Eldritch Horror Theatre

"You're back?"

Faced with Professor Fu's well-reasoned logic, Lisa ultimately had nothing to say.

Not only had she failed to secure an extra laborer, but she'd even ended up providing Kasi's current whereabouts at his request.

When Fu Qian actually followed the address to visit him, Kasi was clearly unsurprised by his arrival, immediately greeting him with a smile.

"I'm back."

Fu Qian was equally casual. He answered and followed Kasi's gesture, plopping down into a nearby seat.

Having proposed his idea and left others to execute it, Kasi—who had only returned to the Academy a few days ago—didn't rush off to laze around elsewhere. Instead, he simply idled quietly in his workspace.

Indeed, true to the principle of in for a penny, in for a pound, Kasi didn't look like he was handling official business at all despite the sheer number of items laid out in front of him. Instead, he wore the lazy demeanor of someone who had just finished a grueling exam.

Speaking of which, this was Fu Qian's first time visiting Kasi's office. Compared to the space he had yielded to Lisa, it was undeniably plainer.

Perhaps the only similarity was that both were quite warm.

"Did you visit Lisa's place?"

This was where the gap in composure showed itself. Without Fu Qian bringing it up first, Kasi showed absolutely no curiosity about the results of his trip.

He had also directly guessed his itinerary.

"I did. It's a very interesting idea... Furthermore, I believe Linghui won't have any objections."

Fu Qian naturally spoke with open admiration, making no attempt to hide his attitude toward the matter.

Not only that, he even made a clear prediction regarding the relevant parties' reactions.

Mainly because it was just too obvious.

In the previous incident, the three giants of Apocalypse had seemed aggressive, but in Linghui's script, it essentially boiled down to them owing Apocalypse a favor for helping discover a massive crisis in time.

Given their consistently proud style, even if Kasi had turned around and demanded compensation right then, they most likely would have gritted their teeth and paid up.

In short, even if he reneged on that compensation, Linghui probably wouldn't express any dissatisfaction, let alone when actual compensation was now being offered.

"So, what's your opinion?"

Kasi didn't refute him; he clearly shared the sentiment.

His question was somewhat strange, considering Fu Qian had already made his stance clear from the start.

Even his expression carried a hint of amusement.

"It's very interesting. Although the overall Rank involved isn't high, and most of it lacks any systematic theoretical support, you can still feel everyone's imagination."

However, Fu Qian didn't seem to mind at all. He genuinely pondered for a moment before giving a detailed answer.

"The scope involved is also all-encompassing. You can absolutely feel that the secrets of the transcendent are hidden within it, just waiting to be summarized and discovered—so, is that how the operation back then was triggered?"

With a sudden shift in topic, Fu Qian asked a very specific question.

...

The air fell silent for the span of a breath.

That last sentence was somewhat abrupt; at first glance, it even seemed baffling.

"Yes."

Yet Kasi seemed to completely understand Fu Qian's meaning, directly nodding in confirmation.

"Because I was away at the time, I don't know the exact details. I only know that they discovered something special during an incident, which caught the attention of the entire Academy, and that eventually led to that secretly organized exploration operation."

That's right. The operation Fu Qian referred to was the very exploration that had caused the Academy to suffer heavy losses back then.

But it sounded like Kasi, who hadn't yet grown to his current level of power at the time, didn't know much about the specifics either.

"So mysterious. It sounds quite extraordinary..."

Sighing in amazement, Fu Qian was deep in thought.

The reason he had suddenly brought up this topic wasn't because his thoughts were jumping too erratically, of course.

On the contrary, it was precisely the logical progression of things that had led him here.

Earlier, when chatting with Professor Lisa, his evaluation of the Preservation Chamber project had been completely genuine, including the benefits of opening it up to the entire Academy.

But as everyone knew, a good thing didn't necessarily have to be done.

At least in Fu Qian's eyes, taking on such a plan was a bit too proactive for Kasi.

He had already taken huge advantage of Linghui previously, directly getting his hands on a forbidden zone. Using this opportunity to reciprocate and give something back as a courtesy would actually make for a very harmonious outcome.

More importantly, doing so would save a lot of worry and effort.

Instead, Kasi had still chosen this overly domineering path, and was even so efficient that he had started pushing it forward in just a few days. It was somewhat inconsistent with his usual style.

It was precisely because of this impression that Fu Qian had decided to come visit and discuss things.

What he had told Professor Lisa earlier about implementing the "promotion of the Preservation Chamber to the entire Academy" was nothing but an excuse.

As a result, Kasi's current posture clearly showed that he had been waiting for him.

To the point where the moment he opened his mouth and asked for his "opinion" again, certain things were already confirmed for Fu Qian.

Indeed, the old drunkard's intent is not in the wine.

"You can't be hoping that I'll cooperate with Lisa to try and recreate the discovery from back then out of that pile of stuff, right? That would practically be finding a needle in the ocean."

Mutual understanding aside, however, Fu Qian quickly emphasized the objective difficulties.

As everyone knows, the advancement of knowledge often stems from minor coincidences, like an Apple hitting someone on the head.

But that doesn't mean if you work backward and actively start smashing various things against your head, you're guaranteed to get results.

"Of course not. Actually, I know where they might have gone."

To his relief, Kasi shook his head without hesitation.

...

"You're not the only one interested in the events from back then. I am too, except I was asked to make certain promises."

Without waiting for Fu Qian to say anything, Kasi's words grew increasingly blunt as he brought up Fu Qian's past curiosity.

And it sounded like it truly wasn't simple—it seemed to go beyond just having a high security clearance.

"Claudora was the sole survivor of the team. Even though she was isolated immediately upon her return, it still caused quite a shock.

"I rushed back shortly after she did. On one hand, I wanted to figure out what had happened, and on the other, I wanted to find a way to treat her. I immediately tried to confirm more information, and that was when I ran into Li He."

Kasi soon voiced a familiar name.

"Because Apocalypse suffered the heaviest losses at the time, Li He hoped I could stay behind to help stabilize the situation while he organized the investigation. I agreed, and he soon left the Academy.

"After a long wait, Li He returned in relatively good condition... However, when I checked on the progress with him, his response was that the matter was temporarily sealed away and that no further exploration would be done, and then—"

Kasi pointed at his own mouth.

"Aside from the fact that everyone else had perished, absolutely no information was to be leaked."

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