Eldritch Horror Theatre

”Looks like we know where to start.”

As they exchanged glances, Mask was the first to speak, looking delighted rather than alarmed.

It had to be said, things were progressing almost too smoothly.

Especially if the person over there was Death Row Inmate, and that gunshot hadn’t just killed him.

”We need to hurry.”

The team clearly had no objections to the suggestion.

As they spoke, Red Dragon stepped up to take the lead. He even unfolded the Bladed Spear in his hand for the first time, revealing its vicious, complete form.

Bang!

But the instant he rounded the first corner, he stopped in his tracks and jerked his head back.

Rubble flew as a bullet grazed past his ear, smashing a crater into the wall behind him.”It’s us.”

Despite the sudden danger, Red Dragon remained fairly calm, roaring out immediately.

”Run!”

A second shot didn’t come. Instead, an answering shout rang out, and in the blink of an eye, a figure rushed right up to them.

Sure enough, it was their final team member, Brother Death Row Inmate.

Only right now, he looked quite wretched.

Aside from the spots of fluorescent light on his body, the most striking detail was the horrifying patch of blood at his waist, a mangled mess of flesh visible at a glance.

”Fall back first! It’s very dangerous over there!”

After rushing close, Death Row Inmate finally noticed the four people trailing behind him. Visibly relieved, he immediately signaled for the team to retreat.

Considering the bleeding evidence on his waist, everyone followed without question, readily accepting good advice.

...

”No one is chasing us.”

A short while later, Qing, who had been keeping watch, stepped back and signaled that everyone could rest for a moment.

The newly reunited six-person team was currently gathered inside a room that looked like an office.

The door had naturally been opened by their technical specialist, Fu Qian. Red Dragon had taken over Qing’s duties and was now hiding behind the door, standing guard.

The office wasn’t large and didn’t contain much. The injured Brother Death Row Inmate was currently using a first-aid kit found by Madam Star to staunch his bleeding wound.

”You’re saying there’s an entire fully armed squad over there, and they aren’t letting anyone near?”

Sitting off to the side, Mask was deep in thought over the news Death Row Inmate had brought.

”Yes. There might not be too many of them, but they are well-trained and have absurd firepower.”

Hissing in pain, Death Row Inmate’s tone was completely certain.

”I’m not sure what their objective is, but they’re undeniably hostile. They open fire the moment they see you, without a single word.”

”To think such a thing is happening.”

Listening to this, Qing furrowed her brows.

Judging solely by his earlier performance, Death Row Inmate wasn’t exactly a reliable character, but paired with the wound on his body right now, his words were quite persuasive.

Although the bullet hadn’t stayed lodged inside him, a gunshot wound wasn’t hard to identify.

”This isn’t your gun?”

Mask, however, was focused on another issue as he looked at the weapon Death Row Inmate had placed on the desk.

”I stole it.”

Death Row Inmate’s explanation was blunt and bold. As he spoke, he even lifted his shirt to reveal a second gun.

Stole it? That badass?

For a moment, even Red Dragon couldn’t help but look back in awe.

”Earlier... sorry.”

Meeting his gaze, Death Row Inmate paused in thought before uncharacteristically offering a solemn apology.

After a brief hesitation, he even picked up the weapon on the table and tossed it to Red Dragon.

”You know how to use this, right?”

”I do.”

Never expecting Death Row Inmate to give him a weapon so straightforwardly, Red Dragon caught it and checked the ammunition.

”That’s good. I have some spare bullets on me. I’ll give them to you in a bit.”

As he spoke, Death Row Inmate finally finished treating his wound. He let out a long breath and slumped back into his chair.

It had to be said, his actions were very generous, heavily implying an apology for the near-miss friendly fire earlier.

But to be honest, given his terrible marksmanship, that shot was guaranteed to miss whether Red Dragon had ducked or not.

By generously giving away the gun, Death Row Inmate was likely using the apology to build some goodwill.

He clearly had a realistic grasp of his own combat capabilities, not to mention he was currently injured.

Holding onto two weapons—setting aside the fact that he couldn’t use both anyway—might just get him killed and looted by his allies in a desperate situation. He was better off generously giving one away.

And among everyone here, after all their interactions, Red Dragon was clearly the relatively decent one.

Giving the weapon to him meant there was a much higher chance Red Dragon would back him up at a critical moment compared to the others.

These reasons weren’t hard to figure out. But the question was, with his terrible aim, where exactly did he seize these weapons? And how did he get here faster than everyone else?

While unkindly analyzing Death Row Inmate’s behavior in his head, Fu Qian zeroed in on a question he wanted answered.

”So, why were you here?”

Fortunately, he didn’t have to ask. Someone had already voiced it for him.

”It’s very simple. I don’t know what roles the rest of you were playing earlier, but this place was originally the destination for my assigned role.”

Death Row Inmate still looked rather sluggish.

Such a thing actually happened?

This answer truly challenged their imaginations. Madam Star, who had asked the question, exchanged a glance with Qing, both unable to hide their shock.

”And after learning a little more, I realized this place might be our destination as well.”

And Brother Death Row Inmate was truly someone never resting until one’s words astonish.

”I was playing a role similar to a corporate spy. My objective was to infiltrate this place, locate something secretly being researched here, and either steal it or destroy it. Its name is ’prismatic color’.”

”Considering that name, I felt it might be very closely aligned with our goal, so I slowly felt my way down here.”

”Of course, the process wasn’t easy. I only managed to get close to the destination just now.”

”Unfortunately, I never expected that in this timeline where everyone has been evacuated, there would actually still be a group of bastards standing guard over there...”

”It looks like we were dangerously close to being able to rest.”

As Death Row Inmate spoke, Mask listened very intently, eventually letting out a sigh.

”But there’s a small problem. After the white light flashed, it seemed none of us retained the information regarding our own roles. How did you learn yours in such detail?”

Qing, standing to the side, frowned and raised this small question.

That did seem a bit strange...

Prompted by her reminder, the group’s suspicions flared up again.

”That’s simple.”

Death Row Inmate laughed.

”This was a two-person operation. My partner told me. Even that gun was seized from him.”

...

This sentence undeniably carried a massive amount of information.

The people present instantly formed a mental picture of what Death Row Inmate had done.

He was quite a ruthless guy too. If his weapon was right here, his partner’s fate could easily be imagined.

”Sure enough, nobody has been sitting idle.”

Mask clapped his hands, finally delivering a concluding remark.

”But now we have a problem. Judging from Death Row Inmate’s experience, how are we supposed to get inside that place?”