Eldritch Horror Theatre

[Identity verification complete. Today's work begins.]

After a peaceful night's rest, Fu Qian woke the next morning feeling quite refreshed.

In good spirits, he ate a simple breakfast, activated his Wrist Mark, and entered the Warehouse.

[Warning: Breach Incident]

[Name: Fool's Cage, Code: 3-3119]

[Today's work content has been updated: Enter the Containment Scenario of 3-3119 and complete the re-containment.]

The new breach had arrived right on schedule.

Fu Qian wasn't just unsurprised; he was actually rather pleased. This was a task starting with a 3.

Based on past experience, the difficulty of a 3-series task was hard to predict, but he generally didn't have to worry about extreme danger.

[Current SAN Value 175, current inspiration 66]

[...1%...5%...15%...45%...75%...95%...100%, Containment Scenario loading complete.]

[Growth is always accompanied by pain.

Either deceive yourself, or transcend yourself.

And on this lonely, confusing journey, often only Mother's fairy tales will keep you company.

This is a remote country road.

You were driving alone to visit a friend, but your car broke down halfway along this distant route.

It is not a pleasant feeling. Given the severity of the problem, it is almost impossible for you to fix it anytime soon.

The only consolation is that the road is incredibly quiet and remote, even on a dark, rainy night.]

This introduction... it seemed to say something, yet nothing at all.

Fu Qian frowned deeper as he listened. A moment later, his body felt light, and his five senses returned.

He looked around and found he was indeed sitting inside a car, which had already come to a dead stop.

Looking out the window, he saw the surroundings were exactly as described: desolate wilderness.

A flat highway stretched straight into the distance. The car had broken down right in the middle of the road, flanked by shadowy thickets.

Judging from the interior, the car was quite old. The texture on the steering wheel had been worn almost entirely smooth, and the gear markings on the stick were completely illegible.

Beyond that, the space inside the vehicle was extremely cramped.

He wasn't unusually tall, yet just sitting there, his head nearly pressed against the roof.

Phew!

Exhaling, Fu Qian barely had time to gather his thoughts before a blinding flash lit up his vision.

A jagged bolt of lightning tore across the deep blue night sky overhead.

Only after the lightning did the thunder arrive.

The next moment, fat raindrops plummeted from the sky, slamming forcefully against the car windows.

It really was a rainy night!

Only then did Fu Qian sigh. Considering the earlier prompt, he didn't waste any energy trying to fix the car.

He shifted the car into neutral, opened the door, and stepped out, steering the wheel with one hand while he pushed.

As expected from its miniature size, the car was very light. He managed to push it to the side of the road without much effort.

Even so, in just that brief moment, his upper body was thoroughly soaked.

But it was necessary. In a downpour like this, visibility was extremely poor.

This was clearly a two-way, single-lane road. If the car had stayed in the middle, the chances of an accident would be quite high.

Climbing back inside, Fu Qian didn't feel relaxed.

He'd sensed it earlier, and pushing the car confirmed it: he hadn't brought any of his skills or weapons in with him.

Right now, he possessed nothing more than the physical capabilities of an ordinary young man.

It was obvious that his abilities were restricted in this task.

[Current task updated: Help Violeta reach Mother's room.]

Right then, the task prompt echoed in his ears.

Violeta? Mother's room?

Hearing this objective, Fu Qian naturally thought of the fairy tale mentioned in the introduction.

It seemed the next step was finding this little girl, Violeta.

But this task's objective... was he just helping a lost child find her way home?

As he pondered, Fu Qian searched the car inside and out.

Unfortunately, the vehicle was extremely bare. Aside from a few bills and cards, there was only a pocket flashlight.

Testing it to make sure it still worked, Fu Qian switched it off and stuffed it into his pocket.

The rain still showed no signs of stopping. Fu Qian wasn't in a hurry; he just sat in the car and waited.

In this environment, stumbling blindly around outside would be completely pointless.

A long while later, bright headlights flared from behind.

Fu Qian didn't hesitate. He stepped out of the car, clicked on his flashlight, and aimed it toward the approaching vehicle.

After he flashed it a few times, the incoming car slowed to a stop beside him.

"Car trouble?"

The window rolled down a crack, and a capable-looking middle-aged man peered out, sizing up Fu Qian and the car behind him.

"Yes. Can I hitch a ride? Just dropping me off at the nearest town would be fine."

Fu Qian deliberately showed his empty hands to prove he wasn't carrying any weapons.

Clearly, the gesture made the driver drop a fair bit of his guard.

"Sure, hop in."

The man didn't say anything else, and the back door was pushed open from the inside.

Fu Qian didn't stand on ceremony, ducking his head and slipping inside.

Aside from the driver, there were two other people in the car.

One was a woman about the same age with gentle features, wearing rather elegant clothes and jewelry. She sat in the passenger seat.

The other was a frail-looking little girl, no more than five or six years old. She was biting her lip, curled up like a cat in the back seat.

The girl wore a blue dress with an exquisite red Ribbon tied in her hair. She looked like a delicate porcelain doll, her skin as white as snow.

From the moment Fu Qian sat down beside her, those Amber-colored eyes had been staring at him without blinking.

At first glance, they looked like a family of three on a road trip.

But Fu Qian still felt a faint sense of unease, because the little girl looked somewhat familiar.

Su Gao?

Running a quick search through his memory, he immediately thought of an acquaintance.

Whether it was her facial features or her demeanor, there was definitely a resemblance.

Fu Qian was never one to pay much attention to appearances, but after missing a detail last time in the Rotten Forest, he was especially sensitive to it now.

It was just that the little girl in front of him was much younger and more delicate than Su Gao had been back then.

"What a troublesome night, isn't it?"

At that moment, the woman in the passenger seat turned around and greeted Fu Qian amiably, then gestured toward the little girl.

"We've already picked up two people along the way."

So she isn't their daughter?

Fu Qian's mind stirred. He looked back at the little girl with a pleasant expression.

"What's your name?"

"I am Snow White."

The little girl blinked and answered very naturally.

...

"That's exactly what she told us earlier."

The woman gave a somewhat helpless smile.

"Before the rain started, we found her walking alone on the road and let her in. We're planning to hand her over to the police up ahead."

So that was it.

Fu Qian nodded and turned back to the little girl.

"Snow White has a real name, too. What does your mother usually call you?"

"Um... Violeta."

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