Eldritch Horror Theatre

It truly had that Wasteland vibe!

Walking down the crooked street, Fu Qian took a breath of the dry air.

By now, he had confirmed exactly why there wasn't a single tree in sight.

This place was built entirely upon a desert. In the distance, he could faintly make out a vast expanse of white sand.

As for why adventurers would choose to build a settlement in such a barren place—perhaps conditions elsewhere were even worse?

Still, from what he had seen along the way, this settlement built out in the Wasteland was full of life. It didn't even lack for entertainment venues.

That made perfect sense. In a place where danger and opportunity coexisted, the need to blow off steam naturally soared.

Beyond that, however, the rest of the town looked quite monotonous, consisting mainly of uniform residential blocks.

"The industrial structure is entirely too one-dimensional!"

After all, this was a forbidden zone. Hunting supernatural creatures and gathering special materials were the only industries in town.

In other words, there was fundamentally only one profession here: Hunters.

...

There were quite a few pedestrians on the street, and almost all of them were transcendents. At a glance, many were fully armed and radiating killing intent.

This was quite a departure from the outside world. Wherever the Night Watchers were present, transcendents mostly kept a low profile; rarely did they show off with such unrestrained arrogance.

After strolling for about fifteen minutes, Fu Qian finally reached his destination: a twenty-four-hour bar.

Anyone familiar with Westerns knew that bars were always hubs of information, dens of depravity, and the legendary starting points for many a tale.

Considering his current goal was simply to make an appearance, coming to a place like this couldn't be more fitting.

Nor would it seem out of place.

Putting himself into his current role—a rookie Hunter who had just refused to cooperate with Siren—showing up in a crowded place was a perfectly natural tactic, if only for self-preservation.

...

Even though it was daytime, the lighting inside the bar remained dim.

Amidst the wild, rugged decor, a sizable crowd of patrons had gathered.

It was obvious that most of the people here had no concept of a day job; sleeping through the day and coming out at night was simply the norm.

When Fu Qian walked through the door, the clamor quieted for a split second as countless eyes converged on his mask.

It seemed the Siren Group's recent expedition had caught the attention of many.

Fu Qian walked straight to the counter, ordered a drink, and found a seat.

The next moment, he took off his mask and set it aside, revealing the face beneath.

Gasp!

Almost instantly, Fu Qian seemed to hear a chorus of satisfied sighs. It appeared the reveal had helped quite a few people confirm his identity.

Soon, the bar returned to its usual clamor. Unsurprisingly, Fu Qian overheard quite a few conversations about himself and the Siren Group.

That was perfectly normal. Fu Qian's focus, however, lay elsewhere; listening closely, he realized he hadn't heard a single mention of Sin Fire.

He had already checked the date and knew that the Goddess of Sins' last task had taken place before this.

Yet, in a mixed bag of a place like this, no one seemed to recognize him. Either his minor facial adjustments at the time had been highly effective, or that particular slaughterfest had ultimately never been broadcast to the public.

Either way, it was good news for him.

It was actually quite logical. Even if they were just looking for cannon fodder, the Siren Group wouldn't completely skip doing a background check. If they had truly discovered he was a participant in that game of sins, the subsequent events likely would never have happened.

...

"May I sit here?"

Just as Fu Qian was halfway through his drink, someone finally couldn't hold back anymore.

At the sound of the soft, sweet voice, Fu Qian looked up to see a lady with red hair in a black dress.

She had a powdered face and red lips, a voluptuous figure, and every gesture she made overflowed with mature charm.

Amidst a wafting, alluring fragrance, she sat down directly without waiting for his response, despite having just asked for his permission.

"Be my guest."

Fu Qian didn't mind, simply making a casual gesture.

"Mind buying me a drink?"

Leaning against the seat in a highly seductive posture, her eyes sparkled, radiating charm with every glance as she casually threw out another question.

"I do."

Fu Qian's reply was equally casual.

...

After a brief silence, the red-haired lady covered her mouth, trembling like flower branches as she laughed, trying to diffuse the awkwardness with an even more exaggerated display.

"You look a bit unfamiliar. Just got here?"

Shouldn't you all be well aware of whether I just got here or not?

Fu Qian glanced around, confirming that while the other patrons in the bar seemed relaxed, they were actually pricking up their ears to listen.

"Not too long ago."

"It's always nice to see young blood coming here. Believe me, the Wasteland may be dangerous, but the rewards are unimaginably lucrative."

The red-haired woman smiled sweetly, speaking with the tone of a seasoned veteran.

"Lucrative rewards?"

Fu Qian frowned at her words. The next moment, he looked around, his gaze sweeping over the various imposing figures in the bar one by one.

"Are you sure about that?"

...

When it came to drawing aggro, Fu Qian had always been uniquely gifted.

Combined with his tone and the look in his eyes just now, his meaning couldn't be clearer: These were the kind of lowlifes that "lucrative rewards" produced?

Considering everyone seated was a proud, arrogant superhuman, the moment those words landed, a dropped needle could be heard in the once-bustling bar. The collective killing intent almost materialized into physical form.

"Nora, looks like this little brother isn't buying your act!"

Amidst the murderous atmosphere, someone stood up.

It was a burly man dressed entirely in black leather, sporting a vicious glare and holding a large mug.

Slam!

He slammed his mug heavily onto the table, his eyes locked onto Fu Qian.

"Did your cooperation with the Siren Group end early?"

"Word is their expedition suffered heavy losses. Is that true?"

With Nora's example right in front of him, this man clearly didn't want to beat around the bush.

"It's true."

Faced with such a direct question, Fu Qian simply nodded without hesitation. Everyone around instantly perked up.

That included the leather-clad man before him, who obviously hadn't expected Fu Qian to be so honest.

"For what reason?"

The man temporarily reined in his fury, suppressing the excitement in his eyes.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Fu Qian pointed to himself.

"I'm no longer working with them. Without a powerful external helper like me, wouldn't that count as a heavy loss?"

...

In the dead silence of the room, the leather-clad man froze for a moment before processing the words. His previously suppressed rage instantly erupted several times over.

"Are you messing with me?"

He stared fixedly at Fu Qian, his voice ice-cold.

"You shouldn't be so full of yourself."

Even faced with such an imposing aura, Fu Qian remained completely unfazed, leisurely finishing the last sip of his drink.

"What makes you think I have any interest in messing with you?"

He was here to establish a persona today, and as everyone knew, a persona had to be distinct to leave a lasting impression.

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