Eldritch Horror Theatre

After helping the Torrance Couple reclaim their room, Fu Qian didn't waste time.

The moment the middle-aged couple stepped inside, he shut the door and pulled Violetta away.

'This place is getting weirder and weirder!'

Fu Qian thought as he walked down the Corridor they had just cleared.

Without a doubt, the moment he saw the portrait of The Grady Family, he had been contaminated by something strange.

It caused him not only to see living human-rabbits but also to increasingly blur the line between human and rabbit.

Fu Qian strongly suspected that if he chatted any longer, his SAN Value would drop.

He would end up just like the Torrance Couple.

Fortunately, he hadn't noticed any other anomalies yet.

Fu Qian thought for a moment, looking at Violetta.

"You were tossing an Apple around."

The little girl answered almost instantly.

'It seems this Snow White is unaffected.'

Fu Qian nodded.

"Are you scared?"

"Why would I be scared?"

Violetta seemed confused by the question.

"The monsters we ran into earlier, and the fact that we haven't found your Mother for so long."

"It's fine. I will definitely find her."

Her tone carried an indescribable confidence, as certain as the sun rising tomorrow.

"Because this is how the story goes. Snow White escapes the castle, and with the help of her friends, she finally finds her Mother."

'Alright, it seems in this little kid's mind, everything right now is just part of a fairy tale.'

'And no matter how many twists and turns there are along the way, finding her Mother is the inevitable ending.'

Fu Qian kept his thoughts to himself, because he had just noticed something far more important—this endless Corridor had actually leveled out.

This change seemed to suggest that their journey had reached some sort of milestone.

The only downside was that after a few steps along the level Corridor, it split into two, heading in different directions.

Standing at this fork in the road, even Violetta hesitated, unsure which way to choose.

'The protagonist is lost?'

'Looks like it's time for her friend to step up.'

Seeing her lose her bearings, Fu Qian took a couple of steps forward and scanned left and right.

Unfortunately, it was essentially just a single passage extending outward on both sides. At a glance, there was no noticeable difference.

Just as he was about to step forward for a closer look, he noticed something strange.

Without a sound, a red figure appeared in one of the corridors, barely a dozen steps away.

'This round-faced Scarecrow is back?'

Fu Qian was frowning when a hand tugged his sleeve.

He looked back to see Violetta making a shushing gesture, pulling him toward the other side.

"Phew!"

After walking a fair distance and realizing the Scarecrow hadn't followed, Violetta let out a sigh of relief.

"I thought you weren't scared?"

Fu Qian looked at her in amusement.

"I'm not scared."

The little girl shook her head stubbornly.

"But it's really ugly, and it keeps following me."

"Oh? Have you seen it often?"

Fu Qian instinctively slowed his pace.

"Yeah, you saw it in the car earlier, right? It had been following me since before then. Later, when I got in the car, it still found me."

'So that's how it is!'

Glancing back at the distant Scarecrow, Fu Qian couldn't help but consider another possibility.

'Could it be that this thing isn't here to catch anyone, but to point the way?'

After all, according to Violetta, the Scarecrow had been tailing her since before she even met the Torrance Couple. If it really meant her harm, it absolutely wouldn't have waited this long.

Thinking back carefully, its appearance near the car had directly caused the Torrance Couple to get lost, leading them to drive all the way here.

"Stop!"

The more Fu Qian thought about it, the more plausible it seemed, and he signaled for Violetta to halt.

"I think it's far more likely your Mother is in that direction."

Meeting her wide, confused eyes, Fu Qian pointed in the opposite direction.

"Why?"

Violetta was clearly resistant, though she still remembered to keep her voice down.

"It's just a guess. So stay right here and don't move. I'll be right back."

Fu Qian patted her shoulder, motioning for her to stay firmly put.

He quickly walked back to the Scarecrow. This was his first time getting this close to it.

From this angle, the Scarecrow wasn't very tall. Its head was sewn from a single piece of white cloth, and much like its red coat, the stitching was incredibly crude.

Of course, none of that mattered.

What mattered was that as he stood right in front of it, it remained perfectly still—just like a real scarecrow.

'The likelihood is growing. At the very least, if it's a choice between the two, going this way feels like the much more probable path.'

After a moment's thought, rather than calling Violetta over, he walked back to where he had left her.

"We're going that way."

"But I... I'm a little scared."

Violetta's voice carried a hint of grievance.

"That's okay. It's normal for Snow White to be scared."

Fu Qian didn't tease her for the contradiction.

"But I am Mister Doctor. A major role of a friend is to help the protagonist find courage at crucial moments."

"And as a cosmic-level friend, I will guide you to overcome your fears and grow."

...

Half-understanding his words, a sweaty-palmed Violetta let herself be pulled along.

Reassuringly, the Scarecrow still didn't react at all to her approach.

Once they hurried past it, the little girl visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

"See? It won't hurt you."

Fu Qian offered a grinning reassurance, and she nodded repeatedly.

After taking a few more turns, something different finally appeared before them.

The Corridor had actually reached a dead end, culminating in a solid black wooden door.

"Where is your Key?"

Fu Qian stepped up and inspected the door.

"Right here."

Violetta had regained her senses and nimbly pulled out the golden Key from earlier.

"Shouldn't be a problem."

Fu Qian took the Key in hand, briefly compared it to the lock, then slotted it into the keyhole and tried turning it.

With a click, the lock gave way.

"Stand behind me," Fu Qian told an excited Violetta.

"Mhm."

The little girl was sensible. Despite her barely concealed excitement at finally finding her Mother, she obediently hid behind him.

Once she was tucked away, Fu Qian applied some force and slowly pushed the door open.

As he did, an intense light poured out, swallowing both of their figures.

"Violetta..."

Amidst the illusory haze, Fu Qian heard someone calling out softly.

When the light faded slightly, he found himself standing inside a room.

But the room didn't hold the Mother from Violetta's photo.

Instead, a group of people, either crouching or standing, were surrounding Violetta.

'This is—'

Once he got a clear look at their faces, even Fu Qian couldn't help but look utterly bewildered.

'A whole room full of Su Gao?'

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