Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Qiu Chengyi!"

As soon as the name left Fu Qian's mouth, Liang Yuntian's gaze turned sharp and bloodthirsty. He stared dead into Fu Qian's face.

Fu Qian acted completely oblivious to the shift. Keeping his brows furrowed, he put on the perfect act of a student worried about his classmate's health.

Fu Qian already had a rough guess as to why Liang Yuntian was here impersonating the on-duty doctor.

Most likely, after eating the two-person monster and failing to find Liu Yi anywhere, this guy had come up with the bizarre idea to wait by the stump for a hare. He was expecting other blessed ones to deliver themselves right to his doorstep, just like Han Jin had.

That was why Fu Qian deliberately used a name from the Library Card to test him.

"Oh? Where is he now?"

After a long pause, Liang Yuntian finally spoke, his tone barely maintaining a semblance of normalcy.

"He was still in the dormitory when I left."

A hideous smile surfaced on Liang Yuntian's face, his killing intent thickening.

"Are you absolutely sure... he's in the dormitory?"

"Of course."

Fu Qian nodded, putting on a mysterious look.

"Earlier, there were those Bipedal Rats everywhere. Qiu Chengyi got bitten by one, and he's been lying in bed ever since."

"And it seems those rats were venomous. He had a massive reaction to the bite. Not only did a layer of shell grow all over his body, but quite a few spikes popped out too."

As he spoke, Fu Qian placed his right hand on the desk so Liang Yuntian could get a clear look.

"I got pricked by one of the spikes, and my arm ended up like this."

The moment Fu Qian revealed his arm, Liang Yuntian visibly reacted. Incomprehensible gurgling noises could even be heard from his throat.

Fu Qian still acted completely oblivious. With a few swift scrapes of his sharp nails, he carved Qiu Chengyi's name into the desk.

Unsurprisingly, Liang Yuntian, who had been staring at him the whole time, was drawn to the movement. His gaze locked onto the name etched into the surface.

After a long moment, Liang Yuntian shook his head.

"Got it. I'll head over right away."

"Great! I'll wait for you outside then."

Fu Qian stood up naturally. Under Liang Yuntian's watchful gaze, he opened the door, even remembering to take the Medical Record Booklet with him.

...

"That was close! How did you know Qiu Chengyi wasn't the first one he ate?"

After leaving the Infirmary, Fu Qian didn't wait outside as promised. Instead, he chose to walk away immediately.

It wasn't until he had covered some distance that the Persuader finally spoke again.

"I didn't. I guessed."

"...You actually dared to guess?!"

Although he had come to understand Fu Qian's style somewhat, the Persuader was still completely shocked to hear him confirm it.

"Even though he isn't interested in you because you don't have a blessing in your body, he definitely wouldn't mind killing someone."

"If Qiu Chengyi really was the one he ate first, he would have realized you were lying, and you'd most likely be dead by now."

"If I die, I die."

Fu Qian paid the risk no mind, flipping through the medical record in his hands as he walked.

"Less than a fifty percent chance. It was acceptable."

"First of all, the person he ate wasn't necessarily the borrower."

"Even if they were, there were only three names in total. Excluding Han Le left two. It was nothing more than a fifty-fifty coin toss."

"So overall, the theoretical probability of being wrong was definitely under fifty percent. Worth a shot."

Fu Qian opened his hand, revealing the Insect Whistle Liu Yi had given him.

"If my luck really was that bad, I could still use this thing to buy some time to run. It wasn't a totally hopeless situation."

"And since the gamble paid off, the returns are massive. We instantly gained a capable vanguard who's much more familiar with this place than we are."

"Otherwise, just going off a name, how long would it have taken us to find him?"

"Why do I feel like your probability of death was far greater than half?"

The Persuader wasn't quite convinced.

"Even if you got the name right, once he knew the general location, he could have just gone to look for the guy himself. What made you so sure he wouldn't swat you to death right then and there?"

"If he was willing to let me go, there was naturally a reason for it."

Fu Qian replied casually, continuing to flip through the medical record.

"...Hmm, just as I thought. Head discomfort, severe headaches coupled with nausea, vomiting, and nosebleeds. It seems this pest is quite irritable."

As he spoke, Fu Qian pulled something out from between the pages of the Medical Record Booklet.

It was a white, strip-like object composed of three segments. It wiggled from side to side in his hand, looking exactly like a living bug.

"What is that?"

The Persuader was clearly a bit startled.

"The reason."

"Even though Liang Yuntian's brain is too bloated to work properly, he's still quite sharp when it comes to eating."

"Killing me or not was just a passing thought for him, but having me obediently guide the way was undoubtedly the ideal scenario."

"When Liang Yuntian handed me the Medical Record Booklet earlier, he conveniently slipped this inside. I'm guessing he can use it to track me."

"If I walked out carrying the medical record, I became a guide he could lock onto at any moment. That definitely held more value to him than a corpse."

"So if I hadn't taken the medical record with me, I really would have been dead."

Snap!

The next moment, seemingly sensing the danger, the little bug began to struggle violently.

Unfortunately, halfway through its struggle, Fu Qian crushed it to pieces.

At the exact same time, Fu Qian suddenly accelerated his pace.

"I'd bet anything that guy is already on the move."

After sprinting a good distance, Fu Qian skidded to a halt and ducked into a hiding spot.

Barely half a minute later, a figure came sprinting over wildly. His white coat was dyed red in the moonlight, making him look like a phantom.

The gap in their speed was quite significant. If Fu Qian had kept running, Liang Yuntian absolutely would have caught up.

After lingering in the area for a moment, Liang Yuntian gave up his search for Fu Qian and headed straight toward the dormitory without a word.

...

"Are we following him?"

Once Liang Yuntian was far away, the Persuader couldn't help but ask.

"No rush. Let's wait a little longer."

Fu Qian, however, remained incredibly composed.

His mission was to break the Nightmare. Liang Yuntian finding the offspring first was only beneficial to him.

Given Liang Yuntian's current behavior, there was absolutely no need to worry about them forming some sort of alliance. In all likelihood, they would just beat each other's brains out.

The best-case scenario would be this guy beating the offspring to death directly, letting Fu Qian clear the scenario without lifting a finger.

And by waiting here a little longer, if Liang Yuntian really came up empty-handed, he would definitely come back out soon.

That would save Fu Qian the trouble.

After waiting for a while and seeing no sign of Liang Yuntian returning, Fu Qian finally made his move.

He had checked the map earlier and had long since memorized the locations of the school's student apartments.

Liang Yuntian undoubtedly knew which apartment had rats. Just by noting the direction he hurried off in, it was easy to pinpoint the location.

Before long, Fu Qian arrived at his destination.

Despite lacking the Bipedal Rats swarming the grounds, the student apartment was still shrouded in an indescribable atmosphere. It was filled with a dead silence that absolutely shouldn't exist at this hour.

Without rushing inside, Fu Qian pushed open the door to the adjacent porter's lodge. It was equally empty.

He dragged a chair over, sat down, and soaked in the rare atmosphere.

Nearly half an hour passed, yet there was still no sign of Liang Yuntian angrily storming out empty-handed.

It seemed this guy really had found something.

Propping himself up, Fu Qian stood. It was time to act.

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