Eldritch Horror Theatre

That saying was actually true: great faith was contagious.

Though the change was so negligible it could be ignored, Fu Qian easily recognized what was happening—leeches were breeding on his own body.

As he witnessed the great radiance upon the man before him, that radiance was transmitting itself to him.

The man wasn't just a dabbler in the abstract; he was a true master of the bizarre.

That a seemingly ascetic act could trigger such a profound change gave Fu Qian a deeper understanding of the Great Court's power.

Although partly due to adjusting himself to a Tier 2 state, just a sliver of "radiance" was enough to exert a profound influence.

On this home turf, the power of the Solitary King was clearly far from simple.

"Very good, very good... I see it too, I see it too..."

Meanwhile, fueled by Fu Qian's validation, Brother Leech's excitement only intensified.

His latter words, however, were clearly no longer meant for Fu Qian; he had slipped into complete self-absorption.

Amidst his trembling mutters, Brother Leech tore off his hood. He stuck out a tongue thick with internal heat and greedily licked his own body—or rather, the leeches covering it.

In the blink of an eye, the backs of those leeches grew even more oily and translucent.

Look at that. There really was a gap between mere acting and genuine, heartfelt emotion.

Fu Qian, of course, had no intention of imitating him by moistening the back of his own hand with saliva.

But that didn't stop him from praising Brother Leech's performance.

While offering this high praise, Fu Qian naturally compared him to the previous team member who had desperately sought survival in the face of death, only to end up with nothing.

Compared to the latter's hesitation when eating his own fingers, the infectiousness of the fanatic before him was on an entirely different level.

It defied simple words like reverence or excitement, and it certainly wasn't an act.

...

Everyone seemed quite envious.

Marveling at the sight, Fu Qian glanced around. This brief interaction had undoubtedly drawn a great deal of attention.

Most of the onlookers' gazes were fixed on Brother Leech; such physical manifestations were apparently exceedingly rare.

"Thank you for the guidance."

Even though the skin on the back of his hand was growing more active, Fu Qian had no intention of showing off. Softly bidding farewell to the fully engrossed Brother Leech, he set off once more.

He didn't even rush to deal with the anomaly on his body.

He needed to keep a clear head. One of his initial operational strategies was to find the Solitary King first and wait passively for his target to come to him.

With the latter's radiance shining slightly upon him, what was wrong with using it to increase his chances of locating Him?

And that was only the first reason. As for the second—

Stepping past an onlooker, Fu Qian brushed by a display window.

It belonged to a very small street-facing shop. Like the others he had seen, it had been thoroughly looted; at a glance, there was barely anything left inside.

Out of the corner of his eye, however, he faintly spotted a Burlap Doll toppled over in the corner.

Perhaps it was so hideously made that even the looters hadn't been interested.

It had no eyes, only a mouth stitched with coarse thread, and its head wasn't even round.

That was right—it was the exact same design he had seen more than once before.

Theoretically speaking, this was the exclusive method of the Tier 2 Night Watcher, Needle Witch Kelin.

...

Did the Solitary King really possess such grand prestige? Were the top three transcendent organizations actually all involved?

The moment he realized what he was looking at, Fu Qian inwardly clicked his tongue in wonder, though his face remained impassive.

It wasn't just a rivalry between the Origin Council and the Rebirth Club—even the Night Watchers were entangled in this?

Fu Qian certainly didn't buy that it was pure coincidence, even though its placement felt very natural, cleverly using the guise of merchandise as cover.

Honestly, the toy was so ugly that no normal human would ever think to make it for sale.

A twist like this made the situation unprecedentedly complex.

First, the most straightforward conclusion was that Her Excellency Needle Witch, whom he had yet to meet, had also arrived in this place for some unknown purpose.

Moreover, the Burlap Doll was absolutely not there by coincidence.

Yuan Shan had once explained that due to the unique nature of her abilities, Kelin was one of the few figures skilled in spatial traversal.

He had even witnessed it with his own eyes.

Therefore, it was highly likely that the doll had been sent specifically to investigate after sensing his arrival.

The Night Watchers were on the move, and they possessed a very high degree of control over this place.

So much so that they reacted even faster than his old rival, the Origin Council, making the first move.

But that was merely the most obvious surface-level judgment. He couldn't forget what he had just noted—the Needle Witch was suspected of colluding with the Origin Council.

So there was obviously another layer of possibility: this was a cross-faction collaboration.

The Origin Council and the Conservative Faction within the Night Watchers were acting together, and he would have no chance whatsoever to reap the spoils as a third party.

And that was only the second layer.

Given the sensitivity of his current role, there were simply too many possible motives.

Could the ones who sensed his arrival actually still be the Origin Council?

Knowing full well he was a fake, perhaps they used this method to impersonate the Night Watchers, aiming to intimidate him and observe his reaction...

In short, before he had even reached his destination, the situation was already rapidly heating up.

His every action was already pulling at the strings of the situation—and that was truly wonderful.

Without a hint of hesitation in his stride, Fu Qian continued toward his former interview location.

"My heart and my actions are as clear as a mirror."

Given his peculiar mental state, it could be said that His Excellency Ariel had, to some extent, taken that phrase to its absolute extreme.

And now, it was his turn to embody it.

What might be waiting for him there was truly something to look forward to.

...

It was indeed worth anticipating.

During the latter half of the journey, no more fanatics jumped out to express themselves, though the intense atmosphere only continued to thicken.

So much so that, despite still lacking a deeper understanding of the Solitary King, Fu Qian felt that wherever he went, 'His' radiance had become almost tangible, the very reason for all existence.

And if there was any corner left untouched by that radiance, it was perhaps the sight right before his eyes—

Stopping in his tracks, Fu Qian sized up the familiar building—the place where the "dream" had begun.

That was right; it was genuinely the site of his former interview.

The facts proved that "piercing through the barrier" really did mean leaving the No Man's Land and arriving in the Real Plane.

It even seemed to prove that choosing this place as his first destination had been the right call—

The door was still open. Inside the modestly sized waiting room, he could clearly see it was completely empty.

But right there, directly facing the doorway, a familiar Burlap Doll dangled from the ceiling by a single red thread, slowly spinning and swaying in the breeze.

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