Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Excellency Aike looks thoroughly overworked... Is this what you meant by tasks finding the person?"

Watching the Night Watcher demigod hurry away, Lisa sighed, looking at Fu Qian as she brought up his earlier remark.

"Did we just hear something we weren't supposed to?"

She knew perfectly well who Aike had come all this way to see. While she could hardly dispute that Professor Fu was attending to myriad affairs daily, she still wanted to confirm whether their presence had been appropriate.

The conversation had been so remarkably casual that it was hard to tell whether she should have taken her little assistants aside to give them privacy.

Yet in just a few short exchanges, they seemed to touch upon something rather serious.

"Excellency Aike isn't worried, so what is there to worry about?"

Professor Fu let out a laugh, as dismissive of these details as she had expected.

"...You two had better keep what you just heard an absolute secret. Especially you, Lotte."

After a moment's frown, she turned back and specifically warned Classmate Liushuang and Lotte.

"Understood."

The newly recruited Apocalypse staff member seemed to have thoroughly stabilized her mental state, nodding earnestly in agreement.

"Thank you for your hard work today. We'll stop here. Just leave those things on the table."

Having failed to usher them out earlier, Professor Lisa now abruptly dismissed them for the day.

"Mental pollution is a serious issue that requires attention, especially for you, Liushuang."

She even offered a perfectly valid excuse, pointing out that the pile of items in front of them was far too blasphemous.

"I will be careful."

It was hard for Lisa to escape the suspicion that she was simply slacking off, but as the direct recipient of her concern, Ji Liushuang smiled and agreed anyway.

"Cass never mentioned being in a rush for these results, did he?"

Having instantly shifted into resting mode, Lisa noticed Fu Qian still sitting calmly in his seat, and her gaze immediately grew wary again.

"He didn't."

Fu Qian answered honestly, still flipping through the instructors' whimsical ideas.

"So are you planning to stay and help out with overtime?"

Lisa frowned, sensing that something was amiss.

"Not me. You."

Her heart sank just as she expected. Professor Fu casually tossed down the documents, wearing a matching smile.

"I left in a hurry last time and didn't get to take a look with Cass. Since I'm already here today, let's go over your previous project."

...

Clearly, having the end-of-shift bell immediately followed by a start-of-shift bell—without even time to grab a bite to eat—was an ordeal that even a transcendent would find hard to endure.

Upon hearing Fu Qian's words, the light in Professor Lisa's eyes seemed to dim.

"During my recent field research, I've increasingly felt that your idea was quite good. It's worth a thorough discussion."

Yet with just that casual remark from Professor Fu, the light in her eyes instantly flared back to life.

"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration... Does Professor Fu really have time to care about such trivial matters amidst his busy schedule?"

Although she was deeply eager for academic recognition, Professor Lisa—having had her weak spot struck so accurately—still let out a snort of skepticism.

"We will be taking our leave now, then."

Seeing that her boss still had the energy to oppress the locals, Ji Liushuang looked visibly relieved. Exchanging a glance with Lotte, the two of them excused themselves.

"The devil is in the details. For those of us in academia, there are no truly trivial matters... This is also why the Preservation Chamber holds meaning."

Watching them leave, Fu Qian pressed his hand against the failed Checklist in front of him, sharing his academic philosophy with Lisa.

Although this project was incredibly utilitarian in nature, for Cass—who had survived that tragedy—there was bound to be at least a sliver of hope for some academic value.

As for Classmate Liushuang's reaction from earlier to now, it actually wasn't hard to understand.

Although her Rank wasn't considered high, her Lucent Sword Heart was often unreasonably perceptive. She must have noticed that his Health Bar wasn't entirely full.

"Understood... I welcome Professor Fu's guidance."

Seeing him elevate the conversation to such lofty heights, Lisa could only let out a long sigh and helplessly concede defeat.

Leaving the table full of items behind, she stepped forward to lead the way.

...

"I haven't actually done much since then. For one thing, I'm lacking raw materials, and for another, this thing's power is draining far too rapidly."

Compared to Fu Qian's Laboratory, this facility that Professor Lisa had operated for years clearly looked far more professional.

Following her all the way upstairs, Fu Qian even noticed a decorative style strikingly similar to Claudora's storage area.

Amidst Professor Lisa's modest remarks, she unlocked two consecutive metal doors, and Fu Qian soon spotted the familiar bone fragments.

Pale, tiny, and in all sorts of shapes...

Most were scattered loosely across a metal table, but he could also spot some finished or semi-finished constructs bearing unique structures, much like the previous Bone Horseshoe Crab.

All in all, despite lacking any inherent otaku talents, the demands of the project had apparently forced Professor Lisa to sit in her laboratory and dabble in model kit building.

"This thing has almost no divinity left."

Marveling deeply at human potential, Fu Qian followed Lisa's guidance, his gaze landing on a withered bone plate.

It was the loot from his previous exploration of the Bone Spirit Realm, and also the absolute key to Professor Lisa's research project.

Through it, bones could be broken down into even finer fragments, allowing her to unleash her imagination and reconstruct them.

And just as Lisa had said, the power within it had decayed severely. It now looked remarkably ordinary.

"I've tried every method I can think of, yet I couldn't even slightly delay the process. It feels as though its fundamental nature has been completely destroyed."

Once the topic shifted to serious business, Professor Lisa fell right into her professional element, picking up the bone plate as she detailed her project's progress.

"With no other options left, I could only acquire more materials to break down and splice together while it still had some residual effect."

"From the looks of it, your idea back then seems to have been correct. By combining these pieces, they genuinely seem capable of forming a chain leading all the way up to divinity, achieving Sublimation... Even Cass tended to agree after taking a look."

She stepped up to the metal table as she spoke. He could see the original Bone Horseshoe Crab resting there, along with several other non-humanoid constructs boasting far more intricate structures.

"Do you have any new ideas regarding these creations?"

After deliberately giving him time to observe them, Lisa looked over with bright, shining eyes, evidently genuinely looking forward to Professor Fu's guidance.

"I actually do have a thought."

Nodding, Fu Qian swept his fingers through the air just above the back of the Bone Horseshoe Crab.

"We seem to have been lacking a bit of reverse thinking previously. Following this chain, one can climb all the way up and even attain divinity, just as transcendents have always striven to do... But have you ever considered what it means if we look back down from the perspective of a Deity?

"As long as there is a final destination, it can definitely be reached by following the chain?"

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