Eldritch Horror Theatre

Truly a seasoned veteran who had survived this long—even now, he knew exactly how to play his hand.

Naturally, Fu Qian didn't think Excellency Rom's hearing had failed by mere coincidence.

As a Deity who actively initiated contact with lower creatures, it was impossible for him to be ignorant of the ways of the world.

Judging by his earlier attempt to launch a sneak attack from a visual blind spot, he wasn't just highly familiar with their surroundings, but even understood Fu Qian's current Transcendent Insulation State.

In short, no matter how blank he appeared, Excellency Rom's mind was perfectly clear; talking to himself was entirely deliberate.

As for the reason?

Why would he behave so rudely when he clearly wanted to make peace?

It wasn't strange. Acting entirely subservient had never secured peace.

The bargaining chips to avoid a fight had already been laid out in his earlier words—I pose no threat to you, killing me is useless, and it might even dirty your hands...

They were both cold, profit-driven operators. Did he really expect to win a sliver of goodwill that way?

Someone who lived this kind of life couldn't possibly harbor such naive thoughts.

On the contrary, such a subservient posture would only weaken the credibility of what he had just said.

Therefore, not only had Excellency Rom prepared his script in advance, but his strategy was also crystal clear: directly lay out the pros and cons, then play dead and leave himself at his opponent's mercy.

For example, after finishing his final sentence just now, he hadn't made another sound, not even asking for Fu Qian's opinion.

In all fairness, if what he said earlier was true, this was indeed almost the optimal solution.

It was a pity. Excellency Rom likely knew quite a lot, and chatting with him further would undoubtedly have been highly beneficial for various subjects.

Letting out a long, empathetic sigh, Fu Qian felt a pang of regret.

Once a figure like this made up his mind, having a dao heart like iron was the bare minimum; changing his mind wouldn't be easy.

And this operational ground was indeed rather fragile.

However, as an old hand in the jianghu, Fu Qian also knew well the great taboo that going too far is as bad as falling short; he had already reaped quite a harvest here.

"Lacking the Rank to leave an Imprint?"

The staggering amount of information in those final two sentences alone was enough to prove how deeply Excellency Rom understood the Etched Intellect.

He knew not only what their current state was, but also how it had formed, and even why he had been dragged into it...

...

The Inverted Lake and himself.

He had previously deduced that these were the two core causes of the current Etched Intellect—practically a mutual convergence.

And having progressed all the way to this fifth act, he had also formed certain theories regarding the various higher entity elements that had appeared within it.

For example, the original owner had once visited this place, embedding himself into its history, which led to him being merged into the fallacy when it was generated.

Rom's statement had somewhat confirmed this point.

It proved that the appearance of elements within the fallacy indeed had to follow certain rules, requiring the support of some underlying source.

It even placed certain requirements on the source's Rank; if it was too low, it wouldn't qualify.

And regarding this, Rom had long since devised a way out.

That was to voluntarily lower his own Rank tag, thereby getting "eliminated" by the Etched Intellect.

He had to admit, the logic sounded quite smooth, and in Fu Qian's view, executing it wasn't impossible either.

After all, both he and Master Yuhun had done similar things.

Through this, Rom had once again proved his mastery over the Inverted Lake. This appeared to be a method that even Blazing Rainbow hadn't thought of.

Back in the third act, when the latter was suspected to have been dragged in, the only solution it came up with was to hide its identity. Once it could no longer hide, it fought aggressively, using rather crude means to shatter this place.

But if this claim was true, a certain contradiction remained: what was the deal with those researchers who seemed to only be around the Mid Tier?

Compared to these entities, they were pitifully weak, so why could they still appear? Because they were already a part of the Inverted Lake.

Almost the instant he asked the question, Fu Qian thought of a possible explanation.

A whale had already swum into the Laboratory; how much ability could these uninhibited sages possibly possess to resist its influence?

The power of the Inverted Lake had likely altered their very essence long ago.

Besides, in other places, the Etched Intellect had no Rank restrictions. The special nature of this place could also be considered an effect of the Inverted Lake.

In conclusion, Excellency Rom's statements held a certain degree of credibility, and he genuinely had shared some valuable intelligence.

"I see. I understand."

At a certain moment, Fu Qian sighed again and truly did not press any further.

He even put away the script in his hand, in no rush to study what to write on it—oh?

In the very next moment, just as a tacit understanding was reached and "peace" arrived, Excellency Rom seemingly proved his claim once more.

With an efficiency far higher than it sounded, that body of Endless Generations of Descendants was already eroding like windblown sand, disappearing bit by bit where it stood.

Following it was a bizarre tremor that even Fu Qian, currently lacking Transcendent Perception, could feel.

Everything here was becoming unstable. Next, as long as he stood his ground, he could calmly escape—Crack!

Fu Qian didn't stand his ground; instead, he leaped away at near-limit speed, landing on the surface of the lake.

Of course, even if it wasn't real water, it shouldn't have produced such an overly crisp sound.

The sound had actually come from where he was just standing.

Without any warning, a string of crystal-clear red crystals appeared out of thin air.

It was as if spacetime had suddenly been bruised to the point of seeping blood.

The ferocious and malignant aura within it instantly brought to mind the destructive storm above the whale's head.

Most importantly, this crimson blade had struck the exact spot where Fu Qian had just been standing.

If he hadn't jumped away just now—if he had been even a split second slower to leave—the ensuing consequences would have been unimaginable.

But how could he possibly be a split second slower?

Sigh...

Looking up at a forty-five-degree angle, Fu Qian sighed for the third time.

"I already mentioned Overthinking."

...

Excellency Serpent of Destiny truly hadn't lied; everyone had limitations they couldn't break through.

Applied specifically to Excellency Rom, it boiled down to him still trying to pull a cheap trick at the very last moment, completely insulated from any open scheme.

True, the performance might have been brilliant, but how could Fu Qian possibly believe that guy possessed the magnanimity for a win-win situation?

The three steps from beginning to end had progressed far too naturally—

First, playing dumb to launch a sneak attack.

When the sneak attack failed, appealing to logic.

Then, presenting seemingly sound and reasonable arguments—when in reality it was all to lower his opponent's guard to the absolute maximum, quickly followed by a lethal strike under that cover.

Extreme seniority often meant extreme stubbornness. Excellency Rom had never been able to surpass himself.

Even if this final ultimate move, which obviously relied on charging up, packed such astonishing power.

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