Eldritch Horror Theatre

Do not reach out; reaching out will surely lead to being caught.

At that moment, a classic cautionary slogan surfaced in Fu Qian's mind.

Even with his movements being incredibly precise, not a single extra sound was stirred in the darkness.

Even the force of this Chastisement was extraordinary.

If you were going to hitch a ride, you should just hitch a ride—best not to scare anyone.

Operating on that exact principle, Fu Qian had gone to great lengths to manipulate his current image.

Aside from crafting an entirely new face, he had also performed a trendy bit of "data compression" on his Rank.

The final result was that right now, he was a genuine Mid-Tier Transcendent.

Yet under this sudden restriction, his arms felt incredibly heavy. Even twitching a pinky required considerable effort.

Fortunately, his eyes could still move.

Faced with such overwhelming hospitality, Fu Qian decisively chose to maintain his youthful persona, staring out the window at the surging waves once more.

In fact, that youthful aura felt even stronger this time.

The ship, which appeared to be on a return voyage, had inexplicably dropped its stabilizing techniques, leaving it to the mercy of the wind and waves.

In the blink of an eye, the ocean's might bled into the space, throwing everything into turbulence.

Not bad.

His first reaction was a sense of relief that his good habit of choosing a secure spot for his plate hadn't gone to waste.

Transcendent power was great, but one couldn't rely on it exclusively.

Earlier, even though the ship had been as stable as linked iron chains under the protection of that power, he had still set his food somewhere it wouldn't easily spill.

Even now, that shriveled piece of candied dried fruit had not been flung to the floor.

The same went for himself. Despite his restricted mobility, he remained perfectly steady.

However, one had to keep distinct matters separate. This wasn't the result of incredible foresight, but rather because someone was helping him along.

The force suppressing his movements clearly didn't want him falling to the floor and making a racket. Invisible cables seemed to stretch from the darkness, holding him firmly in place.

...

It really was returning.

Despite the battering wind and waves, everything felt strangely quiet.

Moreover, even though the fare-evader was fully restrained, no one had come to take him into custody.

Held in this peculiar posture, Fu Qian soon spotted the silhouette of the port through the storm.

It wasn't far away, and the area was shrouded in a vast tempest that rivaled the storms out at sea.

He couldn't blame everyone on board for being so calm. Seeing scenes like this frequently would give anyone a profound sense of human insignificance.

The torrential rain fell like a vertical flood, recklessly washing over every corner until it felt like not a single speck of dust could survive.

For the city closest to the Ash Sea, it created a sudden, bizarre sense of contrast.

Fu Qian sighed inwardly, watching helplessly as the distance closed—oh?

Right then, a wave of bizarre behavior flared up once more.

The ship, on the verge of returning to port, showed absolutely no intention of dropping anchor and began to turn around again.

...

What? Was his youthful aura still climbing?

Even the experienced Professor Fu couldn't help but marvel at the purely energetic youthfulness this maneuver displayed.

He wasn't seeing things. In the blink of an eye, the ship had executed a rapid flip-flopping maneuver and started moving away from the pier again, acting exactly like a donkey frolicking in the rain.

Only, during such an autumn of many troubles, was a Demigod really doing this here?

If that were true, Fu Qian felt Siren ought to organize a tour for the people of Anjing to come take a look; it might just deal them a significant Mental Shock.

Regardless, there was clearly a deeper meaning to this maneuver, making him increasingly interested in investigating—unfortunately, it seemed he had reached his stop.

The moment the ship finished turning around, Fu Qian realized his body was moving completely independent of his own control.

A suffocating blackness was crawling up his body until it covered him entirely.

And in the very next moment, Fu Qian felt himself melt into the ship's shadow along with the blackness, plummeting straight down.

Offering no resistance, he merely took one last look at that piece of dried fruit he never got to eat and sighed heavily in his heart.

...

Passing right through walls. How convenient.

Very quickly, Fu Qian found his entire body enveloped in freezing seawater.

Meanwhile, the ship bearing the Siren emblem was rapidly pulling away into the storm.

Without causing the slightest bit of damage, he had slipped right out of the ship like melting butter.

It was, quite frankly, a miraculous method.

Of course, there were even more miraculous things to come—like bats swimming in the water.

Fu Qian watched helplessly as one bizarre creature after another rode the waves toward him, tugging at the shadows on his body and heading straight for the shore.

Splash!

Amid the crashing waves, the sound of Fu Qian emerging from the water was practically imperceptible.

Instead, it was the shattering of the shadows clinging to him that unleashed a sort of formless shockwave.

Fu Qian believed that if this had happened on the ship, a Demigod would likely have noticed it quite easily.

"Do not try to make a sound. Believe me, they absolutely will not hear you."

Just as he was pondering the risk of exposure, a bat beside him spoke.

Its pronunciation was flawless, showing a strong willingness to communicate.

Its meaning was simple enough. Combined with its previous actions, this clearly wasn't a case of tossing him overboard and demanding a fare; this was a kidnapping—

Controlling him instantly, leaving him no chance to send out a distress signal.

Then, just as the ship neared the dock, they used that trick to drag him down, only revealing themselves now. It was both decisive and cautious.

The question now was, what exactly was the purpose behind this decisiveness and caution?

"You hid very well. If I hadn't taken another look after the ship set sail, you really might have escaped."

It turned out Fu Qian didn't need to ask; the other party volunteered the answer, sounding extremely purposeful.

"Do you still remember this symbol?"

Without giving Fu Qian a chance to defend himself, another voice rang out as several bats fluttered through the air, sketching out a rather simple pattern—

The rough shape of a palm, with lines symbolizing fingers extending at peculiar angles, one of which bulged in the middle to form an elliptical nodule.

This...

"I remember."

Fu Qian finally spoke up, confirming the other party's statement.

How could he not remember? That was his own emblem, the symbol of the King of the Abandoned Prison.

...

Excellency Serana was persistent indeed, having actually tracked him all the way here.

That's right... shadows, bats, and capturing suspicious individuals.

The moment those elements appeared, Fu Qian immediately thought of his old acquaintance.

And now that the King of the Abandoned Prison's emblem had been revealed, the situation was crystal clear—it seemed he had been captured under the assumption that he was the Greed Worm?

Although he wasn't sure what intel Serana had used to find this place, he figured this perfectly illustrated how many injustices bring self-destruction, right?

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!