Eldritch Horror Theatre

Just as expected!

Fu Qian looked down at the revolver on the floor without a hint of surprise.

Obviously, Nate had just been preparing to shoot him, exactly as he had done to Helom.

'Too bad I am nothing like him.'

Fu Qian shook his head.

The severed finger resting on the revolver's trigger was still trying to pull it.

Unfortunately, it was already incredibly fragile. At the slightest application of force, it snapped in two and continued crumbling into dust.

It wasn't just the severed hand; Nate's entire body was the same.

The old man who had just been talking about how warm it felt was now constantly sloughing off flesh and skin.

As an ordinary mortal, his body had become a battlefield for two clashing forces and had long since been pushed past its limit.

Now, finally unable to hold on, it had begun to collapse. That was where the severed arm on the floor had come from.

As for why he had wanted to kill him?

"Hmph, did you think I couldn't tell you were Helom's accomplice?"

At this moment, Nate hadn't even noticed his arm had fallen to the ground.

"You came snooping around twice, last night and today. Did you realize your accomplice was missing and want to investigate?"

"But you're obviously more cunning than Helom. Sharing a little secret with you to make you lower your guard was nothing. You're about to die anyway... How does the bullet taste?"

'Old man, your bullet is still on the floor.'

Fu Qian was speechless, though considering the man's condition, a bit of mental confusion was perfectly normal.

Obviously, the script playing out in Nate's mind this time wasn't a heart-to-heart chat with a friend, but rather casting Fu Qian as Helom's accomplice.

Nate had been pretending not to know his true identity, acting his heart out before trying to take him down with a single shot when he wasn't looking.

Unfortunately, the professionalism of a specialized task runner was beyond his imagination.

Fu Qian had never forgotten that Nate was currently an actor; he hadn't lowered his guard for a single second.

No matter how discreetly he moved, Nate's attempt to secretly draw a gun could never have slipped past him.

"You obviously put a lot of effort into this, even knowing to impersonate one of Collins's people. Too bad you won't be needing to pass on any messages anymore."

As his lips moved, the skin on Nate's face dissolved and fell away, revealing dark red gums.

"After dealing with you, I'll attend tonight's banquet right on time and invite everyone to Sean's funeral. The tale of you two clowns will make for a great laughingstock over drinks..."

Thud!

With his final words, Nate's ruined body finally crashed to the ground, his voice falling silent.

'Is this what they call being so deep in character you can't snap out of it?'

Fu Qian shook his head and bent down to pick something up from the remains.

It was a thin, transparent flake shaped like a curved diamond. It was as clear as water in the moonlight, feeling almost imperceptible in his hand.

[Current task updated: Clear the corruption of the brain dance]

The prompt rang in his ear, and the task finally updated.

'Not eradicate, but clear the corruption?'

Though he had expected it, Fu Qian still sighed.

When the task updated last time, he noticed that this mission seemed focused on having him resolve hidden dangers rather than targeting the brain dance itself.

In other words, the theme of this task was more about having him cover up what had happened in Baerluk—preventing the See Me Faction from being exposed—rather than destroying the anomaly completely.

Thinking carefully, the state of the brain dance after cutting open their skulls was like turning this group of people collectively into actors, plunging them into an interwoven script.

Aside from being highly lethal to transcendents, these people were, at most, just a group of mental patients.

Before Helom's accident, this group had been entirely content in their own little world, causing no harm.

His death had become a variable that threw one of the actors into a state of chaos, disrupting the entire system.

And his task was to set things right.

Fu Qian toyed with the transparent flake in his hand, holding it up against the top of his head.

Obviously, this was the substitute they used after cutting their skulls open.

It was as thin as an eggshell but incredibly sturdy; there was no telling what material it was made of.

'Giving up on active observation, and instead tearing down the barrier.'

'Exposing the brain beneath the starry sky to be "seen" by an unknown, mysterious existence, thus passively establishing contact?'

'It is a valid approach, and the facts prove it is actually effective.'

'But the question now is, what exactly is this corruption?'

'Nate's soul is already completely destroyed. Could there really still be lingering effects?'

'Is there any way to be sure?'

Fu Qian looked out the window and had a little idea.

The next moment, he pressed his hand to the top of his head.

Like a gentleman tipping his hat in greeting, he gently plucked off a piece of his skull.

Thanks to his supreme mastery over flesh and blood, he even controlled the shape to be exactly identical.

Holding this "hat," Fu Qian pressed it to his chest and bowed toward where Nate had been.

'What a bizarre sensation!'

Fu Qian sat down in Nate's original spot.

From the Mirror nearby, he could see his own brain directly exposed to the open air.

'I wonder where the first person to do this got their inspiration from.'

'Compared to Nate and the others, what I have done is undoubtedly far more thorough. I didn't even leave a window.'

'I wonder if that mysterious existence will let me become a member of the See Me Faction.'

'As long as I can join the brain dance, it will undoubtedly be easier to find where the corruption is.'

Unfortunately, after sitting there until the sky was filled with stars, Fu Qian found his thoughts entirely unaffected.

The mysterious existence didn't seem to favor his brain.

'Looks like I will have to think of another way.'

Feeling somewhat regretful, Fu Qian slotted his skull back into place, then wiped a hand over his face.

His facial features rapidly distorted. In less than ten seconds, he had taken on Nate's appearance.

Picking up a hat from the floor and putting it on, Fu Qian walked out of the room.

Nate had just said he would be attending tonight's banquet; he might as well go and take a look.

'If I'm lucky, I might even run into another Nate.'

...

Navigating the familiar route to Collins's house, Fu Qian walked straight into the banquet hall.

Immediately, he spotted Grace dressed in formal attire.

She was still all alone, standing on the spacious balcony and chatting merrily with the empty air beside her.

Approaching silently, Fu Qian listened to Grace's words.

"Good wine is a fine cure. Drinking in moderation is good for you."

'What a familiar line!'

Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

'It really is Nate's lingering ghost.'

It seemed that under the current circumstances, even though Nate's soul had been completely destroyed, he was still living on in the brain dances of the others.

'That can certainly be called a corruption.'

"Seeing you regain your vitality is truly wonde—"

Before Grace could finish her sentence, Fu Qian walked up to her and forcefully handed her a glass of wine.

A look of pain and disgust appeared on Grace's face once again.

A moment later, she stared at Fu Qian in front of her, her expression turning to one of absolute shock.

"Everyone!"

Before she could speak, Fu Qian shouted, drawing everyone's attention.

"I am going to hold a funeral for Sean!"

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