Eldritch Horror Theatre

‘Coffee? In a place like this?’

Even Fu Qian found the thought bizarre.

Yet, in these gloomy ruins, the scent was inexplicably strong.

Fu Qian quickly confirmed it—that was definitely the smell of coffee.

He stopped opening the medical file.

Given his previous experiences, he strongly suspected that completing his task by opening it would trigger another shift in his surroundings.

When things are abnormal, there must be something sinister at work. Before doing anything else, he needed to track down the source of that aroma.

Far too many bizarre things had happened along the way.

Even the task assigned to him was an unprecedented mess.

Fu Qian was undoubtedly a man of action. Once his mind was made up, he didn't waste a single second, carrying the medical file straight out the door.

Retracing his route, he carefully parsed the scents in the air as he walked.

Soon enough, he caught that seemingly familiar aroma again.

‘I wasn't imagining it!’

Even though the situation was growing stranger by the minute, Fu Qian was still quite pleased with his discovery.

Following the coffee scent, he quickly realized it was drifting down from above.

He took the nearby escalator up. Almost immediately, he noticed something unusual ahead.

Just a short distance from the landing was a semi-open room partitioned by glass.

Two of its walls were lined with slanted shelves, arranged much like a travel bookstore.

And slumped over a counter in the corner of the room was a person.

This was undoubtedly the first person he had encountered since entering the building, though whether they were alive was yet to be confirmed.

After a moment's thought, Fu Qian walked straight up and knocked on the counter.

“Sorry, we're closed.”

The figure stirred, slowly raising his head a moment later.

It was a middle-aged man with hair as messy as a bird's nest. He stared back with dead, fish-like eyes, his voice utterly lifeless.

Not only was he alive, but he was actually an acquaintance!

It was none other than Bernard, the grumpy bookstore owner he had encountered back in Baerluk.

Faced with this strange development, Fu Qian couldn't help but click his tongue in marvel.

Acting as if they were the best of friends, he plopped down across the counter, completely ignoring the man's hostile glare.

Bernard had left a deep impression on him. If he recalled correctly, during his time in Baerluk, the man had even warned him not to wander around at night.

Combined with his final appearance at the funeral, Fu Qian always felt that this mysterious figure knew a great deal.

But mysterious or not, seeing him here of all places was simply too weird.

“We're closed—”

Seeing that his hint to leave had been completely ignored, Bernard looked thoroughly annoyed.

However, just as he tried to kick him out a second time, he seemed to finally get a good look at Fu Qian's face, and his voice came to an abrupt halt.

“It's you?”

His expression finally shifted slightly.

“Why are you here?”

“I should be asking you that.”

Fu Qian rolled his eyes.

“You've really expanded your business!”

“You mean me? Why am I here?”

Bernard repeated the question before suddenly bursting into laughter.

In this silent building, the booming laughs were incredibly conspicuous. It wouldn't be surprising if they attracted something.

Fu Qian didn't try to stop him. Instead, he looked down at the counter.

A small, clean patch had been wiped away on the thick layer of dust, and two coffee cups were sitting in it.

The aroma he had smelled earlier was obviously coming from them.

‘But why two cups?’

‘Is there someone else here?’

The problem was that he had already scanned the area and confirmed there were no other humanoid creatures around.

“Cough, cough, cough!”

Bernard finally seemed to choke on his own spit, his laughter turning into a coughing fit.

Still hacking, the man stood up and walked over to the corner of the room.

Soon after, a bright light suddenly flared to life in front of them.

‘What is this?’

Under the illumination, Fu Qian immediately recognized the object in the corner.

“A generator?”

He had to admit, the overwhelming sense of dissonance was so strong he barely had the energy to comment on it.

He even spotted an espresso machine sitting next to it, which looked like it had just been used.

“If you frequently wake up and wander around, your ability to scavenge naturally improves.”

After turning on the light, Bernard sat back down and took a sip from his cup.

“When did you get here?”

Fu Qian asked, looking at the man thoughtfully.

“Not long, but long enough to figure out how to brew a cup of coffee.”

Bernard let out a satisfied groan.

“Also, sorry, but I should remind you—that other cup isn't for you.”

Not long, but definitely earlier than he had.

Because obviously, the coffee was already brewed when he walked in.

Unbothered by the lack of hospitality, Fu Qian silently calculated the timeline.

“No worries. As a disciplined man, coffee usually messes with my sleep schedule.”

Fu Qian spouted nonsense while glancing around.

“Business is a little slow, huh? Was it like this when you got here?”

“Worse. It took a lot of effort to clean it up to this point. But look on the bright side—at least I don't have to waste energy making change for customers.”

Bernard said, his eyes dropping to Fu Qian's hand.

“What are you holding?”

“My medical file.”

Fu Qian waved it around casually, even making a point to let him see the name on the cover.

“I need to figure out just how sick I am.”

He spoke with a look of eager anticipation, sounding like a lottery player waiting for the winning numbers.

“Figure it out... Hahaha!”

To his surprise, Bernard seemed to find this hilarious and burst into maniacal laughter again.

“Good luck with that!”

“Also, before you leave, I'll give you one last piece of advice.”

“Oh? Sure.”

“My advice is that there is no advice, hahahaha...”

Bernard let out another string of tasteless laughter before slumping right back down onto the counter.

The man had clearly lost all interest in chatting, and Fu Qian didn't push it.

Done bothering the bookstore owner, he simply headed downstairs and left.

‘Meeting an old friend in a distant land really is one of life's great joys!’

‘Anyway, it looks like I can finally open this thing.’

Back downstairs, Fu Qian sighed in marvel as he opened the medical file in his hand.

...

[Name: Fu Qian]

[Age: 33]

[Symptoms: Sleep disorders... good lifestyle habits... no prior medical history...]

...

[...Symptoms worsening, severe delusions appearing... believes everyone else is infected and that he is in the middle of a safety incident... refused medication, responded well after the third psychological intervention...]

‘Delusions...’

‘Are you trying to tell me I imagined all of this?’

The medical file hadn't been preserved very well, and many sections were damaged. After finishing the legible parts, Fu Qian took a breath and looked around, only feeling that the situation had grown even more chaotic.

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