Eldritch Horror Theatre

Though clearly an old house, it was neat and tidy.

The setting sun shone through the living room windows, bathing everything in a golden glow. It was incredibly quiet and peaceful.

The living conditions were nice, so why did it feel a bit off?

Looking around, Fu Qian muttered to himself, trying to pinpoint the source of the dissonance.

He quickly found the answer—the furniture and appliances were simply too new.

Under normal circumstances, very few people replaced all their appliances at once.

This place had most likely just been refurbished for rent, and he hadn't been living here for long.

Guessing at the likely scenario, Fu Qian stepped through the open doorway.

He had to go inside regardless. Otherwise, he couldn't complete the mission, and all this effort would be for nothing.

The floor had collapsed. He was falling.

Fu Qian's mind processed the situation in a split second. He immediately reached out to grab something on either side.

He grabbed nothing but empty air. The collapsed section of the floor was massive, leaving absolutely nothing to use for leverage.

Realizing this, Fu Qian shifted his center of gravity and slightly bent his knees.

A little over a second later, a heavy impact jolted him. Fu Qian could almost hear his knees scream in protest.

Thanks to his timely posture adjustment, he managed to stay on his feet despite the massive shock.

Simultaneously, a sharp pain shot up from the soles of his feet.

Fu Qian looked down and discovered a metal net lying flat across the floor, densely covered with Spikes.

The Spikes were several centimeters long, just enough to pierce right through his soles.

And both of his feet had clearly been caught.

A deliberate trap, just as he suspected?

Fu Qian narrowed his eyes and looked up at the hole he had fallen through.

He had suspected as much on the way down.

How could a normal floor collapse so quickly? Even on high alert, he hadn't had a fraction of a second to find leverage and escape.

Not to mention, the debris of the floor should have landed first, creating a cushion under his feet so he wouldn't get impaled.

Yet there wasn't a single piece of floor wreckage beneath him.

This was a trapdoor mechanism all along, just waiting for him to step on it!

There was absolutely no chance this was an accident.

Fu Qian rubbed his temples.

He had truly underestimated the sheer shamelessness of this mission!

So the essence of the task wasn't to warn of impending danger and have him hide in a safe place, but to make sure he arrived on time to die?

If he ignored the task, his SAN Value would drop; if he followed the task, he would fall through a trapdoor.

As expected of the Furnace!

Fu Qian clicked his tongue in admiration.

Gauging the height of the ceiling, it was almost eight meters up.

Had they punched straight through two floors?

That was no small project. It looked like it had been prepared for a long time.

[Task completed. Current task updated: Manage to win the game.]

As he pondered this, the prompt chimed in his ear right on cue.

Win the game? What game?

As Fu Qian pulled his feet free one by one, he frowned slightly at the prompt, realizing something.

"Hello. I want to play a game."

A hoarse male voice suddenly rang out through the dim space.

...

"You are a gloomy high school student. With your excellent grades and charming looks, many mock you as a nerd, yet secretly envy you. Of course, you are well aware of this."

"You read extensively and take pride in being different, rejecting the things your peers so diligently pursue."

"The cheers on the sports field, the glamor of parties, the favor of the opposite sex—in your eyes, those young people indulging their animalistic instincts are not even fit to be called your peers. You hold a more unique perspective on life itself."

"You tell yourself you have no such worldly desires, pursuing instead a higher state of Sublimation."

"But is that the truth? You view yourself as a superman rather than a mere victor in the competition among your peers. Is this genuine pride, or self-deception born of cowardice?"

"In my view, you are not noble. The people you despise at least dare to confront their own desires, whereas you fixate on the spiritual climax brought about by illusory conceptual definitions."

"You are the biggest reptile in the entire school. You squander your talent through self-hypnosis, committing the ultimate blasphemy against life."

"I know you do not agree with me, so today we will have the opportunity to see if you are truly as extraordinary as you think."

"The Spikes that pierced your body were coated in a toxin I prepared specially for you. Without a doubt, it has already entered your system and is gradually eating away at your life."

"Before it truly takes effect, you have one hour to fight for a sliver of survival."

"Life or death. Make your choice."

It really was this guy!

Fu Qian rubbed his face and let out a long breath.

The moment he had heard the word "game," the classic image of the chainsaw maniac had flashed through his mind.

The voice had come from a speaker on the wall. It sounded like a recording.

It must have been triggered to play when he fell through.

By now, both of his feet were free.

Four holes on the left, five on the right. Nine punctures in total.

According to the recording, the special toxin had already entered his body through these nine wounds and would claim his life in an hour.

Not bad. Very Jigsaw.

While listening to the recording, Fu Qian had also made a preliminary observation of his surroundings.

The metal net beneath his feet was about five or six square meters, perfectly aligned with where he had fallen to ensure he would be skewered regardless of how he landed.

Beyond that, the room was undoubtedly quite empty.

Other than a single door directly facing him, there was only an old wooden table.

He couldn't see anything that could be stacked up to let him climb back out.

Given the height, if he wanted to return the way he came, he'd probably have to learn Zhang Wuji's Gecko Wall-Walking Art.

So his only choice was to go through the door opposite him and accept Jigsaw's trial.

Of course, regarding the accusations in the recording, Fu Qian's internal reaction was simple: Could this Jigsaw copycat really not find a better excuse?

The target seemed to be nothing more than an aloof, sensitive high school student, yet it was straight-up defined as blaspheming life.

And then they had come up with this brutal method to help him achieve redemption?

Being a chuunibyou wasn't a crime worthy of this!

Sighing with emotion, Fu Qian stepped across the net of Spikes and slowly walked out.

Although the nails were sharp, stepping flatly wasn't enough for them to pierce directly through his soles again. As long as he maintained a proper pace, he hardly had to worry about getting hurt a second time.

Conversely, if he panicked and tried to jump out, he would very likely end up with plum blossoms blooming twice.

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