Eldritch Horror Theatre

Judging by how fast she arrived, Professor Lisa had likely been waiting for this moment for a long time.

She hadn’t just been lurking outside, of course. Whether she looked out of breath or not, Fu Qian knew perfectly well she had sprinted all the way here right after the Midnight Ominous Cry.

As for why she was so enthusiastic, any prankster obviously wouldn’t want to miss the brilliant moment of their success.

Furthermore, the significance of the thing inside this box went far beyond a simple jump scare.

”Do you really think so?”

Receiving such high praise actually made Lisa a little unsure of herself. Taking two steps forward, she couldn’t resist asking for confirmation.

”Why don’t you first explain to us exactly where this thing came from?”

Fu Qian didn’t offer another dose of exaggerated validation. Instead, he asked for an explanation with undisguised curiosity, even waving Classmate Liushuang over to listen in.

”Well... couldn’t it be a new trophy I snuck out on another trip over there?”

Lisa was evidently even more satisfied with this reaction. Yet after a smug smile, she put on airs, scoffing softly as she fired back the question.”Really? I don’t believe it.”

Unfortunately for her, such a thing could hardly stump Professor Fu. He delivered the classic line almost instantly.

”Didn’t the people from Linghui give you trouble over what happened before? You still had the free time to make another trip?”

”...It was more than just trouble. Not only did they show up at my door with fierce condemnations, they looked ready to write a blood-letter to sue me.”

Sure enough, that single sentence hit a sore spot. Lisa let out a long sigh and finally took a seat.

...

They had caused quite a commotion during their last trip into that forbidden zone resembling an afterlife.

According to Professor Lisa, even though that place was now controlled by the Apocalypse Branch, Linghui still retained clearance to enter for research.

Under these circumstances, even without any new research projects, wouldn’t that place feel just like a wife Linghui had recently lost in a gamble?

Finding an excuse to go inside and check on it every couple of days was perfectly normal.

Therefore, in Fu Qian’s judgment, the destructive acts he and Professor Lisa committed earlier were almost guaranteed to be discovered.

But for everyone to be so furious was honestly a bit exaggerated. Had the two of them really gone that far?

”But it was still worth it, right?”

Reflecting on this, Fu Qian casually offered a word of comfort.

”Of course.”

When one is proud, an appreciative audience is precious. Hearing Fu Qian say that, the smile on Lisa’s face finally broke free. The next moment, she snatched the box straight from his hands and popped it open.

In that instant, Classmate Liushuang clearly couldn’t help but want to cover her ears. Surprisingly, however, that heart-wrenching, agonizing wail of death didn’t ring out this time.

”That kind of scream only triggers once in the short term.”

Clearly noticing her reaction, Lisa was in a good enough mood to offer the extra explanation.

”This is the Bat Skull we acquired earliest.”

Examining the Bone Horseshoe Crab moving inside the box, her expression turned serious the next moment.

...

”After coming back the first time, I spent a massive amount of effort on that thing, running all sorts of tests.”

Before Fu Qian or the others could say anything, Lisa continued.

”Unfortunately, there were simply too few valuable results. I also completely failed to stimulate the spirit that surrounded it back when it was a bat—until our harvest last time.”

As she spoke, she pulled out another item, playing with it in her hand.

It was a slightly contoured bone plate, sharing the exact same luster as the creature inside the box.

Under the light, an illusory, ghostly green flame rippled across its surface.

Fu Qian naturally recognized it. This was the exact fragment left behind when they wreaked havoc in the forbidden zone and crushed the head of that bizarre, endlessly assembling construct. He had given it to Professor Lisa as a reward.

Compared to back then, however, it seemed noticeably dimmer.

”After coming out, no matter what methods I used to preserve it, I couldn’t stop the dissipation of its Transcendent power.”

”The upside is that during this process, I accidentally used it to dismantle the original Bat Skull.”

As she explained, it was clear that Lisa’s method of utilizing this harvest had been extremely unexpected.

”I was shocked at first too, but the facts proved that this thing is extraordinarily special when it comes to those bone fragments.”

Sighing softly, Lisa seemed to marvel at the wonders of the world.

”I wasn’t thinking too much at the time. I just tried putting the two together to see if there would be any reaction. In the end, after less than half a minute of contact, the originally intact Bat Skull instantly shattered into pieces of all shapes and sizes.”

”The entire process was incredibly natural. There was no display of flames, radiance, or anything of the sort.”

As she spoke, Lisa actually reached out a finger and gently stroked the back of the Bone Horseshoe Crab.

The creature, which had been screaming and causing a nuisance earlier, now acted as if it were under an immense suppression, looking far too terrified to move.

”Guess what I did next?”

The next moment, Professor Lisa looked at Fu Qian. Showing satisfaction at his attentive listening posture, she decided to casually drop a pop quiz.

”Take a guess.”

Alas, how could an ordinary person ever imagine the sheer dominance of attending class with an assistant in tow?

Without even blinking, Fu Qian gestured directly to Classmate Liushuang beside him.

”Professor Lisa tried piecing those fragments together, and they actually formed the creature inside the box?”

Bearing the burden without complaint just as expected, Ji Liushuang didn’t make any excuses despite her shock. She thought about it seriously before answering carefully.

...

”Correct.”

Clearly unable to tolerate Professor Fu’s exploitative behavior, Lisa shot him a fierce glare before confirming that Classmate Liushuang was right.

”That isn’t even the most special part. After faintly sensing a connection between the fragments and successfully completing this game with a ’just give it a try’ mindset, this thing appeared on its own.”

The next moment, she pointed her finger at the jade-green glow lingering around the Bone Horseshoe Crab.

”And then it came to life.”

Such a thing actually happened? No wonder she was so impatient.

As Professor Lisa’s explanation concluded, Fu Qian made no effort to hide his admiration.

He had naturally realized early on that the thing inside the box was pieced together from the Bat Skull fragments.

Although they were fragments, the way they had broken was highly regular—almost akin to a Transformer changing shape.

Lest one forget, he had even given Professor Lisa inspiration regarding this very aspect during their initial exploration. How could he lack even this modicum of sensitivity?

For her to try piecing together a new creation out of strange fragments meant Professor Lisa’s mind wasn’t entirely rigid.

What was truly shocking right now was the result. Without performing any extra procedures, simply assembling the fragments into the shape of an organism automatically yielded the Pure Soul that Linghui Courtyard referred to as the true body?

This kind of creation out of nothing was the most incredible part.

If he recalled correctly, he had even witnessed a similar situation last time—at the very end, divinity had sprung directly from within that massive, endlessly assembling creature.