Eldritch Horror Theatre

When fabricating a story, one always had to bring it full circle.

Since he had chosen Laurie as his alternate persona, he naturally had to exploit the name's value to the fullest.

For instance, being at the top of the chain meant absolute privacy, and the fallout from his death wouldn't be too severe.

Not only did this resolve Excellency Serana's doubts, it also massively boosted the story's credibility.

The most direct result was a long, drawn-out silence.

Her long-prepared fatal strike had only made his account seem more authentic. The interrogator appeared to be genuinely reconsidering the confession she had extracted.

"Tell me your original plan."

She didn't raise any further doubts. "Serana" even started inquiring about the details.

"Unfortunately, I didn't have much of a plan. I was mostly making it up as I went... It was exactly because I couldn't confirm Gene was on the ship that I had to take that risk."

"Then how did you know he might be on the ship?"

Serana still wasn't letting him off the hook.

"I just knew he was trying to stick his nose into the conflict between the two factions. I didn't even know which side he was on, nor was I sure if Anjing was making any moves here.

"Siren's movements were incredibly conspicuous, though, so I could only try my luck there... even though I have no idea what Sorondil was actually doing."

Sincerity truly was invincible; Fu Qian answered without missing a beat.

"Furthermore, I won't ask how Your Excellency knows all this, nor will I ask your purpose in seeking out the Dominator of Death. I only hope that if our goals align, we can cooperate to survive this immediate crisis first."

"Serana" said nothing, but Fu Qian kept talking, sounding as if he possessed a great deal of self-knowledge.

"If Your Excellency feels this is pointless, I can only express my regrets."

...

A moment later, a jolt of pain flared from his back, accompanied by a soothing warmth.

His barrage of words seemed to have finally taken effect. His spine, which had been on the verge of being entirely ripped out, was clearly being stitched back into place.

"I hope you cherish this comfort... If I catch you trying any little tricks, you'll be sent straight to embrace that master you serve."

"Serana," having helped stitch him up slightly, spoke again, her tone still heavy with threat.

"Understood."

Fu Qian nodded, making no effort to hide his relief.

Though the reason for his relief probably wasn't what it seemed.

On the surface, it looked like the joy of narrowly escaping death; in reality, it was the delight of acquiring a useful pawn.

He genuinely hadn't asked about those things just now, nor did he need to.

The core truth remained unchanged: no matter how she had tracked him here, for Excellency Serana, this entire situation was undeniably a massive blunder.

She had boarded the ship to catch someone, only to end up catching someone who was there for the exact same reason.

Fortunately, who knows if it brings misfortune or blessing—this particular captive knew quite a bit more.

He could also tell from the interrogation that the incident in Shangjing was nowhere near as simple as it appeared; it involved a significant amount of hidden details.

Moore might be dangerous at the moment, but it had clearly become a land of opportunity—a chance to unravel the myriad mysteries that had persisted all this time.

Moreover, a top-tier pawn was right in front of him. As long as he was pushing the boat along with the current, he could exploit the bugs' desire to survive and maximize his information gathering.

And throughout this entire process, her identity hadn't even been exposed.

All these schemes ultimately boiled down to a contest of weighing pros and cons. It wasn't hard to deduce what choice she would make.

"Sorondil is looking for something."

As it turned out, the next time "Serana" spoke, she actively cleared up a bit of Fu Qian's earlier confusion.

...

Looking for something?

Compared to surfing, this explanation made the earlier scene a lot more reasonable.

"Is that thing around Moore? Is that why they sailed out a distance only to immediately turn back?"

Since the other party had suddenly become generous enough to enter an information-sharing phase, Fu Qian naturally wasn't going to hold back.

"To be more precise, that ship has been sailing around in circles for a long time, and almost exclusively in this kind of weather,"

"Serana" corrected coldly, sounding as if she had been observing it for a while.

Only going out to sea in harsh weather? That was a bit rebellious.

"No wonder. When I was on the ship, I felt that everything about it was bizarre. So they still haven't found what they're looking for?"

Finding the situation increasingly intriguing, Fu Qian expressed that he now had a better grasp of the circumstances.

"It seems so. And unfortunately, no one knows what he's searching for." She agreed with Fu Qian's assessment, though it looked like Excellency Serana had no intention of sharing anything more.

At the same time, Fu Qian realized that the restraints on his body had been completely removed.

"Perhaps Anjing knows?"

Reaching back to touch his spine, making sure there were no longer any exposed wounds, Fu Qian tossed out a theory.

"Perhaps... but their people are clearly well hidden. That's why I went looking for someone on the ship. Though, as it turns out, Gene doesn't seem to be as brave as you."

Not only was "Serana" genuinely discussing the current situation with him, she even gave Fu Qian a compliment.

...

Sure enough, according to her intel, Gene wasn't necessarily acting as a lackey for Siren, was he?

The implication was glaringly obvious. "Serana" had first searched for the forces related to Anjing but failed to find them, and since Siren's ship was far too conspicuous sitting out there, she had taken the rather wild approach of boarding it to try her luck.

As for why Gene might have been on the ship, she had hypothesized various motives—such as working for Siren, or conversely, infiltrating it to cause sabotage.

Of course, the probability of the latter was undeniably low. Pulling a stunt right under the nose of a demigod was simply a bit too wild.

"You flatter me—shall I take another trip to the ship to confirm Sorondil's objective?"

Having borrowed a demigod's perspective to roughly sketch out the overall situation in Moore, Fu Qian replied modestly before casually tossing out a proposal.

...

"Do you know what you're saying?"

As it turned out, even for someone as strong as a demigod, Mental Resistance wasn't completely unbreakable.

Over the course of a few seconds of silence, "Serana" seemed to be verifying what she had just heard.

"I thought about it, and it seems I have nothing else to do."

However, as the leader of the Greed Worms, "Laurie's" awareness of life was evidently far beyond Gene's. With a low chuckle, he displayed the profound open-mindedness of someone who had seen right through the ways of the world.

"Since I'm the one who proposed cooperation, I must demonstrate my worth. I imagine Your Excellency doesn't think I can be of much help here in Moore."

How could he be spouting nonsense or joking? Just a moment ago, he had been weighing the necessity of operating in Moore versus charging straight into the Ash Sea.

Now that he had a Demigod Grade pawn at his disposal, did he even need to consider what to do next?

He would definitely make his move in both Moore and the Ash Sea, leaving this place to Siren, Anjing, and Serana to battle it out like venomous insects in a jar, before returning later to reap the rewards.

Of course, he certainly couldn't just say that out loud. They were still theoretical partners, after all.

Fortunately, since Excellency Serana had just lavishly praised his courage, he could easily bring things full circle once more.

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