Eldritch Horror Theatre

Since he was the sole player, the end condition Fu Qian had set for Ayane Hayami in the dream was actually for her to drink that carefully prepared bowl of brain soup.

This was also the source of Ayane Hayami's intense hunger. What she didn't know was that the discomfort she had fought so fiercely against was actually the mission's guiding revelation.

This Night Watcher proved quite resilient. She held out in the dream for a considerable amount of time before finally deciding to accept the guidance of her depraved desires.

Now, after that entire ordeal, he was sure she had developed PTSD over the act of tasting her own kind.

Under that psychological effect, she would surely do everything in her power to stop him—this hidden cannibal—from eating Kisaragi Kana.

With such a dedicated official transcendent keeping watch, his observation sample had undoubtedly secured a safe environment to grow in.

Of course, if he had stimulated her too much just now, causing Hayami Suzune to develop some sort of psychological addiction that ultimately led her to steal what she was guarding... well, he could only express his regrets.

Next up was simply picking the right time to observe the results. Hopefully, the harvest by then wouldn't just be a simple 'Sociology +1.'

As he pondered, the scene before his eyes shifted. Soon, the area around the dining table was completely empty.

Not long after Fu Qian disappeared, the promising young man Sawada appeared in the living room.

Looking at the blood splattered everywhere and the head with its mask torn off, he stood speechless for a long time.

Things had developed entirely contrary to his expectations, clearly exceeding his comprehension.

Besides the blood and the head, he also noticed a nearly empty bowl of soup on the table.

So, had someone been dissatisfied with the soup's flavor and chopped the chef's head off in a fit of rage?

Sawada's mind was a muddled mess, especially since Dancy seemed completely unreachable by now.

However, in the next moment, his gaze sharpened as he picked up a gleaming object from the floor.

It was an extremely finely honed Razor Blade; anyone could tell it was made of premium material.

Once he faintly guessed who this might belong to, his breathing instantly grew heavy. He realized things had escalated drastically.

...

[Mission Rating: human fiend]

Having returned to the Warehouse, Fu Qian listened to the mission summary echoing in his ears.

He had to admit, this mission had been exceptionally relaxing and breezy. The whole process had felt like a vacation, truly reflecting the Warehouse's desire to compensate him.

It even seemed he had gained an interesting alternate persona.

[After losing his wife, Kisaragi Iken poured all his energy into his daughter, finding solace in her growth.

Until one day, he suddenly realized that an unignorable discrepancy had developed between the daughter in his memories and the person standing before him.

Although he initially comforted himself with the thought that people simply grew up, the discrepancy was so massive that it eventually left him unable to eat or sleep in peace.

And what saddened him the most was that, by many metrics, his daughter had already far surpassed him.

It was hard for him to describe his feelings when he witnessed those usually unattainable, high-status figures going crazy over his daughter.

Ultimately, this sense of powerlessness ground away his reason to live, yet it also solidified his resolve to protect his daughter one last time.

Following the conclusion of the elixir test, a disheartened Kisaragi Kana moved out of that ominous house and officially moved in with her older sister to work as a divination assistant.]

[Kill: Dancy Crawford]

[Reward: SAN Value +20]

[Special Reward: Deception Ritual Elixir]

[Current SAN Value: 76, Current inspiration: 99]

[Play event replay?]

The mission summary didn't mention a single word about the anomaly surrounding Kisaragi Kana.

Surprisingly, Fu Qian wasn't too shocked by this outcome.

Although this mission was simple, the Warehouse was clearly hiding certain pieces of information.

But the more it did that, the more it sparked his curiosity. Good thing he had left a backup plan.

Also, did inspiration 99 really mean it was capped out and wouldn't increase further? He had thought there might be some sort of first- or second-stage advancement.

Shaking his head, Fu Qian flipped to his special reward.

[Name: Deception Ritual Elixir]

[Type: Consumable]

[Description: Scalding liquid wax, an object that should not exist. When smeared over the eyes, it can temporarily bypass promotion bottlenecks, allowing one to complete their promotion using the rituals of other pathways to godhood. Restricted to Mid Tier and below.]

[Note: winning against the heavens by half a piece]

'Winning against the heavens by half a piece,' my ass!

Roasting the nonsensical note, Fu Qian examined the reward that had appeared in his hand.

It was a miniature transparent bottle, no bigger than a thumb. Inside, it held a little more than half a bottle of viscous liquid that was terrifyingly hot to the touch.

Liquid wax?

Although smearing this over one's eyes would undoubtedly be an intensely agonizing experience, he had to admit that this reward was far more interesting than he'd imagined.

From the item description, he could tell this thing didn't directly level someone up. Instead, it merely allowed a transcendent with no hope of promotion to advance using a ritual that should have been ineffective for them.

How should he put it? Under specific circumstances, it could truly be considered a miraculous effect. The restriction to Mid Tier and below was also understandable.

Still, hitting a bottleneck below the Mid Tier... were there really poor bastards out there who were that unlucky?

Fu Qian toyed with the small vial, letting the seemingly eternally hot wax swirl within.

For now, it obviously had no use for him, but he had to admit its properties were quite intriguing.

Considering that his previous rewards had all been more or less related to their respective mission contents, could this share some similarities with Kisaragi Kana's special condition?

A very normal guess, but he lacked the means to verify it. Better to wait until his project concluded to think more about it.

...

"What? Old Man Wen invited me over?"

Inside his universally praised roadside shop, Fu Qian furrowed his brows as he looked at the middle-aged man on the other side of the counter.

He naturally recognized this person. Since this man was Wen Li's butler in Shangjing, Eldest Miss Wen had specifically mentioned in her parting message that Fu Qian could seek him out if he ever needed help.

The problem now was that he hadn't gone looking for help, yet the other party had come knocking on his door.

The mission had just ended. Thinking that he had nothing else to do and might as well grind away at his career, Fu Qian had simply put on the mask.

Yet barely half an hour after he opened for business, this man appeared in the shop. The sheer efficiency made Fu Qian heavily suspect they had stationed someone to stand guard outside the entire time.

And the news Brother Butler brought was equally unexpected.

Wen Li's dad coming to Shangjing wasn't strange; he had most likely followed Wen Li here. Presumably, Wen Li's Dragon King return trip had concluded.

The problem was that he had absolutely no relationship with the man. Such a solemn invitation felt a bit suspicious. Could it be—had this man heard about his daughter's shady act of freeloading off a demigod, found his conscience and courage severely tested, and decided to offer a massive one-time compensation?

As expected of a business titan, he truly did things with class!

"What is it regarding?"

Clearing his throat, Fu Qian asked with great delight.

Uh...

To his surprise, the moment those words left his mouth, Brother Butler's face visibly contorted in conflict. He hesitated for quite a while before speaking.

"I'm not entirely sure about this, but it seems to be related to the marriage arrangement between you and the Miss..."

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