Eldritch Horror Theatre

"Are you really that pessimistic?"

Clearly, Brother Red Dragon was taken aback by Fu Qian's view.

To him, Madam Star's intentions were easy to read, and he was perfectly happy to let them play out. He hadn't expected Fu Qian to view them so unfavorably.

"Any particular reason?"

Unbothered by pride, he posed the question in all seriousness.

"Because of my codename!"

Fu Qian replied, looking as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

"If I were too optimistic, wouldn't that clash with a name like Guansi?"

...

Meeting Brother Red Dragon's slightly conflicted gaze, Fu Qian's expression turned instantly friendly.

"It's getting late. Shouldn't we keep moving?"

Fu Qian didn't actually have a problem with the guy; he was just too lazy to talk much.

As for the real reason behind his pessimism, Fu Qian could tell that out of this five-person team, the seemingly calm and proactive Madam Star was actually the most panicked of them all.

The reason was simple: she displayed the greatest desire to keep the team together.

Although the group shared a rare tacit understanding to hide their personal information, their brief exchange made it clear that they had all just arrived.

If they really were veterans of a similar nature to himself, then upon suddenly facing this kind of situation, the reactions of Death Row Inmate and Qing were actually the most normal.

Keep your distance and carefully vet everyone, rather than immediately trying to play a management simulation.

Therefore, Madam Star's behavior was completely meaningless—aside from broadcasting the message 'I really want to keep this team together' and begging for a little pity.

And judging by Qing's demeanor, Fu Qian seriously doubted how much pity she had to spare.

"We really should go."

Since Fu Qian was unwilling to elaborate, Brother Red Dragon didn't push it. Instead, he turned his serious attention to the tall building before them.

"It's a large place. Even under ideal circumstances, searching it will take some time."

"Yeah."

Fu Qian agreed, following behind the man.

Putting aside any logical flaws in his phrasing, Brother Red Dragon actually demonstrated a reassuring level of professionalism.

In addition to his imposing physique, he had already unslung the weapon from his back.

It was a bizarrely shaped Bladed Spear. Its overall structure was absurdly complex, assembled from over a dozen intricately fitted parts, giving it quite a cyberpunk vibe.

Although it folded down to roughly the length of an arm, it could obviously be extended further. The cold gleam on its edge proved it could easily slice through flesh and blood.

Professional!

After observing him for a moment, Fu Qian did not skimp on his praise.

In comparison, his own setup looked far less professional, and that was even with him breaking precedent and bringing a weapon for once.

Fu Qian looked at the sedatives in his hand, feeling that in terms of presence, they simply could not be mentioned in the same breath. At best, he looked like a combat medic.

Of course, if he took Mercy out of its holster to form a two-piece salvation set, he would look a bit more intimidating. But who was to say the other guy couldn't pull out some Armstrong Cyclone Cannon or something similar?

...

These wild thoughts didn't slow Fu Qian down. As they moved, he strictly followed Red Dragon's advice, ensuring the two of them always stayed within each other's line of sight.

Out of caution, Brother Red Dragon didn't take the main entrance. He opted for the freight elevators instead, only to sadly discover that they had stopped working.

Fortunately, they needed to search the place floor by floor anyway.

And while Fu Qian was determined to slack off, he wasn't bored enough to actively drag his partner down.

Brother Red Dragon soon noticed that no matter how fast or slow he moved, his partner effortlessly kept pace. Reassured, their efficiency quickly skyrocketed.

It didn't take long for the two of them to search through nearly half of the area.

The results were clear: they had found absolutely nothing.

Based on what they had seen on the way up, aside from being a bit dated, this building was actually a rather high-end office block.

One of its most prominent features was the sheer number of electronic and physical locks.

So much so that along the way, Fu Qian's lock-picking proficiency had taken a step beyond the top of a hundred-foot pole.

As for the electronic access controls, the backup power in this place had clearly failed long ago, so Brother Red Dragon had no trouble dealing with them.

...

"This place is truly strange."

After finishing their inspection of yet another room laid out like a Laboratory, Brother Red Dragon finally let out a disappointed sigh.

Fu Qian nodded in deep understanding.

The man had been thoroughly professional the entire way, searching every inch of the area while maintaining maximum efficiency.

What was absurd, however, was that the staff here had done such a stellar job with their confidentiality that they hadn't found a single scrap of paper containing any useful information.

There were a few bottles and jars in the Laboratory before them, but their one unifying feature was that none of them had a label.

Considering his current ordinary human constitution, Fu Qian had no interest whatsoever in taking a whiff of such potentially lethal weapons as unlabeled reagents.

At this moment, a disappointed Red Dragon walked over to a corner of the room and examined a gray safe.

"Can you—"

"Yes."

He only got halfway through his question before Fu Qian stepped forward decisively.

"This kind of structure is no problem."

...

"About how long? We need to factor it into our schedule moving forward."

Given the skills Lord Guansi had displayed along the way, Red Dragon didn't doubt his claim.

However, considering everything they had seen so far, Red Dragon was clearly hesitating over whether the safe was even worth opening.

"It won't take longer than the time we'd spend discussing it."

...

Seeing Lord Guansi's skilled and professional movements, Red Dragon smartly kept quiet and took the initiative to stand guard.

Though, theoretically speaking, there didn't seem to be anything around to guard against.

Still, considering his partner was currently cracking someone's safe, he naturally developed a guilty conscience.

Fortunately, Fu Qian didn't let this awkwardness last long. With a soft click, the safe was successfully unlocked.

Fu Qian stood up, put away his tools, and made an inviting gesture.

It was only natural.

Realizing the other man was yielding the honor of opening it, Red Dragon didn't decline.

Given the slightly eerie atmosphere they had encountered so far, it was hard to say what might be inside the safe. There could very well be some hidden danger.

Since his partner had already done the technical work, it was only fair that he took the risk.

Experienced and cautious, he didn't stand directly in front of it. Instead, he stood to the side and used his weapon to slowly pry the door open.

Silence followed. No bullets or poison darts shot out. As Brother Red Dragon breathed a sigh of relief, a sense of disappointment hit him in tandem.

A second later, however, he crouched down anyway. Using the faint blue light filtering in through the window, he peered carefully into the safe.

Almost instantly, his heart skipped a beat. There in the darkness, a pair of bright, emerald-green eyes was staring dead at him.

"Meow~"

This was accompanied by a loud, vigorous cry.

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