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Eldritch Horror Theatre

Chapter 9: Painstaking Effort · Oct 23, 2026

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Chapter List (2912)

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1 Chapter 1: This Job Entails Certain Risks 2026-10-23
2 Chapter 2: Does This Guarantee Pain? 2026-10-23
3 Chapter 3: Useless Person 2026-10-23
4 Chapter 4: Seeking Advice 2026-10-23
5 Chapter 5: The Reward for Rejecting Humanity 2026-10-23
6 Chapter 6: Test 2026-10-23
7 Chapter 7: Bluffing 2026-10-23
8 Chapter 8: Notes 2026-10-23
9 Chapter 9: Painstaking Effort 2026-10-23
10 Chapter 10: Restricted Scene 2026-10-23
11 Chapter 11: The Vitality of an Evil God 2026-10-23
12 Chapter 12: Special Reward 2026-10-23
13 Chapter 13: A Shocked Young Master Qin 2026-10-23
14 Chapter 14: Our Slacking Off Is Justified 2026-10-23
15 Chapter 15: Passive Slowdown 2026-10-23
16 Chapter 16: Impossible to Guard Against Completely 2026-10-23
17 Chapter 17: Eat My Spear 2026-10-23
18 Chapter 18: I’ve Wanted to Do That for a Long Time 2026-10-23
19 Chapter 19: Mirror 2026-10-23
20 Chapter 20: How Did You Make So Many Enemies? 2026-10-23
21 Chapter 21: How Many of You Can Fight Like That? 2026-10-23
22 Chapter 22: The 100% Kicked-Flying Constitution 2026-10-23
23 Chapter 23: Thug 1/3 2026-10-23
24 Chapter 24: Mindset Determines the Way Out, Perspective Determines the Ending 2026-10-23
25 Chapter 25: She Was Running Out of Time 2026-10-23
26 Chapter 26: Shadow Nightmare 2026-10-23
27 Chapter 27: Crimson Frenzy 2026-10-23
28 Chapter 28: Devour 2026-10-23
29 Chapter 29: Working Overtime Is Impossible 2026-10-23
30 Chapter 30: Whipping to the Core of Li 2026-10-23
31 Chapter 31: Is the Essence of Leveling Up Birthing an Alien? 2026-10-23
32 Chapter 32: Friends 2026-10-23
33 Chapter 33: Angel of Comfort 2026-10-23
34 Chapter 34: True Wall of Sighs 2026-10-23
35 Chapter 35: What Weapon Are You Using? 2026-10-23
36 Chapter 36: Li Weixuan 2026-10-23
37 Chapter 37: Amalgamation 2026-10-23
38 Chapter 38: Path to Survival 2026-10-23
39 Chapter 39: Anomalous Great Disjunction 2026-10-23
40 Chapter 40: Right, I Killed Him 2026-10-23
41 Chapter 41: You Still Don’t Realize the Severity of the Problem 2026-10-23
42 Chapter 42: Blood Puppet 2026-10-23
43 Chapter 43: They Realized the Gravity of the Problem 2026-10-23
44 Chapter 44: Do You Know What Ambergris Is? 2026-10-23
45 Chapter 45: Contention 2026-10-23
46 Chapter 46: I Only Seize the Day 2026-10-23
47 Chapter 47: Dark Night Flowing Frost 2026-10-23
48 Chapter 48: Feast 2026-10-23
49 Chapter 49: You Are the Legendary Dean Feng 2026-10-23
50 Chapter 50: Going Crazy 2026-10-23

Just as I thought!

From everyone’s reactions just now, Fu Qian vaguely sensed something was wrong, and now he was finally certain.

The other four couldn’t see this part of the text. He was the only one who could.

Fu Qian didn’t buy into the idea of being a Chosen One. After thinking it over, the only explanation had to be the inspiration he had gained earlier.

Especially since his inspiration had increased significantly after his last successful Containment.

The system description for inspiration stated it enhanced one’s perception of intangible things.

That had to be why he could see the special content in the notes.

Without wasting words, Fu Qian ignored the group’s complicated expressions and quickly began sketching what he saw on the ground.

To him, racing against time to complete the mission was paramount. He couldn’t let a single clue slip by.

The passage wasn’t long, and he finished copying it quickly.The group stared at his drawing, exchanging looks of complete bewilderment.

”What is this?”

”Cuneiform?”

”Some kind of cipher?”

”I have absolutely no clue...”

The captain was clearly just as lost.

”Su Gao, what do you think?”

Fu Qian hadn’t expected this girl to be the team’s technical expert.

He cast a glance at the White Porcelain Woman.

”It should be a specific type of ciphertext.”

Su Gao pondered for a moment before giving her assessment.

”I have a few ideas on where to start, but decryption won’t be easy. It requires plenty of time, which is absolutely impossible in our current situation.”

Didn’t that mean this was completely meaningless? Just a waste of time.

A wave of disappointment washed over the group.

”How about I give it a try?”

Fu Qian suddenly chimed in.

”You understand it?”

Everyone turned to stare at him in unison.

”No, but I can learn.”

Fu Qian looked as if this was the most natural thing in the world as he turned to Su Gao.

”Tell me your theories first.”

”This...”

Su Gao didn’t completely freeze up. She quietly laid out a few of her ideas.

”Learn my ass!”

At this point, the buzz-cut man finally snapped and roared.

He had been sick of the sight of this kid for a long time.

Never mind that he had come out of nowhere yet expected everyone to listen to him.

Just to slow the spread of the curse, their group had not hesitated to become butchers, ruthlessly slaughtering their own kind.

Yet this guy actually had the nerve to screw around here for his own amusement.

