Eldritch Horror Theatre

"This way."

His offer to lead the way was no empty boast.

He had volunteered here before, after all, and he recognized they weren't far from the old reception desk.

Despite the poor road conditions, Fu Qian flawlessly retraced his past route, leading the newcomer down toward the equipment distribution area.

In contrast, the candidate interviewing for the Scavenger position was nowhere near as at ease.

Dragging a crippled leg was bad enough, but his sense of direction was heavily flawed, too. Left to drift even slightly, he would spin in circles. In the blink of an eye, Fu Qian had to stop and wait for him a third time.

Of course, this last delay couldn't be entirely blamed on the candidate, as their path had been blocked.

Screech...

At the bizarre sound, Fu Qian stepped aside to stay out of attack range before studying the obstacle kneeling on the floor.

The Fallacy Spacetime was clearly much more vibrant this time around, and the locals weren't nearly as reclusive.

In just this short while, they had already encountered two individuals active outdoors, and they both gave off a very similar impression—

Unrecognizable features, deformed limbs, and a chaotic consciousness.

As far as Fu Qian could tell, this second person's legs should have been in much better shape. They weren't crawling on the ground due to physical impairment, but because their overall behavior was degrading into that of a beast.

The bizarre sound from earlier came from rooting its head around against the floor.

This one's mental state appeared even worse.

The Scavenger candidate behind him finally caught up. Fu Qian glanced back and forth between the two humanoid creatures and came to a conclusion.

"This is..."

The candidate had clearly noticed this as well, stopping in his tracks to stare blankly at the creature.

"Another researcher from this facility. Unfortunately, it looks like they've already descended into madness."

Fu Qian sighed.

He had grounds to say this. Aside from sharing a similar state to the candidate, the figure on the ground even bore a certain resemblance to Fu Qian himself—namely, the clothes.

Even torn to shreds, the garments retained traces of their original formal style. It was the exact same design that Fu Qian was currently imitating.

It was indeed a researcher. It might even be that receptionist from before.

Fu Qian recalled those classic blond eyebrows and carefully scrutinized the area that roughly corresponded to the creature's head.

Unfortunately, he only found dry, twig-like Spikes protruding from it, forcing him to drop the thought.

"Do you need me to... clean it up?"

Seeming a bit sensitive to the word "madness," the candidate shuddered and took the initiative to ask.

"Let's see if it initiates an attack—looks like it will."

This proactive attitude was quite reassuring. Fu Qian tried to gesture for peace first, but before he could even finish speaking, he was forced to take another step back.

It was hard to say whether it had heard their voices or caught their scent, but the creature on the ground had clearly noticed their arrival. Without a word, it lunged forward.

Though it missed, it had theoretically just met the conditions for cleanup.

Hmm...

Unfortunately, the candidate hesitated this time, his deformed eyes darting back and forth between Fu Qian and the attacker.

...

The clothes?

This guy was sharper than expected.

The candidate's behavior made it look like he talked a big game but chickened out when it was time to act.

However, Fu Qian didn't think the man was undergoing such complex psychological gymnastics.

The more likely reason for this reaction was confusion—he had also noticed the identical clothing.

To the candidate's no-longer-lucid brain, the two figures in front of him were equal in certain aspects.

Which one was the receptionist and which one was the cleanup target suddenly became very difficult to distinguish.

In short, this was exactly why one shouldn't be too full of themselves. As Fu Qian saw it, anyone lacking a little humility would probably find it very hard to empathize with this reasoning.

Of course, whether this was actually the case still required a bit of confirmation.

"Look, mine are much neater."

Without urging him, Fu Qian simply called out and gestured to his own body, reminding the man to pay attention to the comparison.

Hmm...

Sure enough, choosing the right keyword worked. Even the most sluggish brain could be guided. At that moment, Fu Qian could practically see those bloodshot eyes light up.

Hesitating for only a single breath, the candidate leaped forward.

...

This was the importance of minding one's personal appearance.

Things were proceeding very smoothly. Deeply satisfied, Fu Qian even gave his sleeves a slight flick.

His earlier meticulousness had paid off with astonishing speed.

Facts proved his guess right; the candidate truly couldn't tell them apart because of the clothes.

All he needed to do was use this concept, highlighting the crucial differences to make the superiority clear, and the scales rapidly tilted.

Furthermore, the candidate's subsequent performance made all his patient guidance seem quite worthwhile.

As he lunged, the target was just preparing to launch its second attack.

Although he was completely unarmed and sporting a crippled leg, the moment he entered his attack stance, the candidate seemed like an entirely different person.

In terms of sheer size, the target was actually slightly larger, and its stats under the Vision Radar weren't bad either, but the fight almost instantly became one-sided.

Crack—

The creature on the ground instinctively abandoned its original target to counter the incoming assault. Before it could even adjust its direction, however, one of its legs was snapped outright.

It was too fast. It felt comparable to someone dumping all their stat points entirely into agility.

The candidate's speed was noticeably a cut above. His attacks were fierce and ruthless, instantly locking onto the joints.

Even though his physical strength wasn't exaggerated, he crushed his opponent effortlessly, dragging the creature down to the exact same crippled condition as himself.

After eliminating any possibility of the enemy escaping, he didn't hesitate to engage in close-quarters grappling.

Roar—

If the candidate looked as calm as a hunter the moment he entered his combat state, then the target was a display of pure bestiality.

Barely holding on by relying on its strength advantage, the latter let out a howl filled with agony and rage.

And that wasn't even the only manifestation of its bestial nature. There was something much more direct—Feathers?

Fu Qian watched as clusters of wild shapes pierced out from the broken joint, eventually spreading into a wide patch.

It looked as if it was about to switch to a different mode of movement and take to the skies in the very next second.

...

They really were Feathers.

Of course, the target couldn't fly. Without disturbing the two grapplers, Fu Qian had already circled to the side, picking one up from the ground to carefully examine it.

Gray, narrow, and familiar... So this guy had been subjected to some influence from the Chief Judge?

Easily recognizing it as a creation belonging to the Angelic Lineage, Fu Qian twirled the stem of the Feather between his fingers, seemingly feeling the Clamor of his Etched Intellect this time around.

Not only were there seemingly more people, but even the higher entities appeared to be much livelier, with His Excellency the Chief Judge displaying his influence right from the start.

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