Eldritch Horror Theatre

Fu Qian walked steadily forward, rapidly sorting through the current information in his mind.

Right now, he strongly suspected one person: Deng Feizhou.

At present, the entire incident had been classified as a conspiracy between Chen Mingda and the Origin Council.

The accepted narrative was that Chen Mingda, desperate to compensate for his innate defects, hadn’t hesitated to cooperate with the Origin Council to help them obtain the Blood of Thorns.

In return, the Origin Council would help Chen Mingda break through his bottleneck.

To achieve this, they locked their sights on Henrik, ultimately scheming to control his mind and steal the Blood of Thorns.

Their original plan was undoubtedly to make Henrik appear contaminated by the demigod corpse, prompting him to steal the Blood of Thorns.

Then, they would control him to go on a killing spree, turning him into a brain-eating monster before eliminating him at the perfect moment to neatly conclude the affair.

However, Fu Qian had introduced a variable. They never expected that while everything was proceeding according to plan, someone would break into the Night Watchers Base in the dead of night.

And having the situation blow up and spiral out of control was the last thing they wanted.Therefore, they immediately began investigating, and he entered their crosshairs thanks to his performance at the banquet.

This was also why Wen Li had been tailed.

Later, Chen Mingda showed up at Wen Li’s house under the guise of a visit to probe him.

Then came that strange game. When their attempt to test and control him failed, they ultimately lost a puppet.

The next day, Wen Li brought him to Deng Feizhou’s house. He deliberately fabricated the problem with Yuan Shan, and not long after he left, Henrik showed up.

There were simply too many coincidences in all of this. There was every reason to believe Henrik had come to silence him.

And only Deng Feizhou knew he was going to look for Yuan Shan.

Later, under the influence of the Tyrant’s Fist, Henrik seemed to regain some sanity. Deng Feizhou then showed up right on cue, seemingly to help, but ultimately let him escape.

No matter how he looked at it, old Deng Feizhou was highly suspicious.

Fu Qian soon arrived at his destination: Deng Feizhou’s residence.

Imitating Wen Li, he pressed the doorbell.

A minute later, the door opened from the inside, and Deng Feizhou stared at Fu Qian expressionlessly.

”Why did Mister Fang come alone? Where is Wen Li?”

”Don’t worry. She’s in a safe place right now.”

”As for why I came here, it’s very simple...”

Fu Qian blinked.

”I want to make a deal with you.”

”I don’t understand what you mean.”

Deng Feizhou’s tone didn’t waver in the slightest, though his gaze subconsciously shifted past Fu Qian to check behind him.

”Relax, there are no Night Watchers behind me.”

Fu Qian pushed his way right through the open doorway.

The next moment, the sound of rushing wind came from behind him.

Fu Qian raised his hand without hesitation. His Biochemical Demonic Arm, a tangled mass of tentacles, whipped backward fiercely.

”You...”

Their forces clashed, and Deng Feizhou stumbled back several steps, staring at Fu Qian’s arm in astonishment.

Just as I thought—there’s a problem.

Having confirmed his suspicions, Fu Qian smiled brightly at Deng Feizhou, who had just tried to ambush him.

”Why the rush? Why not listen to the terms of the deal first?”

”As you can see, I am facing a bit of a predicament.”

Fu Qian deliberately controlled his arm, letting it shift back to normal as slowly as possible.

”I’ve tried many methods, but the results haven’t been ideal. Therefore, I want to strike a deal with you.”

Deng Feizhou stared at the tentacles on Fu Qian’s arm and remained silent.

”A deal similar to Chen Mingda’s,”

Fu Qian added.

”Can we sit down and talk now?”

”I must say, you’ve given me quite a few surprises.”

After staring at Fu Qian for a long time, Deng Feizhou finally spoke.

”Do young people nowadays just love hiding their strength this much?”

”It’s better to keep a low profile.”

”Chen Mingda was merely a Low-Tier Transcendent. You are at least Tier 4 already. Don’t tell me you want my help to become a demigod?”

”Is that not possible?”

”I’m an outsider to the affairs here in Shangjing. Do you know the advantage of being an outsider?”

”It’s the ability to analyze the situation more objectively and holistically.”

”For example, no matter the conspiracy, there must always be a beneficiary.

”In this entire theft incident, Henrik died, Chen Mingda died, and the Night Watchers’ item was stolen.

”The Origin Council is undoubtedly the biggest winner.

”But I suddenly realized just now that there is actually one other person who benefited.”

Fu Qian smiled.

”And that is Chen Xing.”

As soon as he said this, Fu Qian keenly noticed Deng Feizhou’s gaze flicker for a moment.

”It seems I guessed right. Those who achieve great things don’t sweat the small costs. To advance to a demigod, he even sacrificed his own son.”

”Keep talking.”

”Today was truly a good show.”

Fu Qian stroked his chin.

”An old transcendent suffering the pain of losing a son, and while his heart was practically dead from grief, he manages to become a Buddha on the spot, shattering the shackles of many years in one fell swoop and becoming a demigod.

”A very wonderful script. Even the Night Watchers bought it. Was this the plan you and Chen Xing drew up?

”Chen Mingda probably didn’t realize he was just cannon fodder until the moment he died, did he?”

Fu Qian sighed with feigned sympathy as he looked at Deng Feizhou.

”However, I don’t care about these things. You just need to tell me what I can trade for the method to become a demigod.”

”You want to advance to a demigod that badly?”

”Pursuing advancement is every transcendent’s responsibility. Not a freedom—a responsibility.”

”Hahaha!”

Fu Qian’s answer caught Deng Feizhou off guard, and he suddenly burst into laughter.

”You are quite something.”

”Your strength is good, and your mindset is adequate. Unfortunately, you still miscalculated one point.”

”Which point?”

Fu Qian’s eyes lit up.

”The item Henrik brought out wasn’t the goal; it was the method.”

”So that’s how it is... I understand now!”

Fu Qian wore an expression of sudden realization.

”That item wasn’t what you wanted, but the material used to help Chen Xing advance?”

”Then that’s very strange. Even if you were willing to help for no reason, how could Chen Xing actually dare to agree to a deal that clearly offered you no benefit?”

”Because he had no choice. The Chen Family needed a demigod, and it’s not like I didn’t want anything in return.”

”So, if you want to achieve the same goal, you must offer something that interests me enough.”

The Blood of Thorns was actually used up!

Fu Qian sighed internally.

But his mission hadn’t failed yet, which meant there was still a chance.

Fu Qian thought for a moment.

”So you mean to say that, right now, not only do I have to offer terms you’re satisfied with, but I also have to go to the Night Watchers Base and find another material from a demigod corpse?”

”There aren’t any left.”

Deng Feizhou shook his head.

”There was only that one piece in the Night Watchers Base, so this method is no longer viable.”

”Only one piece... Then I have a question.”

Fu Qian frowned slightly, then suddenly slapped his forehead.

”Is it possible for me to go and kill Old Man Chen, take the item back, and have you help me advance?”

...

Deng Feizhou fell silent, clearly stunned by the leap in Fu Qian’s logic.

”Is it possible?”

Fu Qian looked at him expectantly.

”Hahaha!”

Deng Feizhou burst into loud laughter again.

”It is, if you have the ability to kill a true demigod.

”That item will separate from his corpse again. You can bring it to me when the time comes.”

Now that is the answer I wanted.

Fu Qian looked up at the ceiling and sighed deeply.