Eldritch Horror Theatre

The sheer strangeness of this task was highly unusual.

Even the circumstances surrounding the leak's appearance were full of oddities, a stark departure from his past experiences.

More importantly, the designation 1-003 made it impossible to treat this as a simple matter.

It felt exactly like jumping straight into a trap!

Sitting in his chair, Fu Qian sighed.

Detailed task prompts and clear interactive feedback.

This game-like setup meant his flexibility would be severely restricted, and many parameters would be unreasonably strict, potentially leading to unpredictable dead ends.

Of course, none of that mattered.

He had completed his fair share of death-trap missions before.

The real issue lay in a single question: what exactly was this task?

Moving forward like a marionette usually meant surrendering the ability to anticipate danger.

That simply wasn't his style.

Fu Qian tapped his fingers rhythmically against the desk, deep in thought.

Unfortunately, the information he currently possessed was extremely limited.

A moment later, his gaze fell on a locked drawer.

Based on Fu Qian's extensive gaming experience, a room with a time limit for departure, combined with a locked drawer...

Encountering such a setup usually meant the drawer contained vital information or a usable item.

His job was to find the key within the five-minute time limit, open the drawer, take the contents, and leave before time ran out.

It was a classic puzzle design, and its charm never got old.

A moment later, Fu Qian picked up a black hairpin and casually jammed it into the keyhole.

He had found it in one of the other drawers earlier.

Although the room wasn't large and searching for the key wouldn't take much effort, Fu Qian preferred to rely on his own skills.

Besides, many people liked to hide keys in shoes or similar places, and Fu Qian had absolutely no interest in rummaging through a strange woman's clothing.

Click!

Five seconds later, with a crisp snap, the lock popped open.

Not bad!

Fu Qian nodded, quite satisfied with his efficiency.

Even after going days without practice, he had maintained his touch.

He pulled the drawer open. Unfortunately, there were no divine artifacts like a karambit or a push dagger inside, only a kraft paper file folder.

Seeing that obtaining new equipment was a bust, Fu Qian reached in and retrieved the folder.

The folder wasn't sealed, so he simply dumped its contents onto the desk.

It was a stack of color photographs.

Fu Qian quickly thumbed through the photos.

The pictures featured four different people—all young males who looked like students.

The backs of some of the photos even had names and ages written on them. Sure enough, they were all of high school age.

The handwriting clearly belonged to a single person.

Could this be...

Fu Qian rubbed his face, realizing what he had just uncovered.

A dedicated educator imparting personal lessons?

If so, her affections were certainly broad.

In most civilizations, teacher-student romances were highly frowned upon.

Especially this kind of one-to-many arrangement.

It was completely understandable why this drawer had been locked.

In a sense, he truly had discovered something incredible.

If he wanted to, he could even use it for blackmail.

Unfortunately, scandalous secrets were far from what he was looking for.

Deeply disappointed, Fu Qian shoved the photos back into the folder and tossed it into the drawer. At the same time, he glanced at the digital clock on the desk.

The five-minute limit was almost up. Logically, he should be leaving, but... he didn't really want to.

Fu Qian leaned back into his chair, showing absolutely no intention of getting up.

Since he hadn't found any valuable information, he would just have to test things himself.

Right now, Fu Qian was extremely curious about what would happen if he defied the instructions and stayed past the five-minute mark.

Even if it resulted in an immediate failure and a reset, the task had just begun. The losses would be minimal.

...Five, four, three, two, one!

The five-minute countdown ended in a flash.

The exact moment the time limit expired, the click of a lock echoed through the room.

Without a doubt, the office door was being unlocked from the outside.

A slender figure pushed the door open and stepped inside.

But before she could do anything else, a tall figure following close behind pulled her into his arms.

Mmph!

With a soft gasp, the two locked lips.

Accompanied by sweet, heavy panting, the temperature in the room seemed to rise. Amidst their intimate entanglement, quite a bit of skin was exposed.

Yet, Fu Qian paid absolutely no attention to this steamy scene.

At that moment, a system prompt chimed in his ear.

[Task failed, SAN Value -1]

That directly cost him SAN? Well, it was certainly straightforward, but the main issue was...

Fu Qian looked around. Nothing seemed to have changed.

Despite the failure penalty, the task hadn't restarted.

[Current task updated. Return to your residence before sunset.]

Not only that, but a new task objective had also appeared.

Fortunately, its contents seemed fairly normal.

Fu Qian rubbed his temples.

What if he just didn't go home when the time came? Would his SAN Value drop again?

However, he wasn't given much time to ponder. A moment later, the passionate young man caught sight of him out of the corner of his eye.

A muffled scream rose from his throat, swallowed between their locked lips.

He instinctively shoved the woman in his arms away.

The woman, whose back was turned to Fu Qian, clearly sensed that something was wrong. Though startled, she wasn't nearly as panicked as the young man.

Slapping a hand over the student's mouth to muffle his screams, she smoothed her hair and turned around.

She appeared to be around thirty years old, with meticulously styled hair. There was a hint of strictness between her brows, but overall, she was a beauty by traditional standards.

It was easy to see why such a teacher would become an object of infatuation for adolescent boys.

At this moment, the beautiful teacher was narrowing her eyes at him, her expression perfectly calm.

She patted the young man on the shoulder, gesturing for him to step outside. Then, she turned around and closed the door.

"Fu Qian?"

"Ms. Medea."

Fu Qian nodded.

He had just seen her name among the pile of documents.

Judging by her reaction, he was also a student at this school.

That made things much easier.

"Why are you in my office?"

Medea's tone was soft and completely level. It seemed Fu Qian's sheer composure had caught her off guard.

"I clearly locked the door. How did you get in?"

"Actually, I'd like to know that myself."

"I spaced out for a second, and when I came to, I was already in here."

Fu Qian answered with absolute honesty.

It seemed the entire purpose of the five-minute time limit had simply been to ensure he avoided these two.

"What?"

Medea furrowed her brows, entirely unable to understand what he was talking about.

However, as an adult, she still possessed basic deductive skills.

A moment later, she seemed to realize something. Her gaze grew peculiar, and her tone became probing, yet oddly expectant.

"Are you here to see me?"

Confident people really were the most charming.

Looking at the lingering flush on her face, Fu Qian was just about to reply when another notification chimed in his ear.

[Containment Fulfillment Conditions: Escape the Furnace before SAN Value reaches zero.]

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