Eldritch Horror Theatre

So it was connected to her as well?

Medea's face surfaced in Fu Qian's mind, deepening a bizarre sense of coincidence.

Of course, even if they were the same person, it wouldn't be an entirely unreasonable turn of events.

After all, Edral had also appeared in this world as a student, and he seemed to have stayed here for quite some time by carefully following the tasks.

Given Medea's liberal affections, it wasn't strange for the two of them to get involved.

He felt like he had learned a lot from this trip, yet none of it seemed to be of any use.

Fu Qian closed the notebook and rubbed his temples.

The notes Edral left behind confirmed his long-standing suspicions, which was undoubtedly a massive gain.

But at the same time, it was obvious the man hadn't found a way out either. In some respects, he hadn't even made it as far as Fu Qian had.

It did confirm one thing, however: following the task prompts to the end truly offered no way out.

It felt like being trapped in an iron barrel. The place was practically designed as a death trap, completely living up to the name Furnace.

Combined with the anomaly at the start of the task, it was obvious that there was a problem with 1-003.

That was no simple Kadon; he had outright sent him here to be cremated.

Brother Edral had suffered the same fate.

Shaking his head, Fu Qian turned right around, opened the door, and walked out.

Since he couldn't see a path to survival, he might as well trace his predecessor's path to ruin.

Taking a lesson from history, it was time to meet with Medea, the person directly involved, once again.

...

Ding dong!

Standing in the small courtyard, Fu Qian rang the doorbell and waited patiently.

Although he hadn't escorted Medea home last night, she lived in a standalone house. Combined with Stan and his men's movements the day before, confirming its location was quite easy.

The reason he came here instead of the school was because, in Fu Qian's judgment, her mental resilience wasn't strong enough to keep her that dedicated to her job after what happened yesterday.

"Who is it?"

His judgment proved correct. As he pressed the doorbell for the third time, a response finally came from inside.

After a single night, Medea's voice had become noticeably hoarser.

"It's Fu Qian."

Fu Qian replied casually. The house instantly fell silent.

"Fu Qian, why are you here?"

After a few minutes of patient waiting, the door finally opened, revealing Medea's pale, haggard face.

"I didn't walk you home yesterday, so I was worried you wouldn't be able to find your way."

Fu Qian continued spouting nonsense and made a gesture.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?"

"...How could I not? Please, come in."

Medea looked quite taken aback, but she quickly recovered and invited him inside.

Although she couldn't understand his actions last night, this student was undeniably her savior. She wasn't so confused as to fail to grasp that much.

"You don't look too well."

Fu Qian didn't stand on ceremony, stepping right past Medea into the house.

The furnishings were quite luxurious, though the place looked a bit messy at a glance.

"I'm alright."

Medea subconsciously touched her neck, which was currently wrapped in a blue-and-white striped silk scarf.

A moment later, she shook her head and took the scarf off, revealing dark purple strangulation marks on her pale neck.

It was clear that Daniel had been quite ruthless the day before.

Stroking the shocking marks on her neck, she gave a bitter smile.

"I look a bit of a mess, so I took the day off from school."

Seeing Fu Qian looking around the house, a brief look of embarrassment crossed her face. She stepped forward to tidy up a messy chair and invited him to sit.

"I'm sorry for the mess."

"Not long after I got back last night, the police suddenly came over to ask questions—"

Before Fu Qian could say anything, Medea continued. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, her head jerked up and she stared at him.

"They asked me where you went... Did something happen?"

"Sheriff Stan, right? I know."

Seeing her sudden vigilance, Fu Qian spoke casually.

"He had urgent business with me. I just saw him a little while ago."

Urgent business with him?

Medea clearly found Fu Qian's explanation hard to believe.

To her, it was hard to imagine what business the local sheriff would have with a student.

However, recalling what had happened at the school last night, she could sense that the student in front of her was far from ordinary.

So she didn't question him directly, instead murmuring to herself.

"I see... I originally thought they had come because of what happened at the school. I was so nervous, terrified they might notice something out of the ordinary."

"Fortunately, they didn't pry too deeply. After asking a few questions, they hurried off again."

"Did you know they were coming? Is that why you had me get out of the car early?"

As she spoke, her mind seemed to catch up, and her eyes lit up as she looked at him.

"Yeah, it wasn't very convenient last night."

Fu Qian didn't hide it.

"...Stan asked me some questions, but I didn't tell him anything other than the fact that you drove me and then left."

Medea nodded, thought for a moment, and then emphasized the point.

"You don't need to worry."

"Thanks. I've already reached a full consensus with him, so you don't need to worry either."

It was pretty much as he had imagined. Fu Qian nodded with a smile.

"I thought you came because of that."

Seeing that Fu Qian didn't sound like he was faking it, Medea's expression relaxed a bit before doubt resurfaced.

It was clear she couldn't think of any other reason why he would come running over here.

"No, I just have a few questions for you."

Seeing that Medea's emotions had stabilized a little, Fu Qian stopped beating around the bush.

"Edral. Does that name sound familiar?"

"Edral?"

It was obvious that Fu Qian's question had taken Medea completely by surprise.

"Of course I remember him. What about him?"

"I'd like to know a few things about him."

Fu Qian ignored her question.

"Judging by your reaction, it seems he left quite an impression on you?"

"That's for sure."

Medea bit her lip, stood up, and walked over to the side to pull out a stack of photos.

With a single glance, Fu Qian recognized them as the same photos that had been kept in her office.

It seemed she had been genuinely terrified yesterday and didn't dare leave them in their original place.

Daniel had secretly taken these photos out yesterday, likely intending to leak them and guide public opinion after disposing of her.

He would have stirred up some scandalous gossip, fabricating a story about her eloping. Under that kind of moral pressure, the school would have naturally wanted to minimize the impact and refrain from investigating too deeply.

It was just that later on, he had voluntarily handed them over to drive a wedge between Fu Qian and Medea.

"He was... a very dazzling young man. Bright and cheerful. Everything he said and did was always just right, always putting people completely at ease."

Medea picked out a few photos and handed them over, losing herself in some fond memories.

"That was an incredibly beautiful time."

"I can imagine. What happened after?"

Fu Qian looked down at the person in the photo. He was also tall and sturdy, with blond hair and blue eyes.

However, compared to Daniel, he lacked that trace of childishness and carried himself with more maturity.

"Later... we broke up."

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