Eldritch Horror Theatre

Young people certainly had boundless energy!

Listening to Young Master Qin’s voice over the phone, Fu Qian couldn’t help but marvel.

No one had come knocking since yesterday, so he had assumed the matter was resolved. He hadn’t expected the anomaly to ignite such public curiosity.

Still, he had to look on the bright side.

People interpreting the event as a flying saucer sighting rather than the divine light of Buddha at least proved they leaned toward science. That was deeply comforting.

Even if they were never going to see any aliens.

Setting the phone aside, Fu Qian turned his focus back to his current mission.

Though the process had been a little complicated, the task itself hadn’t been overly grueling. It lived up to the standard of a Grade 3 Item.

As for his final clash with Chen Xing, if he were being honest, the man hadn’t felt all that powerful for someone in the Demigod Realm.

Compared to Yibu and Yuan Shan, the man had fallen severely short.Then there was that bizarre transformation—the eyeballs fanning out like a peacock’s plumage. It was hard not to associate it with the ’price’ Deng Feizhou had mentioned.

It was a pity he didn’t have the chance to investigate further.

Speaking of which, Chen Xing had truly been seeking any doctor in desperation.

The strength Deng Feizhou displayed was Peak Tier 4 at most. Had Chen Xing actually hoped that man could help him advance to the Demigod Realm?

Or perhaps he had pinned his hopes on the Blood of Thorns.

Fu Qian pondered the thought.

Chen Xing wasn’t a fool. He must have learned something about the Blood of Thorns before finally choosing that path.

He had placed his faith in the authority of the Blood of Thorns, not in Deng Feizhou.

What he hadn’t expected was that the Blood of Thorns would end up fusing with the mask he wore, forming 3-0177.

As for 3-0177’s description, judging by its effects upon use, Fu Qian had a bold theory.

All of his previous Containment tasks had taken place in that world’s past.

But in the Emissary state, he effectively stepped into its true present.

Confirming this would be easy enough. He just had to wait a couple of days and use the Emissary state again.

Then he could see if time leaped forward.

However, he needed to be careful when using it.

In the Emissary state, he could suffer a ”true death.”

In other words, he only had one life. He would have to act with absolute caution.

The upside was that he could take off the mask at any time to cancel the Emissary state.

With his current strength, even facing someone in the Demigod Realm, he could still put up a fight.

He had also mostly tested out the effects of Mythical Form.

As long as he stayed vigilant and didn’t cross paths with any Tier 1 or Tier 2 monsters, he would at least have a chance to escape.

After quickly organizing his thoughts, Fu Qian tidied up his belongings. Soon, a knock came from the door.

...

”You two really have a lot of free time!”

Seeing Qin Mingze and Wu Qingyu at the door, Fu Qian shook his head with a sigh.

”What do you know!”

Qin Mingze sounded completely thrilled.

Ah, the resilience of youth. After just a few days, Young Master Qin had fully stepped out of the shadow of the Black Dress Incident, once again radiating the glow of a shyster.

”This isn’t some third-rate sci-fi story! Plenty of nearby residents reported seeing bright flashes at the time. Not to mention, those five guys are still lying in the hospital.”

”If the area hadn’t still been locked down this morning, half the sci-fi enthusiasts in Lincheng would’ve flocked over there!”

”This is a massive event happening right in our own backyard. Aren’t you the least bit curious?”

Not in the slightest.

Fu Qian thought to himself, turning his gaze to Wu Qingyu.

”Are you a sci-fi enthusiast too?”

”No.”

Wu Qingyu looked as half-dead as usual, answering bluntly.

”I couldn’t care less about sci-fi stories. But if those five victims were willing to let me examine them, I might be a little interested.”

”Still, I insisted to my supervisor that I was a massive fan. That way, I could finally slack off, catch my breath, and enjoy a real Saturday night...”

”Got it.”

Fu Qian patted his shoulder.

”Have you eaten dinner yet?”

Young Master Qin looked at Fu Qian.

”No.”

”Perfect. Xiao Yu and I have already eaten, so let’s get going.”

As expected of a shyster-in-training, his logic was already Reaching the State of Perfection.

Fu Qian didn’t argue. Missing a single meal was nothing—he could easily go ten days or half a month without food now.

Even though the destination wasn’t far, Young Master Qin absolutely insisted on driving.

Ten minutes later, the trio arrived near the Stone Bridge.

Night had already fallen. From a distance, those five people’s cars were no longer on the bridge; they had likely been towed away.

Young Master Qin hadn’t been exaggerating. The normally deserted Stone Bridge currently had several dozen people scattered across it, even at this hour.

A quick glance revealed a few professionals waiting around with heavy camera equipment, but the rest were mostly twenty-somethings—likely university students from nearby who had come to join the fun.

Fu Qian even spotted two familiar faces among them.

Pei Yanqing and He Xian were standing right there in the throng of people.

”Young girls truly have boundless energy!”

Young Master Qin sighed with emotion after a single glance.

”I suddenly miss my college days.”

”Mr. Fu!”

Pei Yanqing had already spotted Fu Qian. She waved at him excitedly, drawing sidelong glances from the people around her.

”Mr. Fu... is she calling you?”

Qin Mingze looked at him in disbelief.

”Yeah.”

Fu Qian didn’t bother explaining too much. He strolled onto the bridge and nodded at the two girls.

”Just call me Fu Qian.”

After greeting them, Fu Qian briefly introduced Qin Mingze and Wu Qingyu.

”Your luck with women has been a bit ridiculous lately!”

Catching an opening, Qin Mingze muttered quietly to Fu Qian.

”What’s so strange about that?”

Fu Qian shot him a sidelong glance.

”Don’t use your hobby to challenge someone else’s profession.”

...

Qin Mingze was struck utterly dumb by that remark, left completely speechless.

”I couldn’t tell you were a sci-fi fan.”

Fu Qian furrowed his brows slightly as he looked at Pei Yanqing.

Truth be told, right now he really didn’t want her appearing anywhere near him.

”I’m not.”

Pei Yanqing giggled and pointed at her best friend.

”He Xian dragged me here. She’s interested in this sort of thing, but she’s afraid of the dark.”

”Afraid?”

”Yeah. Since those five guys lost their minds, the rumors have been getting wilder.

”There’s even a theory that they were subjected to some mysterious experiment that fried their brains.

”I heard their condition isn’t looking good. Their intelligence has basically regressed to the level of infants.”

You were almost like that too.

Fu Qian shot her a look but kept the thought to himself.

”No need to pity them.”

Young Master Qin scoffed, a cold sneer on his face.

”Those five weren’t good people to begin with. They’ve always caused their fair share of trouble. I highly doubt they came out here to admire the moon.”

”In a way, if aliens really did take them, they did the public a favor. Though personally, I think it’s more likely they just drank too much counterfeit booze.”

As a professional in his field, Young Master Qin clearly knew a lot of inside information!

And his guess was pretty close to the mark.

”Really?”

Pei Yanqing and He Xian both frowned upon hearing that.

These two certainly had no idea that the incident had originally started because of them.

Fu Qian didn’t say a word, merely observing the surroundings with an impassive expression.

The next moment, his gaze sharpened, and he drew in a deep breath.

He finally realized why things had felt so off!

Pei Yanqing was standing in the exact same spot he had stood last night, down to the very inch!