Eldritch Horror Theatre

[Survival time of one hour reached. Containment of anomaly 3-2048 successful.]

[Evaluation: Madness to the Marrow]

[In this crisis-ridden nightmare, your crazed and bloody performance was a perfect match, earning you the right to survive. Congratulations on unlocking the achievement: I Reject My Humanity (judging from your performance, you weren’t too attached to it anyway).]

[Kills: Werewolf]

[Rewards: SAN Value +20; inspiration +5; Skill: Air Bullet]

[Special Achievement Reward: Visceral Attack]

[Would you like to play the event replay?]

When Fu Qian returned to the Warehouse, a string of messages rapidly scrolled across his vision.

’What do they mean I’m not attached to being human?’

Fu Qian felt rather indignant about the evaluation.He glanced around. The Mist Door from before had disappeared.

’Finally done!’

Only then did Fu Qian let out a long sigh of relief.

He had to admit, this job was a bit too thrilling.

The rewards weren’t bad, though.

During his previous repeated attempts, his SAN Value had dropped to a dozen or so points. Recovering 20 points in one go finally made up for the loss.

Otherwise, at his previous rate of consumption, he probably would have gone insane in a few days.

The evaluation was complicated. He couldn’t tell if it was a compliment or an insult.

’I can even watch an event replay?’

Fu Qian chose to play it without hesitation.

Watching the replay, Fu Qian noticed more details.

Seeing himself under the moonlight, using his deformed arm to rip the werewolf’s internal organs, flesh, and other messy bits right out of its mouth, Fu Qian somewhat understood why he had received the [Madness to the Marrow] evaluation.

Of course, understanding it didn’t mean he agreed with it.

In fact, Fu Qian didn’t think his actions were inappropriate at all.

In his eyes, facing a strong enemy without fear and using any means necessary to crush them underfoot was the romance of a true man.

This was the beauty of bloodshed; it had nothing to do with going mad.

He also noticed that right at that moment, the old man in the house had put away his sickle and walked out, studying him.

He hadn’t seemed worried about getting caught in the crossfire at all. Fu Qian really hadn’t chosen the wrong opponent; that old man was probably much stronger than the werewolf.

After watching the replay, Fu Qian began to take stock of his gains.

[Air Bullet: Compresses air to form an invisible bullet. Not very powerful, but excels in concealment.]

’This is pretty good!’

Fu Qian’s eyes lit up. He rubbed two fingers together gently and tried to activate it.

An invisible bullet instantly whistled out, shooting straight into the depths of the Warehouse.

The range was decent, and the activation was quite fast.

Even if it lacked power, it was incredibly convenient.

With this single gain alone, more than half of the resentment in Fu Qian’s heart dissipated.

If he could bring this skill along for his next mission, it would definitely be a huge asset.

’If I remember correctly, there was also a special reward?’

Fu Qian quickly flipped to the other item.

[Visceral Attack: Seize the opportunity to directly damage the opponent’s internal organs through a wound, dealing devastating damage.]

[A brutal killing move that elegantly helps your prey find release.]

’This...’

The scene of himself pulling out the werewolf’s internal organs with his mutated tentacles flashed through Fu Qian’s mind.

No matter how he looked at it, this reward had to be related to that action.

’Is there some kind of misunderstanding? I really don’t have a fetish for pulling out people’s internal organs!’

’Forget it. An extra skill is never a bad thing.’

[Today’s work is complete. Thank you for your hard work.]

[You may now leave the Warehouse. See you tomorrow.]

A notification chimed at the perfect moment.

’No need to wait around to clock out. Five stars!’

Fu Qian took off the Work Badge around his neck.

His vision went dark, and he returned to his home after what felt like ages.

’This commute is really convenient!’

After sighing in appreciation, Fu Qian remembered something.

He picked up the phone on his desk to check it.

[...Your account ending in 1269 has completed a deposit transaction of 30,000 yuan, balance 35,240...]

Seeing the text message, Fu Qian still froze for a moment.

’An annual salary of ten million, and they pay daily?’

’A true beacon of industry conscience!’

All of his fatigue vanished into thin air.

’Right, I think I forgot something.’

Fu Qian slapped his forehead and quickly logged into the forum, tracking down the comment about killing a tiger by slide-tackling and force-feeding it to death.

He gave it a like first, then silently replied underneath: [Tested and verified!]

That night, Fu Qian lay in bed and reviewed his new job.

He had to admit that today’s experience challenged his imagination, upending too much of his past common sense.

But even with all the incomprehensible weirdness, Fu Qian still found joy in it.

Challenge, thought, and life-or-death struggle—in his eyes, this was much more interesting than clocking in for a 996 corporate grind.

Fu Qian realized he was beginning to mentally accept this job.

...

After resting for the night, Fu Qian had a simple meal early the next morning and put his Work Badge back on.

[Identity verification successful. Today’s work begins.]

The moment the Warehouse appeared before him, Fu Qian noticed something was wrong.

Patches of black patterns flickered everywhere in the Warehouse. Clusters of illusory bone spikes floated in midair, looking eerie and sinister.

’I knew it!’

Fu Qian wasn’t surprised in the slightest. To him, it was perfectly normal for this Warehouse to have some sort of incident every day.

Without a doubt, there was another leak.

[Warning: Containment Breach]

[Code: 2-133; Name: Ritual Notes]

[Today’s work content has been updated: Enter Containment Scenario 2-133 and complete the recontainment.]

[You may choose the skills you wish to carry.]

’Finally, I’m not going in naked!’

Facing the row of skill slots that appeared before him, Fu Qian decisively equipped both Air Bullet and Visceral Attack, then hit confirm.

[Entering Containment Scenario 2-133: Old City]

[Containment Fulfillment Conditions: Prevent the Descent of the evil god progeny]

[Current SAN Value: 32. Entering a Containment Scenario costs 1 SAN Value.]

’Am I going to kill a god? These missions really get more thrilling one after another!’

Intuition told Fu Qian that today’s work would be rather arduous.

[...1%...5%...50%...98%...100%. Old City loaded.]

[An unspeakable evil aura shrouds this once-prosperous place. The righteous Night Watchers are doing everything they can to purge the ubiquitous pollution, but unfortunately, they have no idea what they are about to face.]

[Skills: Air Bullet, Visceral Attack]

[Weapons: None]

’Night Watchers?’

It was Fu Qian’s first time hearing this unfamiliar title. Although he wasn’t sure exactly what kind of group they were, since they were on the side of justice, he felt he could probably make use of them.

At this moment, Fu Qian’s vision slowly returned, and then he saw a pair of eyes.

The eyes were so close they practically occupied his entire field of vision.

Amber pupils stared at him unblinkingly.

Fu Qian tried to move and found it difficult to breathe. Something was clutching his neck.

”Can you hear me?”

The next moment, an ethereal and melodious voice rang out.

Fu Qian frowned, quickly recalling the experience he had summarized before—use more verbal communication, and less body language.

So, even though his throat was being crushed to the point of suffocation, he still struggled to force out a sound.

”I... can...”

The next moment, a gleaming blade flashed past. Fu Qian felt a coldness in his chest and could feel blood gushing out.

”I’m sorry...”

That voice rang out again, this time seemingly tinged with a hint of sobbing.

”My sins have deepened once more...”

Amid a long sigh, Fu Qian’s vision went dark.