Eldritch Horror Theatre

She was always this reliable.

True to her reputation for ending games, Executive Yama Su's casual remark effortlessly dropped a bombshell inside the Hall of Joy.

She could have left all along—even right now?

To everyone who had schemed for so long as prisoners, these words were undoubtedly a worldview-shattering shock.

More importantly, given her character, it was impossible to even suspect she was lying.

"You weren't poisoned?"

The outspoken Professor Lisa was already starting to doubt her own handiwork.

"I was."

Su Gao didn't shut her out completely, but she clearly had no intention of explaining further.

If she had simply noticed earlier than everyone else and taken precautions to avoid being poisoned, it would have been a far more reasonable explanation.

But now you're telling me you were poisoned, yet you can cure yourself at any time?

That was simply too unreasonable.

One shock followed another. Normally, the Sanctuary should have fallen into dead silence at a moment like this.

"Heh, hehe..."

But given that everything was now enveloped in pleasure, someone was clearly already enjoying the thrill of having their perception torn apart.

Madam Number Seven, who was relatively weaker in strength, abruptly reached up and tore off the mask she had just put on, followed by her headpiece... revealing the face she had always sought to hide.

At a glance, the excessively bizarre contours of her features actually projected a strange, twisted beauty.

"So you just can't bear to leave?"

She could clearly leave but chose not to. Her bare face exposed, Madam Number Seven was obviously trying to understand Su Gao's behavior, her tone carrying a hint of mockery.

"Yes. I still have things to do."

Executive Yama Su was just that honest. As she gave her casual reply, her gaze fell openly upon Fu Qian.

...

So it had been that close? He was a hair's breadth away from doing absolutely nothing and just lying back while being rescued?

Su Gao's stance was incredibly direct, faintly verifying his previous guess once again: the women were most likely here to save someone.

Meeting those amber eyes, Fu Qian couldn't help but sigh at the cruel tricks of fate.

It was no surprise to him that Su Gao wasn't particularly afraid of "poison."

Because of her Echo constitution, it was safe to say that no matter how stealthy the approach, petty tricks would struggle to entirely strip Su Gao of her ability to fight back.

Her performance in the Nightmare Corridor earlier was a prime example.

The reason she could leave but chose not to also seemed easy to deduce—she only had enough strength to get one person out.

And by the time she noticed the poisoning, Professor Fu had already fallen victim to it alongside her.

"If you are going to the Sanctuary, then I am going to the Sanctuary too." Her words from when she had hitched a ride still rang in his ears, openly declaring her ulterior motives.

It was the very reason she had followed him here and exposed herself to these risks.

Realizing something was wrong with the situation, someone with Su Gao's personality would never just walk away easily.

Additionally, this proved that the Dark Sanctuary's digestion process was truly astonishing.

Even someone as vigilant as Su Gao couldn't use the Power of Echo to take him away the moment she noticed it.

"Thank you."

Regardless, it was a favor he had to accept.

Before anyone else could voice an opinion, Fu Qian blinked and directly expressed his gratitude.

"But I cannot answer the third question."

Su Gao's response didn't shy away from this at all, completely unbothered by others knowing her intentions.

But at the same time, she emphasized that she truly couldn't answer the third question.

...

Even Su Gao couldn't judge? Was it really the worst-case scenario?

Although he was mentally prepared, Su Gao's confirmation still drew a soft, inward sigh from Fu Qian.

Her inability to answer the third question was practically an admission that Professor Fu's words contradicted themselves.

Some conversation or bizarre request really had taken place in the past, and he—the person involved—was completely unaware of it.

And much like the conflict in Eldest Miss Wen's heart, Su Gao's overwhelming trust in Professor Fu had resulted in a cognitive dilemma.

"This is already good enough."

Fu Qian wanted to shake his head, but finding himself completely unable to do so, he gave up and merely offered high verbal praise for Su Gao's performance.

If his guess was right, he could only say this mission was far too malicious. It was practically forcing a psychological split on everyone—

The more you trusted, the less you could believe.

The closer someone was to Professor Fu, the more they would end up helping him choose the path to mission failure...

For a moment, he could almost feel a hint of Chan in it all.

In short, because of their trust in Professor Fu, Su Gao and the others were rejecting everything he was saying now. Following the "original plan," they were using every means possible to stop him from entering the Sanctuary.

This current level of progress was already the result of testing through peril at every step, tailored guidance... and the participants fighting with all their might just to seize a single thread of survival.

Everyone was linked together through the Pleasure Connection, allowing them to better discern lies, which ultimately caused Su Gao's current conflict.

From this angle, coming to the Dark Sanctuary was practically a prerequisite for completing the mission.

Otherwise, no matter where they were outside, without this Thought Penetrator, the most likely outcome would be Su Gao fleeing with him, carefully avoiding the Sanctuary, and thus failing the mission.

Now, the problem they needed to solve was even clearer: how to properly utilize this Thought Penetrator to make everyone believe the current Professor Fu.

"How much time is left? For you to retain your ability to leave."

Fu Qian thought for a moment before deciding to confirm this with Su Gao first.

"No more than three minutes."

Su Gao seemed to have already calculated this, answering instantly without hesitation.

"So you need to hurry, or I'll have no choice but to try to send you out before the final moment arrives."

As expected, the Power of Echo wasn't completely invulnerable to poison after all.

Fu Qian wasn't the least bit surprised by this three-minute limit.

Back in the Sacred Night Capital, Su Gao had suffered color Dislocation due to Excellency Blazing Rainbow's methods.

Echo couldn't make her fully immune; it only bought her a longer window for self-purification compared to an ordinary person.

Moreover, judging from her follow-up explanation, Su Gao's Antitoxic Serum could also be used on others.

And a clear thought had obviously formed in Su Gao's mind the moment she spoke—

Regardless of whether Professor Fu wanted to go to the Sanctuary or not, or whether he was telling the truth before or telling the truth now, helping him leave this place so he could move freely was perfectly fine, right?

'I might not be able to tell the difference, but you surely can.'

The only downside was that she wouldn't be able to escort him the rest of the way.

Professor Fu would have to rely on his frail flesh-and-blood body to find a way past the checkpoints on his own.

This move was the final failsafe Su Gao had prepared for herself.

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