Eldritch Horror Theatre

In that delicate atmosphere, the six people and one cat returned to the research building Fu Qian's group had already searched, moving with considerable efficiency.

No anomalies occurred along the way, but the team members were clearly preoccupied with their own thoughts.

The reason the team hadn't disbanded outright in such a tense atmosphere was simple—the behavior of Adele's corpse earlier had left a deep impression on everyone.

With their physical attributes restricted to those of ordinary people, the group had clearly weighed the difficulty of surviving in this place.

Given the current situation, going solo was obviously not a good choice.

So while the atmosphere wasn't exactly lively, the team's cohesion had actually increased.

In addition, once they entered the building, the noticeably weaker blue hue made them involuntarily relax a little.

...

"It was found right here?"

The still-open safe undoubtedly corroborated his and Fu Qian's earlier claims.

The other four examined the scene, and eventually, Mask was the first to speak.

"Yes. Almost as soon as we found it, we received the signal, so we haven't explored the rest yet."

Brother Red Dragon gave a brief overview of what had happened at the time.

"And from what we've searched so far, the place has been cleaned out completely. There's almost no valuable information left."

"Where did you find the key?"

Madam Qing was clearly more observant. After glancing at the safe a few times, she suddenly asked.

"There was no key."

Red Dragon knew she asked because the safe was completely intact. He simply pointed at Fu Qian.

"Guansi picked the lock."

Oh?

For a moment, everyone's gazes inevitably converged on him again.

"Just a little life hack."

Fu Qian, who was currently petting the cat, remained very modest. This was mostly because Henry had become noticeably restless upon re-entering the room, struggling much more violently.

...

Fu Qian's modesty left the team members momentarily speechless, but regardless, this information definitely changed everyone's attitude toward him.

Under normal circumstances, they might have relied on their respective abilities, but with their Transcendent Tier powers currently restricted, a technical skill like lockpicking suddenly became very important.

"Excellent. Let's continue, then."

As the person in charge of the team, Mask was clearly very satisfied with this development, gesturing for Red Dragon to keep leading the way.

With Adele having previously mentioned a research institute, a lot of things made more sense as they looked around.

Judging by the layout and some of the facilities, this place was indeed an aging research institution. The six-person squad observed their surroundings carefully, refusing to overlook any suspicious details.

Unfortunately, even after staring until their eyes practically bled, the surroundings appeared even cleaner than the floors below.

Along the way, Fu Qian was invited to open a few more safes, once again proving his value to the team.

It was a pity that, aside from one safe containing a few unlabelled vials of potion, the opened safes yielded nothing else.

Facing the three small vials—one red, one green, and one blue—the team fell into a brief silence.

Although they were unverified potions, the fact that they were so solemnly locked away in a safe in a place like this meant they were undoubtedly more valuable than the cat in Fu Qian's hands.

Considering they were currently operating as a cooperative team, the matter of how to handle this unidentified loot clearly required some discussion.

"Death Row Inmate, you take them."

Unexpectedly, Mask showed considerable decisiveness at this moment. He assigned a custodian right away, without waiting for a debate.

Faced with this decision, Death Row Inmate, the least active member of the team, looked quite surprised.

The others hesitated briefly but quickly realized Mask's intention.

Based on his earlier behavior, Death Row Inmate's bad attitude was comparable to Guansi's. However, the skills Guansi subsequently displayed had greatly increased his importance.

Simply put, without Guansi, they wouldn't have gotten their hands on these three potions so easily.

Under these circumstances, Death Row Inmate, who was clearly hostile toward Guansi, found himself in a rather awkward position within the team.

Mask's action was a perfectly timed, explicit expression of his own will—the will to hold this team together.

It had to be said, this move was quite necessary.

For a moment, no one voiced any objections, not even the man himself.

Death Row Inmate said nothing. He silently put his weapon away, checked that the three vials were securely sealed, and then carefully stored them.

...

"There aren't many places left for us to check, are there?"

Not long after, following another round of meticulous searching, Mask looked down the corridor ahead and let out a sigh.

"Only the top floor is left. It seems they truly cleared this place out completely."

Red Dragon nodded.

"Very well. But I suppose we're already used to coming up empty-handed."

Mask lamented. Determining the direction, he actually took the lead, walking right at the front.

"To be fair, let's take turns scouting ahead."

Naturally, no one could raise any objections to such a reasonable arrangement.

In fact, earlier on, Red Dragon simply hadn't minded acting as the vanguard in this unfamiliar environment. It was fair to say that everyone else had taken advantage of him.

...

Unfortunately, Mask's volunteering didn't go as smoothly as he had imagined.

Not only was the elevator still inaccessible for this final floor, but after trying every route, they found that all the passageways were completely locked tight.

Seeing this, the group, who had walked a full circle, looked at one another, unable to hide the excitement in their eyes.

When things are abnormal, there must be something sinister at work. Everyone here was a professional, and any anomaly only brought them excitement.

"Can you do it?"

Mask looked at Fu Qian.

He had displayed a very high level of "life hack" skills along the way, but the obstacle before them was obviously more complex.

"No problem."

Seeing the team's atmosphere heat up, Fu Qian did not decline the responsibility. He stepped forward and went to work.

Once again hung at his waist, the cat Henry struggled only briefly before giving up the effort.

Before long, under the expectant gazes of the group, the satisfying sound of a delicate mechanism clicking into place rang out.

Yet Fu Qian, having fulfilled his mission, wasn't in a hurry to open the door.

"I'll do it. There might actually be some danger behind this."

Seeing this, Madam Qing standing to the side spoke up decisively, stepping right up to the door.

Fu Qian's reaction was clearly easy to interpret as fear of an ambush behind the door.

"If we're taking turns taking the lead, it's only reasonable that I go now."

Fu Qian shook his head. Pinching his lockpicking tool between two fingers, he held it up in front of Qing.

"This is..."

The next moment, after getting a clear look at what was in Fu Qian's hand, Qing spoke with difficulty, her voice indescribably dry.

At the very tip of that inconspicuous tool, a segment just a few millimeters long was emitting a peculiar luminescence.

And in both color and brightness, it was practically identical to the glow that had been on Adele's body.

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