Eldritch Horror Theatre

”What a great lunch break!”

Wen Li didn’t seem surprised by the time-off notice.

Yet, as if something she had long expected was finally happening, she made no effort to hide her regret.

”I hate to leave such interesting work, but I wish you a pleasant field expedition.”

She offered the blessing with a smile, clearly remembering the plans Fu Qian had mentioned.

As she spoke, she even pointedly glanced at his left arm.

He truly was Mr. Fu; in just over a day, it seemed completely healed.

”Thank you, though I’ll be doing some prep work first,” Fu Qian replied.

Fu Qian was naturally very pleased to have such a polite and highly motivated employee.

His mention of prep work wasn’t just an excuse, either.The tree in West Plain City that could condense the Law was indeed the focus of this field expedition, but he didn’t plan to head straight for the destination.

As he’d noted earlier, the Witch was temporarily out of contact. Even if he found something, he wouldn’t be able to relay the information anytime soon.

So before then, he might as well make more thorough preparations—like gathering testing materials.

Claudora, for example.

...

Fu Qian had a deep impression of this lethargic demigod from the Academy Apocalypse Institute.

If he remembered correctly, the Dean had once mentioned that becoming an official instructor at Apocalypse would grant him the right to request tissue samples taken from Claudora.

When he last left, he was already a Lifetime Professor. He was thoroughly qualified.

Given that it was a deeply cursed lump of flesh capable of fusing with anything in the Transcendent Tier, Fu Qian was very interested to see what changes would occur if it got close to that ”tree.”

Therefore, before heading to West Plain, he might as well return to the Academy and symbolically fulfill his duties as a professor.

Besides, if the Veil Sisters traveled fast enough, he could also arrange their volunteer program.

”Alright. Please don’t hesitate to ask if you need my help... or is there something it’s best I don’t ask about?”

Without pressing for details on his preparations, Wen Li blinked, hinting at something else.

”You don’t need to keep my changes a secret from Chief Yuan, but don’t reveal the contents of our lunch break or your gun to him just yet.”

Understanding her meaning, Fu Qian nodded slightly to signal that she didn’t need to be overly cautious.

As for keeping an eye on the situation in Shangjing—such as Taylor and Jiang En’s movements—Fu Qian knew he didn’t even need to ask. Eldest Miss Wen certainly wouldn’t miss a thing.

Mr. Fu truly kept a low profile.

Nodding repeatedly in agreement, Wen Li sighed inwardly in admiration.

Chief Yuan had helped during his promotion to Tier 2, something Mr. Fu had already mentioned to her in the dream. His willingness to not hide his changes from Chief Yuan now was just further proof of his honesty.

As for Jiang En’s matter, the previous string of actions had certainly been aimed at utilizing Shangjing’s two young talents.

But not only did it cause them no harm, the subsequent reward was incredibly generous for the person involved.

Although this slightly proactive attitude was a bit out of character for him, from her perspective, she hadn’t seen him reap any personal benefits from it at all.

Even if Chief Yuan knew about such things, he likely wouldn’t object, yet Mr. Fu still chose to keep it a secret.

Of course, her own performance in this process had been pretty good, too.

Reviewing the whole sequence of events, she felt an added sense of shared secrecy. This made Wen Li even more delighted, and not wanting to waste any more of Mr. Fu’s time, she said goodbye with a smile.

”Understood. See you later, then. But does this mean I’ve passed my probationary period? Will I get a salary next time?”

...

What a treacherous capitalist.

Wen Li, who was currently withholding his own wages, had actually beaten him to the punch to ask for a salary.

Such shamelessness made Fu Qian sigh for a good while over how human hearts were no longer pure.

However, her desire to collect on that salary wasn’t too resolute; she was already waving goodbye as she asked.

Of course, there was one thing Wen Li was wrong about—

The Dominator of Death had surprisingly shown absolutely no reaction.

As they parted ways, Fu Qian let out a cold snort and sighed.

There weren’t just benefits to helping Brother Jiang En complete his counterattack; there were a lot of them.

Aside from his comprehensive plan to guide the Greed Worm Team, Fu Qian actually had a hidden motive.

He wanted to see if the true beneficiary of the covenant—the Dominator of Death mentioned by A Wei—would change slightly after this round of sharing Carrion.

That was also why he hadn’t used a more direct method of guidance. He wanted to give the Greed Worms some room to act freely, to see if they might glean insights he couldn’t observe himself when reflecting on this series of events.

Unfortunately, up until now, it seemed their conclusion was completely settled on ”all glory to the King of the Abandoned Prison.”

Did this so-called Dominator of Death really die that thoroughly?

Or could it be that within His inherently special covenant, reinforcements were achieved through some unconventional mode, rather than the traditional upgrading of a pawn?

It was hard to say.

...

Even upon arriving at the academic holy land, his ”Dominator of Death hypothesis” had yet to yield any new progress.

Seeing the quiet darkness and the absent morning light, Fu Qian—returning to his Work Unit as a Tier 2 after a few days away—didn’t unreasonably harass his colleagues.

He was, after all, an academic leader with his own independent Laboratory. He no longer needed to rely on Lanaya for a roof over his head.

Of course, Fu Qian was also highly doubtful that the head of the Disciplinary Department was even home at this hour.

Without the slightest psychological burden from criticizing his theoretical superior, Fu Qian wove through the quiet area until he reached an even more tranquil spot.

Let me think, how do I open this again... he mused. Right, I don’t need to. It comes with soul recognition.

Looking up at his flamboyantly designed research facility, he noticed that the Spire currently lacked its usual luxurious aura, its color appearing somewhat pale.

Obviously, the Laboratory’s mystical restriction was active.

Creak...

With a faint sound, Fu Qian easily pushed open the door before him, confirming that Professor Lisa hadn’t snuck in to revoke his clearance while he was away.

Yet separated by just a single wall, the light inside and outside was drastically different.

Specifically, the inside of the Tower was even darker than the pre-dawn exterior.

Naturally, this didn’t affect Fu Qian’s vision in the slightest.

Walking up and taking a seat, he could see that the surroundings had changed slightly, though they still maintained their simple and tidy style.

It felt as if the lab staff had done a bit of cleaning while preserving the state he had left it in as much as possible.

”Professor Fu, you’re back?”

As he evaluated the space, a lab staff member’s voice rang out from the darkness above.

”Mm, thanks for your hard work,” Fu Qian said.

He looked at the pleasantly surprised Classmate Ji Liushuang and gave her a small nod of appreciation.

He naturally knew that this research assistant was actually resting in the Laboratory.

After activating the mystical restriction, this building did have some aura-concealing effects, but it was still a bit lacking against a Tier 2.

The reason for his rather aloof response was because he was pondering a serious question: was she going to ask him for overtime pay as well?

Facts proved that Classmate Liushuang was still a bit younger and hadn’t been too severely poisoned by capitalism. She had not contracted the bad habit of demanding wages.

Walking right up to him, she didn’t mention a word about compensation, simply observing him with a smile.

But that only lasted a second. A moment later, the sweet smile on her face began to freeze bit by bit.

When she spoke again, her eyes were ice-cold.

”You’re not... Who are you?”

Accompanied by a seemingly familiar question, a fierce sword gleam, sharper than ever before, shot forward.