Eldritch Horror Theatre

Night. Twelve days before Judgment Day.

No wonder they said time together was fleeting. A casual visit, and what felt like a whole day had already passed.

Sitting in the darkness, Fu Qian felt the softness of the seat beneath him and naturally reflected on life.

What followed was an unprecedentedly grim situation—the kind where the omen of death flashed so brightly it made his eyes ache.

His ordinary sense of time was no longer reliable.

After all, the mission had started on the 48th. He had specifically found someone to verify that.

When Hairpin Woman asked for the date, she clearly hadn't found the answer of the 48th unusual.

The boundaries even seemed distinct: Hairpin Woman was responsible for advancing the time to six o'clock, while Mrs. Tracy was responsible for fast-forwarding directly to the next day.

These two consecutive examples corroborated a terrifying guess.

A rather fascinating experience, but that was exactly the problem: time was the core element of this mission.

The Judgment Day on the thirteenth day... At this rate, let alone a thirteen-day window of operation, it was hard to say if he even had twenty-four hours.

Considering the most extreme scenario—if Mrs. Tracy could advance time by a day, could there be an even more formidable player who skipped straight to the end—to that trap?

For a moment, Fu Qian thought of the waitress who had passed him the note.

His core consideration in accepting her advice at the time was that he had already lost the initiative; the expected return on blind trial and error would be negative.

He hadn't actually confirmed that some earth-shattering trap awaited at the Sanitarium's border.

Thinking about it now, if he hadn't listened to the warning and had forced his way through the thorn bushes, could that seemingly unguarded, flimsy barrier actually hold an ambush?

Like directly skipping to the Thirteenth Day Judgment Day.

Only, because it was a trap beyond common sense, it didn't look unusual at a glance.

...

Worthy of the name Demon Mountain. This place was far more incredible than it appeared.

Considering defeat before victory was actually a good habit, but as Fu Qian let his imagination run wild, he sincerely lamented that there were simply too many Game Over cutscenes here.

He had only met a handful of people so far, yet at least two of them possessed a Time Fruit, casually sending people into the future.

Considering they were also the two he had spoken with the most, he had every reason to suspect the others simply hadn't communicated enough to show their hands.

In this mountain-ringed Sanitarium, it was highly likely that everyone was a villain.

They looked fine on the surface, but one careless step would trigger a landmine, dropping a person into a Well of Time and forcing them one step closer to Judgment Day.

The legendary walking landmines were nothing compared to this. This Sanitarium was even more absurd than a madhouse.

"Actually, speaking of this, I'm a bit curious. For over a day now, you've just been swaggering around the Sanitarium without being discovered?"

As Fu Qian lamented his situation, the person sitting across from him finally voiced her own amazement.

It was obvious that Mrs. Tracy had originally made up her mind to keep eyes on nose, nose on heart, completely ignoring this intruder.

Unfortunately, Fu Qian's thoughtful reaction to hearing the date finally broke her composure.

"It sounds unbelievable, but that's the truth."

Fu Qian didn't give her the silent treatment. He nodded, acknowledging that the world was just that magical.

"So what about you? What have you been doing this whole day since you got back?"

Of course, the main point was this follow-up. Fu Qian continued asking in a conversational tone.

"It feels like I did something, but also like I did nothing at all... Yes, that's exactly it."

Tracy blanked for a moment, seemingly not expecting to be questioned in return. A moment later, she actually responded in the exact same tone Fu Qian had used.

...

Interesting. Were things still deteriorating?

Mrs. Tracy's attitude toward communication could almost be classified as hostile.

Yet Fu Qian didn't mind such details, instead arriving at an even more horrifying conclusion.

"It feels like I did something, but also like I did nothing at all." The ominous premonition he had earlier was faintly confirmed by this single sentence.

He already knew that, with the help of the locals, theoretically over a day had passed by now.

However, not only did it feel like less than an hour to him, but more importantly, the entire process had been completely smooth, devoid of any sudden leaps.

Take Tracy's confusion, for example: why hadn't he been caught after roaming around here for a whole day?

This might be explained by him skipping forward into the future, but what about her male companion? Had he still not been discovered even now?

Everything seemed to subtly prove that the past day or so hadn't just operated normally while he skipped a portion of it.

Mrs. Tracy really had just returned. She had simply treated this as waiting for the 49th, and so time had truly arrived at the 49th.

As for the intermediate process, it had never actually happened. The world had truly only run for this single hour.

Perhaps in the face of this situation, a person's first reaction would be that it wasn't too bad, since nothing would be missed.

But to Fu Qian, this meant that the concept of time was even more fragile and susceptible to influence.

On the other hand, his room to maneuver was being further restricted, like a rat in a pipe.

"I think I understand why life in the Sanitarium is so monotonous."

Gaining an alternative perspective on life for a moment, Fu Qian sighed softly.

"By the way, how is that Heat Current bothering you?"

At the same time, he remained seated, showing no intention of racing against the clock. Instead, he showed concern for Mrs. Tracy's condition.

"Very bad. I can barely feel it anymore."

Tracy seemed to have given up on trying to understand his behavior, shaking her head lifelessly.

"Then according to you, the person should be arriving soon."

Fu Qian was fully aware of Mrs. Tracy's internal conflict regarding this matter.

Being cured of an illness seemed like a good thing, but was it really?

Many people relied on their madness just to stay alive.

Unfortunately, Fu Qian had no intention of comforting her with words like "he won't come tonight." Instead, he looked forward to the impending events, even glancing around as he spoke.

Hm...

Tracy didn't respond, merely glancing to the side subconsciously.

"So, what time was it when you first came here?"

Fu Qian followed her gaze, looking at the desk clock that was clearly still working.

"A quarter past six."

Sure enough, Tracy gave an imminent answer.

"So there's not even a minute left."

Fu Qian nodded, not entirely surprised by this.

Silence was often due to lingering attachments. It was obvious she was awaiting the final moment, perhaps even hoping her intuition would fail her.

"But have you realized that besides you, there's actually been another person sitting in here this whole time?"

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