Eldritch Horror Theatre

Now this was a true trio act. It was also why one should never underestimate a professional.

The entire exchange took barely ten seconds. The situation reversed and then reversed again, the rapid flip-flopping severe enough to snap an ankle.

But as the instigator, Fu Qian harbored no dissatisfaction; in fact, he was quite pleased to see it play out.

Commanding the room wasn't just empty talk. Who would dare set the tempo without at least this much vision?

Honestly, in his eyes, His Excellency Servis had put on a rather impressive performance.

He had played the fool the entire time, appearing passive at every turn. Yet, in reality, even their recent exchange had been fully calculated.

Not only was he confident he could draw the Harbinger out, but his method of doing so was to invite the man to spectate their very discussion of the trap.

At a glance, it seemed a bit too perilous, but careful thought revealed it to be one of the most effective approaches.

Without it, what reason would the Harbinger have to show himself?

The only way to lower someone's guard against such a setup was absolute honesty.

Directly expose the conspiracy and bring the two-on-one reality out into the open.

This went beyond the mere difference between a hypocrite and a villain. The moment the truth spilled out, the intruder suddenly found himself reduced to a pawn in the scheme.

Would he be displeased and develop ulterior motives? Would their previous agreement still hold?

Under the shock of that revelation, all those certainties immediately crumbled.

That wasn't even factoring in the intruder's true objective, which remained entirely unverified.

Consequently, the Harbinger, who was going alone to a dangerous meeting, now possessed a theoretical chance of pulling chestnuts from the fire.

Truth be told, Servis's vision was flawless.

Dragging someone into an unfair competition was fine, and bluntly admitting it was unfair was fine too—so long as you gave them a glimpse of a chance to win.

In short, the chaotic era had begun.

"A pity there's no tea, but please, come in."

Relishing the delicate atmosphere, Fu Qian showed no bias and warmly greeted the Harbinger.

...

The Head Physician's Office was styled with minimalism in mind, lacking even a third chair.

But for the latest arrival, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Not only was his appearance peculiarly distinct, his very gait was highly unorthodox.

The room fell completely silent for the span of two breaths. Then, answering Fu Qian's enthusiastic invitation, the figure finally moved.

With his upper body completely devoid of any sway, the Harbinger strode stiffly into the room. He came to a halt in front of the examination bed by the wall and leaned back to sit against it.

With the three of them now forming a tripod of opposition, the Attending Physician found himself in a slightly awkward position, vaguely resembling a man caught with an enemy at his front and a foe at his back.

"Getting you to step inside wasn't easy."

He looked fairly relaxed himself. He tracked the Harbinger's movements the entire way, offering the dry remark only once the man had settled.

"You weren't the one who invited me in this time. It was Mr. Fu."

Unfortunately for him, the Harbinger was unimpressed and coldly corrected him.

Fair enough. It was indeed Fu Qian who had spoken just a moment ago. Literally speaking, the statement was flawless.

"Thank you for honoring us with your presence. I also want to thank you for your earlier warning—in my eyes, your prophecy was incredibly accurate."

Seeing the guest show such respect, Fu Qian felt thoroughly gratified and seamlessly took over the conversation.

As he spoke, he even reached into his pocket, retrieved the two sticky notes, and placed them on the desk, lavishly praising the man's professional expertise.

...

This wasn't quite what had been agreed upon, was it?

With just a single exchange, the situation grew complicated and bewildering.

The other two were fine; the core issue was undoubtedly Fu Qian.

His original agreement with the Attending Physician had clearly been to systematically tear down the Harbinger's delusions of being a "master of prophecy" and force him to face reality.

Yet here the Columnist was, opening his mouth to shower praise on these supernatural delusions, even claiming they had been of great help to him?

"Actually, I've been rather curious. If I had simply walked through the thornwood wall to leave, what exactly was the trap waiting for me on the other side?"

Amidst the delicate atmosphere, Fu Qian pressed on. He pointed a finger at the second line of the first sticky note, inquiring about the exact nature of the tribulation the master had foreseen for him.

"A trap you can see through is no longer a trap... I only know that it is dangerous. Exceptionally dangerous."

Seemingly surprised that Fu Qian would even care about such a detail, the Harbinger pondered for a moment before answering.

As for the answer itself, it was nothing short of brilliant—completely devoid of substance, yet perfectly aligned with the image of an enigmatic master of prophecy.

He knew it was dangerous, but couldn't say how?

Fu Qian clicked his tongue in sheer admiration, as if he had just been granted a glimpse into the legendary profound of the profound realm.

"So, what exactly was the trap?"

Of course, to him, mysticism and science had never been mutually exclusive.

With a slight nod, Fu Qian turned to Servis and directed the very same question at him.

"My people would be waiting there. They would chase you down until you had no choice but to hide."

By comparison, this was a different brand of professionalism entirely.

Servis didn't hesitate for a second. His answer was clear and precise, and as he spoke, his gaze drifted down to the final line on the sticky note.

[...first, find a way to hide yourself within the Sanitarium.]

...

Just as expected. Fu Qian wasn't just a pawn for the Harbinger; he was a pawn for the Attending Physician as well.

The former wanted to use him to rebel, but didn't the latter also want to use him to orchestrate an absolute suppression?

When Servis signaled with his gaze, Fu Qian was, in fact, looking at the exact same line.

The implication was crystal clear. Not only did it perfectly reaffirm that the Harbinger's so-called prophecies were merely the result of Servis's coordination, it also completely unmasked his stance on the matter: he had no intention of letting him leave easily either.

Instead, through his own machinations, he would still ensure the outcome matched the Harbinger's prophecy perfectly.

Every crisis was merely an opportunity for crisis management. Utterly crushing the Harbinger's will to resist through one orchestrated clash after another—that had always been Servis's prescribed course of treatment.

"Understood. It seems I have no other choice."

In light of this, Fu Qian didn't bother verifying the rest point by point. The next moment, he let out a long sigh and offered the pen in his hand toward the Harbinger.

"Don't be shy. Please, share your thoughts."

...

Wasn't this a little too obvious?

First an open conspiracy to his face, and now a blatant setup.

Fu Qian's wildly unrestrained behavior undoubtedly delivered a bit of a shock.

Yet, under the silent, staring scrutiny of the other two, Fu Qian's hand remained perfectly steady.

He wasn't even prepared to add a few more words of persuasion. Acting exactly like a man following a strict agenda, he directly announced that the meeting was entering its next phase.

"Heh... hehe..."

Fortunately, much to everyone's relief, the target of this blatant setup displayed an astonishing level of amiability.

A moment later, not only did a laugh escape the Harbinger's lips, he actually stepped forward and plucked the pen right out of Fu Qian's hand.

"So, what opinion do you suggest I share?"

Gesturing twice toward the True Word Notebook with the pen, he didn't bother changing the subject, simply pressing Fu Qian for his recommendation.

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