, White retorted unceremoniously.

"Except that area has always been a restricted zone. Even I can't just wander over there as I please; the passage is on the second to last layer.

"Besides, it looks like you had quite the haul, finding two people at once."

Knowing the gravity of the situation, however, he refrained from making outrageous boasts. He immediately continued his explanation, even tossing back a word of praise with a certain leadership flair.

"We didn't expect it either. We had practically given up hope along the way..."

Even though White had abruptly steered the conversation in this direction, Jill didn't look particularly moved by the compliment.

"Right now, the three of us are in the worst shape... Roughly how long until we get there? And is there any chance we might find something along the way to temporarily suppress the Crimson Frenzy?"

Glancing back at the others trailing behind as she spoke, Jill let out a light sigh.

From this exchange, it was entirely clear that White had originally tracked down her and her companion. Realizing their numbers were a bit thin, he had decided they should split up to recruit more people.

As a result, Jill and her companion had found the two of them, while White had found Ann.

It was also easy to understand why Jill's emotions were somewhat complicated: the three people found later all had significantly milder symptoms.

It truly made it hard not to imagine the possibility that, after all their grueling effort, they were just weaving wedding clothes for others.

That was why she was hoping to find something that could slow the affliction's progression.

"Unfortunately, Siren didn't prepare anything for this kind of deliberate poisoning."

Regrettably, White ruthlessly shattered that illusion the very next moment.

"You're so sure someone spread it on purpose?"

Before Jill could say anything, the Scholar—who had barely managed to keep a lid on his emotions the entire way—finally lost control again and blurted out the question.

"Otherwise what? Siren captured someone infected with the Crimson Frenzy, locked them in here, and somehow missed it entirely during every single inspection along the way?"

Just like during his earlier introduction, White's attitude toward Brother Scholar carried a hint of mockery. As he spoke, he fixed his gaze squarely on the Scholar's eyes.

"Well, that's..."

The latter instantly lost all momentum, muttering to himself.

Mainly because there was simply no refuting that argument.

Siren was a top-tier organization, after all, and the symptoms of the Crimson Frenzy were quite obvious. They surely wouldn't be negligent to that degree.

"Anjing?"

Just as the Scholar quieted down, Ann—who had barely spoken until now—suddenly uttered a name.

...

"Even though the conflict is getting more and more intense, the Night Watchers are notoriously strict about spreading pollution like this. They wouldn't do it on a whim... But this place is a very fitting spot."

With no one else chiming in, Ann didn't find the silence awkward and kept right on speaking.

"Aside from being a prison, it's far from an ordinary island. It's essentially a maritime fortress. If someone were crazy enough, the odds of pulling something like this off here aren't zero, and Anjing certainly has the capability to do it—"

"There are no ordinary people on this island."

As the group strained their ears to listen, White abruptly interrupted her.

"So no matter what happens to it, the Night Watchers won't interfere."

His supplementary remark not only clearly endorsed Ann's train of thought but took it a step further, implying that Anjing could indeed act without any reservations.

"You seem awfully confident in your company's style, though."

While helping the group pinpoint their target of hatred, White abruptly shifted gears and looked meaningfully at Madam Ann.

She was from Anjing?

This revelation clearly startled more than one person.

One of these relatively lucky victims turned out to be a captive from Anjing, which suddenly made her complicated mood much easier to understand.

"Yes, I am confident... I just hope you can give me even more reason to be."

Taking a deep breath, Madam Ann openly admitted it a moment later. She raised her head to look at the rows of metal doors vaguely visible down the path they had walked.

Thud!

As if in response to her words, a loud crash echoed out the very next instant as another door was violently struck from the inside.

What was more, the commotion proved contagious; before long, restless stirrings erupted from even more cells.

The level of Crimson Frenzy infection in this particular sector was clearly quite high.

Of course, looking on the bright side, it was obvious they wouldn't need to waste time searching those prison cells for new teammates.

"How much farther?"

Pulling back her gaze, a calmed Ann stared at White and asked.

"How far? About ten steps."

True to his status as team leader, White only paused for a fraction of a second before squinting to visually measure the distance.

The next moment, amidst looks of widespread alarm, a tiny spark drifted from the tip of White's finger and landed squarely on a wall ahead.

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