Eldritch Horror Theatre

[Rotten Forest: forbidden zone]

[Danger Level: Safe]

...

The data administrator was quite cooperative this time, exporting the file directly. It seemed this information didn't have a high security clearance.

Taking the documents and reading through them carefully, Fu Qian quickly found the information he was looking for.

According to the file, this Rotten Forest was now a forbidden zone managed directly by the Night Watchers.

It hadn't always been that way, however. For a long time, the area had been under the control of the Kawasaki Family.

That was until a little over a decade ago, when a major incident befell the Kawasaki Family.

Due to "heinous atrocities," more than half of their members were summarily "processed" by the Night Watchers.

That point in time...

Fu Qian recalled the contents of Su Gao's medical file. It happened right around the time she first joined the Night Watchers.

The Rotten Forest. This had to be the place.

Thinking back to those patches of rotting, twisted vegetation, the name was certainly fitting.

According to the records, however, the current Rotten Forest was now incredibly safe.

Anyone who submitted a reasonable application could visit freely, and entry wasn't even restricted to transcendents.

He had likely taken the source of the distortion himself, while Mister Luo had ultimately acted as an air purifier, sucking up all the residual corruption.

Going by the principle of judge actions not intent, one could only say that Mister Luo had accumulated some good karma!

The only problem was that Fu Qian hadn't found a single shred of information related to Mister Luo in the file, not even a similar figure with a different name.

It was true that Mister Luo had already been reduced to ash, but out of all the Kawasaki Family members who were caught, not a single one had given up the mastermind?

Given such an obvious anomaly, Fu Qian absolutely refused to believe no one had been cleaning up Mister Luo's messes behind the scenes.

'This Mister Luo most likely wasn't acting alone!'

Fu Qian mused.

Speaking of which, this was actually good news. If he could track down this organization later, he might be able to find the origins of that mysterious tome.

"Find anything?"

Standing off to the side, Yuan Shan clearly had a sharp eye. Just from Fu Qian's expression, she could tell he had discovered something.

"I did."

Fu Qian nodded honestly.

"What did you find? Let's hear it."

Yuan Shan's interest was immediately piqued. She had been standing right there, and with just a few casual glances, she had taken in all the contents of the file.

However, it was all old history. She couldn't see anything special about it at all.

"I'm not telling."

Fu Qian's reply was blunt, making Yuan Shan's eyes widen in anger.

"That Su Gao... is she an acquaintance of yours?"

After all, she was a high-ranking leader; her psychological resilience was quite good.

Taking a few deep breaths, Yuan Shan quickly calmed herself and changed the subject.

"Not really. We've just run into each other before."

Fu Qian still remembered the final summary of the Ill Omen Incident, which mentioned that Su Gao had helped cover up his presence. Naturally, he wasn't going to bring the matter back up.

...

Seeing how watertight Fu Qian's answers were, Yuan Shan ground her teeth in frustration. She glared at him, then raised a hand and pointed forward.

"Suit yourself. Don't blame me for not reminding you, but you only have one chance left."

"There's no need. I'll save it for now."

To her surprise, Fu Qian simply handed the file back to the administrator to be destroyed. He clapped his hands, done with his research.

"These three chances were expensive; I can't just use them all up at once. I'll come back when I need to check something else."

Fu Qian looked at Yuan Shan as if this were a matter of course.

"Chief Yuan wouldn't void my last chance, would you?"

"...Hmph!"

Fu Qian's words stuffed whatever Yuan Shan had wanted to say right back down her throat. A moment later, she gave a short grunt, agreeing to the arrangement.

"Chief Yuan is as reasonable as expected."

Fu Qian offered a smiling compliment.

Logically speaking, he should have taken the opportunity to look up information related to the Kawasaki Family.

But first of all, his intuition told him there wouldn't be anything meaningful.

Furthermore, for a prominent family like this, he could easily find plenty of information just by searching around once he got back. At worst, he could personally go investigate them; there was no need to waste a precious chance on it here.

After all, these three chances to access the archives were bought with the promise of his assistance.

Synchronized into this world through the Emissary, he couldn't use his SAN Value to offset fatal damage, and his physical state was like a blank-slate God of War. The risks involved in taking action were exceptionally high.

And based on his understanding of Yuan Shan, when the time came, this woman would definitely work him to the bone. How could he let her profit so easily?

Beyond that, Fu Qian didn't want too many people knowing about his traits.

He had just checked two files: Su Gao's and the Rotten Forest's.

It would be very difficult for anyone to deduce his intentions from that.

To an observer, it would be much easier to assume he was simply interested in Su Gao.

It was a perfect misunderstanding to divert their attention.

Checking another document meant providing them with another parameter, making it much easier for them to pinpoint his true motives.

...

"Whenever Chief Yuan needs my assistance, you can leave a letter at my little shop. I will respond as soon as I see it."

Stepping out of the archives, Fu Qian bid Yuan Shan farewell with a smile, having agreed on a method of contact.

He had been inspired by Wen Li's earlier actions. As someone who wasn't around often, letters were an excellent way to communicate.

Fu Qian wasn't worried about Yuan Shan being unhappy with this. After all, he was now a bona fide Demigod Realm expert. It would actually be abnormal for a figure of this tier to have too much free time.

"Understood."

As expected, Yuan Shan had absolutely no objections and agreed without hesitation.

...

After leaving the Night Watchers Base, Fu Qian didn't waste any time. He headed straight for Wen Li's mansion.

Earlier, when borrowing Wen Li's idea, he had naturally recalled what she mentioned in her letter.

'An interesting discovery...' There was still some time before dark, so he could go take a look.

Besides, the girl was quite diligent and knew how to keep her mouth shut.

He could consider handing the task of gathering information on the Kawasaki Family over to her. It would definitely be much more efficient than digging through endless second-hand news articles himself.

Before long, Fu Qian arrived at his destination.

Compared to the old man at the Night Watchers Base, the security at Wen Li's mansion looked much more professional.

The guards were fully armed and alert, carrying out their duties with utmost seriousness and refusing to let a single suspicious figure slip by.

Of course, this was all just on the surface. Even if all these people were added together, the old man from the Night Watchers could probably poke them all to death with a single finger.

But the moment he gave the name Fang Xun, the expressions of the guards all shifted.

Without a single follow-up question, someone immediately ran inside to announce his arrival, while the rest cautiously invited Fu Qian to sit and wait.

'The contrast is way too huge! Did Wen Li leave some special instructions?'

Within a few minutes, Wen Li came hurrying out, lifting the hem of her skirt.

The instant she saw Fu Qian, a smile blossomed across her face.

"Mister Fang, you're here!"

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