Eldritch Horror Theatre

One must not look directly at God, much less speak ill of Him.

Fear was always an indispensable part of faith.

For Fu Qian, this group of Greed Worms made for incredibly rare test subjects.

First, he knew their true nature: they were the covenant pawns of the Dominator of Death.

Furthermore, as a true collective, their mutual connections meant they shared information quite effectively.

They were also among the few who knew his honorific name.

Most importantly, they remained completely unaware of their own nature. Brother A Wei, the only one who knew the truth, had already been sent to the Unseen Hill.

Given these conditions, they were perfect for testing matters related to faith, even faith in the old ones—

namely, the current state of the Dominator of Death and what exactly had happened to Him.

So despite his heavy workload, Fu Qian had never abandoned his plan to guide this group.And after demonstrating hope yesterday, in the face of their doubts and even offense, Chastisement was absolutely necessary.

When he told Wen Li she could come in to work today, he hadn’t just meant selling books.

However, even with her helping to spread the fear, it still felt somewhat lacking.

Since yesterday, Fu Qian had been wondering what method to use for the Chastisement.

Sure enough, Heaven Rewards Diligence. After his morning workout a little while ago, the newly acquired reward seemed quite fitting.

The universally feared Death Shadow, with its description of penetrating everything, sounded highly compatible with the faint connection he currently held.

At the same time, compared to the Calamity Authority, it seemed he wouldn’t have to worry about causing physical mutilation.

After all, if he failed to control the force of the latter, he might accidentally blow their heads off.

As for the Typhoid Terror, Fu Qian did not think this group had the resources to extend its duration to fifty-nine hours.

Of course, everything depended on the actual results in practice—and the results were quite good.

...

Amid the surging ripples of terror, Fu Qian’s evaluation of this mission reward rose another level.

On one hand, it was genuinely effective.

Upon locking onto the target and activating it, the Death Shadow was delivered without the slightest decay, even when following a faint thread of connection.

On the other hand, despite the successful activation, the Statue itself remained incredibly low-profile. It displayed no flashy visual effects, and its fluctuations in his perception were barely perceptible.

Sure enough, as people aged, they valued returning to simplicity and true nature. This thing was perfectly suited for ambushing someone from the shadows.

Amid his praise, Fu Qian noticed the gaze of his volunteer, Eldest Miss Wen.

It was obvious that the object in his hands, with its exceedingly bizarre appearance, had piqued her curiosity, making it hard to resist even as she rested from her recent full-power outburst.

However, Fu Qian had no intention of hiding it anyway, so he casually handed it over.

”Thank you...”

He could tell Wen Li did not really want to take it, but her excellent upbringing kept her from refusing and prompted her to express her thanks.

To this, Fu Qian merely offered a slight nod, shifting his focus to the other end of the connection.

Without a doubt, an intense discussion was underway over there, and they had gathered in full force.

The Old Man, who had consistently held reservations, was none other than the host of the Jiang En Exclusive Auction—the one brimming with the ethereal aura of a transcendent sage.

And arguing fiercely against him was another familiar face—Laywoman Tooth-Throat.

Speaking of which, this lady was probably one of the most miserable people yesterday, having taken a direct hit from the Calamity’s eruption.

Sure enough, unwavering faith was inseparable from suffering.

Amid his admiration, Fu Qian watched the Old Man’s reaction with soaring expectations.

...

”You all...”

The Old Man was undoubtedly the center of attention in the room at this moment.

This wasn’t because a Meteor had actually struck his head, but because the terror that suddenly slammed into everyone erupted right after he voiced his doubts.

This excessively seamless timing made it impossible not to ponder the causal relationship between the two.

Noticing this himself, he clearly lacked the energy to offer any defense. Instead, he muttered to himself and could not help but look up.

That freezing Death Shadow, suspended at an infinite height, was incredibly clear in his perception.

It was as if he could see solid ice containing endless power of annihilation, madly condensing and expanding. It was plummeting with unstoppable momentum, ready to bring eternal darkness to him at any moment.

This bizarre omen of death that transcended perception, superimposed on the baseless terror rising from the bottom of his heart... Rather than encountering an attack, it felt far more like the fury of a higher entity.

”Do you feel it...?”

Golden spikes surfaced across his skin, as if he were swiftly donning a suit of barbed armor. Faintly sensing that he was receiving special treatment, the Old Man immediately tried to find resonance with the others.

Although it was blurry, Fu Qian, acting as a spectator, easily had his memories triggered by this appearance.

Back when he had used the Insect Whistle to send three of them away, the Old Man had resorted to a similar move while fighting for his life.

Sure enough, appearances often contrasted with reality. He looked like someone with a pure heart and few desires, but in truth, he was a master at manipulating the physical body.

It was just a pity that this time, the Old Man was bound to endure a tempering of his mind.

...

”What?”

The first to respond was indeed Laywoman Tooth-Throat, who had just been arguing with the Old Man. However, she sounded as if she were barely managing to suppress her own boiling fear.

Mainly, the Old Man, who usually acted as the team’s person in charge, was behaving somewhat too erratically, which exacerbated the wavering of their morale to a certain extent.

”Pure, baseless terror... It hit right when you were speaking...”

However, after catching her breath, she didn’t wait for the Old Man to answer and quickly described her own condition first.

”No, it’s not just that... There is something above our heads.”

From this statement and the reactions of the others, the Old Man seemed to realize the severity of the situation. Forcing himself to grit his teeth and answer, he raised his head to look at the sky once again.

However, driven by an intense desire to survive, he refused to retract that Golden Hedgehog Armor under any circumstances.

”Ah... What is it?”

They truly lived up to being branches of the same root. Although the assembled Greed Worms could not comprehend the Old Man’s claim, they could still feel the despair in his tone, and they immediately began throwing out questions.

And after he forced himself to complete the explanation, every single one of them fell back into silence in unison.

That was about enough.

What followed should be a rare life experience for the Old Man.

Seeing the atmosphere reach the perfect point so smoothly, Fu Qian withdrew his gaze in satisfaction, leaving the group to let their imaginations run wild and brainstorm plans.

As the evil god’s accomplice, Eldest Miss Wen frowned while playing with the Statue in her hands, cooperating very well by keeping quiet.

”Thanks for the hard work.”

Naturally, Fu Qian offered ample encouragement to such a sensible volunteer.

”Is the lunch break over?”

Wen Li returned the Statue with somewhat brisk speed, shaking her head with a smile.

”How could it be? It has only just begun.”

However, her employer took it with one hand while swapping for another item and handing it back to her with his other hand.

”I’m going out to chat with a friend. Does Brother Jiang En still live at his old place?”