Eldritch Horror Theatre

Li Min, best friend to the spirited Rachel.

Honestly, if you were looking for help, Rachel was hardly a good choice. Neither her skills nor her wits were particularly sharp.

But her best friend—who had been tortured until her body collapsed, leaving only a head—was a different story.

Though her combat strength was only slightly higher, her mental prowess was vastly superior.

During his last encounter with the pair, Li Min had grafted her surviving head onto her best friend's body.

That instantly upgraded Rachel's specs, equipping her with a terrifyingly powerful External Brain.

With that in mind, inviting such a duo to "help" in this high-end game made a lot more sense. A two-headed Rachel certainly packed enough strength.

Of course, to Fu Qian, such vague reasoning wasn't enough.

His conclusion that Li Min was likely still attached to Rachel, and had entered this Mind Space alongside her, was based on Rachel's earlier performance.

As far as he knew, Li Min and Rachel both fell into that category.

But if it were just Rachel, even if she had accepted Professor Fu's request to hide her identity and help out, she probably wouldn't have thought things through so thoroughly.

Li Min's experience soaking in the Ash Sea might not have taught her how to change her face, but she likely had plenty of experience when it came to twisting flesh.

More importantly, there was her performance when clashing with the other guests.

Very few of these people in the Sanctuary were easy targets.

And regardless of whether she looked a little worse for wear, having been a suspect from the very beginning yet surviving this long without being ganged up on was an incredible achievement.

In Fu Qian's eyes, there was no way Rachel could have pulled that off alone.

For instance, her battle of wits with Wen Li. That kind of measured restraint—a plan that would have fallen apart with even the slightest miscalculation—wasn't something she could have come up with.

Furthermore, if one observed carefully, they would notice that her behavior differed from the others; there were obvious fluctuations in her style.

Sometimes impulsive, sometimes rational... it was as if a hidden voice were guiding her from time to time.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Just this once, I can pretend I didn't hear that."

Like right now, for example.

Faced with Fu Qian's supplementary explanation, the slightly panicked Rachel actually calmed down, scrutinized him, and spoke rapidly.

Just one chance? That really was pushing the limit.

It sounded like a rejection, but aside from her suddenly calm tone—which further confirmed to Fu Qian that the External Brain was hard at work—he also found the amount of underlying information to be massive—

Li Min was warning him that if she actually did as he asked, her cover would be blown, and her greatest advantage over the others would be spent.

...

There was a reason he sought Rachel's help. After Wen Li initiated sleeping under one blanket earlier, she had reminded him to chat more with these people.

And a specific question he had asked at the time was how many people were present besides her. Wen Li had answered six.

Which meant that even she couldn't detect Li Min's presence on Rachel.

To Fu Qian, this served as strong proof that thanks to her unique method of concealment, Li Min had managed to remain completely unaffected in this foul, toxic environment.

After all, Wen Li's technique relied on the Dark Sanctuary to take effect. Did that mean Li Min hadn't been "digested" by this place?

If that were true, then while the parasitic Li Min might not be able to walk out and gain freedom on her own, helping him open a door should still be worth a try, right?

The result of his probing was ideal.

Rachel's words seemed like a rejection, but they were more of a warning.

Li Min knew very well that the advantage she had gained as a blessing in disguise would vanish the moment she exposed herself.

In fact, her attitude further proved that they were here to help.

The situation was simply too chaotic; she could only hold back this precious resource and try to use it at the right moment.

But therein lay the problem. Li Min definitely knew the situation was critical, but what if the request they received was to prevent Professor Fu from being taken to the Sanctuary?

If so, spending this final trump card to help him open the door would contradict their goal.

After all, the conditions inside the Dark Sanctuary might be strange, but they still offered a form of protection.

So it came back to the same problem: he needed to convince this key player that the Sanctuary was indeed his destination.

And convincing a smart person was no easy task.

"Help me convince her."

At that moment, Fu Qian didn't bother preparing a speech. He simply glanced at Classmate Liushuang.

...

He was putting an awful lot of faith in her.

It only took a second to become the center of attention. Classmate Liushuang—who had kept her hand on her sword hilt the entire time, ready to strike at a moment's notice—suddenly drew everyone's gaze.

Most of them didn't seem to understand why Professor Fu had entrusted her with such a heavy responsibility.

"You can't use the Heart-Questioning Sword Prison?"

Fu Qian pressed on before she could respond.

"I can't."

Classmate Liushuang shook her head, confirming that this particular sword intent could not be activated under the current circumstances.

"Not surprising. Otherwise, this would be a lot easier."

He didn't criticize her; for Fu Qian, it was just a casual verification.

If the Heart-Questioning Sword Prison—where only the truth could be spoken—was available, confirming Professor Fu's true intentions would have been significantly easier.

Faced with their current situation, Classmate Liushuang would likely have used it long ago.

"So I'm leaving it to you."

Despite acknowledging his research assistant's difficulties, Professor Fu still forcefully delegated the task to her with ironclad resolve.

Huu—

Ji Liushuang didn't complain. She merely let out a long breath, her gaze falling on Rachel.

Rachel stared right back at her in silence.

A complicated situation and a complicated atmosphere, made even more complex by the flowing influence of pleasure... Words suddenly felt completely pale and powerless.

"You'd better try to understand him."

Classmate Liushuang, having taken up the mantle in a crisis, quickly spoke.

Though she really had answered Professor Fu's call to action, her words were truly pale.

"And if I don't?"

As expected, that approach lacked the punch needed to make Rachel comply. She refused to yield.

Shing—

For the first time, Classmate Liushuang drew her sword. She pointed it mercilessly at the other woman, issuing her threat.

"Then I'll kill you."

Her Lucent Sword Heart seemed to make her especially sensitive to the influence of pleasure. When she said the word "kill," Fu Qian thought he sensed an unsuppressible trace of desire from her.

For a moment, the rising star of the sword path looked as though she was about to fall into the demonic path.

"Kill you in under a minute."

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