Eldritch Horror Theatre

Clearly, Fu Qian's brutal displays over the past two days had left a deep impression.

As soon as he spoke, both the Beast Claw Woman and Lu Ming froze.

Fu Qian took in their reactions and gave a cold snort.

These local gangs were far too impolite!

The girl who had rowed his boat just happened to be the blonde woman's younger sister.

Fu Qian certainly didn't believe in such coincidences.

The most likely explanation was that the Rebirth Club's reach extended a bit too far. They had been monitoring his residence and had seen Veil coming and going.

So they had brought her sister out to test him, arranging this little coincidence.

On one hand, it was a gesture of goodwill; on the other, they wanted to see if she could be used as leverage against him.

They had probably even painted a pretty picture for her beforehand, telling her The Company was going to groom her for an important role.

There was truly no cure for stupidity.

The Beast Claw Woman looked terrified, opening her mouth several times without managing to make a sound.

Fu Qian ignored her. Snorting, he turned his head and shot Lu Ming a glance.

As a master who had just torn a giant beast apart with his bare hands, it would be far too docile to show no reaction to being spied on.

That single glance made Lu Ming's breath catch and his hairs stand on end.

Arranging for Veil's sister to row the boat was supposed to be a quiet favor, but it had backfired spectacularly.

Fu Qian had clearly realized he was being monitored, and he was quite unhappy about it.

The previously harmonious atmosphere had vanished without a trace.

Given this man's tendency to attack over the slightest disagreement, it was impossible to predict what he might do.

Lu Ming genuinely regretted his overly clever test.

Fu Qian stared for a long time, right up until Lu Ming's body pulled taut and his right hand trembled, on the verge of an accidental misfire. Then, as if nothing had happened, he suddenly turned away and resumed studying the tentacle in the Box.

...

Lu Ming silently exhaled and glanced at the Beast Claw Woman.

In less than half a minute, she was barely able to stand, her face completely drained of color.

"You can leave first."

Lu Ming lowered his voice, waving her out.

The Beast Claw Woman looked as though she had been granted a pardon and turned to leave.

After two steps, she remembered something. She bent down to pick up the Pendant dropped on the floor, clutching it in her hand as she hurried out the door.

"Elder Lu, I have a question."

As soon as the Beast Claw Woman left, Fu Qian addressed Lu Ming amicably, as if nothing had happened at all.

"Did you say earlier that The Club could help me fuse with this thing?"

Lu Ming's heart skipped a beat. He thought Fu Qian was going to start aggressively demanding accountability, but he hadn't expected the topic to swing right back to this.

Taking a deep breath, Lu Ming gave a solemn nod.

"Yes. We've already grasped some of its basic properties. If you are interested, Mr. Fu, we will cooperate with you entirely.

"Given your strength, as long as you can fuse with it, the chances of advancing to a Demigod are quite high.

"In the future, you will undoubtedly have a place in the Archipelago!"

"Is that so!"

After Lu Ming finished speaking, Fu Qian glanced back at him.

"Ibu doesn't get along with you guys?"

...

"No wonder you showed up at my door tonight, right after I clashed with that Demigod."

"Care to tell me what kind of conflict you have with him?"

"Well..."

Lu Ming took a breath and gave a slight nod.

"Your eyes are like torches, Mr. Fu. I suppose I have nothing left to hide."

"Our relationship with Ibu is indeed less than harmonious.

"In the beginning, we were the ones who assisted Bai Jinting in establishing the Archipelago.

"And the Laboratory is essentially the foundation of the Archipelago's development. It's safe to say that without The Club's assistance, this place wouldn't exist at all."

"Sounds like quite the eventful era."

Fu Qian blinked.

"I'm sure there were quite a few casualties during the exploratory phase?"

"If anyone else asked, I would certainly say no. But intelligent men should be honest with one another. I can only say that for the sake of great progress, the sacrifices of the ignorant masses are well worth it.

"It's also their honor."

"Is Bai Jinting aware of this?"

"Of course. In the beginning, he provided us with a substantial amount of base materials."

"I see. Please, continue."

Fu Qian nodded, thoroughly satisfied.

"As the bedrock of the islands, The Club and the Laboratory originally held a transcendent status. Everything was developing incredibly smoothly.

"Unfortunately, ever since Ibu arrived, we've been targeted at every turn..."

"He doesn't like these things?"

Fu Qian pointed at their surroundings.

"It would be more accurate to say he views them as his mortal enemies."

Lu Ming sneered.

"Demigods like him, who rely on bloodlines and a tiny bit of effort to advance, naturally can't stand the crooked path of limb grafting.

"The real issue is Bai Jinting's unusually high trust in him. Over the past five years, the restrictions placed upon us have only grown.

"The Rebirth Club, which everyone used to envy, is now treated like a plague that people avoid at all costs."

"I can actually understand that."

Fu Qian pointed at the tentacle in the Box.

"Even I find this thing incredibly wicked looking!"

"New things always have to be popularized step by step!"

Lu Ming's expression grew slightly awkward.

"Makes sense."

Fu Qian nodded.

"Can I touch it to see?"

?

Lu Ming looked astonished.

His train of thought was jumping way too fast!

"Fusion requires a lot of preliminary testing and preparation."

"It's fine. I just want to take a look."

"Alright..."

Having obtained Lu Ming's consent, Fu Qian extended an index finger into the Box.

The twisting, squirming tentacle seemed to sense something and suddenly stopped.

A moment later, its tip tilted up slightly, slowly creeping toward Fu Qian's finger.

"This thing's vitality is much higher than any other limb."

Watching Fu Qian's movements, Lu Ming explained in a low voice from the side.

Before he even finished speaking, the tentacle had already crawled onto Fu Qian's index finger.

An icy, slippery sensation spread through his skin. Wherever the tentacle passed, the flesh seemed to be stained with a layer of aqua-blue fluorescence.

Just as the tentacle slithered past his palm and attempted to spread toward his wrist, Fu Qian abruptly pulled his hand back.

He looked back at a bewildered Lu Ming.

"That's all for today."

...

Politely declining Lu Ming's offer to escort him back, Fu Qian asked them for a boat and leisurely rowed his way home.

Once Lu Ming's figure disappeared from view, Fu Qian opened his right hand.

Under the moonlight, starlike specks of blue fluorescence covered more than half his palm, looking like a miniature galaxy.

This was the path the creature had crawled over.

At this very moment, it felt as though countless tiny insects were trying to burrow into his flesh.

He brought his hand to his lips and took a sniff.

Not only that, but he had also brought out that peculiar scent.

He had to admit, Lu Ming and the others had a good eye. This thing truly was quite miraculous; it wasn't as simple as an ordinary Transcendent creature.

At almost the exact same time, the feeling of being watched flashed across his senses before vanishing.

He was here, as expected!

Fu Qian didn't look back toward the Central Island, but he was ninety percent sure that the Demigod Ibu was observing him from some hidden spot.

It had only been a guess at first. But revealing the glowing traces on his hand just now had caused a slight fluctuation in the watcher's emotions, allowing Fu Qian to briefly detect his presence.

This guy hated limb grafting to the bone. He had probably been monitoring Fu Qian's interactions with Lu Ming and the others all along.

This was for the best; otherwise, his little stunt touching that thing earlier would have been a waste.

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