Eldritch Horror Theatre

Almost the instant Wen Li was kicked away, a berserk force swallowed the spot where she had just stood.

Fu Qian could only watch as Wen Xiuxian's head swelled like a balloon before his entire body detonated into a cloud of red mist.

It all happened in a flash. After kicking Wen Li aside, Fu Qian had stepped forward to cover the angle, crashing solidly into the flesh-and-blood storm.

A deafening boom echoed as the violent impact sent tremors through his internal organs.

Worse, the storm seemed laced with countless tiny spikes. Driven by immense kinetic energy, they frantically tore into everything around them.

Three seconds later, the storm dissipated.

Fu Qian looked down and raised his Left Hand.

Below the shoulder, his skin had completely vanished. The underlying flesh was riddled with holes, exposing glaring white bone in several places.

'I never took this much damage even in Mortal Kombat!'

Nothing within the radius of the flesh-and-blood storm remained intact. Even the half-wall caught in the blast had been reduced to honeycomb.

'These killers are incredibly resourceful to pull out something with this much destructive power!'

'The injuries are heavy, but not fatal.'

Expressionless, Fu Qian straightened out his exposed blood vessels.

The next moment, he shattered the crumbling wall with a single kick.

Gathering his strength and riding the recoil of that berserk power, he instantly crossed through the gap, flashing to the side of someone outside to deliver a flying kick.

'You're the one!'

Whether that had been Wen Xiuxian or not, the attack just now was not something an ordinary, hypnotized person could pull off.

Fu Qian didn't believe these killers were dedicated enough to trade their lives to complete a mission. Someone had to be controlling him remotely from nearby.

That was why he had pushed his five senses to their limits while bathing in the flesh-and-blood storm, refusing to let a single trace slip by. In the end, he had successfully locked onto a specific aura.

Right now, the owner of that aura was blending in with the bodyguards rushing to the scene, trying to walk away.

Boom!

The kick, carrying his berserk strength, was lightning-fast and terrifying in its momentum.

Unable to keep up the act any longer, the target twisted his body—which surprisingly lengthened in an instant—and dodged the fatal blow from a bizarre posture.

Yet what greeted him was a mangled hand.

Splat!

Squashing him like a tomato, Fu Qian's nearly fleshless Left Hand struck the opponent square on with a genuine Nine Yin White Bone Claw.

[Thug: Digestion Progress 1/3]

[Aggressive as fire, striking like a thunderbolt. Congratulations on beginning to grasp the essence of the Thug.]

When the target in his grip completely stopped struggling, a prompt chimed beside Fu Qian's ear.

At the same time, a Heat Current flowed through his entire body.

The sensation of using the Brawler Form for the first time reappeared, only the intensity was far greater than before.

After a berserk surge of vitality washed over him, his exposed bones faintly revealed a metallic luster.

The next moment, his flesh and blood grew as the wounds rapidly healed. In the blink of an eye, his bones were covered once more.

'One-third digestion progress?'

Fu Qian took a deep breath. He was absolutely certain he had just undergone a new rebirth.

If he were to face him again, he was confident he could send Mister Ji to the afterlife within ten seconds.

'But going by this, is my Brawler Form only just getting started? Have I really only digested a portion of it even now?'

'Aggressive as fire, striking like a thunderbolt... Does that refer to my performance in taking out this killer just now?'

'Or perhaps it refers to all my past actions.'

'And this is what it calls the essence of the Thug.'

'In that case, the method to digest the Brawler Form is to become a Thug myself.'

'Interesting!'

'If 1/3 provides this much enhancement, I wonder what I'll become upon reaching 3/3 for a complete digestion.'

Fu Qian silently felt a surge of anticipation.

Tossing the corpse to the ground, he retreated into the house the way he came.

He glanced at the eldest miss, Wen Li. She was struggling to climb up from the floor.

The radius of the flesh-and-blood storm hadn't been very large. Coupled with him blocking her from the front, she hadn't suffered any significant injuries.

'However, there seems to be blood on her forehead. Did she hit it when I kicked her away?'

'I can't be too demanding. I'm not a professional nanny, so I can't guarantee she'll escape completely unscathed every time.'

'I have to say, the guy who just died outside used quite professional methods and had extremely strong concealment skills.'

'Earlier, I just felt Wen Xiuxian was acting a bit strange, so I shot Wen Li an extra glance.'

'This girl's ability allows her to perceive the emotions of those around her. On top of that, they've been father and daughter for years, so she should find it relatively easy to detect if anything is amiss.'

'Sure enough, Wen Li might not have even realized it herself, but her puzzled expression showed she subconsciously felt something was wrong with Wen Xiuxian too.'

"Are you alright?"

Wen Li managed to stand by leaning against the wall, asking Fu Qian in a trembling voice.

"Was that..."

"Most likely a killer."

"But he looked like my father."

"I wouldn't rule out the possibility that he really was your father."

Considering the opposing killers were adept at techniques like hypnosis and disguise, the chances that the Wen Xiuxian who left this morning had been captured, processed, and sent back were actually quite high.

Wen Li was no fool; there was no need to help her delude herself.

"No... Father shouldn't have returned this quickly..."

Wen Li muttered to herself. Suddenly, she froze in place, her body stiffening as she bent down to pick something up.

It was a deformed watch that had been blown apart, covered in countless tiny, honeycomb-like holes.

A wail of agony echoed, and a familiar notification chime rang in Fu Qian's ears.

[Containment Failure]

[Mind shattered. Wen Li has lost the possibility of advancing.]

...

'You've got to be fucking kidding me!'

Having returned to the Warehouse, Fu Qian stared speechlessly at the sky for a full minute, feeling his joy over the upgrade dilute somewhat.

'It can fail even if Wen Li doesn't die?'

'Discovering the dead man really was Wen Xiuxian—it's understandable she'd have an emotional breakdown.'

'But mind shattered? Did she just straight-up go insane?'

Silently selecting the event replay, Fu Qian quickly watched his entire journey at high speed, finally coming to a conclusion.

'Escort missions are truly impossible!'

'Thinking back, although this mission didn't feature the werewolves and Evil Gods of the past, the level of danger was even higher.'

'Wen Li's family might look glorious on the surface, but in reality, they're surrounded by peril. She herself is as fragile as glass. Keeping her alive is genuinely tough.'

'And now there's even the possibility of failing without her dying.'

'Covering two people at once is far more difficult than covering just one.'

'Moreover, neither Wen Li nor her father are the type to easily let others order them around. Getting them to obediently follow arrangements is no simple task.'

'The situation is complicated.'

Fu Qian stared at the black-and-white Cocoons on the Mist Door.

When a situation is a tangled mess and every twist and turn is a pitfall, the best solution isn't to stubbornly push forward, but to change tactics.

For instance, the Asura Mode.

[Consume 1 SAN Value to attempt Containment once again.]

[...1%...3%...10%...50%...98%...100%. Containment Scenario loaded.]

"Don't look around!"

Captain Gu's familiar voice rang out.

Looking at the completely intact Wen Family Luxury Estate, Fu Qian took a deep breath.

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