Eldritch Horror Theatre

Excellency Needle Witch's prop was genuinely sinister. It felt like it had never produced a single scene fit for the living.

Watching the second Burlap Doll act even more outrageously—mounting a researcher's head the moment it appeared and turning into its driver—stirred up a host of memories for Fu Qian.

Chief Yuan had once mentioned that this Tier 2 expert specialized in curses, puppets, parasitism, and the like.

Although he had yet to see the woman herself, he had already gained a thorough appreciation for her various methods.

Of course, he shouldn't jump to conclusions.

Rather than seeing the traces before him and immediately assuming Excellency Needle Witch was up to no good here, it was far more likely that, as a special envoy for the Night Watchers, she had come to handle the Academy Exploration Team incident.

Fu Qian felt he completely understood why she had been entrusted with such a heavy responsibility—she was one of their best at crossing through space, after all.

Not only did she boast top-tier Combat Power, but she was also incredibly convenient to deploy for sudden field assignments.

Many tasks could even be handled remotely by her puppet Dolls, which likely boasted far greater resistance to various forms of corruption.

Of course, once someone entered the Etched Intellect, its specific physical manifestation was entirely out of their control.

Just look at the low-profile Excellency Blazing Rainbow, who had seemingly been forcibly saddled with a believer, to the point of having to use a sun as a disguise.

In comparison, this scene of a Doll pulling a real person's strings didn't actually stray too far from her true nature.

The only truly bizarre aspect was that an entire nest of them seemed to have bred in here.

A Fei had managed to break the deadlock and successfully slay one with a desperate, all-or-nothing slash, yet this new one had immediately emerged to flaunt its power. Not to mention the bunch of children's voices they had heard earlier.

He could easily imagine these things multiplying like cockroaches in this place, swarming over the broken bodies of the numerous researchers.

In short, the situation remained grim. A Fei was far from finished.

Clang—

He wasn't even given a single breath to spare. Amid a strange sound, the puppeted researcher bent down and yanked two shockingly long weapons from the rubble.

...

They were clearly pieces of experimental equipment. Aside from slightly sharpened tips, the two rods bore absolutely no resemblance to spears or lances, let alone possessing any proper balance.

Yet they were simply too long.

Paired with the researcher's already burly physique, the clothes-pole-like length of the weapons expanded his striking range beyond anything that could merely be described as shameless.

Swish—

Its movements were also astonishingly fast.

The puppeted body of flesh and blood clearly cared nothing for the risk of tearing its own muscles. Closing the distance in two steps with glaringly unnatural movements, it eagerly thrust out its weapons.

Understood. A Stardust Spear simply wasn't as practical as a physical spear.

Naturally, Fu Qian fell back to keep his distance and resume his role as a spectator while trying to parse the second Doll's choice.

It was swift as the wind.

It seemed there was a good reason for it to actively abandon its ranged advantage. Even in terms of pure physical combat, the puppet didn't seem disadvantaged in the slightest.

Not to mention it had already landed a hit earlier. The strange traces around A Fei's wound were now spreading quite noticeably.

Judging by A Fei's reaction, it was clearly more than just a visual effect. He remained completely silent, and even the twitching around his wound seemed to be growing sluggish—he was sleepy.

That was right. Even though the man was battered beyond recognition, Fu Qian still felt a strong sense of déjà vu as he took in the various symptoms afflicting that body.

A Fei clearly looked like he was about to fall asleep, and he was struggling fiercely against the sensation.

Nodding off during a life-and-death struggle was naturally a fatal mistake. In that regard, the earlier sneak attack that had pierced his back was even more sinister than if the blade had been dipped in poison.

Furthermore, as everyone knew, the difficulty of fending off drowsiness increased exponentially as time went on.

Squelch—

Before long, another wound opened up on A Fei's body.

Even though he hadn't fallen asleep, he had still grown sluggish, unable to completely dodge the attack.

His attempt to use the opportunity to close the distance and nullify his opponent's reach advantage was similarly unsuccessful.

The opponent's unnatural movements continued. It looked bulky and clumsy, but it swung its twin weapons with airtight precision, leaving A Fei with virtually no choice but to scurry for his life.

The battle immediately fell into a stalemate, and A Fei's movements were still slowing down. The situation looked far from optimistic.

And that wasn't even the worst of it—

Accompanied by the familiar sound of turning hinges, Fu Qian tore his gaze away from the battlefield and peered farther out, spotting more than one door slowly opening.

As he had noted earlier, there might be a whole group of these things.

Hee hee—

Hee hee hee—

There really was a group of them.

As if thoroughly rehearsed, that familiar laughter echoed from behind every opened door.

...

They really were like cockroaches. The count was already in the double digits.

In the blink of an eye, this gloomy space was transformed into a sea of joy.

Childish giggles echoed one after another, as if they had gathered around to enjoy an acrobatic performance.

Their various mounts only served to make the atmosphere even more lively.

While taking in this joyous and harmonious atmosphere, Fu Qian casually did a head count.

The facts proved their reproductive capability was astounding. There were over a dozen identical Burlap Dolls, their laughter exactly the same.

For A Fei, this was obviously not good news.

Because that meant their hostility toward him was likely just as uniform. The only reason they hadn't rushed in immediately was because they were farther away.

Of course, looking on the bright side, A Fei didn't seem to have the luxury to worry about that problem right now anyway.

Squelch—

Amid a subtle but strange sound, fresh blood splattered from his body once more.

However, only a small fraction of it came from being stabbed just now. The vast majority burst from his old wounds.

And the wounds hadn't burst open due to strenuous movement; rather, the hand he had been clenching like an iron vice had actively released its grip.

As a result, the lump of flesh he had been forcefully pinching together was instantly mangled beyond recognition, spraying blood all the way onto his opponent's body.

Amid this gruesome scene, A Fei's movements became completely uncharacteristic. He made no further attempt to dodge.

His wounds, the encirclement, the curse... he treated all of it as nothing.

Once more, he threw his entire body behind his blade, slashing straight at the Doll perched atop the puppet's head.

...

Not bad. Quite decisive.

It carried a somewhat reckless, absolute resolve—the very embodiment of a desperate final stand.

But as an evil god watching up close, Fu Qian naturally wouldn't read the situation so shallowly.

That slash was indeed fast. Objectively speaking, even for an agility-focused fighter like A Fei, it was a peak performance.

So, to pull off a move like that while burdened by a curse was no easy feat.

That was likely why he had actively given up keeping his wounds pinched shut. He seemed to be using the sharp stimulation of pain to slightly fight off the sluggishness.

Of course, thinking of this tactic or even pulling it off wasn't considered too outrageous.

The true difficulty here actually lay in making the decision, to unleash that slash at this exact moment.

A fearless, consequence-defying slash meant to sever the second Doll's head from its body.

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