Eldritch Horror Theatre

Sure enough, how did that famous saying go again?

Life will lie to you, but math won't.

Even though the task was surreal, this was a victory that respected probability.

Sitting in his seat after effortlessly completing the task, Fu Qian felt quite pleased with himself for a few seconds.

Of course, in theory, this task truly was extremely simple.

Once he proved that all the characters could be force-fed the sedatives, it could be completed through simple trial and error as long as his SAN Value was high enough.

As for the SAN Value saved by succeeding on the first try, Fu Qian didn't care all that much.

What he cared about most were the implications behind the task.

[Task Evaluation: Dream Chaser]

Its dark and bizarre aspects, where truth and fiction were difficult to distinguish, greatly satisfied his imagination.

However, starting one day, he began to suffer from indescribable afflictions.

As the situation worsened, he ultimately sought help from his psychiatrist.

Dr. Nancy gave him a detailed consultation and advised him to give up his hobby, because longing for something that could never be obtained was top-tier torture for the body and mind.

Toshima Shiki accepted the doctor's advice, and everything seemed to be heading in a positive direction.

Until one day, when he showed up for his scheduled appointment and was having a pleasant conversation with the doctor, he suddenly realized she was spouting some seemingly familiar ravings.

Filled with indescribable joy, he fell asleep on the Deck Chair in the Clinic, entering a surreal dreamscape.

In this dream, there were doctors attempting his redemption, but there was also a messenger planted at the source of evil, living and dying with the dream, monitoring this rising bubble to confirm whether there were traces of a higher will.

Unfortunately, the two doctors, each harboring their own obsessions, had been polluted by the darkness that never should have spilled out of him, allowing them to overlook his dream from a special vantage point.

If he fell asleep before the two observers, the dream that should have shattered would instead be maintained by their presence.

This anomaly, similar to a higher will, would be instantly detected by the messenger, and the powerful Night Watchers would subsequently mount the most extreme response.

The same would happen if the messenger were prematurely expelled.]

Fortunately, neither of these possibilities occurred.]

[Kills: None]

[Rewards: SAN Value +20, sedatives]

[Current SAN Value: 183, Current inspiration: 99]

[Play event recap?]

The task summary this time was rather detailed. Could it be because he hadn't solved the problem purely through trial and error?

The more he explored, the more content the summary provided?

If that were the case, it made the luck he had expended even more worthwhile.

Fu Qian was quite satisfied with this result.

The task summary had undoubtedly verified his earlier speculations.

This dream really was based on Toshima Shiki, and the two doctors were relatively special entities.

As for the messenger, that obviously referred to Brother Sam.

He was indeed a planted countermeasure, even stemming from the hands of the Night Watchers, coupled into the dream in a special way.

Aside from Sam drinking the sedatives, the other trigger for the alarm was Toshima Shiki falling asleep while the two doctors were still awake.

His subconscious decision to follow his intuition and leave Toshima Shiki for last really did have meaning after all.

In short, his series of actions could be called a mutual convergence of logic and intuition, a standard process of scientific exploration.

...

Why did the Night Watchers have this kind of surveillance anyway? It sounded extremely important.

The task summary mentioned the messenger was planted at the source of evil, monitoring the rising "bubbles" to prevent the awakening of a certain higher will?

And the essence of his task this time was to avoid alerting the Night Watchers?

Why?

In theory, Nancy and Kelly being "misunderstood" as a higher will was nothing more than a misunderstanding at most. Why would the Warehouse bother with such a trivial matter?

Wait a minute. The pollution that never should have spilled out... could it be— Fu Qian recalled the mental storm currently ravaging Ye Island.

Yasui Tokiyuki's act of materializing notoriety resulted in cognition flowing in an even more active manner.

So Kelly and Nancy had been infected by the patient because of this?

And if the Night Watchers mounted the "most extreme response," it meant they would likely discover Yasui Tokiyuki's actions—and the Warehouse didn't want them discovering Yasui Tokiyuki's actions.

So even the Warehouse wanted Yasui Tokiyuki to smoothly advance?

Faced with his own deduced conclusion, Fu Qian furrowed his brows slightly.

This Emperor Yasui really had the feel of a chosen child of destiny. Not only did she have the right time, place, and people on her side before, but now even the Warehouse thought her successful advancement was a good thing?

Things seemed to be getting more and more complicated.

Then again, he hadn't even looked at his special reward yet.

It wouldn't just be the kind of sedatives from the task, would it? That would be far too insincere.

Amidst his grumbling, Fu Qian found the reward section and was taken aback a moment later.

[Name: sedatives]

[Type: Weapon]

[Description: A damaged ancient holy bell. Although its appearance remains exquisite, it can no longer emit sounds to dispel the madness in people's hearts. Fortunately, its deceptive heaviness allows it to achieve the same goal through other means.]

[Special Effect: Dislocation. When used to strike the head, a chime carrying a mysterious power will ring deep within the target's consciousness.]

[Note: The damage has made its form of power even more ancient.]

...

What the hell was an "even more ancient form of power"? They might as well have just said headshot!

However, the design really wasn't bad. It was even handier than he had imagined.

Still grumbling, Fu Qian weighed the reward in his hand.

It was a faintly golden Handbell, about the length of a forearm, topped with a small hexagonal Bell.

It was indeed damaged as the description stated; it didn't make a single sound when shaken.

At the same time, its weight was quite considerable. Fortunately, the handle at the bottom felt excellent to grip.

The style of these rewards was getting weirder and weirder.

Placing the sedatives on the much emptier table, Fu Qian looked at the Head Cage next to it, the image of himself holding an Iron Cage in one hand and a Bell in the other surfacing in his mind.

Although it was slightly underwhelming, it was at least a rare weapon reward.

In certain tasks that required a special appearance, he could consider bringing it along.

[Today's work has been completed. You may now leave the Warehouse. Weekly work progress: 2/4]

After comforting himself for a bit, Fu Qian still chose to leave the reward in the Warehouse. He then put on the Emissary, readily accepting good advice.

...

So the task just now had actually happened in the last couple of days?

After all, the materialization of notoriety had only happened the night before last.

The scene was the same as when he left. Returning to the living room, Fu Qian walked to the window, lost in thought.

Even though the sun was shining brightly, it seemed as if an invisible storm were raging outside.

His trip to Ye Island this time originally had a very simple purpose: wrapping up the project while gaining a better understanding of their competitor, the Origin Council.

Yet beneath this calm surface, a meticulously calculated conspiracy was actually brewing.

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