Eldritch Horror Theatre

When Classmate Su Gao volunteered for the investigation mission, she probably hadn't realized he had ulterior motives.

But once he actively tagged along, she couldn't possibly have remained in the dark.

With a partner who instantly relinquished command the moment they reached the top floor, Fu Qian could only describe it as a pleasant collaboration.

He hadn't actively joined the investigation out of sheer diligence. He simply had a few minor theories to test—things best done without an audience.

Su Gao had evidently caught on and decisively played along, giving him the perfect environment to operate.

Of course, Fu Qian had no absolute guarantee his ideas would work.

Fortunately, trying wouldn't take much effort anyway.

Pressing forward, Fu Qian quickly led Su Gao through the dense wheat fields until they reached the exact spot where they had first boarded the ship.

"Pity. No tea."

Facing the crude door, Fu Qian made no move to push it open, instead standing there quietly as he voiced this lament.

His remark sounded like complete nonsense, but Su Gao—the actual leader of this operation—offered no objections. She didn't rush forward to open the door either, simply waiting quietly by his side.

Creak—

The subtle atmosphere didn't last long. A few breaths later, accompanied by a faint scraping sound, the door actually opened on its own.

The distinct aroma of tea actually wafted out from within.

"Please, come in."

At the same time, a somewhat familiar voice drifted out from the empty room.

...

It was no illusion.

Instantly recognizing whose voice it was, Fu Qian stepped straight inside.

It felt as if he had just passed through a special barrier. He had clearly stepped into an empty room, yet it was as if he were walking into an entirely different, overlapping space.

In the next moment, the scene before his eyes was vastly different from what he had seen from outside.

It remained crude and dim, but there was now a small tea table, fully furnished with a complete set of tea ware.

A figure with brown hair, dressed in a fitted white shirt—looking every bit like a female researcher at a glance—held a small teapot, pouring tea into the cups before her one by one.

What a familiar scene. Even the design of the tea set looked familiar. Who else could it be but Excellency Nepheli?

Marveling inwardly, Fu Qian didn't stand on ceremony; he walked right up and took a seat.

It was true. They hadn't had a chance to catch up since parting ways on Ye Island. The one who had opened the door and invited him in was none other than Nepheli—a core member of the Origin Council, former dean of the Academy's Benevolent Curse Institute, former technical consultant for Anjing, and pilot for Ariel.

She evidently had a good memory. She still remembered that he had once hosted her and invited her for tea.

Her courage was equally commendable. Not just anyone would have dared to respond to the invitation he had just tossed out.

...

His true goal this time hadn't been to observe what new internal effects The Ark's wandering had caused, but rather to search for someone who might have been on the ship all along.

Fu Qian had always placed great confidence in Classmate Su Gao; leaving the former task to her was more than enough.

As for the latter, given Su Gao's style, Nepheli might recognize her as Violeta from Ye Island—and thus might not have the courage to show herself.

Indeed, Fu Qian had directly zeroed in on this hidden figure's identity.

As he had noted long ago, the Marr Brothers possessed a limited mental processing capacity.

This trait had been fully displayed during his subsequent battle of wits with them in the dark. Their actions had looked like an irrational scramble to protect the source of their lifeforce.

Even so, it wasn't enough to convince Fu Qian that they were the only personnel hiding in the shadows.

After all, the true motive behind steering his group into a conflict with The Ark remained completely unclear.

Furthermore, one of the clever methods used to guide them—the seamless manipulation of light—didn't seem like the kind of delicate operation those two talents could have pulled off.

It was far more likely that a character who had never been exposed was directing everything from the dark, right down to the decisive self-destruction once the instigation plan failed.

Synthesizing all these conditions, the very first person who came to Fu Qian's mind was this technical specialist.

That was exactly why he had brought up the past while standing outside the door.

"Violeta, you look much better like this."

Unfortunately, despite his demeanor of strategizing within the command tent as he took the first seat, Excellency Nepheli still immediately sought out Su Gao beside him, greeting her with a smiling face.

Given her past actions, Su Gao clearly wouldn't harbor any fond feelings toward her.

Even in the face of the compliment, the former merely gave a cold nod and took the last empty seat.

"...Should I call you Mister Dancy, or Professor Fu?"

Having hit a wall, Nepheli looked faintly embarrassed, but she finally shifted her gaze to Fu Qian's face. And just as she had with Su Gao, she immediately called out the identity he had used during their last tea session.

Good and straightforward. Everyone was busy, after all.

"Dancy is fine. After all, if you call me Professor, courtesy demands that I call you Dean."

Fu Qian showed no dissatisfaction at this; he smiled and nodded, though he provided a somewhat unexpected answer.

...

"I am no longer the Dean."

Addressing him by his alias was a clear attempt to seize the upper hand, but Fu Qian's return address plunged Nepheli into a brief silence instead.

"When did you find out I was here?"

Her smile had faded considerably by the time she spoke again, but she finally shifted to the main topic.

"If you mean when I first suspected it, it was when I noticed Marco was still obediently staying in that place... It wasn't entirely illogical, but to me, it still felt a little too deliberate."

Shaking his head slightly, Fu Qian answered fluently.

"And regardless of what information he provided to this team, as long as he successfully provided it, I was inclined to believe that you still weren't willing to just give up on this place, and were orchestrating something in turn."

"Then, considering your deep roots in this place, it was hard to imagine you wouldn't be involved."

He didn't waste time keeping her in suspense, nor was he making an empty show of strength; his underlying logic had always been flawlessly smooth.

"True, perhaps it would have looked more natural if I had driven him to crawl around in there a few times... Then when exactly did you know I was here?"

Her smile entirely gone, she didn't even deny the name Marco; Nepheli briefly reflected before switching to another question.

"Are you really here? Didn't I choose the venue for tea?"

This time, however, Fu Qian not only didn't answer immediately, but even blinked, questioning the premise itself.

"I'm quite confident in my own sincerity, but I'm even more confident in your level of courage. Given how well you hid yourself earlier, how could you give it up so easily?"

He watched that faintly offended face. No matter how lively and lifelike it looked, having witnessed this woman's concealment methods multiple times, Fu Qian couldn't possibly believe that the figure before his eyes was her true body.

"The tea does smell excellent, though. How thoughtful."

The next moment, Fu Qian actually picked up the tea in front of him, breathed in the aroma, and even took a sip.

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