Eldritch Horror Theatre

After starving for so long, Liang Yuntian's bite was undeniably terrifying.

With a single chomp, he snapped the seemingly indestructible centipede in two.

An eerie wail echoed through the space.

[SAN Value -5]

Given his point-blank proximity, Fu Qian bore the brunt of it.

For a split second, he felt as if his skull was being pried open, and his SAN Value instantly dropped by 5 points.

As if savoring the finest delicacy, the skull swallowed the severed half of the insect bite by bite amid a spray of juices.

As he ate, long, slender legs sprouted from his exposed spine and rapidly lengthened.

Almost instantly, he transformed into a human-headed centipede.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"

Finally snapping back to his senses, Qiu Chengyi let out an agonized roar.

"My bad. My hand slipped."

Fu Qian offered him the remaining half of the centipede.

"Why don't you see if it's still usable?"

He was just joking, of course. Fu Qian could clearly sense that the moment Liang Yuntian took that bite, the indescribable spirituality clinging to the centipede had vanished. Now, it was at best a supplement for blood circulation.

"Desecrating a Deity!"

Qiu Chengyi roared again, his expression twisting into something utterly hideous.

"You must die!"

"Don't trouble yourself over that," Fu Qian said. "But since the divine body has already been desecrated, isn't it a bit unreasonable for you, the supposed Divine Child, to still be standing here chatting with me?"

"Care to reconsider the whole 'form is emptiness' issue?"

Fu Qian's logic was undeniably air-tight, but Qiu Chengyi had clearly spiraled into sheer delirium.

His brain simply refused to process the obvious logical contradiction.

"You must—"

As he repeated his declaration, his deformed arm constricted frantically, instantly snapping countless bones in Fu Qian's body.

Unfortunately, he only got halfway through the sentence before the skull-headed centipede clamped its jaws onto his neck, cutting off the rest of his words.

[Mission complete. Designation 1-077 successfully contained.]

At the same time, the mission completion prompt rang out.

Along with the prompt, the existence of the surrounding space became extremely unstable.

"You truly... astound me!"

The Persuader, having been silent for so long, finally spoke up again.

"I can feel the Nightmare shattering. You can leave this place now."

"I told you earlier. As long as you didn't run your mouth, I'd carry you to the finish line."

Fu Qian snorted.

"Indeed. Though your methods certainly opened my eyes!"

The Persuader sounded as if he were carefully considering his words.

"Regardless, thank you very much. You've given me a deeper understanding of the essence of the Nightmare! I believe I'll have a much greater chance of success moving forward."

"Judging by your tone, you still can't get out this time?"

Fu Qian's voice betrayed no emotion.

"Yes. I said before that my opportunity hasn't arrived yet. I just didn't expect to actually witness your success."

"What a shame!"

"It is time to say goodbye!"

Following the Persuader's words, Fu Qian noticed the pattern on his left arm begin to "float" upward.

Like a weightless shadow, the pattern drifted into midair, then began to dissipate bit by bit from its edges.

"Though the process was a bit convoluted, it seems we both ultimately achieved our original goals. I have a feeling we'll meet again."

"Alright, see you!"

The next moment, as the Persuader's silhouette completely dissolved, everything in Fu Qian's field of vision collapsed—including the entangled Liang Yuntian and Qiu Chengyi right in front of him.

The scene shifted and swirled. When Fu Qian's senses returned, he was already standing inside the Warehouse.

[Mission Evaluation: Dream Destroyer]

[The Tide of Spirituality surged within the deep Nightmare, but this Nightmare did not belong to a single person. Numerous bound wills coupled together to form this dreamscape.]

[Great wills kept their eyes on this place at all times, seeking to seize control of this narrow corridor and achieve Descent into the real world.]

[And during a certain tide of darkness, one of them scattered numerous seeds, hoping to birth a true Offspring.]

[Unfortunately, the mutation of a single seed not only bankrupted this ambition but also shook the very foundation of the Nightmare, ultimately causing it to collapse into an unknowable chaos.]

[Reproducing this dreamscape again will take a considerable amount of time.]

[Kills: None]

[Rewards: SAN Value +20; inspiration +5]

[Current SAN Value: 196, Current inspiration: 56]

[Play event replay?]

Standing in the Warehouse, Fu Qian listened to the series of prompts echoing in his ears, his brow furrowing deeper with each one.

Something wasn't right. It was a Level 1 Item, after all!

While it was true that he hadn't scored a single kill the entire time, wasn't this reward a bit too measly?

Fu Qian looked down at his body. His injuries had already fully healed, looking no different than usual.

"Play event replay."

Retracting his gaze, Fu Qian sat down on the Chair and began reviewing his journey through the scenario.

"Doesn't seem like there's anything special."

When the replay finished, Fu Qian muttered to himself.

Other than the difficulty being a bit lower than expected, and the rewards being a bit skimpier than normal...

After a long while, no other sounds rang out within the Warehouse.

Deep in thought, Fu Qian activated the Imprint and chose to return home.

...

It was still the exact same scene as when he left.

Fu Qian glanced at the wall clock. It was still quite early.

Yet as he stood in the living room, he noticed another anomaly.

Surprisingly, no shouts rang in his ears. It seemed his usual bunch of acquaintances were all tacitly sleeping in.

Listening to the sounds of the elderly folks' morning exercises outside, Fu Qian went to the kitchen and leisurely began boiling some noodles.

He cooked them especially carefully today, so meticulously that he even counted the noodles strand by strand.

Boiling the water, dropping in the noodles, seasoning, and transferring them to a bowl.

Having whipped up breakfast with practiced ease, Fu Qian stretched and sat down with complete naturalness.

The next moment, however, his hand gripping the chopsticks froze in midair. He stared blankly ahead, his consciousness seemingly plunging into a void.

To use a technical term, it was as if his entire system had crashed.

This state lasted for about five seconds. Then, the chopsticks in his hand slowly descended, picking up a clump of noodles.

At the same time, a faint light flickered on his wrist.

The dining table in front of him instantly vanished.

The Imprint on Fu Qian's wrist had been activated, returning him to the Warehouse once more.

In less than half a second, the chopsticks in his hand dissolved into ash.

At the same time, a blob of Shadow was dragged out from Fu Qian's body.

The Shadow seemed alive, constantly swaying from side to side as it tried to slip back into his body.

But as if washed away by some invisible torrent, it eventually suffered a gradual Dislocation from his body until it was completely separated.

"Hello there, Brother Persuader!"

Fu Qian exhaled, the sharp clarity returning to his eyes.

Taking two steps back to put some distance between himself and the Shadow, he offered a smiling greeting.

"Isn't this 'see you again' a bit too fast?"

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