Eldritch Horror Theatre

The liquid hadn’t reached a boil, but given enough time, it could easily cook a standard carbon-based lifeform.

Reaching that conclusion from his tests, Fu Qian closely examined the body beneath the cloak.

Though it was hideously deformed—like a rag doll mangled by brute force—there was no scent of cooking meat. Instead, festering blisters continually ruptured, dissolving into the surrounding liquid.

Even the blood-red eye twitching in its socket proved that while the body had lost its mind, its basic physiological reflexes remained.

If one were to insist this was medical treatment, it wouldn’t be entirely implausible.

But proving the presence of Transcendent elements wouldn’t be difficult. Taking off the belt and waiting a moment would be enough to reveal the truth.

The belt undeniably caused agony, but it was also likely what kept this body alive.

Under Ais’s watchful gaze, however, Fu Qian made no attempt to remove it. Instead, he reached deeper into the water and fished out a swollen, corpse-like limb.

Smooth, rounded, and unusually elongated, it was clearly not a normal body part.

Only the webbed, finger-like digits at the tip offered a faint indication that it had once been an arm.And the only one left.

Fu Qian was entirely certain this was the most human-looking part left on the body.

As he pulled it up, he could even feel a startled flinch, as if the limb were trying to retract.

”Yes, that is her hand. What are you trying to prove?”

Ais offered a timely comment from the side, looking slightly surprised by his actions.

”And the only one at that. What I’m getting at is that a hand like this probably couldn’t leave such a perfectly neat signature on the register.”

Fu Qian corrected her, offering a critique of his own.

”Oh? What signature?”

Ais’s smile faded slightly.

”I believe her name was Sophia?”

Fu Qian didn’t keep her guessing. He recalled the last lucky recruit in the register, the one Madam Yingzhu had praised to no end.

...

”You actually remember Sophia? I heard you refused to sign the register.”

Faced with the name he offered, Ais couldn’t quite hide her surprise.

”A pity, though, as that isn’t absolute proof. What makes you so sure she is Sophia, suffering Chastisement for blasphemy? Just because of this slightly longer hair?”

”Besides, there’s a chronological order to these things. Wasn’t there a girl among the two who just left? Why couldn’t she be Sophia?”

A moment later, she was earnestly offering her own analysis, looking completely unhurried.

”That’s true. I didn’t even ask for that girl’s name.”

Unbothered by the challenge, Fu Qian simply nodded in agreement.

”Although Sophia was the last newcomer before me, the trial was so difficult that no one passed for days in a row, making it perfectly reasonable that she ended up waiting here alongside those who arrived even earlier. However—”

His tone shifted, and a shiny gold coin appeared in his hand.

A minimalist yet alluring silhouette of a woman’s back was engraved on its surface, quickly gathering condensation from the mist.

”Excellency Oz once mentioned that this was his favorite gold coin, and I can completely understand why.”

”More importantly, he also mentioned that there are many other gold coins with different patterns. Want to guess which side it’ll land on?”

Mid-sentence, Fu Qian casually rested the coin on his hand, mimicking a flip, and gestured toward Ais.

”The portrait.”

It was a blatantly forced attempt to lighten the mood, but Ais didn’t seem to mind. She actually played along and made a choice.

The only problem, of course, was that both sides of the coin featured a portrait. No matter how it landed, Fu Qian was destined to lose.

”Alright.”

But why would the undisputed king of the chuuni world care about that? With a cold sneer and a sharp ping, the gold coin flicked high into the air.

A moment later, it traced a perfect arc over the metal table and landed flawlessly into the deep cleavage of the woman who had made the guess, wedging itself upright.

”You lose.”

Fu Qian pointed at his masterpiece.

”There might be a lot of these gold coins, but I don’t think any of them match the pattern on your breastplate quite as well as this one.”

”And just now, back at the Former Residence of the Vacuum Flower, when I turned on the lights, I took a glance at the coins held by those two young people. I strongly felt they were a perfect match for your other two pieces of equipment.”

”Of course, this belt in the water wouldn’t suit you at all.”

...

”How fascinating. I actually feel the exact same way. And then?”

Withdrawing her gaze from her chest, Ais completely ignored Fu Qian’s blatant offense and instead praised his taste in fashion.

Even as she spoke, she made no move to pluck the gold coin out.

’That’s because it was your opinion to begin with.’

Fu Qian noted inwardly. His last remark had been a direct plagiarism of something Ais herself had said.

”Three gold coins perfectly corresponding to the three Weapons on your body, handed out to the three newest candidates... isn’t that a bit too coincidental?”

”If each gold coin represents a specific talent, then I imagine you’ve been searching for three people with those exact talents.”

Fu Qian clicked his tongue.

”And that explains why a wildcard like me was still able to pass your review so quickly and gain entry here.”

”You aren’t just directing a farce. You’ve been anxiously waiting, too.”

Still not letting go of the deformed arm, Fu Qian pulled hard, hoisting half the ruined body out of the water and draping it over the edge of the metal table.

”As for those who didn’t meet the requirements, they were put to other uses.”

Heh...

”I’ve met a lot of people who love to brag, but I have to say, your self-assessment is surprisingly grounded.”

A rather lengthy silence was eventually broken by Ais’s hearty laughter.

”A wildcard. I’m not even entirely sure what your purpose here is... So, if this really is Sophia, what exactly do you think I did to her?”

”That’s hard to say. After all, only you know your true purpose.”

Even though her faceplate—which looked perfectly capable of firing death rays—scanned him up and down while she spoke, Fu Qian’s deductions remained completely undisturbed.

”However, in my experience, even if the materials are unsuitable, it doesn’t mean you can’t resort to Turning Waste into Treasure.”

”Utilize them how?”

”For example, having her equip a Weapon and stand in front of the Vacuum Flower to see its reaction?”

”If that’s the case... why do you think I brought a wildcard like you here?”

Ais remained noncommittal, continuing to smile as she asked.

”Your plan hit a snag, and someone like me is too dangerous to keep using. So why not throw me into a test as well?”

Fu Qian didn’t even turn his head, carefully scrutinizing the half-submerged body, especially the belt.

”Test what?”

”To test whether the Vacuum Flower is hiding on her?”