Eldritch Horror Theatre

The moment Fu Qian pulled the trigger, Felix's reaction was complicated.

The last time Fu Qian did the same thing, the dry fire had startled Felix, leaving him furious from the humiliation.

At this exact moment, however, he desperately hoped the chamber was empty once again.

Unfortunately for him, the gun cracked, and a streak of rust-colored light erupted from the barrel, striking him squarely in the abdomen.

Felix let out a sudden scream of agony.

Judging by his weapon earlier, the man clearly went with an agility build. His physical constitution was nowhere near tough enough to take a specialized bullet head-on.

Through the agonizing pain in his gut, the memory of Fu Qian kicking him to the ground echoed over and over in Felix's mind.

Even if he wasn't the strongest fighter, he was still a seasoned veteran of the jianghu who gave lessons.

No matter how reluctant he was to admit it, Felix keenly realized that the man in front of him was an existence far beyond his ability to fight.

At that realization, a wave of crushing regret instantly overwhelmed him.

What he hated most was that after narrowly brushing past death, he had actually volunteered to walk right back into it.

In the blink of an eye, however, Felix forced those emotions down.

Based on their previous interactions, he didn't think begging would earn him a shred of sympathy from this bastard. He might as well face it with some spine.

"You'd better kill me right now, otherwise I'll make you regret this one day."

Steeling his resolve, he viciously spat out the classic line.

Yet even with his readiness to face death, his brow still twitched uncontrollably as he said it.

However, the response he received wasn't another bullet to the head.

Fu Qian smoothly twirled the gun and slid it right back into its holster.

"You—"

Having already braced himself for death, Felix instantly lost control of his emotions and scrambled to his feet.

As he did, he was stunned to realize that the agonizing pain in his abdomen had long since vanished.

He reached down to touch the spot, confirming it wasn't just his imagination.

Beneath the bullet hole in his clothes, there really was no sign of the wound he had expected.

Hahaha!

Barking out a laugh, Felix instantly regained his nerve, realizing the man in front of him was just making an empty show of strength.

Even though the bastard was outrageously strong, he clearly had some reservations and didn't actually dare to kill him.

That shot earlier was just some kind of blank! He had even deliberately spun the cylinder before firing—he had absolutely done it on purpose!

The moment he figured this out, all the weakness draining Felix's body vanished. He felt as if he had just grasped his opponent's soft spot.

"Not bad!"

He patted the torn fabric on his clothes, his arrogant tone returning in full force.

"Is something bothering you?"

There was even a faint hint of a threat laced into his words.

"Need any help? I've always been good at keeping my mouth shut. I won't go around spouting nonsense."

"No need. I'm already waiting for the answer."

Faced with the man's practiced shift in attitude, Fu Qian merely shook his head.

"Waiting for the answer?"

His words left Felix visibly confused. He frowned, just about to warn Fu Qian against acting mysterious, when he suddenly felt his stomach twitch.

Looking down in confusion, Felix quickly realized it hadn't been his imagination.

Right where he had been shot, it felt as if something extra was in his stomach, and it was expanding rapidly.

For a transcendent with extreme control over his own body, a sensation like this was glaringly abnormal.

That shot...

Felix thought of something, and his heart plummeted.

That hadn't been a blank. On the contrary, it was likely something far more sinister than a real bullet.

"What was that?!"

"I told you, I'm waiting for the answer too."

Fu Qian nodded, breaking into a beaming smile a moment later.

"Looks great. Fellow Daoist, your vitality is brimming. Your Golden Core is in sight!"

With that said, Fu Qian completely ignored Felix, turning around and walking away in total satisfaction.

...

Hearing Fu Qian's words, a potent mix of fear and anger seized Felix's heart.

Although he wanted nothing more than to tear Fu Qian to pieces, realizing the man wasn't making an empty show of strength completely drained him of his courage. The fear of death had stripped it all away.

He stood frozen, not daring to utter a single word until Fu Qian's back vanished around the corner.

Meanwhile, the pulsing in his stomach was growing increasingly violent. The frequency kept accelerating, faintly resembling a beating heart leaping about inside him.

...

Felix's Lesson Two: during times of chaos, it's best to hide at home.

After firing that shot, the master-slaying Fu Qian didn't head for the Ji Clan's territory to look for anyone. Instead, he went straight back to his own place.

The reason he was readily accepting good advice to such an extent came down to two main reasons.

First and most directly, Fu Qian wasn't familiar with the Wasteland.

Unlike the Siren Group, the Ji Clan didn't have any ostentatious landmark buildings.

As a result, Fu Qian had absolutely no idea where the Ji Clan's territory was, nor where he could go to cause trouble for Brother Yicheng.

The second reason was that he didn't need to.

Running into Felix could be considered an unexpected delight.

The reason he had gifted him a Fetus-Preserving Pellet wasn't because the man had committed some act of courting one's own death, but simply to strike the grass to startle the snake.

He might not have known where to find his target, but he could easily make his target come to him!

If the guy whose head he had blown off earlier was indeed Ji Yicheng, Fu Qian was absolutely certain that the moment he learned he had returned, the man wouldn't be able to sit still.

After all, from whatever angle you looked at it, rescuing two demigods from a rival faction hardly aligned with the Ji Clan's interests.

That man clearly had his own agenda. He had very likely deceived the Ji Clan for it, which meant he would be even more terrified of word leaking out about what had happened inside.

That was why he had just used one of the three special bullets he had traded for at Tyr's gathering.

Judging by the results, the mutation had already begun the moment Felix took the shot.

There was a very high chance he wouldn't be able to handle it on his own, which meant he would definitely seek help.

When that happened, the news of his return would inevitably spread.

After that, all he had to do was quietly wait for the enemy to deliver themselves to his door.

As long as their surname was Ji, he would relentlessly interrogate whoever showed up.

There was another brilliant advantage to this: considering they would be coming to silence him, the enemy would most likely scrub their tracks completely clean. Even if they vanished, it would be very hard for any traces to point back to his place.

This was the very definition of two parties rushing eagerly toward each other.

...

As it turned out, Brother Felix's will to live was incredibly strong. He had most likely rushed off to find help the very first chance he got.

Returning to his place, Fu Qian washed up and changed into a fresh set of clothes. Having finally scrubbed away the lingering stench of the swamp, he prepared to enjoy his dinner.

Yet when he picked up the food he had brought back, he was surprised to find it entirely covered in splotches of mold.

Not only that, but a moment later, accompanied by a loud creak, the wardrobe behind him lost its balance without warning and came crashing down toward him.

Fu Qian easily dodged it. He looked to see the toppled wardrobe resting at a sharp angle against the wooden table below.

From this angle, the two pieces of furniture looked exactly like a closing mouth that had just tried to swallow him whole.

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