Eldritch Horror Theatre

What a grand spectacle. Half the Sanitarium must have turned up.

The dense clatter of footsteps went on for quite some time. Miraculously, right up until the final silence settled, not a single stray noise could be heard.

No pushing or shoving, no kicking at doors or shouting for people.

Just as earlier, everyone was lining up in perfect order, showing absolutely no signs of conflict or impatience.

Was the Work Unit organizing a medical checkup?

Considering the nature of this place, Fu Qian naturally thought of a more grounded explanation.

After all, what better reason could there be for an entire Work Unit to line up so quietly?

As for why he suspected half the facility had shown up?

The footsteps outside this door naturally weren't enough to account for that many people, but the advantage was that there were two doors.

If a similar crowd had gathered over there, then saying half the Sanitarium was present wouldn't be an exaggeration at all.

Even the excuse would be perfectly natural—the weather was so nice, what was wrong with everyone wanting to go out for a stroll?

Even more comforting was that, although he couldn't see the other exit from this angle, no one had tried to break down the doors on either side yet.

The situation seemed to have fallen into a bizarre stalemate. The Black Box he had created was completely surrounded, yet no one was in a rush to shatter it.

...

This was simply... too perfect.

Fu Qian was thoroughly satisfied with this development.

After all, he had established this setup precisely to guide the trio act and observe the Directors' reactions.

As it turned out, the Directors hadn't just been mobilized; they had orchestrated a massive spectacle.

As for why they would pull such a massive stunt?

It was certainly a bit excessive, but the core principle remained the same. This could ultimately be seen as an instinctual stress response to the Black Box.

Because they couldn't see the intruder's state, they wanted to confirm it.

With Buyiren chased away, the Director hadn't been able to resist stirring up half the Sanitarium to achieve this goal.

They couldn't have been any more cooperative, fully proving the validity of the Black Box Plan.

But with all these people standing outside, how were they going to confirm his movements?

That was an even more interesting question, and the part Fu Qian was most satisfied with.

First of all, it was a known fact that the Director and Servis held opposing views.

The former wanted him to enter the office, while the latter opposed it.

Their exact motives might not be entirely clear yet, but based on this fact alone, it wasn't hard to deduce how this stalemate had formed.

Everyone had outcomes they wanted to see and outcomes they wanted to avoid. By refusing to leave the Black Box, he had essentially put himself in the state of Schrödinger's cat.

The moment his true situation was observed, it would mean one side had lost.

Under these circumstances, if neither side was eager to poke a hole in it, the most ideal solution was to let the cat make a noise on its own and break the Black Box.

And that led to the current spectacle.

Some might ask: if they just wanted to wait for the cat to make a sound, wouldn't simply waiting be enough? Wasn't bringing so many people here making too big a fuss?

It did seem like a valid question. Given his previous behavior, expecting to pressure him through sheer numbers was unrealistic.

But one couldn't forget that in this trio act, the two most bitterly opposed parties were actually the other two. The pressure wasn't necessarily meant for him, the intruder.

...

Yes, regardless of how massive a scene the Director orchestrated, he likely still needed Servis's cooperation to successfully mobilize so many people. That was a logic Fu Qian had reasoned out long ago.

So, with half the Sanitarium showing up on their doorstep, could Servis be the one actually feeling the pressure?

As the saying went, grand spectacles ruined the state; forcing a massive group activity like this would undoubtedly strain the Sanitarium's daily operations.

From previous behavior, Servis always tried not to be too blatant when mobilizing personnel.

For example, using the excuse of giving Hairpin Woman a medical checkup to allow her roommate, Madam Dark Room, a chance to come out.

It made one wonder just what kind of excuse was needed to engineer a spectacle like this.

In short, this was the possibility Fu Qian leaned toward the most. The Director creating this scene was a way to pressure Servis, much like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum on the floor. Pressuring him was merely a secondary effect.

As for the purpose behind this pressure?

There were too many to count. For instance, forcing Servis to crack first and check the cards to confirm the result, thereby securing the upper hand in their invisible gamble.

Or perhaps, based on the other party's reaction, to determine whether Servis even needed to check the cards to know if the intruder had entered the office.

Exactly. Even after performing all those previous maneuvers, Fu Qian had only maximally increased the Black Box's reliability.

This was the Sanitarium's turf, and more importantly, Servis's own office. Would a Black Box like this truly be effective against him?

Even Fu Qian remained doubtful about that.

Because of that, he had never expected to take absolute control of the situation using just these petty tricks.

The purpose of creating the Black Box had always been to agitate the situation and force the Directors to target one another.

And the current results looked highly ideal. They had indeed been forced into motion.

Of course, this wasn't entirely without drawbacks.

Perhaps to the Director, the target of this medical checkup pressure was Servis, but in reality, the threat to Fu Qian himself was far greater than he had imagined.

He couldn't forget the Well of Time.

There were dozens of people outside, standing there in a highly abnormal state.

It was common knowledge that no matter how well-mannered people were, standing in line for too long would inevitably make tempers flare.

If this stalemate continued and the "inner darkness" of any random person out there erupted, Judgment Day would draw just a bit closer.

And as time marched on, the probability of such an eruption would steadily increase.

So, fundamentally, he didn't have the luxury of sitting on the mountain to watch the tigers fight either.

The trio act had always been a trio act.

As for how to keep the act spinning next?

Since both veterans were unwilling to make the first move, it naturally fell to him to lead the rhythm of the entire stage once again.

Standing up silently, Fu Qian wasted no time. A moment later, his hand was already pressing against the unlocked door.

He wasn't sure if the Attending Physician had other means of confirming whether someone was in his office.

But how about this?

Without making a sound, Fu Qian pushed open the door to the core hub of the Sanitarium.

...

It was quite plain, especially compared to the style of the rest of the Sanitarium.

An office desk, a medical cabinet, an examination bed... besides a few essential items, the room lacked any superfluous decorations.

Naturally, there was no one sitting behind the desk. Brother Buyiren hadn't lied.

In fact, with just a single glance, Fu Qian spotted something seemingly familiar—

A slightly hidden secret compartment set into the wall panel behind the desk.

Had he not seen it once in the room of Mrs. Tracy's male companion, it wouldn't have been easy to notice.

He truly lived up to his title as the institution's person in charge; he also had his own valuables and little secrets to store away.

Amidst his musings, Fu Qian reached into his pocket and took out the Key the Director had given him.

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