Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Them?"

Assassin Zhao Ran's posture was incredibly convincing, as though countless eyes really were peering toward them through the thin mist over the bluestones.

For a moment, Fu Qian played along perfectly, putting on a surprised expression as he looked around.

Unfortunately, even with his Vision Radar, he still found absolutely nothing.

Compared to his last visit, the place hadn't changed much.

Not only was the blood pool still present, but even the cold weapon that had spawned was exactly the same.

"What do you mean?"

Once again disdaining the cold weapon, Fu Qian tossed the Long Halberd aside and frowned at Zhao Ran.

Though his tone expressed deep skepticism toward the assassin's claims, he respected the exaggerated reaction enough to lower his voice.

It was a pity Zhao Ran was a bit too immersed in his role. He looked as if he didn't even dare to breathe, all while continuing to speak in riddles.

"Come with me."

However, Fu Qian's initiative to back off seemed to finally assure him that the man in front of him wasn't his imagined enemy.

Quietly putting his weapon away, he gestured for Fu Qian to follow.

Zhao Ran didn't point toward the center of the deep pit, but rather another spot along its edge.

"Are you talking about those monsters? I don't look anything like them, do I?"

Despite his youthful appearance, Fu Qian acted like someone with plenty of experience in the jianghu, refusing to casually follow a stranger's instructions.

He remained noncommittal regarding Zhao Ran's explanation for his earlier attack.

It didn't matter whether it was true or not. If his reflexes had been even slightly slower just now, he wouldn't be standing here to accept an apology.

"Of course not those monsters... People. So many people..."

Zhao Ran could perfectly 'understand' his feelings. However, the assassin was no saint either. He sneered, gesturing that Fu Qian could court death if he pleased.

"If you don't want to believe me, fine. Keep staying here, then. When the time comes, don't blame me for not warning you, and don't expect me to save you."

The rehabilitation of his language skills seemed quite effective; his speech was already much smoother.

"I do plan on staying here. But considering your unfriendly behavior just now, you'll have to stay here too."

Unfortunately, such an emotional appeal lacking any real substance failed to sway Fu Qian in the slightest.

With a cold snort, murderous intent flickered in Fu Qian's eyes. He truly didn't plan on letting the man leave.

His reasoning was perfectly sound, too—misunderstanding or not, the man had just tried to kill him.

"Is there something wrong with your head? What good does this do you?"

Seemingly not expecting young people nowadays to hold such a grudge, Zhao Ran stared blankly for a moment.

"Doing this will only give them a show to watch. Those guys have always treated us like animals in a Colosseum... If you don't believe me, come over. I'll prove it to you."

However, his mature and steady disposition kept him from stooping to Fu Qian's level. A moment later, he finally divulged a bit more information.

Colosseum?

The word seemed to strike a chord, and the killing intent in Fu Qian's eyes lessened slightly.

"Alright, lead the way."

Gazing at the blood pool in the center of the deep pit, he hesitated briefly before accepting the assassin's suggestion.

...

"Keep a low profile. Try your best not to clash with those things again."

Having finally reached a truce, Zhao Ran looked as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He walked directly in front.

While carefully keeping his guard up with his Long Halberd and confirming that Fu Qian was really following, he offered an extra, icy reminder.

"Why? You expect me to hide from those things?"

By all accounts, it should have been considered a well-intentioned warning. Unfortunately, as a young man who had apparently enjoyed the earlier slaughter a bit too much, Fu Qian wasn't very appreciative.

"To let you die a bit slower... There's no end to these things. Killing them is utterly meaningless and only wastes your energy."

Faced with this faintly surging chuuni aura, Zhao Ran fell silent for a moment before suppressing his temper to explain.

"Are you trying to scare me? This isn't my first time seeing this kind of thing."

Sadly, he was met only with a sneer. Fu Qian surveyed their surroundings, making it clear that despite his youth, he wasn't entirely ignorant of this place.

"You're leading me this way—you wouldn't happen to be trying to hog something inside all to yourself, would you?"

Although his attitude was poor, it was at least comforting that he had restrained himself from attacking again. As for the claim about hogging something—

"Relax... No one is going to fight you for anything in here."

Even though the accusation was quite aggressive, Zhao Ran didn't show much dissatisfaction as he walked ahead.

He even glanced at the weapon in his own hands because of the specific phrasing Fu Qian had used.

"From the sound of it, this isn't your first time here either?"

In the end, however, he didn't bring up the origin of the weapon he was holding. Instead, he shifted his focus to the information Fu Qian had just revealed.

"What's there to hide? It was a lot livelier the last time I was here... That's also why I said I haven't seen you."

Clearly finding no value in Zhao Ran's promise, Fu Qian laughed coldly and openly admitted it. The next moment, he even came to a dead stop.

After literally phasing through walls and crossing through houses along the way, the other man took yet another turn and headed straight for a circular stone tower with its foundation fully exposed.

Amidst the chaotic rubble inside the tower, one could vaguely make out a pitch-black, narrow path slanting down into the depths of the earth.

Such a destination made it incredibly easy to imagine unpredictable risks, naturally leading one to doubt their guide's motives.

"Who exactly are you?"

Fu Qian, for instance, was doubting him right now.

...

"Are you saying you came here with a group of people before, and then you made it back out?"

Faced with Fu Qian's interrogation, Zhao Ran's response was to keep walking, ducking directly into the tower first.

Rather than rushing to introduce himself, he was evidently more interested in what Fu Qian had brought up. He sized the young man up and casually threw the question back.

"Is there any point in lying to you? It's just that I didn't bring them along this time."

This action of stepping into hell first finally softened Fu Qian's attitude slightly. Taking a few steps forward, he confirmed his claim about having been here before.

"You're lying to me right now—there's absolutely no way out of this place."

This time, however, it was the assassin Zhao Ran who reacted intensely. Sneering repeatedly, he raised the Long Halberd in his hand once more, seemingly convinced that Fu Qian was harboring malicious intent deserving of condemnation.

'Interesting... Adversity really does help people grow.'

Compared to their last interaction, Brother Assassin's shrewdness had clearly deepened.

Seeing Zhao Ran's reaction, Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

From the beginning until now, the majority of his own actions had obviously been an act, but the situation with the man in front of him was clearly similar.

In such a small place, with the sheer size of the Academy's team, wouldn't Brother Assassin know whether they had managed to escape or not?

Old Man Feng Yunhong had proven long ago that there was no such thing as people inside forgetting about the outside world.

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