Eldritch Horror Theatre

It was clear that in just this short time, the crowd's average stress level had skyrocketed.

Given human virtues like optimism and rationality, however, this level of stress was clearly still not enough.

With his back to the burning mountain, Fu Qian watched the people who were still rushing over.

Spreading fear wasn't that easy.

"I have a question before that."

Facing an emotional Fran, Fu Qian didn't answer her right away.

"Only one hour left until the end of the world, or being infected and losing yourself at any moment—which is more terrifying to you?"

...

Faced with Fu Qian's smiling question, Fran's face grew even paler. She didn't answer.

People had a good habit: whenever presented with options, they would involuntarily make a choice, even if those choices were entirely absurd.

And even a subconscious choice carried the weight of psychological suggestion.

"Answer her question."

Sheriff Jones actually raised his gun, stepping up to demand justice for Fran.

Oh?

Fu Qian turned and stared at him for a few seconds. The man's expression was incredibly resolute, and the safety on his gun was already off.

His state of mind was getting a little unstable too!

"No matter how you look at it, this is just a story made up by a young man who did something wrong and wants to clear his name."

Fu Qian put on an exaggerated smile.

"I said a long time ago that I was here to find someone. Lasik even got a ticket."

...

It would have been fine if he hadn't brought it up, but the moment the words left his mouth, Jones's expression twitched. He was forced to recall that bizarre ticket.

A ticket that even the person who issued it had absolutely no memory of.

Years in his profession made him refuse to believe in any anomaly without a cause.

Could it be that the ticket shouldn't have existed in the first place? That it merely stemmed from some kind of mad delusion?

This seemingly plausible explanation made Jones feel more irritable than ever.

So much so that Fu Qian's smiling face grew increasingly detestable. Finally unable to hold back, the sheriff stepped forward and reversed his grip to strike the young man with his gun.

Crack!

With a crisp snap, his arm was twisted at a grotesque angle.

His Handcuffs...

Just as the thought arose, Jones realized he had been restrained from behind.

Only then did the severe pain wash over him like a tide.

"People tend to get irritable when they try to deceive themselves."

Casually tossing the Handcuffs onto the ground, Fu Qian pressed the gun against Jones's head, using the man's body as a shield.

Although his physical stats were restricted to those of an ordinary person, a technical job like picking Handcuffs was still a piece of cake.

Even if Jones hadn't come over just now, he would have found a natural way to get close and make a move.

"Let him go, you maniac!"

After recovering from their initial shock, the police officers in front of him quickly aimed their weapons.

Hahaha!

Fu Qian let out a string of maniacal, cards-on-the-table laughter. He tightened his grip around Jones's neck, looking every bit like a man making a desperate last stand.

To any onlooker, this was the scene of a long-hidden mastermind refusing to surrender quietly in the face of ironclad evidence.

Because of this, the accusations he had denied earlier suddenly became much more credible.

"You have no idea of your own worth."

Fu Qian's gaze swept over the trio of vacationers one by one.

"Faced with such a gift, you actually only feel fear?"

His tone was flat and devoid of emotion, yet Fran and the other two found themselves entirely unable to meet his eyes.

With a scoff, Fu Qian shifted his gaze to the crowd. Surprisingly, they had the exact same reaction.

Not bad, but still not enough.

The sole purpose of this performance was to make everyone believe they had been infected, causing mass panic so their stress levels would rapidly max out.

Once a large number of people crossed that critical threshold, this Small Town would become a Hotbed for Lasik's Descent.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much time left, and emotions took time to spread.

Especially when they had a pillar of support—that would slow the spread down even more.

And Sheriff Jones, who didn't look particularly dedicated to his job, was undoubtedly playing that role.

It was troublesome, but it also meant one thing: if he could directly destroy this pillar of support, the results would be absurdly effective.

That was why, from beginning to end, Fu Qian's target had been Jones.

Of course, dealing with him couldn't be as simple as putting a bullet in his head. The human heart was very delicate; doing that might just backfire.