Violent energy converged in his palms; the buzz-cut man was genuinely going in for the kill.

However, before he could even step forward, an intense sense of crisis seized his heart.

He jerked around just as an Air Bullet grazed his neck.

At the same time, blood splattered wildly. His entire left eye was blown to pulp by a second Air Bullet.

Everyone froze in shock.

This guy had actually attacked without warning, aiming straight to kill.

They had been fooled! There really was something wrong with this bastard!

Fu Qian couldn’t have cared less about what they were thinking.

Right after crippling the buzz-cut man, he locked onto the captain without hesitation and fired off three consecutive Air Bullets.

At such point-blank range, the captain had absolutely no way to dodge.

The next moment, a sharp, piercing boom tore through the air.

A massive eruption of lightning burst from the captain’s body, the sheer brilliance blinding everyone in an instant.

This storm of lightning slammed squarely into Fu Qian.

Fu Qian felt as if his body had instantly melted into liquid.

[Containment Failure]

So strong!

He really was carrying a lethal trump card.

Back in the Warehouse, Fu Qian didn’t hesitate to pull the Work Badge off his neck.

Just because Su Gao didn’t have the time to decrypt it didn’t mean he lacked the time.

From the moment he asked her, he had already made up his mind to reset. So, when the buzz-cut man tried to attack, Fu Qian showed zero mercy.

As for why he attacked the captain, it was purely a judgment based on common sense.

Despite such a perilous situation, the captain had still hesitated to order a retreat. Fu Qian subconsciously felt he had to be relying on some hidden trump card.

Those three bullets were just a convenient test.

Now it seemed his judgment was spot on. The captain really did possess a lethal failsafe, which was exactly where that instant-kill blast of lightning had come from.

This was absolutely good news. It would definitely be useful later when dealing with the boss.

Fu Qian would never underestimate anything worthy of being called an evil god progeny.

Upon returning home, the very first thing he did was grab a pen and paper.

Closing his eyes in deep thought for a long while, he began to draw, recreating the contents of the notes once again.

Rote memorization of such meaningless characters was incredibly difficult, especially since he had to ensure there were absolutely no errors.

By the time he finished copying it all from memory, even Fu Qian—who usually prided himself on his exceptional memory—felt like he was on the verge of a brain hemorrhage.

Now he finally understood how Huang Yaoshi’s wife died!

Lamenting this, Fu Qian began the grueling work of decryption.

Thanks to his broad range of interests, he was somewhat of an amateur enthusiast in this field.

But he wasn’t a professional after all. Without Su Gao’s hints, cracking this thing would have been like finding a needle in a haystack.

Now that he had a direction, the workload was drastically reduced.

Even so, it was already several hours later by the time he made any headway.

[...Amidst the prostration of myriad followers, it shall descend into the depths of the Underground...]

...

A long time later, Fu Qian looked at what he held in his hands and put his Work Badge back on.

[Entering Containment Scenario, current SAN Value: 27]

”This situation is already beyond our comprehension.”

”Let’s call it quits here—”

This time, when the group arrived at the hall, Fu Qian didn’t even give the old man a chance to take out his notes. He directly interrupted the argument and looked at the captain with a deadpan expression.

”Is there a deep space somewhere in here?”

”A deep space?”

The captain frowned, not grasping Fu Qian’s intent.

”Surrounded by myriad followers, it descends into the depths of the Underground.”

Fu Qian pointed forward, his face brimming with complete confidence.

”This is a ritual. The two lines I just recited are its critical steps.”

”The evil entity will descend deep into the Underground. We need to find it as quickly as possible.”

In truth, Fu Qian wasn’t entirely sure if those two lines meant exactly that, but to get these people to follow his orders, he had to maintain a professional facade.

”I’m not familiar enough with this place, so I need to confirm with you all—is there a place like that here?”

This...

The group exchanged blank looks.

”There is.”

At this moment, Su Gao, who had been silent all along, spoke up.

She pointed downward.

”Tens of meters beneath this building is a highly secure underground vault. A lot of people store their valuables inside it.”

You even know that!

Fu Qian praised silently.

Generally speaking, places like that didn’t come cheap. It seemed this sister was also quite wealthy.

”Do you know how to get down there?”

”I do.”

Su Gao proved herself a true heroine. Right after answering, she unsheathed her blade with a sharp ring of steel.

The next moment, a flash of cold steel cleaved through the horde of Maggot-Men on one side, forcibly carving out a path.

Su Gao took the lead, walking right at the front.

Of course, her unparalleled, vicious strike inevitably disturbed the Maggot-Men swarming everywhere.

Amidst a chorus of tooth-aching grunts, the Maggot-Men turned around and slowly but firmly swarmed toward them.

Fortunately, they were indeed quite slow.

By the time the group followed Su Gao to a downward stairwell and forced open the hatch, the top of the stairs had already been surrounded by a dense sea of twisted bodies.

...

As the stairwell hatch slammed shut...

Fu Qian noticed the old man sighing quietly.

This overly cautious bro probably hated his guts right now, which was completely understandable.

To be honest, he actually kind of hoped the group would see red and pull a Musou up there; at the very least, he could have leeched a ton of kills.

But if they actually did that, it would definitely waste a lot of time and likely delay the completion of the mission.

Besides, these four clearly hadn’t gone genuinely mad yet.

The downward passage was almost pitch-black. After walking for who knew how long, a light finally appeared ahead.

At the same time, a heavy, pungent stench washed over them.

”Get ready!”

There was no need for the captain to issue any orders; everyone automatically entered combat readiness.

It seemed they had found the right place.

Following right behind Su Gao, Fu Qian squeezed sideways through a massive metal door—

The scene Inside the Door was practically R-rated.

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