Eldritch Horror Theatre

He was now almost certain that the unstable guidance affected everyone, not just him.

His unique status as a Blank-Slate Demigod simply made him the most sensitive to it.

Back at the site of the attack, Fu Qian studied Delin, who had returned to his normal size.

The initial transformation of Delin's arm was likely his Transcendent ability. Under normal circumstances, it was clearly quite potent.

Yet just a slight activation earlier had caused the transformation to instantly spread across his entire body.

Had Mister Luo intervened even a second later, the captain would have completely lost control.

If he had been in that position...

Fu Qian let his imagination wander, suspecting that any of his attacks would have instantly wiped out everyone present.

In fact, the kick he had delivered earlier was more a display of technique than raw strength.

And this was only the outskirts. He would need to be even more careful when returning to the Dense Forest.

...

Fu Qian's incredibly poor attitude left the team's only female member trembling with rage.

She had noticed the exchange between Fu Qian and Delin, but she hadn't heard the specifics.

To her, Fu Qian had already dragged them down yesterday, and today he had merely stood on the sidelines the entire time. His work ethic was abysmal—he was practically the scum of the team.

Of course, the main reason for her fury was that the disastrous operation and their heavy losses had left a fire burning in her chest.

Seeing Fu Qian treat her like thin air, she couldn't resist marching over.

"Enough."

A dry, hoarse voice rang out; Delin had finally recovered his senses.

He looked absolutely miserable. The out-of-control transformation had left his skin split wide open and his flesh torn.

Fortunately, they were only superficial wounds. Though his eyes remained somewhat unfocused, he was no longer in any real danger.

After stopping the woman from picking a fight, he stared at the gruesome scene around them, speechless for a long time.

He had retained his sanity during the initial moments of losing control, allowing him to deduce exactly what had happened.

And the scene before him had definitely not been part of the plan.

After a long pause, he forced himself to stand and sought out Miyamoto, their employer.

"After an unexpected ambush like that, and with the injuries my team has sustained, there's no way we can continue today's operation."

"I suggest we head back and regroup first, then discuss our next move. What do you two think?"

"Of course."

Miyamoto's tone carried little disappointment, and a smile still lingered on his face.

"Look on the bright side. Things may not have gone according to plan, but we still obtained three pieces of loot, didn't we?"

Not just Delin, but everyone else frowned at the remark.

The man was acting far too casually. Watching from the sidelines, Fu Qian felt a pang of curiosity.

Even if their relationship was purely transactional, losing all of his hired muscle would inevitably derail his plans.

Yet despite the disastrous setback, Miyamoto didn't seem the least bit anxious.

...

The journey back was silent and grim, a stark contrast to their high spirits that morning.

Thanks to his "stellar" performance earlier, Fu Qian was practically isolated by the rest of the team.

The only one occasionally willing to speak with him was the Balding Archer.

"Come with me."

Once they returned to the camp, Delin seemed to regain some of his vitality—perhaps due to the rich aura of life within the Dense Forest.

"Earlier..."

Delin looked Fu Qian up and down for a moment before finally speaking.

"How did you notice the anomaly?"

"Actually, I didn't just notice it earlier."

Facing Delin's question, Fu Qian directly revealed what he had discovered the night before.

"Last time, it was just a vague feeling. I wasn't certain.

"But during today's operation, right at the critical moment, that same feeling of being watched returned. That's when I knew something was wrong."

So that was it...

Delin's brows furrowed deeply as he listened.

He clearly realized the problem wasn't so simple.

"Who else have you told about this?"

After a moment of thought, he stared into Fu Qian's eyes and asked cautiously.

"I haven't told anyone."

Though Mister Luo might already know.

Fu Qian shook his head as he added the thought silently.

He wasn't intentionally trying to hide it. He just figured that knowing about Mister Luo's situation might not be a good thing for Delin.

Furthermore, Fu Qian highly doubted there was any real secrecy in this tiny camp.

As far as he was concerned, there was a better-than-even chance that their current conversation was being monitored.

Mister Luo was clearly not someone Delin could oppose. Whether Delin knew this or not would likely make a huge difference in how things played out for him.

"Do not mention this to anyone for now."

Delin pondered for a long time before looking at Fu Qian with a grave expression.

"Understood."

Fu Qian agreed instantly without asking why.

Delin's decision actually wasn't hard to understand.

With today's disastrous setback and the severe blow to their combat strength, the risks of this commission undoubtedly had to be re-evaluated.

Since the team's opinions weren't unified, word of this getting out would likely cause many to consider abandoning the job.

Once morale collapsed, there would likely be no salvaging the situation.

Seeing Fu Qian agree so readily, Delin nodded in satisfaction.

He hadn't realized earlier that this team member's perception was so sharp. Regardless, having such a scout on hand was of immense value to them right now.

He was just about to offer Fu Qian a few words of encouragement when a bloodcurdling scream suddenly rang out from outside.

Again?

Delin shot to his feet, his immediate thought being that the dolls had tracked them back to the camp.

Before he could even speak, Fu Qian opened the tent flap and walked out.

The source of the scream was a massive, burly man. Fu Qian recognized him as the other person involved in the conjoined twins incident from that morning.

He looked completely deranged now, staggering wildly in every direction and trampling several tents in his wake.

However, there was no sign of any dolls around him.

Several other team members tried to pin him down to figure out what was wrong.

But he thrashed with such terrifying strength that no one could immediately subdue him.

Delin emerged from his tent, his expression darkening even further as he took in the scene.

Even though he didn't know what was happening, the man's wails were so agonizing that if they continued, the team's morale would be completely shattered.

So, despite his lingering weakness, the captain stepped forward. Carefully triggering a localized transformation in his right hand, he pinned the man down.

Seeing the man still thrashing, the others swarmed him and held him firmly to the ground.

Pinned to the dirt, the man looked to be in excruciating pain. They could even hear the sound of his teeth shattering from clenching his jaw so hard.

The female team member leaned down to soothe him, only to have her face sprayed with fresh blood a moment later.

Under the terrified gazes of the group, the man's head exploded violently, turning into a writhing mass of cauliflower.

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