Eldritch Horror Theatre

The Bracelet was roughly the same size as the entrance at the back of the eyeball.

The instant they touched, the eye reacted.

Starting from the opening, it turned translucent inch by inch, revealing the bloodstained vitreous body inside with crystal clarity.

Then, the mass of translucent jelly surged forward and completely enveloped the Bracelet.

Fu Qian let go, watching the Bracelet slowly sink into the eye.

Nothing terrifying happened. The Bracelet sank without a trace, and the eyeball’s translucence quickly faded.

Gone, just like that?

Recalling the description of the Starry Sky Prism, Fu Qian leaned in and stared directly into its massive pupil.

No reaction at all?

Frowning, Fu Qian stubbornly kept looking, scrutinizing every fibrous detail of the iris.After half a minute of big eyes staring at small eyes, Fu Qian finally accepted the cruel reality.

His one hundred and eighty thousand had vanished into thin air without making a single splash.

What a scam!

Fu Qian sighed heavily to the heavens. Instead of losing his mind and punching the eyeball, he pondered the reason.

Was the effect not potent enough?

Based on his past experience, there was a gap in tier between transcendent items.

For example, the stone lion he accidentally spawned that time he praised the sun had been distinctly fragile. It turned to dust the moment it entered the Warehouse.

So it was highly likely that the Bracelet’s tier simply wasn’t very high.

Fortunately, he still had other reserves. Fu Qian looked around.

A moment later, he grabbed the massive floor-length Mirror—complete with the photograph taped to its surface—and shoved it right into the giant eyeball’s face.

He was actually quite curious how the eye would swallow something this large.

He quickly got his answer. The eyeball turned translucent once again. Starting from its rear opening, it stretched wildly outward in all directions, pulling itself thin into a membrane that swiftly climbed over the Mirror’s surface.

Once the Mirror was completely enveloped, it began to melt rapidly like rock candy, ultimately shrinking back into the shape of an eyeball.

Amazing!

Clicking his tongue in praise, Fu Qian leaned in again.

This time, there was finally a change.

In a split second, the giant pupil before him constricted to a pinprick.

Simultaneously, his perspective underwent a strange shift, and an illusory scene appeared before his eyes.

A sea?

Fu Qian stared blankly.

He could see it with perfect clarity: the image displayed a boundless expanse of black water.

Bathed in a sky full of starlight, endless waves swayed. Overlapping layers formed a bizarre pattern of ripples.

Aside from that, there was nothing else.

What the f—

Fu Qian widened his eyes, refusing to miss a single detail.

Tragically, he still could not find a single point of reference.

He was not given any more time. The starlit water swiftly shattered into foam, and the massive pupil reappeared before his eyes.

That’s it?

If he forced an interpretation, did it mean the clues related to this Mirror were located somewhere out at sea?

That wouldn’t be too outrageous, but the problem was: which sea?

With zero points of reference and just a single scene, was he supposed to play GeoGuessr?

On insane difficulty, no less!

Fu Qian let out a long breath. Suppressing the urge to stuff the rest of his belongings inside and burst the eyeball, he activated the Imprint on his wrist.

Regardless, he had still gained a little something.

Upon returning home, Fu Qian immediately found a pen and paper and began sketching and revising from memory.

A full half-hour later, he finally set down the pen and picked up his work.

A starry sky leaped vividly off the page.

As established before, Fu Qian’s memory was quite good. Thus, realizing the situation was a scam, he had chosen to focus his attention entirely on the night sky.

As a result, he was quite confident in the accuracy of this Star Map.

In contrast, he wasn’t psychotic enough to memorize every single wave, so the seawater below was simply represented by a generic patch of water.

Examining his harvest, Fu Qian realized a detail he had overlooked earlier: Reflection.

Although the seawater was not completely pitch-black, there was no Reflection of the stars on the surface.

No wonder it had felt a bit off just now.

Unfortunately, after staring at his drawing for a long while, Fu Qian gleaned nothing else.

He realized it was because he was completely unfamiliar with this particular starry sky.

He wasn’t much of an astronomy enthusiast to begin with, and more importantly, the starry skies in these two worlds were different anyway.

However, this was not a problem.

Fu Qian thought for a moment and activated the Imprint once more.

Returning to the Warehouse, he quickly dug out the Emissary Mask and put it on.

After waking up on the Bookstore Second Floor, Fu Qian again found a pen and paper and repeated his trick.

With the experience from the first time, things went much smoother.

A dozen minutes later, he left with the piece of paper in hand, heading straight for the Night Watchers Base.

...

”How come Mister Fang has so much free time lately?”

Unfortunately, Yuan Shan was not particularly dedicated this time. Fu Qian waited in her office for almost an hour before she finally showed up.

Noticing her stiff expression, Fu Qian realized it had only been two days since his last encounter with Su Gao here.

Of course, she wasn’t nearly as stiff as her secretary. During the wait, Classmate Xiao Ming had barely dared to breathe, looking to be on the verge of hypoxia.

”I need your help with something.”

Hmm?

Yuan Shan’s expression was already solemn, but hearing him say this, she couldn’t help but look even more solemn. Her tone turned cautious.

”Help with what?”

”I need to find a place.”

”...You should have said so earlier.”

Yuan Shan blanked for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief, leaning back in her chair.

”Don’t worry. I might not be able to guarantee other things, but if a place exists and the Night Watchers can’t find it, I guarantee no one else can—”

Pfft!

Before she could finish, Yuan Shan looked at the drawing Fu Qian handed her and nearly spat blood.

”What are you asking me to find?”

Her hand even trembled as she held the paper.

”Right here. I need to know what this place is.”

Fu Qian stated his demand with absolute calm.

People needed to free their minds. Learning to delegate tasks was the primary quality of a leader.

”But there’s clearly nothing here! It’s just a patch of seawater!”

Yuan Shan practically roared.

”Young people shouldn’t emphasize difficulties; they should emphasize solutions.”

”Within a week, I want to know all the information on this place.”

Applying appropriate pressure was also one of a leader’s qualities.

...

Looking at Yuan Shan’s ugly, constipated expression, Fu Qian sighed and shook his head.

”Once this is done, I’ll give you a voucher for my assistance.”

Dangling an appropriate carrot for motivation was also necessary.

After all, even empty promises are bound to produce a brave hero.

”Actually...”

Amidst the seemingly frozen air, Yuan Shan remained silent for a long time before finally speaking.

”Actually, I have something I need your help with right now.”

”Hmm?”

Fu Qian shot her a surprised look.

Sure enough, people these days weren’t so easily fooled. Ignoring the promised million-dollar annual salary, she insisted on daily settlements.

”Let’s hear it.”