Eldritch Horror Theatre

So there was a high probability that this guy was currently in the "sinner" state?

Fu Qian looked at the dripping-wet Lynn.

He had likely hidden in the water, waiting for this poor brother to pass by before striking a fatal blow.

Just like the ambush the Hunting Squad had laid for Elena earlier.

In wide-open spaces, a person's vigilance always subconsciously relaxed.

It seemed that aside from the diminished pain caused by the Sin Fire, there was nothing particularly special about the man in front of him. His mind was perfectly normal.

He wasn't sure exactly how the activation of the Goddess of Sins manifested, but if "sinner" referred to anyone who had communicated with the Goddess, this guy was undoubtedly in the target range.

But there was no rush. The trial lasted three days; there was still plenty of time.

"I'm not surprised by your answer."

"I can tell you adapt quickly!"

He spoke again in that low, hoarse voice.

"What do you mean?"

"First, you organized this group of people with nothing but illusory hope."

"It's easy to imagine that even if the plan went smoothly, most of them would end up as nothing more than cannon fodder."

"So I never expected you to be honest."

"I'm just a victim too. I only want to survive."

Staring at the approaching Fu Qian, Lynn spoke rapidly.

Any veteran of the jianghu knew that lunatics were the most dangerous characters because their behavior was entirely unpredictable.

Especially the one in front of him, who alternated between madness and cold-bloodedness.

The key point was that, judging from his previous performance, his strength was also absurdly high. He was an incredibly tricky opponent.

"That self-righteous lunatic William judges others as he pleases, entirely based on his own whims."

"The strong preying on the weak is the very law of the Shattered Land. By his standards, everyone is a sinner."

"Relax. I have no interest in passing judgment. I just find this game interesting."

Fu Qian shook his head, pointing at the corpse in the water.

"I have a question. How many people like this one have you guys 'freed' already?"

...

Clearly confused as to why Fu Qian cared about this, Lynn pondered for a moment.

"Over a dozen."

This group's efficiency wasn't bad.

"Has all the accumulated Sin Fire been purified?"

"Yes."

Lynn nodded.

"That is the core rule of our cooperation. Everyone must obey it."

"So how many times have you purified yourself before the Statue?"

"Once. At the time, I had killed two people, plus a monster."

"And it was right after that you realized the Sin Fire no longer brought you pain, wasn't it?"

...

"Actually, I only just realized it."

Lynn hesitated before finally admitting it.

"I also find it strange. I confirmed the enhancing effect is still there, but I barely feel any pain. Though thinking about it now—"

He sneered.

"Others acquired Sin Fire again after purifying themselves a long time ago. Everyone just had a tacit understanding about it."

"Understood. Frame it as a bitter chore so no one competes for it."

In a fragile alliance that could fall apart at any moment, holding something back was standard procedure. Keeping Sin Fire on oneself was undoubtedly not a bad thing.

And if the others knew there were absolutely no negative side effects, many would probably fight to be that pawn.

"So even after watching so many death matches, you still didn't know about this before?"

"No one knew before coming in."

Lynn's expression was exceptionally firm.

"Once the Sin Fire accumulates to a certain level, the pain becomes unbearable. It defies willpower."

"If everyone had known this information, it would have been nearly impossible for me to organize these people in the beginning."

"That makes sense."

Fu Qian nodded.

What Lynn said was undoubtedly logical, but thinking about it carefully, the situation was still a bit abnormal.

Not many people survived these death matches, so most people truly didn't have the chance to spread this information.

And according to what Elena said earlier, the Butcher everyone feared had never undergone purification. So even if he survived, he might not have known about this.

But as for the four people besides the Butcher—the ones who had 'turned over a new leaf'—it stood to reason their lips wouldn't be sealed so tightly.

This information seemed to have been deliberately hidden.

Could they have suffered various accidents because of this?

"Speaking of which, I'm also very curious about something."

Lynn suddenly spoke, seeing Fu Qian deep in thought.

"Oh? Go ahead."

Fu Qian's demeanor was completely casual.

"I didn't get a chance to ask earlier. You mentioned that the Sin Seeker didn't go after the Butcher. Who exactly did it chase?"

Lynn took a breath.

"Even now, I still can't figure out where things went wrong."

Sure enough, it was this question.

"It's simple."

Fu Qian glanced behind him.

"In this trial, there's a crazed swordsman named Yun."

"And unfortunately, he killed a few too many people at the start, accidentally racking up more sin than the Butcher."

...

So that was it!

Upon hearing Fu Qian's answer, Lynn immediately fell silent.

From the very beginning, the focus of most people—himself included—had obviously been on the Butcher. He never expected someone to be even crazier.

Wait a minute... if that was true, didn't that mean the number of remaining survivors was already far lower than predicted?

Suddenly realizing this, Lynn furrowed his brows.

"I understand now. Our previous strategy had almost no effect on the Butcher."

"Where exactly did you run into this Yun?"

"There! Right in that direction."

Fu Qian turned his head again and gestured with his chin toward the direction he had come from.

However, the moment he turned his head, a barely perceptible disturbance rippled beneath his feet.

A sharp, invisible net sliced through the sand, surging up from below to ensnare his legs.

This sudden attack was both hidden and vicious, but it was as if Fu Qian had eyes on the bottoms of his feet.

The next instant, his body executed an impossibly light leap, narrowly dodging the strike.

"Scram!"

Suspended in midair, Fu Qian spat out a single word at the empty space in front of him.

Another invisible net was instantly shattered.

"Nice move."

Having completed this sequence of movements, Fu Qian landed gracefully and tossed Lynn a word of praise.

First, he had pretended he didn't want to make an enemy out of him, silently setting up a trap.

Then, he used a question to distract his attention before launching a sudden attack.

He had even planned a follow-up attack just in case he dodged the first wave. It was a perfectly interlinked chain of traps.

"Why aren't you attacking?"

His meticulously planned ambush had failed. Shocked, Lynn realized the man before him was even stronger than he'd imagined, and his expression turned quite ugly.

But since things had already come to this, he simply stared warily at Fu Qian.

"No need."

Fu Qian shook his head and looked into the distance.

"Someone else is much more interested in you."

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