Eldritch Horror Theatre

"A gift?"

Clearly, no matter how self-centered Lotte was, the rebellious teenager could never have imagined that Lu Ming would actually give her a gift. Her vigilance instantly doubled.

"Why don't you hear me out before deciding?"

Watching Lotte, who looked like she was about to bolt, Fu Qian maintained his flat tone.

"First, my advice is that danger is brewing in Dunis. You and your sister had better leave early."

...

"I know you don't want to accept that, so I also have a gift for you."

Seeing the obvious resistance on Lotte's face, Fu Qian reached into his pocket. When his hand emerged, it held a crystal-clear Bell.

"This is a transcendent item."

At those words, Lotte's eyes shone even brighter.

"With this, you'll have a degree of self-protection when danger strikes. You might even be able to protect your sister."

Although the item's description mentioned a twenty-four-hour cooldown between uses, Fu Qian had immediately sensed earlier that the Eternally Lucid Mind was currently ready for use.

This was quite reassuring. It strongly suggested that within the unique timeline of these missions, each restart was entirely independent of the last.

...

Lotte was visibly tempted, but she eventually shook her head.

"Thank you for the offer, but I can't just accept things from others... especially transcendent items."

Very cautious. Did Veil teach her that?

It seemed that despite her rebellious streak, she still listened to some of her older sister's advice.

Fu Qian mused to himself, feeling no frustration at the rejection.

"Understandable. But before you decide, don't you want to know what it actually does?"

"What does it do?"

She gritted her teeth slightly. Reason told Lotte she shouldn't let him steer the conversation, but she couldn't resist asking anyway.

"It's simple. This is a transcendent item that ordinary people can use. Give it a gentle shake, and every transcendent around you will turn into a mortal."

The moment she heard that, Lotte's eyes grew frighteningly bright.

When dealing with kids, you just had to cater to their desires.

If she couldn't become a transcendent, she could just drag them down to her starting line.

It wasn't strange at all for someone like Lotte to subconsciously harbor such a fantasy.

Her reaction naturally didn't escape Fu Qian. A second later, he held the Bell out in front of her.

"It can only be used once, so if you're still uneasy, you can wait until you're in a truly desperate situation to ring it. After all, things couldn't possibly get any worse at that point, could they?"

...

"In your relatively short life, there might come a moment where you can finally protect the sister who has always protected you."

Fu Qian's final words completely shattered Lotte's psychological defenses.

Resolutely, she reached out and grasped the Bell tightly.

"Alright, you can go back to listening to that boring romance now."

He didn't bother reminding her to keep it a secret from her sister, knowing she was almost guaranteed to do so anyway.

Once sensitive, stubborn teenagers made up their minds, they tended to be excessively resolute.

...

By the time Lotte returned to the theater, her sister had already glanced back repeatedly, unable to resist the urge to go out and look for her. Seeing her walk in, Veil breathed a sigh of relief.

"What happened? Did you run into trouble?"

"No, the opera was just too boring. I stayed outside to get some fresh air."

Lotte steadied her breathing and gave a casual huff, acting as though she couldn't even be bothered to glance at the stage.

"Right? Honestly, I feel the same way."

Failing to notice anything off about her younger sister, Veil exhaled in relief and giggled in agreement.

"I just figured we should take a look since we came all this way. If you really find it stuffy, do you want to head out now?"

"...No need."

Knowing her sister's keen powers of observation, Lotte had suppressed the urge to check whether Fu Qian had followed her in from the moment she walked through the doors.

The thought that they might run into him if they left right now made her instinctively decide to stay a little longer.

"It's just as boring outside."

"I know."

Hearing her sister's grumbles, Veil giggled again.

"You're just wishing today was the Clamor Festival."

...

Of course, Lotte had no idea that after delivering his warning and gift, Fu Qian had long since left the Opera House.

For one, he still had other arrangements to make.

For another, this timing allowed him to successfully avoid the impending arrival of Demigod Chelfus.

Leaving the Eternally Lucid Mind with Lotte was a relatively risky move, as it undoubtedly stripped him of one of his countermeasures.

However, the fact that an ordinary person could use the Bell—a feature he had roped Young Master Qin into testing—was simply too good to let go to waste.

If the right moment ever came for it to be used, it had the potential to yield massive returns.

It was a backup plan that might never come into play, but as a mastermind working from the shadows, how could he not have a backup plan?

...

It really was the kind of place young people loved.

Letting the shadows of the streetlamp conceal most of his body, Fu Qian watched the dazzling lights and the singing, dancing crowds in the distance, deeply feeling the stark contrast between the two Horn locations.

Beneath his feet lay a plaza nearly two hundred meters long, teeming with a sea of people as far as the eye could see.

Groups of youths paraded around in flamboyant outfits, abandoning all restraint. Their only shared trait was that none of them looked like they had anything to do with the God of Clamor.

Naturally, Fu Qian's own getup had undergone a slight change as well. For instance, instead of carrying the Head Cage by the handle, he was now supporting it from the bottom, and he had even found a piece of cloth to drape over both the Head Cage and his arm.

In fact, he had walked all the way from the Opera House looking exactly like a retired Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King Li.

And this very place was the legendary Cross Square, the location personally selected by Brother Marco.

The tallest structure surrounding the square was a high-rise with a gray stone exterior.

Barring any surprises, the Horn would be blown from up there when the time came.

Because of that, just like at the Phoenix Palace, the building was already heavily guarded.

Without attempting to go up, Fu Qian observed silently for a while, fought down the urge to buy another corn cake, and turned to leave.

But he hadn't gone far before a familiar aura latched onto him, trailing him from a distance.

Quickening his pace, Fu Qian slipped soundlessly through the shadows before finally coming to a halt in a secluded corner.

"Why did you stop running?"

A voice rang out from behind him.

Fu Qian turned to find the eerie-featured Brother Marco standing there, looking perfectly composed.

"A very interesting mask. I'm quite curious about what kind of face lies beneath it."

"What do you think?"

In the next moment, Fu Qian pulled off the mask, revealing Camus's face.

Did he not understand what it meant to feign weakness to lure the enemy in?

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