Eldritch Horror Theatre

Gerald didn’t speak for a moment, staring sharply at Fu Qian.

He had brought his men here radiating aggressive intent, yet the other party’s reaction was entirely too calm. It left him feeling unspeakably awkward.

Unfortunately, the man’s mask completely concealed his face, denying Gerald even a hint of emotional feedback. He felt only an overwhelming sense of powerlessness.

”Follow me.”

After a long while, Gerald finally withdrew his gaze and turned to lead the way. He didn’t even demand that Fu Qian take off the mask.

It was obvious that the death of an important Siren Group figure had put him under immense pressure.

Following Gerald’s lead, Gary and the other men quickly stepped forward. They spread out to surround Fu Qian, terrified he might slip away again and vanish.

Under this heavy escort, Fu Qian arrived at the Siren Group’s Base once again.

Compared to his last departure, the atmosphere here was undoubtedly much more solemn.

Not only were fully armed transcendents visible everywhere, but the entry inspection was also extremely strict.Gerald stepped forward without a word. After flashing his ID, he signaled for the others to remain outside and led Fu Qian upstairs alone.

The elevator ride took much longer this time. When the doors silently slid open, Fu Qian found himself outside a spacious, luxurious office.

Keeping his eyes fixed on Fu Qian, Gerald signaled for him to step out before respectfully stepping forward to knock on the door.

There weren’t many people in the spacious office. Aside from a few beautiful secretaries, there was only a man with short, dark blue hair standing with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing out the window.

Was this actually a standard corporate pose?

Fu Qian glanced at Gerald beside him, remembering that he had struck the exact same pose when he first appeared.

”I’ve brought him.”

Sensing Fu Qian’s gaze, Gerald stared straight ahead.

”Good.”

The blue-haired man gave a slight nod and finally turned around.

He was a middle-aged man with rugged features. His face wasn’t particularly memorable, but his grayish-black eyes were profound and silent, like the deep sea.

As expected of a top conglomerate. To think they actually had a Demigod Realm expert holding down the fort here in the Wasteland.

Fu Qian silently praised them.

He was absolutely certain that the man in front of him was squarely at the Demigod Level.

And judging by his demeanor, he had to be one of the Siren Group’s persons in charge here.

”Mr. Fu.”

As Fu Qian examined him, the blue-haired demigod sized him up in return.

”Your mask is quite interesting.”

The man’s gaze finally landed on his face as he offered a rather meaningless appraisal.

”Thank you for the compliment.”

Fu Qian offered a humble reply, extremely satisfied with the man’s reaction.

He could almost guarantee the man hadn’t realized they were on the exact same level.

This Mask of the Witch really had unexpectedly fantastic effects!

”Take off the mask.”

However, the blue-haired man’s comment made Gerald tense up. He immediately barked an order at Fu Qian.

Unfortunately for him, Fu Qian didn’t even turn his head, completely ignoring the man.

”There’s no need.”

The blue-haired man adopted a magnanimous posture.

”I just have a few questions I’d like to confirm with Mr. Fu.”

”Please, go ahead.”

Fu Qian gestured.

”I heard that after the first day’s operation, Mr. Fu rejected The Company’s subsequent invitation to collaborate?”

”That’s right.”

”May I ask the reason? I hope you won’t tell me it was out of fear of the danger.”

”I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was afraid. I just felt the return on investment was a bit low.”

”It was already triple the pay. What more do you want?”

Seeing the blue-haired demigod glance at him—intentionally or otherwise—because of Fu Qian’s response, Gerald immediately grew nervous and blurted that out.

”High or low, it all depends on what you compare it to.”

Fu Qian scoffed.

”I spent only five minutes today and already harvested Two Weapons.”

You call that a harvest? That was a robbery!

Gerald, who clearly knew what Fu Qian had done, almost roared aloud.

Unfortunately, the very next moment he met the blue-haired demigod’s emotionless gaze and immediately clamped his mouth shut, as mute as a winter cicada.

”During this time, has anyone from the Ji Clan contacted you?”

After silencing Gerald, the blue-haired demigod asked the question in a seemingly casual tone.

”Ji Yicheng.”

Fu Qian, however, was exceptionally straightforward and directly gave him a name.

”Not too long ago today, we had a pleasant little chat.”

”Also, that guy knows about the Mirror and Feather.”

Under the demigod’s faintly flickering gaze, Fu Qian added another sentence.

”Ji Yicheng...”

For a moment, even this man fell deep into thought.

Although Fu Qian’s words were concise, the demigod easily grasped their implications.

If this was true, then it was almost certain that the Siren Group had a Ji Clan mole.

”Impossible! We—”

Gerald took a moment to react and instinctively tried to defend them, but he was ruthlessly cut off by the blue-haired demigod.

”I understand. Thank you for your answers.”

Shifting his gaze back to Fu Qian, the blue-haired demigod offered a tight, insincere smile of thanks before adding one last remark.

”I hope our terms this time will satisfy you.”

”Pleasure doing business with you!”

Fu Qian wasn’t the least bit surprised by this seemingly abrupt statement.

The man’s meaning was incredibly simple: he was expected to participate in the exploration again.

In truth, ever since he learned of the Tier 4 Transcendent’s death, Fu Qian had already deduced several possible developments.

Considering his extremely unique role in this incident, it was simply impossible to explain everything clearly with mere words.

So if they were feeling a bit more volatile, the Siren Group could have just issued a kill order and eliminated him as the murderer—a completely plausible scenario.

Then there was their current approach. Unable to confirm his innocence, they were forcing him back into the matter. This way, they could observe his reactions while simultaneously preventing him from doing anything else.

All in all, staying out of it was never an option.

This was exactly why people said happy times were always short-lived.

As for the ’terms’ this man mentioned, that was even simpler. It was nothing more than a death threat.

Be satisfied or die. Choose one.

Regardless of his posture, the man before him was absolutely no saint.

”A pleasure.”

The blue-haired demigod broke into a smile.

”I will be there as well when the time comes.”

After saying that, he turned back to face the window, and a young blonde secretary stepped forward to see them out.

...

It was even more exaggerated than Nora had described!

An hour later, staring out at the endless marshland before him, Fu Qian let out a profound sigh.

Even with an important figure assassinated, the Siren Group evidently had no intention of slowing their exploration. Upon leaving the demigod’s office, Gerald hadn’t wasted a single second, bringing him straight here.

Unlike anything he had normally seen, the quagmires scattered across the marshland before him displayed bizarre, multicolored hues, and an indescribable odor permeated the air.

The smell didn’t even resemble rotting plants or algae; instead, it carried a peculiar bloody stench.

At a glance, this marshland looked like a massive, gaping wound torn across the earth.

The name Wasteland truly was fitting!