"Logically speaking, you shouldn't have lost your composure like this. It seems you chose to trust your intuition over science."

Fu Qian spoke in a tone that clearly said he was done pretending.

"It's a pity. You should have believed it earlier. We might have been able to chat more."

"I know people like you. You're used to understanding everything in your own way. You're never lost, and you refuse to be deceived."

"But over these past few days, hasn't there been a single moment where something inexplicable challenged your common sense, even slightly?"

Hiding behind Jones, Fu Qian kept the gun pressed to his head.

"The smarter they are, the more stubborn they are. Look at Mr. Harold; he accepted it much faster."

"What do you mean?"

"For example, is it possible that Mr. Harold, who fell off the bridge, was merely pretending to be knocked out?"

...From beginning to end, everything had been orchestrated by Harold himself. This explanation was indeed more logical—as long as one admitted that he, too, had been infected.

Jones fell silent for a moment.

"Everything has its motive and logic."

Fu Qian's voice was like the whispers of a devil.

Everything has its motive and logic...

The events of the past two days flashed through Jones's mind. The contradictions he had deliberately ignored before surfaced one by one.

"How could..."

The next moment, a hint of confusion finally appeared in the sheriff's eyes.

Ah!

A piercing scream rang out.

Fu Qian looked toward the sound, only to see Mrs. Mary crouching on the ground, covering her face.

Her emotions had been unstable from the start, and now she clearly felt the confusion of her spiritual pillar of support.

And this scene undoubtedly put immense pressure on the crowd of onlookers. People all around were terrified.

However, a few seconds later, she slowly stood back up.

"Let him go!"

All hesitation and fear had vanished from Mrs. Mary's face. She was glaring this way with an unprecedentedly cold and chilling gaze.

"Let him go, and you can leave safely."

"Mary..."

This scene actually made Jones's tone even more despondent.

"It seems you have learned to embrace this boon."

Fu Qian smiled, making no move to release his hostage.

"Sometimes I really envy all of you. You don't need to know anything, yet you receive such an unimaginable gift."

"A remarkable entity is waking up inside you."

"Embrace him. Discard your boring and ridiculous definitions of self. Wouldn't it be better to attain Rebirth?"

Fu Qian slowly twisted his facial muscles, forming an incredibly crazed expression.

Pulling off this kind of exaggerated facial expression wasn't easy, unless your mind was already extremely high on excitement.

"All great works are forged through sacrifice!"

...

For a moment, the coldness on Mrs. Mary's face shattered like glass, turning back into panic.

Someone else had received the gift.

Fu Qian didn't even need to look to know that someone else had triggered the superhuman state.

After a series of manipulations, the flashpoint had finally been reached.

In fact, the very next moment, a roar echoed from The Mountain. The sound was indescribably frenzied.

The already panicked crowd couldn't help but look over in unison, but there was no one in sight. It was as if the sound had been generated from the void.

Is that Lasik from some samsara?

Listening to that roar full of pain and despair, Fu Qian had a rough guess.

It seemed his bad luck really had mounted.

And it didn't end there. Before the first roar even ceased, another one rang out, this time coming from the direction of the Small Town.

Then came another, and another...

Soon, the tide of madness they formed surrounded the crowd from all directions. It sounded as if countless Lasiks were howling in despair.

Ah!

This incomprehensible scene quickly squeezed out the first scream.

Excellent. What followed would be a chain reaction. Lasik was about to begin his wild dance.

[Current task completed. Containment of No. 2-205 successful.]

Finally, amidst the falling ash filling the sky, the long-awaited notification chimed.

And the countdown before Fu Qian's eyes now showed less than thirty minutes.

The last thing he saw was Mrs. Mary screaming as she charged over, trying to grab the gun in his hand.

Fu Qian didn't fire.

He was currently the villainous boss, the mastermind behind the scenes.

And as everyone knows, at the end of the movie, the bad guy dies, and the good guys are left to grieve.

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