Eldritch Horror Theatre

That was right. The final preparation Fu Qian had mentioned was finishing his daily shift.

Nepheli hadn’t been entirely joking when she warned him and Su Gao to watch their backs once Yasui Tokiyuki finished his advancement.

His and Su Gao’s actions had clearly disrupted the man.

While Yasui Tokiyuki had been busy advancing, he had settled for using Gin Kazuhiro to keep them in check, but that restraint wouldn’t last forever.

Even if Nepheli was merely his business partner and couldn’t be bothered to mention Sawada, there was a very real chance Yasui Tokiyuki would come knocking on his door the moment his hands were free.

Considering the high probability of facing a legendary Tier 1, Fu Qian decided to show the utmost respect by taking his preparations to the absolute limit.

[Today’s tasks have been updated: Enter the 2-506 Containment Scenario and complete Containment once more.]

[Current SAN Value: 163, current inspiration: 99]

[Entering the 2-506 Containment Scenario]

It hadn’t prompted him to select any skills or items. Was this a restricted-ability mission?[...1%...5%...15%...45%...75%...95%...100%, Containment Scenario loaded]

The load finished while he was still pondering.

[This is a wondrous night.

Waking up in your bed and looking at the starlight outside the window, you find that everything is much quieter than usual.

Although your alarm isn’t set to go off for another ten minutes, you are already wide awake. As you lie there, you quickly realize it is time to go to work.

This is not a familiar job, but fortunately, you have written the address down on a sticky note.]

A night shift? Wasn’t that a little inhumane?

As his senses returned, Fu Qian surveyed his surroundings. Through an absurdly tiny window above his head, he finally caught a glimpse of the night sky.

Not only were the stars twinkling, but he could even see streaks of clear, indescribable light flowing across the darkness.

It really was a night shift. The introduction hadn’t been kidding.

Wait, it actually had been kidding!

Fu Qian rubbed his head, fighting off a wave of dizzy lethargy. He felt entirely exhausted—a far cry from being ”wide awake.”

Was this the legendary pre-work dread?

Sighing to himself, Fu Qian immediately sat up and inspected the room.

The bed creaked beneath him. It was clearly an older piece, barely large enough for a single person.

A quick glance revealed that the bed wasn’t the only aging piece of furniture. The entire room bore the heavy marks of time, though it was at least kept relatively clean.

Speaking of which, wasn’t it far too quiet outside for this hour?

Picking up a stainless steel alarm clock by the bed, Fu Qian confirmed that it wasn’t even eight o’clock yet.

Logically, this should be prime time for evening activities, but even when he held his breath to listen, the world beyond his walls remained dead silent.

It was a little eerie. However, given the explicit instructions in the mission prompt, his first order of business was clearly to report in for work.

He flicked off the alarm and picked up the sticky note beneath it, quickly memorizing the single line of text scrawled across the paper.

It was undeniably an address. Fu Qian spent all of ten seconds hunting down a map to pinpoint its location.

...

No matter how he looked at it, this whole setup was bizarre!

He lived in an old six-story apartment building. After taking three minutes to quickly tidy himself up, Fu Qian rode the elevator down to the street—only to frown the moment he saw the outside world.

According to the map, this area wasn’t particularly large—no bigger than a small town. Yet, as far as his eyes could see, towering skyscrapers pierced the clouds, painting the picture of a sprawling super metropolis.

The window in his room had been so tiny, and his line of sight angled perfectly between the gaps of the towers, that he hadn’t realized the scale of the city at first.

This was decidedly abnormal. No small town would ever be designed like this.

More importantly, the streets were still completely deserted.

Since you are here, make yourself at ease.

Despite discovering the glaring anomalies, Fu Qian didn’t waste time dwelling on them. He immediately checked the nearest street signs and quickly got his bearings.

The destination wasn’t too far—about exactly a block away—and it didn’t take long for it to come into view.

It was a two-story building wedged tightly between two towering skyscrapers. Right now, only a single room inside glowed with light. The signboard out front revealed its identity: it was actually another small Clinic.

Without hesitation, Fu Qian made a mental note of the lit room, pulled an employee ID card from his pocket, and swiped it at the front door.

He swiftly navigated his way to the illuminated room. Finding the door slightly ajar, he gave it a knock. After a voice inside answered with a ”Come in,” he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

”You’re here.”

The next moment, Fu Qian laid eyes on the only living person he had seen so far.

And unexpectedly... it was an acquaintance?

At the greeting, Fu Qian furrowed his brow, studying the figure sitting at the desk, their profile turned toward him.

Short brown hair, an expressionless face, a tall figure that was obvious even when seated, and a white coat.

The look was entirely too iconic.

Back in a place called Fenghou City, he had once received psychological counseling from this very woman.

Kelly Landa. That was her name, if he remembered correctly.

Yet this place was undeniably not Fenghou City. Besides, hadn’t she just suffered a mental breakdown and retreated to The Monastery for a silent retreat not too long ago?

Was she already back to her old profession so soon?

Fu Qian marveled to himself.

Still, he was here as a staff member this time. Surely he wasn’t here for another round of psychological counseling, right?

”I apologize. I’m used to working nights, so I appreciate your cooperation.”

Kelly seemed far more approachable than before, offering an earnest word of thanks right out of the gate.

”However, I was just reviewing the patient files, and I found that the current situation is somewhat troublesome.”

Her pleasantries lasted exactly one sentence before Kelly turned to gather a stack of documents from her desk, her brows locked in a deep frown.

”We currently have a few patients who have missed their appointments. Given that their mental states are clearly somewhat poor, I am rather concerned.”

So she really was back to her old profession?

Fu Qian nodded.

”Do you need me to do anything?”

”I do. Give me a moment.”

Kelly didn’t stand on ceremony. She let out a soft sigh and bent over to rummage through a nearby cabinet.

A moment later, she straightened up and handed him four paper bags.

”There are four doses of medicine inside. I’ll give you the patients’ addresses in a moment. I need you to deliver these directly to their doors, and you must confirm that they drink it to avoid an uncontrollable situation.”

He could understand how she felt, but the four doses of medication appeared completely identical. Did all these patients suffer from the exact same illness?

Fu Qian wasn’t just talking blindly, either. The four paper bags Kelly had handed over were unsealed, and he could clearly see four completely identical little brown bottles nestled inside.

”Sedatives?”

Fu Qian read the labels on them.

Aside from that single name, there was no other information on them.

It absolutely reeked of an unlicensed pharmacist. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed incredibly sketchy.

[Current task has been updated]

[Containment Fulfillment Conditions: Administer the sedatives to the patients in the correct order]

And just as Fu Qian voiced his doubts, the mission prompt appeared.