Eldritch Horror Theatre

Goya's ability to read the situation was quite impressive.

It wasn't long before Doctor Cynthia hurried over.

She was surprisingly calm, however. Seeing Goya being choked by the neck, she didn't waste time on philosophical questions, instead tossing a stack of documents straight over.

Fu Qian caught them with his free hand, hauled Goya back to his original seat, and opened the file.

At a glance, it was indeed a rather proper report.

First off, these people referred to the horse in the lowest room as the "Nether Steed." It had been discovered during a past exploration.

And as of now, this was its second round of testing.

The first test was exactly a year ago, right when they found it.

Its effects on cognition were also discovered back then.

In contrast, the anomalous results this time were densely packed, with a long string of them attached at the back.

A quick flip through the pages basically confirmed that Doctor Cynthia hadn't been lying.

Affected by the entity, quite a few people developed mental issues, and the vast majority of them mentioned the name Patches.

That anomalous horse seemed to be constantly broadcasting the self-identity of "Patches" to its surroundings through a psychic neigh.

Opening any random record revealed that the test personnel exposed to it began repeatedly calling themselves Patches. Their personalities also turned despicable, taking pleasure in deceiving and toying with others.

However, while their cognition was affected, it wasn't entirely without benefits.

As transcendents themselves, many of the test subjects exhibited growth or mutations in their abilities, and a few even received direct Rank promotions.

It made perfect sense why they had gone to such lengths for these tests.

The ability to elevate Ranks in bulk was simply too valuable to a large organization—provided they could avoid the side effects, of course.

Moreover, the most important point...

Looking at last year's records, Fu Qian noted that the Nether Steed's cries had lasted exactly two days and nights before falling silent.

And this test, a year later, had also been running for nearly two days.

This meant that if things played out like last year, he didn't have much time left.

"Mr. Patches."

Seeing that Fu Qian was actually reading the file carefully despite being heavily surrounded, Doctor Cynthia remained silent for a moment before finally taking a seat in Goya's chair and breaking the ice.

"Could you let Doctor Goya go first? After all, even as a hostage, he's probably more useful alive."

Oh?

Fu Qian turned to glance at Goya next to him. The latter's complexion was undeniably awful; a blue-black shade had already spread across half of his face as he resisted the grip.

Fu Qian didn't believe a dignified Mid-Tier Transcendent would be choked to death so easily, but given Doctor Cynthia's cooperative attitude...

"Of course!"

The next moment, Fu Qian simply let go and tossed the man aside.

Never expecting Fu Qian to be so cavalier as to casually discard his hostage, the crowd stared dumbfounded while Goya gasped for air.

"I've dealt with many 'Patches,' and all of them were visibly unhinged and difficult to handle."

Even Doctor Cynthia was visibly shocked at this.

"But I must admit, voluntarily giving up your leverage still caught me off guard."

"That just means they lacked class."

Fu Qian replied casually, his eyes never even leaving the documents.

"Communication is a wonderful thing."

"Besides, if I need leverage, I can always just grab him again."

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask."

The next moment, Cynthia actually pulled out a pen and paper, staring unblinkingly at Fu Qian.

"How exactly did you manage it? That level of power?"

"The enhancement is simply astounding! It's far more exaggerated than any previous case."

To remember her actual job even at a time like this... her thirst for knowledge was truly admirable.

Fu Qian finally put down the documents, looked up at Cynthia, and then glanced at Goya Ulrich beside her.

"It feels like you're more professional than this project leader here. Isn't your organizational structure a bit flawed?"

"It's just a division of labor. Once the test is over, everyone will get what they deserve."

Cynthia seemed completely unmoved by Fu Qian's blatantly malicious instigation.

"The benefit of clear rewards and penalties."

Sensing the certainty in Cynthia's words, Fu Qian nodded and didn't bother making any further pointless attempts.

"Then back to your previous question. Have you ever considered that your so-called previous cases were actually the abnormal ones?"

"It's not that I improved too much, but that they improved too little. Because this was my power to begin with!"

Fu Qian clenched his fist, looking at Doctor Goya, who was subconsciously edging away from him.

Worthy of a Mid-Tier Transcendent, he had already fully recovered.

But obviously, he had no desire to continue dealing with Fu Qian.

"Those people relied on self-deception, so the improvement they ultimately gained was bound to be fake."

"I have to say, out of all the cases I know of, you are indeed the most extreme."

Cynthia pondered for a few seconds before giving her assessment of Fu Qian's behavior.

"But purely based on what I'm seeing right now, I'd rather interpret this anomaly as: the higher the degree of cognitive distortion, the greater the resulting enhancement."

"A reasonable deduction. If I were you, I would think the exact same thing."

Fu Qian clapped his hands a few times.

"But there's a saying: if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it's a duck."

"From this perspective, even if my current state is the ultimate manifestation of distortion, what's the difference between that and me actually being Patches?"

"I've heard the duck saying, of course, but in this place, there really is a fundamental difference."

Cynthia looked quite resolute.

"A victim of cognitive distortion and an actual anomalous creature are completely different things to the Night Watchers!"

"The latter will be eradicated without hesitation. But if you're the former, as long as you're willing to cooperate, I can't think of any matters of principle that would restrict you from freely leaving this place."

Seeing that Fu Qian remained silent, Cynthia offered a faint smile and continued.

"I know you're very strong right now, but please believe me, it's still far from enough."

"Even if you use various tricks to successfully slip out of this heavily guarded underground facility, a Demigod Level transcendent will definitely track you down within a day."

"And regardless of whether she comes from The Company or the Night Watchers, you will lose any chance to bargain and will be eliminated in the most efficient manner."

Doctor Cynthia was undoubtedly very good at persuading people. Following her analysis, the room once again fell unusually quiet.

"I think I understand what you mean. Tell me, how do you want to cooperate?"

Fu Qian pondered for a long time before finally putting on a convinced expression.

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