Eldritch Horror Theatre

As expected, Catherine was an excellent employee.

She had clearly taken the customer's request—"prefer to eat the food here rather than the staff"—to heart.

Her past work experience also played a part. Not only had she quickly found clothes to put on, but she had actually managed to dig up some food.

Of course, it was a bit rushed. She hadn't even had time to run it through the fryer.

Fu Qian glanced at the food Catherine carried over.

She had even prepared two identical portions.

Each person got six finger-length sausages, half red and half pale gray, thoughtfully paired with a side of sauce.

"Thank you."

Fu Qian reached out to take his portion, remembering to thank her.

To avoid being suspected of making a run for it, Catherine likely hadn't dared to stay out of sight for too long. Thus, Fu Qian was already quite satisfied with this outcome.

As for serving the food without cooking it first?

One glance was enough to tell these were ready-to-eat. There was absolutely no problem doing this.

"Are you actually going to eat here?"

On one hand, this overly easygoing and polite posture left Catherine almost entirely at a loss. On the other hand, Excellency Crystal looked downright dumbfounded.

Seeing Fu Qian actually fork a sausage and bring it to his mouth—even remembering to dip it into the sweet sauce—she finally couldn't help expressing her disbelief. The killing intent she had just gathered drained away completely.

'What else? What did you think was one of the reasons this seat took off the mask so quickly?'

Fu Qian just gave a slight nod in response. Upholding the table manners of not speaking with food in his mouth, he carefully savored it.

...

"You can eat a little too."

While Excellency Crystal was left speechless, Fu Qian swallowed his food and gestured toward Catherine, who didn't know what to do with herself.

The woman opposite him clearly had no appetite. Not to mention, Fu Qian could taste the black pepper in the sausage—it probably wasn't her preferred type of food to begin with.

Hmm...

Facts proved that Dayun Mingwang's intimidating presence was more than sufficient. Catherine didn't even politely decline; she instantly took a seat beside him.

And although she should have been the one with the least appetite, she bit the bullet and forced herself to swallow the food.

"It was about a month ago. Akasha suddenly vanished."

They hadn't even turned on the lights. The sound of chewing in the dark was undoubtedly exceptionally eerie.

After a moment of silent reflection, Crystal finally spoke up again, taking the initiative to break the silence.

Her words were substantial, no longer beating around the bush.

"That is a bit long. But considering her usual style, secretly hiding away to hatch some evil plot wouldn't be strange, right?"

Fu Qian returned the favor, chipping in to help analyze the reasons.

"Indeed it wouldn't. But for one, the timing was rather peculiar, and for another... some changes began to appear on my body."

Crystal made no move to argue; instead, she pressed her hand against her collar and slowly pulled it down.

...

One had just finished getting dressed, and now the other was performing such an indecent act. For a moment, it almost made one wonder if this restaurant had pivoted its primary business model.

"Is this... an egg?"

Whatever the case, it didn't stop Fu Qian from observing closely.

It was pulled down almost to her chest. True to his earlier observation, her figure was incredibly thin.

To the point that the exposed body beneath gave off a translucent feel, much like her previous ice wolf form.

But precisely because of this, he could see a creation nestled right in that spot, completely at odds with the surrounding tissue.

It was spherical and off-white, yet sprouted countless long tendrils that extended throughout her body.

The interwoven structure of the tendrils even bore quite a resemblance to the illusory spider webs before them.

"Yes, a spider egg. Something similar once appeared on Akasha's body."

Quickly confirming Fu Qian's guess, Crystal's tone carried a slightly complex emotion.

"And then the Spider Silk Queen was reborn from her."

Fu Qian casually added upon seeing this.

It seemed perfectly normal for the Spider Silk Queen to carry spider eggs, but in that moment, he completely understood what Crystal meant.

The Akasha she spoke of was clearly different from the one he had encountered.

A spider egg had appeared on a friend of hers named Akasha. After a period of gestation, that friend ultimately awakened to her identity as the Spider Silk Queen.

That was the origin of the super-criminal he had met.

And what Crystal was trying to express right now was that history seemed to be repeating itself.

"I haven't seen any signs of that yet, but some extra things did appear. That's why I was able to find her."

Fu Qian bringing up this past event seemed to completely solidify his identity in Crystal's eyes. In that moment, she pulled her clothes back up and gestured toward Catherine.

...

That explained it. No wonder she had suddenly gained so many skills, from weaving webs to hunting prey.

The question he'd had since earlier was now answered.

For a moment, even Fu Qian couldn't help but marvel at the bizarre workings of the world.

"So does this situation mean that Akasha is actually already dead? And next, it'll be your turn to awaken as the queen?"

However, this didn't stop him from making a reasonable deduction based on the circumstances, casually predicting a cruel future.

"It appears so. It's almost exactly identical to what I witnessed back then, and no matter what we do, there's no way to stop it..."

Normally fierce and decisive, Crystal stared off into the distance at that moment, as if recalling the past.

"But you found her so quickly. Was this connection alone really enough? She's already died once, after all."

It was understandable, but Fu Qian had no intention of empathizing. Instead, he pointed at Catherine and expressed his doubt.

As the person involved, Catherine had clearly lost all appetite while listening. She merely sat there in silence, as if awaiting a verdict.

And Fu Qian's words had somewhat of a salt-in-the-wound effect.

She had already died once, yet could still be tracked by a gestating egg. Wasn't this blood slave a bit too miserable? It felt like she was cursed to never find peace in any lifetime.

"Good question. I finally believe you're actually looking for her."

Though Catherine wasn't the only one with thoughts on the matter.

Crystal turned her head with a meaningful look at that moment, every last drop of nostalgia for her old friend completely gone.

"You're right. Based on what I know, she indeed leaves a mark on her prey. But with her death, that mark shouldn't be able to persist—"

"So even though you were implanted with an egg, you still believe Akasha isn't dead. And right at this moment, one of her former snacks also underwent some strange changes..."

Fu Qian finished the thought, indicating that he completely understood Crystal's meaning, as well as the hidden truth behind the scene before them.

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