Eldritch Horror Theatre

Even without her uttering a single sound, Fu Qian understood exactly what Tan Ying meant.

A moment later, he nodded.

He had to admit she had a rich imagination.

Under the barrage of shocks, she had come up with an explanation for Sissi's behavior remarkably fast.

Her explanation even aligned perfectly with his own—just like Truman, famously trapped in a massive studio, Sissi believed she was an actor being scrutinized by the entire world.

...

In truth, from the moment he met this peculiar client, Fu Qian had been pondering the source of that dissonance.

As an ethical consultant, Fu Qian never reverse-profiled his clients. Yet judging purely by his immediate impressions, the client he knew online was undeniably different from the person standing before him.

Ruling out the absurd possibility of a stolen account, Fu Qian's first thought was that she suffered from some cognitive deviation—or, in layman's terms, a poor mental state.

Her manners were elegant and her speech appropriate, but it all carried an obvious, almost performative quality.

Every move she made seemed to interact with some invisible scrutiny, as if she were standing center stage.

It was a highly abnormal state, completely different from ordinary pretentiousness.

Given that realization, he hadn't even been surprised earlier when she mentioned staying in the neighboring city for over a month just to wait for his reply.

...

Even though she had asked for his opinion, seeing Fu Qian actually nod made Tan Ying pale even further.

Under the dim yellow lights of the corridor, Madam Sissi was watching them with a meaningful smile.

Recalling how the two had interacted along the way, Tan Ying felt an overwhelming sense of dread.

Did she truly believe, just like Truman, that thousands of cameras were pointed at her at any given moment?

Did she think even Fu Qian and herself were just actors meant to guide her?

Going by appearances alone, it was genuinely hard to imagine such wild delusions taking root in this lady's mind.

In that case, her own earlier attempt at a seamless escape had probably been "seen through" from the start—was that why Sissi asked if she had scared her?

The more she thought about it, the more alarmed she grew. Even without a bizarre supernatural item like the Mirror, Tan Ying felt this experience was somehow even more terrifying.

Just what kind of luck did she have? Why did she never encounter anything normal whenever she entered this place?

As an upstanding youth, Tan Ying's first instinct was actually to find the fault within herself rather than blame Fu Qian.

"Let's walk and talk. Otherwise, the staff will be here to kick us out soon."

While Tan Ying gradually came to terms with everything, Fu Qian gestured for them to keep moving forward.

"So what about now? How do you feel after meeting the actor they finally selected?"

He asked naturally, offering no rebuttal against his client's worldview.

"The perfect candidate."

Sissi looked at him with a smile.

"At least, until I saw you in person, I couldn't imagine the Razor Consultant actually existed."

"Is that why you were so persistent? You thought whoever interacted with you online couldn't possibly be a real human?"

"Yes. In my hypothesis, there had to be at least a group of humans on the other side—a team."

Sissi didn't deny it.

"But after meeting you, it's like an unimaginable oddity has been placed right in front of me. If there really is someone capable of pulling off such things, they would look exactly like you."

"You even chose a great place to talk."

She surveyed their surroundings.

"Under the fear of something beyond their control, people find it difficult to hide their true selves."

"If it hadn't dragged on a bit too long, your performance might have almost swayed my thoughts."

An oddity... theoretically speaking, that could be considered a compliment, right?

Comforting himself with that thought, Fu Qian looked at Sissi and shook his head.

"With all due respect, even if your judgment is correct, this behavior won't change anything."

"...That's true."

Her emotions finally stirred, Sissi let out a soft sigh after a few seconds of silence.

"So what if there isn't a suitable actor? You wouldn't admit it anyway. And even if you did, it might just be reverse psychology to confuse me."

Aside from having a screw loose, there's nothing wrong with her logic.

Fu Qian silently evaluated her while casually dragging the dumbfounded Tan Ying two steps forward, helping her perfectly dodge a staff member grabbing for her ankle from the floor.

But the more logical she is, the bigger the problem!

Once people with strong logical reasoning achieved a self-consistent worldview, they became an impenetrable, flawless loop of justification.

...

Being entangled with a proverbial crazy kid didn't stir any unusual emotions in Fu Qian.

After all, lately he had been dealing with psychos by the dozen every single day.

In fact, he was far more concerned about the origins of her condition.

Some things just felt a bit too coincidental.

"So, when exactly did you begin to 'Awaken'?"

"Much earlier than I let on."

Sissi wore a smile.

"What I can tell you is that it wasn't some midnight delusion. I have concrete reasons, and I am exceedingly confident in my judgment."

"Believe me, anyone else in my shoes would have come to the exact same conclusion."

With that speaking style, if I covered your face, I'd almost think you were Brother Yuan Fang, whom I just dealt with.

Fu Qian silently grumbled to himself.

"We're here."

Given their brisk pace during the latter half of the trip, the three of them had already reached the exit, leaving the haunted space behind.

Only then did Tan Ying finally release Fu Qian's arm. Facing the midday sun, she took a deep breath and relaxed a little.

"Sister... Sissi, what are your plans next?"

Facing the mentally unhinged Madam Sissi, she gritted her teeth and ultimately maintained a polite form of address.

"Going home, of course."

Sissi smiled, sounding as though her mind had been made up long ago.

"Coming out here was very fun, but I still have a lot to handle back home."

She's leaving already? She really just came here to take a single look?

Although Tan Ying was slightly surprised, considering the woman's psychological state, it didn't seem entirely incomprehensible.

"Mr. Fu."

Madam Sissi turned her gaze back to Fu Qian.

"I'm very glad someone like you exists. Could I come by again when it's convenient? Or, aside from being the Razor, do you work as any other type of consultant?"

"I do."

Fu Qian replied with absolute confidence.

"That's wonderful."

A moment later, she pulled open her collar, fumbled around, and produced a business card.

Frankly, the action wasn't exactly graceful, but Fu Qian could somewhat understand her mindset.

It could be considered a way to release her emotions when faced with the utterly unsolvable.

"If possible, I would like to formally hire you as my private consultant. Time, location, working methods, and even the nature of the work—you can choose whatever you like."

"I hope you'll consider it. Take as long as you need—"

"I accept."

Before she could even finish her sentence, Fu Qian reached out and took the card.

What a joke—even if he wasn't sure yet whether there was a Transcendent factor behind her issues, how could he possibly refuse a clue delivered right to his doorstep?

He had even paid for the coffee and tickets himself. Wouldn't it be a loss if he didn't gain something from it?

"Wonderful. I look forward to your guidance."

Fu Qian had been so decisive that even the client was momentarily stunned.

A moment later, however, she broke into a radiant smile, thoroughly satisfied with this development.

She bowed gracefully, as if taking a curtain call for an invisible audience.

"I apologize for the trouble I've caused you by coming here."

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