Eldritch Horror Theatre

He hadn't chosen this direction blindly.

When he first noticed the fluttering blood blossoms, a vague connection had surfaced alongside them.

It was quite peculiar. This marked the second time during the mission that he had experienced a phenomenon bypassing his zero perception.

And his target the first time had also been Ariel.

The reasons behind it were thought-provoking.

In truth, Fu Qian had started analyzing the cause the moment he managed to sense the target of the Extreme Hunger Infection.

Mindlessly chalking things up to coincidence or destiny was highly irresponsible.

In his estimation, failing to sense the Seed of Corrosion should have been the norm. The fact that he could was likely due to special conditions bridging that gap—such as serving in the same court.

As he had noted earlier, some transcendent attribute forged an extra, tight-knit connection among everyone within the Solitary King Court.

Following that logic, he had been able to sense him back then because the mysterious attribute had stacked with the implanted Seed of Corrosion.

But there were no worms now. Ariel was no longer special compared to anyone else.

If it truly was because they were closer to the Solitary King right now, strengthening that mysterious attribute, shouldn't he be sensing more people simultaneously?

Theoretically, this argument held water, making his earlier hypothesis seem invalid. But was it possible that even after the mysterious attribute was strengthened, it still wasn't all that powerful?

Was Ariel still the special exception?

Even without the worms, he had acquired a new, unique trait.

Discovering exactly what this unique trait was served as one of Fu Qian's core reasons for coming out here.

He was sure the Night Watchers would be quite interested as well.

Just as he rounded the second street corner, Fu Qian glanced up at the sky. Still no Sword of Heavenly Punishment or lightning storm rained down.

Instead, the figure of the Burlap Doll appeared once more in the corner of his eye.

...

So I haven't escaped their sight, huh?

Fu Qian felt quite gratified in that moment. His status as a useful tool had been confirmed.

Consequently, the series of deductions he had made based on that premise gained more backing.

Of course, the Night Watchers' posture seemed a bit uninhibited right now. While they hadn't gone so far as to stand directly in front of him, the Burlap Doll's position hardly suggested an attempt at hiding.

It seemed abnormal, but the reason wasn't hard to guess.

If he truly were a "Chinese room" with a firm, goal-oriented mindset, there was undoubtedly no need to worry that such actions would scare him off.

The payoff was the ability to lock on and track him from close range, allowing them to intervene and respond to sudden changes at a moment's notice.

After all, aside from using him as a tool, it was obvious that regardless of whether they were dealing with the real Ariel or a fake, the Night Watchers wouldn't let Fu Qian off the hook easily.

If he hadn't kicked the bucket by the time the job was done, there was a high probability they would conveniently dispose of him right then and there.

Now the question was, between the two "Ariels," which one would they lean toward disposing of first?

Fu Qian stopped in his tracks, gazing at the building before him.

...

It was still utterly unremarkable.

Up to this point, in this seemingly sizable city, he hadn't seen a single building on the scale of an office tower, let alone a royal palace.

One could only say that His Excellency the Solitary King possessed quite a bit of the grace needed to share his joys with the common people.

And this grace seemed to be winning him widespread adoration right now.

The snow continued to fall, and people could still be seen outside the buildings.

Yet at this moment, the pedestrians had all halted in their tracks, performing a synchronized motion—turning their heads to stare fixedly in the same direction, utterly motionless.

Such a scene of "fulfilling popular expectations" truly demonstrated what it meant to be a true monarch.

That direction happened to be Ariel's location. Fu Qian was absolutely certain of this.

And he was equally confident that his arrival had already been discovered.

It was just that the members of the Origin Council, likely out of some special consideration, hadn't continued to relocate.

...

Interesting. So what kind of consideration could that be?

Fu Qian hadn't failed to consider that just as he could sense Ariel from his end, the Origin Council could inversely monitor him.

Therefore, along the way, he hadn't deliberately pushed his speed in hopes of catching the man. The greater point was actually to apply pressure—targeting both the Night Watchers and the Origin Council simultaneously.

From Fu Qian's perspective, this three-way standoff was quite amusing.

Each side wanted the snipe and the clam to grapple so they could reap the benefits, yet they all suffered from limited information.

The end result was a game of probing and gambling, manifesting in every tiny action and generating all sorts of entertaining scenarios.

Of course, a scenario as interesting as the one before his eyes could certainly be called a pleasant surprise.

Facing the arrival of the "true Ariel," the imposter—who knew they were exposed and could likely guess that the Night Watchers were also watching—had actually chosen to wait in place.

Their upcoming method of reception was undoubtedly something to look forward to.

"Urrgh..."

The building's door was half-ajar. As Fu Qian turned sideways to slip through, someone nearby who seemingly also wanted to enter and pay their respects was noticeably shaken.

Their eyes fell on Fu Qian, and a strange noise tore from the spectator's throat.

It sounded like excitement, like worship, and even carried a sense of heartfelt bewilderment. In the next second, their head swayed back and forth between the two directions.

The Solitary King isn't solitary, so you can't tell the difference?

Though the person didn't look like they retained much rationality, Fu Qian still didn't overlook this reaction, silently drawing a conclusion.

That was right. This aligned with Fu Qian's hypothesis as to why he could exclusively sense Ariel.

When it came to being a tool, who could compare to that guy?

He truly bore the burden of hardship without complaint. His level of reliability was far higher than Fu Qian's own.

Since the Night Watchers were suspected of using Fu Qian as a vessel for the Solitary King's Descent, was it possible that the Origin Council had done something similar to Ariel?

He knew from the mission objective that Ariel played an indispensable role in the "Solitary King's Offspring" event.

And for something so important, the Night Watchers had actually let a suspicious character like him carry it out. It was hard not to suspect there might be some severe side effects.

Therefore, the Origin Council choosing Ariel to perform the same dangerous operation wasn't hard to imagine.

The final result was very likely that he and Ariel were the two characters most closely aligned with the Solitary King within the Court at this very moment.

It was precisely this connection that allowed his zero-perception self to be aware of Ariel's existence.

And it was what made the spectator before him unable to distinguish who the True King really was.

Don't worry, you'll be able to tell very soon.

Tap, tap...

Moving with crisp footfalls, Fu Qian made no attempt to conceal his tracks as he ascended the stairs step by step.

Upon reaching the upper floor, his gaze landed on a figure.

Long golden hair, a robust physique—one had to admit he held quite a bit of the Solitary King's aura.

Furthermore, there was truly no one else beside him.

It's been a while, Brother Ariel.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!