Eldritch Horror Theatre

"What did you say?"

Gerald stared blankly for a second before Fu Qian's words finally registered.

Beside him, Gary was just as shocked. His glare was far more direct, carrying the hostile edge of a man looking at someone who didn't know what was good for him.

"I made myself perfectly clear. I quit. Find someone else."

Fu Qian repeated, his tone completely flat.

"This is no time for jokes."

Gerald's voice turned ice-cold.

"Which is why I'm not joking."

Fu Qian remained completely unmoved.

"Double the agreed reward,"

Gerald said slowly, staring at Fu Qian for several seconds.

Fu Qian didn't even bother to answer this time. He merely scoffed.

"Triple. And you can choose an additional Mid Tier weapon."

Gerald's tone didn't waver.

The offer was incredibly generous. Fu Qian could even hear Gary's heartbeat quicken beside him.

'Just as I thought!'

Fu Qian nodded in satisfaction.

He certainly didn't think Gerald considered him some outstanding talent worth retaining at any cost.

The only reason the man was willing to offer such a price was to keep him as cannon fodder.

After all, he had already participated in the operation. If he walked away now, maintaining secrecy would be difficult.

Moreover, the promised reward was just an empty check. Dead men didn't need to be paid.

All of this was glaringly obvious. The reason Fu Qian felt satisfied was simply because their reaction aligned with his own judgment.

Considering they still needed to recruit cannon fodder from the pool of independent transcendents, the Siren Group couldn't afford to be too nakedly ruthless.

Everyone in this line of work knew the score. The deceased transcendents couldn't possibly have been oblivious to the risks of the expedition. They were only willing to act as fodder because they were driven by the eventual payout.

Heavy rewards always bring forth brave souls. The transcendents who came to the Wasteland were undoubtedly ambitious and hungry for advancement. As long as the price was right, there would never be a shortage of people willing to risk their lives.

But the prerequisite for all of this was a guaranteed payout.

Relying on their massive reservoir of resources to offer irresistible prices—this was an absolute open scheme.

However, if he died inexplicably right here inside the Siren Base, the fallout for their reputation would be disastrous.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be going."

Unfortunately for Gerald and his alluring prices, Fu Qian ignored him completely and turned to leave.

Gerald had clearly miscalculated one thing: Fu Qian wasn't holding out for a better price, nor was he releasing in order to capture. He genuinely needed to pull out of the operation.

On the surface, this looked like a perfect opportunity. He could use it to dig deeper and confirm whether this was the true objective of his trip.

But that was only the surface. After such a bizarre incident, as the sole survivor, he would inevitably be subjected to intense scrutiny during any follow-up operation.

Not only would that heavily restrict his movements, but while this low-level lackey in front of him couldn't spot any anomalies...

...once they continued, with Demigod Level experts holding the fort, staying completely undetected would be impossible.

Rather than being forced to slaughter his way out later, it was better to bow out now while he had the chance.

Drawing suspicion was unavoidable, but at least this gave him room to maneuver.

It was the classic strategy of retreat in order to advance. As long as he laid low enough, no one could use him.

"In that case, we will only be able to reimburse you for your expenses from the previous operation."

Having his surefire offer rejected finally brought a distinct trace of anger to Gerald's voice.

"That's fine."

"According to the agreement, you cannot disclose any information related to the exploration to the outside world."

He stared fixedly at the mask on Fu Qian's face, his voice chilling.

"I trust you are fully aware of the consequences of breaking that contract."

"Don't worry. I'm a man of my word."

"Very well."

Gerald said nothing more and simply pressed a button on his desk.

"Someone will take you to settle your compensation. After that, you have one minute to leave this building."

...

"Should we dispose of him?"

After Fu Qian left without a backward glance, Gary finally couldn't hold back anymore. He spoke up, his gaze flashing with vicious intent.

"No, no, no. We don't do things like that, especially not in a place like the Wasteland."

"He's clearly just spooked. Have someone keep an eye on him, that's all."

Gerald's gaze was just as malicious, but he still rejected the proposal.

"In a place like this, credibility is actually even more important."

"We are businessmen. As long as the price is right, we can find as many people like him as we want."

"Besides—"

Gerald smiled coldly.

"I'm confident he'll be back. This isn't a price he can afford to refuse."

...

"Please follow me."

As soon as he stepped out of the office, a staff member came up to greet him.

Playing along perfectly, Fu Qian didn't wander off. He followed the staff member into the elevator, headed downstairs, quickly settled his paperwork, and left.

While this start had been riddled with trouble, it still yielded some valuable intelligence.

For instance, if the Angel Dungeon was indeed the place he had explored yesterday, that meant it was currently under the control of the Siren Group.

Moving forward, as long as he kept a close eye on the Siren Group's movements, he would likely have a good grasp of the overall situation.

Additionally, the fact that they were still recruiting cannon fodder indicated that they were only in the preliminary exploratory stages.

After all, if they had genuinely discovered valuable clues, standard procedure would dictate locking down the information and dispatching their own personnel.

Following the route in his memory, Fu Qian soon returned to his residence.

Everything looked exactly as it had when he left, but Fu Qian was absolutely certain that someone had thoroughly searched the place inside and out.

This wasn't surprising. He was so certain of it because he even knew the intruders hadn't left yet—they were currently watching him from a distant building.

For the Siren Group, this kind of behavior couldn't be more normal. Fu Qian didn't care in the slightest.

His next step was simply to live a "normal" life and wait, quietly observing changes.

And, of course, he could use the opportunity to assess the Siren Group's strength.

Fu Qian rummaged through his cabinets, digging out several documents to clarify his own background information as much as possible.

One of them happened to be a lease agreement. Judging by the dates, he had only arrived here half a month ago.

An independent contractor, a complete newcomer... Truly the perfect candidate for cannon fodder!

After a moment of reflection, Fu Qian rested briefly before heading out once more, stepping into the City of Hope built upon this Wasteland.

His hidden observers were still there. He didn't doubt for a second that if he leaked any information, the people from Siren would genuinely dispose of him.

In fact, if the timing was right, it wouldn't be surprising if they forged a leak to use as an excuse to silence him.

Though it was only a delicate, temporary balance, Fu Qian was in no rush to break it just yet.

But while keeping his mouth shut was one thing, the mere fact that he had participated in the exploration was valuable information in itself.

All he had to do now was take a stroll around town and spread the news that he was still alive.

After that, he just needed to wait, quietly observing changes.

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