Eldritch Horror Theatre

The seal on the sun lasted for about half an hour.

Since it was already evening, the sun had nearly set by the time the dark haze dispersed.

Just as Fu Qian expected, this bizarre phenomenon instantly blew up the internet.

Fu Qian even saw full continuous coverage from Young Master Qin on his social media feed.

After skimming the related news, Fu Qian quickly confirmed the seal’s area of effect—it covered all of Lincheng and then some.

He had to admit, the Blasphemous Embrace’s effects were quite potent.

With the consecutive anomalies occurring around Lincheng, the public’s interest had clearly been piqued.

Fu Qian even saw one TV station gather a panel of three experts around a table, arguing until they were red in the face over the cause of the celestial anomaly.

Earthquakes, fires, ominous signs... After shooting down a myriad of theories and refuting his two opponents until they were on the verge of an aneurysm, the youngest-looking expert adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and began delivering a confident, heavily cited lecture.

He seamlessly linked today’s incident with the abnormal flash from two days prior. His logic was sound and his arguments clear, leaving the heavily made-up host staring in awe—even though he ultimately reached no conclusion whatsoever.Fu Qian watched for a bit, turning off the program only when the experts ran out of talking points and resorted to personal attacks.

...

As it turned out, the Blasphemous Embrace lived up to its overbearing reputation. The promised twenty-four-hour side effect wasn’t discounted by a single second.

Even though he had already ascended to the Demigod Realm, the colorless state still felt awful.

In response, Fu Qian simply chose to enjoy twenty-four hours of peace and quiet. He waited until the next day when the status effect faded before finally entering the Warehouse.

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

[Warning: Leak incident detected.]

The Warehouse never disappointed. Its operations were as stable as ever.

[Name: White Porcelain Doll, Designation: 2-090]

[Today’s work assignment updated: Enter 2-090’s Containment Scenario and complete re-containment.]

[Current SAN Value: 182, Current inspiration: 46]

Familiar with the routine, Fu Qian configured his skills and began the day’s work.

[Entering the 2-090 Containment Scenario.]

[...4%...6%...10%...18%...34%...66%...100%, Containment Scenario load complete.]

[This is a mysterious and forbidden land, a place ordinary people dare not tread.

As a member of the exploration team, you were hired and brought here on a special mission.

Your plans were thorough, your preparations complete, and you were filled with optimism about this expedition. This should have been a relaxing and pleasant journey—]

The mission introduction came to an abrupt halt as Fu Qian regained his senses.

Stretching his limbs, he found himself standing in a Dense Forest.

Looking around, he saw vegetation so deeply green it bordered on black. He could barely spot a patch of bare ground, and even the sky above was tightly sealed off by dense layers of leaves.

At the same time, an inexplicable stench of decay permeated the air.

The next moment, a bizarre shriek rang out from behind him. It sounded almost like human crying, and it was incredibly close.

Fu Qian looked back and spotted a massive, utterly grotesque creature.

It was roughly the height of a one-story building, looking like a giant spider at first glance.

However, the section resembling a head possessed no mouth or eyes. In their place were countless spiral-shaped holes. It also had over a dozen legs in total, distributed haphazardly across its body.

From its back down to its legs, it was entirely covered in a thick gray carapace.

Countless yellow-and-black claws jutted out from the gaps in its shell, pointing in all directions like sharp daggers.

Yet, this ferocious monster was currently sprawled on the ground, completely immobilized.

Fu Qian examined it closely and realized that most of the ”spider’s” legs had been snapped.

It had been placed here intentionally, though he had no idea why.

Fu Qian quickly made his assessment.

As he turned his head, the creature seemed to sense him. Its ”face” pivoted toward him, and its wails instantly grew more shrill.

”What are you doing? Get back here.”

A voice called out from nearby.

Fu Qian looked over and spotted half of a man’s body leaning out from behind a towering tree.

The man was around forty, with thinning hair and a cold expression, dressed in practical outdoor gear.

”Hurry up, before they arrive.”

Seeing Fu Qian look over, the man offered a cold warning, gesturing for him to hide over there.

”Or do you want to stay there and act as live bait?”

So he had been setting up a trap just now. Did that mean this creature was the bait?

Realization dawned on Fu Qian. He took one last look at the spider, then turned and walked over.

Several people were already hiding behind the tree. They varied in age, but their attire was remarkably uniform.

At the same time, Fu Qian noticed over a dozen auras forming a perimeter around the spider, several of which were quite strong.

Just as Fu Qian extended his senses, an eerie sensation washed over him, turning his body icy cold.

The next moment, his skin began to itch. It felt as if something restless was trying to burrow out from underneath.

This was...

Fu Qian wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with this sensation. In fact, he had just experienced it yesterday when he advanced to the Demigod Realm.

Under a formless influence, his body was undergoing various changes beyond his control.

The reward details had mentioned this. As a Blank-Slate Demigod, he easily attracted attention.

Although the reaction was still mild, this place was clearly anything but simple!

Breathing in the stench of decay, Fu Qian had the distinct feeling that unseen eyes were watching him from within the Dense Forest.

Reining in his focus, Fu Qian slowly stabilized his condition until the abnormal sensation faded.

The others behind the tree were entirely focused outward; none of them noticed his abnormal reaction.

”They’re here.”

The man who had called him over suddenly lowered his voice.

The ”spider” in the center seemed to sense something too. Its wails grew increasingly piercing and shrill. It even tried to scuttle backward on its broken legs, but to no avail.

A moment later, a strange noise echoed through the surroundings. It sounded neither like an insect nor a beast, but rather quite crisp.

Simultaneously, the ”spider” let out an earth-shattering howl, its broken legs thrashing wildly.

A chunk of heavy carapace was forcefully ripped from its body, sending dark red fluid spraying everywhere and exposing the raw flesh underneath.

But this was only the beginning.

In less than a minute, dark fluid flew in all directions as chunks of carapace were torn from its broken legs and torso piece by piece.

And from the monster’s mangled flesh, palm-sized, pristine white things began to burrow their way out.

Fu Qian’s eyesight was excellent. Even from a distance, he could see that those things were exquisitely crafted Dolls, their facial features incredibly lifelike.