Eldritch Horror Theatre

It seemed these invisible bugs were a truly unique existence within the Nightmare Corridor!

After his neck was snapped, Yul's body seized in a brief spasm before falling completely still.

Fu Qian didn't rush to drop the corpse, however. He kept it suspended in his grip, studying it carefully from head to toe.

The man had plenty of tricks up his sleeve, and they were in the middle of a chaotic nightmare. As a professional task runner, Fu Qian wasn't about to give him the slightest chance to fake his death and slip away.

By now, Fu Qian's appearance had grown exceedingly grotesque; every last inch of his skin was covered in spiked bone armor.

Swallowing the bug whole had accelerated his bodily mutations significantly compared to his last trip through the Nightmare Corridor.

Yul's terror just now had been completely genuine, which meant killing him in this current state would very likely break the rule that allowed him to endlessly resurrect.

From that perspective, the power behind this bug was likely no weaker than the source of the nightmare itself.

Yul had likely sensed this as well. That was why he had hesitated out of fear of the consequences, unwilling to rush into contact to test the waters.

As he delivered the finishing blow, Fu Qian felt the turbulence in their surroundings grow far more pronounced.

Excellent! He could confirm that this entire overlapping nightmare was finally becoming unstable.

This nightmare was sustained by Loretta and the Golden Needle. To complete his task, the Golden Needle definitely had to be destroyed.

As the nightmare's single-handed creator, Yul was an incredibly unreliable wildcard. It was impossible to know whether he had left any other backup plans, so eliminating him had also been the best option.

The only reason he had bothered chatting with Yul just now was to get the man to help him acquire the Golden Needle, which had saved him a lot of hassle.

As it turned out, the man had been extremely cooperative.

Judging by the current situation, all he needed to do now was wait patiently and quietly observe how things developed.

Glancing at the Golden Needle snapped in two on the table, Fu Qian took a couple of steps forward and arrived at the corner of the Interrogation Room.

Before him stood the door that had never once been opened.

Despite visiting this place multiple times, this was a position he had never reached before.

Without hesitation, Fu Qian reached out and pulled the door open.

Surprisingly, he didn't find an empty void outside. Instead, he could even see a bustling crowd.

Directly outside the Interrogation Room was a rather lively street.

At this very moment, men, women, and children in a wide variety of clothing were strolling down the street in groups.

It was Fu Qian's first time seeing this many people in Fenghou City.

It felt as though the city's entire population had gathered right here.

Interesting!

Without hesitating for another second, Fu Qian stepped right out into the sunlight.

Standing there on the street, he witnessed a bizarre spectacle.

A clear boundary line cut diagonally across the entire area in front of him.

On his side of the line, the sun was shining, birds were singing, and flowers were in bloom—a picture of perfect brightness.

But on the other side, a torrential downpour raged in the gloom, mercilessly washing over everything.

Yet the pedestrians on the street turned a blind eye to the stark divide, simply continuing on their way.

The moment anyone stepped across that boundary, they instantly vanished into the sheets of rain, leaving not a single trace behind.

The pedestrians remained unnaturally calm. Even when faced with Fu Qian's monstrous appearance, not a single person looked the least bit surprised.

Fu Qian glanced down at himself. Considering his clothes were already in tatters, he had no intention of stepping into the rain.

After strolling down the street for a bit, he managed to find a coffee machine that was still running on the gradually emptying road.

He had just finished pouring himself a cup of coffee when he caught sight of a slender figure out of the corner of his eye.

Dressed in coarse linen robes, Loretta was wandering down the street, looking completely lost and despondent.

Unlike the others, there was no ease in her expression. She kept darting glances at her surroundings like a startled animal, completely unaware that she was walking barefoot on the pavement.

Well, wasn't that convenient!

"Hey!"

Fu Qian called out in a rather cheerful tone, drawing her attention.

Loretta snapped her head up from her stupor and spotted him sitting there.

"Ah!"

It was as if her mounting terror had finally hit a breaking point; slapping a hand over her mouth, Loretta let out an uncontrollable shriek.

"Fu Qian?"

"How did you end up looking like this?"

"Does it matter?"

Fu Qian made a casual gesture, motioning for her to take the seat across from him.

"I..."

Loretta couldn't manage anywhere near his level of calm. After forcing herself to sit down across from him, she clawed at her own face with trembling fingers, pressing down with such force that her knuckles turned white.

"I think... I'm lost again..."

Raking deep red marks across her cheeks, Loretta shook her head and muttered to herself.

"I'm so sorry. I... I lost the Golden Needle. I probably won't be able to help you for now."

"It's fine. You have to look on the bright side."

As the culprit responsible for it all, Fu Qian was actually quite understanding of her distress.

He stood up, poured another cup of coffee, and slid it over to her.

"At least the coffee isn't half bad in a lost world."

As he did so, Fu Qian naturally thought of Bernard.

Looking back on it now, that cup of coffee in the hospital had almost certainly been meant for Loretta.

According to Loretta, she had informed Bernard of her discoveries and invited him over to use the Golden Needle to stabilize their conditions together.

So there was a very real chance that Bernard had come to Fenghou City in response to her invitation.

It was just that he was clearly skeptical of her claims, and he ultimately never even went to find her.

...

Cupping the mug, Loretta stared blankly at Fu Qian. Her lost, helpless terror was so thick it was almost tangible.

But he didn't say another word, nor did he pay her any more mind. He simply sipped his coffee and watched the torrential downpour in the distance.

In just a few moments, the crowd on the street rapidly thinned out, and the dividing line seemed to be creeping closer.

Amid her daze, the rich aroma of the coffee wafted into her nose. Unable to bear the bizarre atmosphere any longer, Loretta finally brought the cup to her lips and took a sip.

It really wasn't half bad...

"I should have known this day would come. Peace is only ever temporary..."

Briefly calming her mind, Loretta let out a long sigh. It seemed she had finally accepted reality.

But just as she looked up to say something else to Fu Qian, she was stunned to find the seat across from her completely empty. All he had left behind was an empty cup on the table.

At the same time, the boundary line arrived right in front of her, and everything around her began rapidly falling apart.

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