Eldritch Horror Theatre

Since he was already entering the game as a piece, it was best not to harbor any unrealistic fantasies of pulling out halfway.

Fu Qian noted that this statement applied not only to his current body but to his own overall situation as well.

The reasons for committing the severe crimes of murder and suicide earlier, forcing his way into samsara, and leaving a backdoor for a breakthrough had already been thoroughly analyzed.

Namely, considering the potential gazes observing him from behind the scenes, he had been unwilling to be led around blindfolded for too long. Thus, he had done the exact opposite and suddenly resorted to drastic measures.

Looking at it now, this gamble had been worth it.

Not only had he smoothly completed the objective of the First Step, but he had also established a reliable frame of reference for many previously unprovable theories—such as the true nature of samsara and the potential risks of draining his SAN Value.

However, this did not come without drawbacks.

The most obvious point was that all of this would be seen by the experts behind the scenes.

They wouldn't just know that the newcomer Lu Ming had suddenly done something shocking; they would also know that he had successfully seen through samsara and descended upon the First Heaven once again.

Treating others as fools was simply impolite, let alone the fact that the Brotherhood had just caused such a massive commotion.

Aside from needing the awareness that his every move from now on would be like walking a runway, an even more severe issue might have already occurred: his origins and intentions were likely being doubted—and quite possibly by his very mission target.

After all, such perverse and extreme actions demanded a reason. A higher entity would always be vigilant against a rebellious newcomer.

Simply writing him off as a lunatic would most likely fail to convince anyone.

Perhaps some might ask: wasn't he overthinking this, fighting a battle of wits against thin air?

Even after taking a trip through Inhuman Samsara, he still hadn't discovered any traces of a higher entity or a senior who had succeeded in shattering the void. What if they simply hadn't noticed him at all?

Wrong. While the above might be true, a simple shift in perspective revealed that this only made the situation far graver: under the possibility of being scrutinized, he couldn't even detect a single trace.

The ancestral teaching of avoiding blind optimism wasn't just empty talk.

It was precisely because of this that he had just taken a lap around the Church.

For whatever reason, his current, rather peculiar identity seemingly allowed him to forge connections with both a "faith" and the "most troublesome organization" at the same time.

It certainly wasn't a new body suited for keeping a low profile, but since that was the case, he might as well delve deeper by entering the game as a piece, turning a disaster into an opportunity.

By utilizing this identity—which was obviously far more complicated than it had seemed at first—he could provoke reactions from all sides and thus gather information with maximum efficiency. He would truly be pulling chestnuts from the fire.

He couldn't forget that there were still far too many things he needed to figure out, and the Eighth Heaven was still waiting for him.

Of course, during this process, aside from moving fast to counter fast and pursuing high efficiency, his attitude had best be somewhat deceptive.

"You're mistaken. I'm not here today to quit. I'm here to join this collective."

Having quietly listened and pondered, Fu Qian looked at the man beside him—who seemed to be a Brotherhood leader—and finally spoke.

...

Deceptiveness could operate on multiple levels, and now the first victim had emerged.

Even though his screen time had been brief, one could clearly tell that the frail-looking gentleman beside him—Brother Thick Eyebrows—was highly familiar with the ways of the jianghu.

Fu Qian, who was equally versed in underworld tropes like three blades and six punctures, going hungry for nine meals over three days, and the taboo of coveting a brother's wife, felt a sense of kindred spirits cherishing each other. Beyond that, he also firmly believed that his words would deliver a refreshingly unexpected shock.

The facts proved his judgment correct.

Even though Brother Thick Eyebrows had unfathomably deep composure—uttering ruthless threats while maintaining a benevolent, kind-eyed expression—his enlightened demeanor still stiffened for a moment.

It was clear that in his mind, this traitor who had finally been caught red-handed shouldn't have been capable of saying such a thing.

"I am me yet not me, form is emptiness and emptiness is form... Sitting here all this time, I have experienced far too much, and through it, I've come to recognize what my true self is."

Fortunately, Fu Qian didn't demand an evaluation. He immediately continued his lamentation, sweeping his gaze across the rest of his gang brothers and sisters.

Among them was the woman who had initially been spying on him.

In contrast, her reaction was far more flustered than that of Brother Thick Eyebrows. Her Dao heart seemed to be in a state of severe turbulence.

"This is exactly why I was waiting for you earlier. I'm very glad you all didn't disappoint me."

Seeing her state, Fu Qian didn't hesitate to crank up the shock value, freely admitting that his whole reason for taking a lap outside earlier had been to spur her into calling for backup.

...

"So you no longer believe the gang is a symbol of weakness? And your purpose for sitting here was to ensure we found you at the first opportunity?"

Brother Thick Eyebrows was indeed a leader figure; he quickly sorted out the logic behind Fu Qian's words.

Furthermore, it was evident that the latter's decision to take a lap outside only to return and sit right back down truly defied conventional sense.

Even passing it off as emergency crisis management after being exposed felt somewhat far-fetched.

As a result, by the time he finally spoke again, the hostility in his tone had receded significantly.

Of course, this applied strictly to his words. Fu Qian knew perfectly well that the core of this incredibly troublesome gang was basically an act of mind-body dissociated cosplay.

These fanatics seeking the Dao were simply using this method to explore a different sort of karma. It was like an upgraded version of the staged extortion from before.

He even largely agreed with Kako's evaluation of the Brotherhood's ideology: it was nothing more than a lazy choice built on self-deception.

As long as one understood this core mechanism, they would have the leverage needed to engage in rapid flip-flopping right over the red line.

However, he was fairly certain the gang didn't have the guts to actually kill anyone.

Yet this core ideology of seeking karma could, in extreme circumstances, give rise to underworld punishments like three blades and six punctures or being nailed to a door. In Fu Qian's view, that wasn't impossible at all.

To avoid such an outcome, he had chosen to immediately toss out a persona that invited communication: a prodigal son's return is worth more than gold.

Naturally, matters of the jianghu might not always be so easily negotiated, but it didn't matter. He had more bargaining chips.

"That was only one of my goals. The other was to invite you all to sit here."

Faced with Brother Thick Eyebrows's cooperation, Fu Qian revealed a gentle smile, as if he had already somewhat integrated into the atmosphere of the Realm of Bliss.

A moment later, he pointed toward the now-bustling Church.

"I hope to share the gains I've acquired here with everyone in the gang.

"And I believe you can make that happen. After all, we are a single entity, aren't we?"

The most valuable aspect of his current identity—aside from being a member of the Brotherhood—was its connection to the peculiar faith right in front of him. How could he not make good use of it?

And right now, there was an apparently perfect way to exploit it sitting right in front of him: making the Brotherhood clash head-on with the Nameless Church.

This would simultaneously reduce the likelihood of him being disciplined and let him see exactly what kind of sparks would fly when the two collided.

And if no sparks flew, he would get to see what escalated methods they might use to deal with him next.

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