Eldritch Horror Theatre

No one answered.

This was the beauty of dealing with academic researchers: they were incredibly easy to trap in their own logic.

From what the Person Behind the Door had said earlier, he could deduce that the Shadow's trait wasn't just a lack of self-awareness. There were at least two other related characteristics—

First, it was entirely possible for this group of researchers to unknowingly enter that state, much like catching a curse.

Otherwise, they would have simply scoffed at his earlier nonsense.

Second, the Shadow and the normal state were diametrically opposed; each would view the other as invisible.

If that weren't the case, there wouldn't be any confusion. A group could just gather around and inspect one another; whoever was infected would stand out immediately.

In short, under these premises, the conclusion drawn from the current situation was devastatingly lethal—

If the uninvited guest wasn't a Shadow, didn't that mean the crowd who found him invisible were the Shadows?

"You don't all need to come. Whoever feels confident enough, I'll be waiting right here."

And the man holding the upper hand only grew more obnoxious.

He threw out relentless taunts, just waiting for the chance to slap them in the face.

...

This was a dimensional strike. One should never easily surrender their own advantage.

Although the maneuver seemed a bit shameless at first glance, for Fu Qian, that was the least of his concerns.

The core of the matter remained that, no matter what, the minds of the group before him were still confined to this spacetime.

With that kind of informational advantage, many judgments naturally became much easier to make.

So, while his little game just now held little substance, it was essentially a way to apply pressure, observe their reactions, and gather more intelligence.

Of course, Fu Qian was already inclined to believe that this group's condition was far from optimistic.

"So you don't even have the courage to step out from behind the door?"

Still, no one answered. Fu Qian's mockery continued.

"Actually, I've been curious from the very beginning. Why are you doing this?

"Are you afraid I'll pry your skulls open? I don't think that's what you're worried about... On the contrary, let me guess. Is the interior of your Laboratory just like the Back Room—impossible for others to peek into?"

Thanks to his excellent thought habits, Fu Qian easily entered the second fold of his Heart-Slaying Power, aiming straight at their shady behavior of hiding behind doors.

"Could it be that deep down, you've been dreading encountering a situation like mine all along?"

...

Yes, they didn't dare show their faces.

No matter how eerie and mysterious their initial appearance had been, Fu Qian's first reaction to them hiding behind the door was exactly this.

Everything they displayed afterward only continued to support this theory.

Even the emergence of the Shadow Theory made it effortless to set up a prisoner's dilemma model.

No one wanted to be scrutinized, because no one had any confidence in their own condition.

Even if they were confident, if someone else's state was off, they could still be branded as an anomaly and targeted.

Therefore, before Fu Qian had even started his little test, he was almost certain that no one would dare step forward.

Of course, it now seemed that the nature of Etched Intellect was akin to a mishmash of various elements and spacetime, forcibly molded into an absolute monstrosity.

Under these circumstances, there wasn't much need to apply strict logic to everything.

But logical deduction was still useful. As long as the people inside possessed normal thought processes, they would inevitably try to find an explanation for their state.

By utilizing this well, one could easily guide them into overthinking themselves into a dead end.

Essentially, this too was a dimensional strike.

All in all, the Heart-Slaying Power was just that simple.

"Are you trying to say that the guy locked in the Back Room was innocent... that we are the ones who went wrong, and we drove the correct one into a corner?"

With their morale on the verge of collapse, someone finally stepped forward.

The Person Behind the Door who had spoken first seemed to still have a sense of responsibility as he coldly asked the question.

"The correct one... That's a good title."

Thinking back to the sight of that human body in the Back Room gradually turning into a jellyfish, Fu Qian let out a string of enigmatic chuckles.

In theory, that person should have also been undergoing the Shadow transformation at the time, though he couldn't be sure if that had been the case before being locked away.

"The greatest benefit for those of us in academic research is that, no matter what we say, there is only one correct answer—so have you found the answer to the Transcendent Terminus?"

...

The Third Fold of Heart-Slaying Power.

It was always people of the same kind who knew where the fatal weak spots lay. In that moment, Fu Qian effortlessly delivered a critical hit to the academic researchers.

You might speak in a clear and systematic manner, maintaining a thick skin and a stubborn mouth to appear flawless, but where were your results?

You either had them, or you didn't.

On one hand, Fu Qian was certain that Brother Thinker had found it. On the other hand, confident as the Person Behind the Door was, he only dared to boast that he was "close to finding the answer" when making excuses.

They were just a group of cowards hiding behind closed doors. They most likely weren't willing to pay the price to glimpse the Truth.

"I believe I said, we are very close..."

However, force was always mutual. Such ruthless, continuous strikes against their hearts finally sparked a backlash.

After another moment of silence, the tone of the Person Behind the Door began to twist. Specifically, it carried a vicious intent to kill, like a volcano on the verge of erupting.

Regardless of who was right or wrong, you were dead anyway.

"Heh... You think I don't know? In our circle, words like that are only spoken for ghosts to hear. Of course, fools also say them to themselves."

Unfortunately, Fu Qian continued to ignore his momentum. Not only did he not pull back, but in the blink of an eye, he ascended to the Fourth Fold of Heart-Slaying Power, utterly denying the other party's academic spirit.

"...It seems we have no choice but to communicate in a different way."

Although this seemed to actually release the other party from their restraints, at the exact same moment the Person Behind the Door replied, all the Silver Dot-Lines in their field of vision began to shine brightly.

A seemingly familiar feeling of the Stars tearing apart quickly gathered over his body.

"Makes sense. You want a Lighthouse, don't you? Come, look over here."

Fu Qian's reaction was cheerful agreement. He even snapped his fingers at that moment, signaling the audience not to blink.

Disappointed by the lack of light?

That was fine. As a scientific researcher, one absolutely had to believe in the light—

Endless, boundless, and utterly brilliant.

The casually activated Commandment Residue dispelled the darkness in that instant, outshining the Stars.

And through the channels where the researchers secretly peered, it surged into their minds.

...

Of course, he wasn't doing something as boring as seeking revenge.

Even though the discussion was intense, for Fu Qian, the purpose of spending this time communicating with the researchers wasn't limited to the conversation itself. It also included waiting.

Was it possible that no other higher entities were drawn into this spacetime fallacy?

In Fu Qian's eyes, this situation felt somewhat desolate.

Even the researchers' retaliatory actions after being provoked were incredibly feeble.

In short, the current situation meant he either had to accept this desolation, or believe that some higher entity was lurking even better than the Chief Judge.

And given his suspicions about the second scenario, Fu Qian was prepared to make things a lot more intense.

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