Eldritch Horror Theatre

"What's wrong? Is it that strange?"

Inside the Door fell dead silent, but Fu Qian felt her reaction was a bit much.

"You showed astonishing patience from the very beginning, and in the end, you even compromised your vaunted taste."

He proceeded to list everything out point by point, laying out his reasoning.

"I can completely understand what kind of sacrifice that is. So in my eyes, there must be a proportionate reward to match it—you're waiting for that unseen watcher, aren't you?"

Having quickly made his case, Fu Qian looked at Mrs. Tracy's stiff face and brought up the hang-up she had previously revealed.

"From refusing to stay here, to facing it all alone in the dark, it looks like you're gradually surpassing your own limits.

"Since that's the case, you wouldn't mind taking things a step further and letting this have an extra witness, would you? After all, according to your premonition, they will definitely show up, and they shouldn't be scared off by me."

Yes, the guessing game wasn't just for the sake of guessing.

It proved to be far more than just good manners; she had essentially retreated step by step, making endless compromises.

This provided a perfectly reasonable explanation for why Mrs. Tracy's place was unlit and why she hadn't answered the door.

She had something far too important to do, so much so that she instinctively rejected any outside interference.

As for why Fu Qian insisted on intruding despite fully understanding her situation?

The reason was simple. It mainly stemmed from a faint sense of abnormality—wasn't this all a little too fast?

She had seemed to mention that the person wouldn't arrive until tomorrow.

"That actually sounds reasonable..."

To his relief, Mrs. Tracy didn't just slam the door in his face and kick him out; she even expressed a measure of agreement.

"And it aligns with your original intention for seeking me out. Don't you think it carries a certain sense of destiny?"

Naturally, Fu Qian struck while the iron was hot and kept going.

It really did...

Mrs. Tracy remained silent in that moment, but her silence already signaled a sort of agreement.

The reason she had gone to that kind of place for amusement was precisely to have this special character act as an even more special witness, wasn't it?

Now, he was actually continuing to play that role in an alternative way.

"Since you're so insistent, then I'll have to trouble you."

A moment later, some invisible line of defense finally seemed to break. Tracy stepped aside, genuinely extending an invitation.

"No trouble at all."

Having successfully barged his way in, Fu Qian stepped through the door, not forgetting to offer a polite reply.

...

The interior was even more luxurious. It was hard to imagine how much Mrs. Tracy had paid in fees over the past year.

In just a short while, the sky outside had darkened to an exaggerated degree.

Even inside this building, which clearly had much better natural lighting, visibility had dropped remarkably low.

Though that still didn't stop Fu Qian from earnestly examining his surroundings and taking in the opulence.

The most eye-catching part of the room was an upholstered chair bathed in starlight, draped with a bright red blanket.

He could easily picture how Mrs. Tracy had been sitting there quietly under that blanket when he interrupted her.

Had she really improved this much after the previous incident?

Silently imagining her state of mind, Fu Qian followed through on his earlier words and found another place to sit down.

"I actually don't know when it will come. You might have to wait a long time."

Seeing that Fu Qian really had no intention of leaving, Mrs. Tracy took her seat in the starlight, finding his motives somewhat hard to understand.

"It's fine. Theoretically, I still have plenty of time... What date is it today again?"

Fu Qian simply signaled for her not to worry and asked the question casually.

After all, theoretically, the thirteenth day was Judgment Day.

"Are you joking?"

Mrs. Tracy's reaction this time was quite strong. Even in the dim light, he could see her furrowed brow.

"Today is the 49th, of course."

...

Sure enough, things had just gotten serious.

Mrs. Tracy's counter-question clearly carried a tone of disbelief, but as that date slipped from her lips, Fu Qian let out a long, internal sigh. A certain ominous premonition had just been confirmed.

Shouldn't it be the 48th?

Theoretically, not even an hour had passed since she last gave a different answer.

Had Tracy remembered it wrong? Had she only recalled the correct date after coming back?

It was hard to believe that was the case. After all, under those circumstances, she wouldn't have been in any position to ask, "Are you joking?"

She genuinely felt this was a question any idiot should know the answer to—and that it didn't contradict her previous statement.

Yes, it really was the 48th before. It was just the 49th now.

They always say the devil is in the details.

At that moment, the many doubts he had gathered along the way flashed rapidly through Fu Qian's mind—

Why had the sky gotten dark so fast?

Why had Mrs. Tracy composed herself so quickly?

And why was she waiting so early?

It was very simple. It had actually taken him an entire day to walk that short distance.

For Mrs. Tracy, this very moment was the final day her intuition had warned her about.

And the final Judgment Day had quietly drawn a day closer as well.

...

Why?

While Mrs. Tracy struggled to understand his motives, Fu Qian was already sketching out a terrifying hypothesis.

Applying that scenario could exquisitely explain all those dubious points.

But Fu Qian still maintained the good habits of an academic, delving deeper into the underlying causes based on his hypothesis.

Why had more than 24 hours passed after just walking a few steps?

Could it be that this VIP area was so high-class that it even had rule-based amenities like "one day in heaven, one year on earth"?

Of course not.

Setting aside the fact that under those circumstances time in this place should theoretically pass slower, it was the exact opposite right now.

Moreover, the rapid darkening of the sky wasn't limited to this place. He had already lamented it once when he parted ways with Hairpin Woman.

The sky had still looked fine when he first stepped out, yet after just a few lines of conversation, she was already rushing back in a panic before six o'clock.

Most crucially, the sky had genuinely started to look like it was nearing six o'clock, perfectly matching what she had said—

That was right. Because Hairpin Woman needed to rush back before six, it was nearly six when she hurried back.

At that moment, Fu Qian reached a conclusion of extreme idealism.

That was also why he had said things were getting serious.

He had even wondered when the Warehouse started offering such generous working conditions, actually giving him a thirteen-day window before Judgment Day.

The reality was that the definition of time in this place seemed warped; it no longer acted as an objective, independent dimension.

And applying that logic to Mrs. Tracy: she needed to wait for that unseen watcher on the 49th, so the day she waited became the 49th.

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