Eldritch Horror Theatre

They really did come to grant a general amnesty.

Fu Qian naturally wouldn’t make any sudden moves, even if, during that cold warning, a second, silent presence had stepped up behind him to help undo his restraints.

Theoretically, he was currently playing the role of someone completely blind with severely restricted perception.

It was perfectly normal to be on guard when someone slipped behind you to tinker with your restraints, making the brusque warning completely understandable.

As for the earlier exclamation of surprise that ”there really are two,” that wasn’t strange either.

Much like the equipment on his body, the material of this prison cell was clearly special.

Someone outside might have been able to hear the two of them talking, but without enhanced perception—and considering how rare two-person cells were—they could have easily assumed it was just one inmate going mad and talking to himself.

Speaking of which, the identity arrangements provided by the Warehouse were starting to feel increasingly perfunctory.

Fu Qian was quite certain he had entered this mission with his true face. There were no aliases or anything of the sort; he had merely been dressed in baggy clothes.

Not only did he lack a proper identity, but he hadn’t even been given a private cell. They had just thrown him straight into a shared room.Judging by his cellmate’s reactions during their chat, the man had barely any memories of Fu Qian’s origins, and the slightest attempt to recall them had made him suspicious.

”You can stand up. The thing on your head will be a bit trickier.”

A calm, capable female voice came from behind him as he pondered this.

”Done.”

Her tone was even somewhat modest.

A moment after she spoke, the stinging pain around his neck intensified. Then, his head felt suddenly light. The tightly fitted metal contraption split in two and was lifted away.

...

She had been even faster than the person working on the opposite side.

”Thank you.”

Fu Qian offered his thanks without rushing to look back. Blinking, he stared at the cellmate he had been chatting with for so long.

From this angle, the design of the helmet and Armor looked increasingly peculiar.

It was bright silver, round, and heavy. In fact, it was so bloated that it hardly seemed suitable for combat.

Paired with the gray prison uniform, sitting in that getup made the wearer look exactly like an out-of-shape shut-in.

Furthermore, it created a bizarre contrast with the thorns of the same material around the neck, giving off a rather sinister vibe.

That impression only lasted a moment. The equipment clattered heavily to the floor, and the overweight shut-in instantly turned into a middle-aged man.

The cellmate who had just imparted so much life experience to him looked exactly as his voice suggested: a middle-aged man around forty with thinning hair.

Unfortunately, his eyes had suddenly been pressed back into service. Still unused to the light, they lacked any particular gleam of wisdom.

”You guys...”

Even so, the man was eager to confirm his rescuers’ identities.

And it really wasn’t hard to figure out.

The man standing behind the cellmate was nearly a head taller and in much better shape.

Although he was clearly only slightly younger.

Fu Qian did not recognize his face, but the man’s clothing was unmistakable.

Gray, baggy, and visibly durable.

Obviously, this wasn’t a guard taking them out for a walk in the yard. This was a fellow prisoner.

”What happened?”

The cellmate was a seasoned veteran of the jianghu. Even though the newcomer remained cold and silent, the cellmate quickly caught on and tensed up.

”Something very troublesome. But it looks like you two have decent luck.”

The man finally spoke, giving the cellmate a passing glance before turning his gaze toward Fu Qian.

”You... how could you...”

Noticing the gesture, the cellmate finally remembered the suspicious character he had been chatting with. He whipped his head around, freezing in absolute shock a moment later.

”Why couldn’t I?”

Following a low, hoarse chuckle, Fu Qian spoke again, his voice now entirely replaced by an eerily aged rasp.

”If I used this voice, how would I have heard so much of your wisdom?”

...

When walking the jianghu, making a name for oneself was paramount.

Thus, in the spirit of standing by one’s true name and surname, Fu Qian had molded his face into Old Man Lu’s exact likeness during their conversation.

Now, he had even adjusted his voice to match.

Both the mission brief and the information provided by his cellmate had explicitly stated that this territory was controlled by Siren.

Naturally, only a top-tier organization should deal with a top-tier conglomerate.

No matter what was happening in the mysterious Undersea Dungeon, the Rebirth Club needed to make an appearance as the mastermind pulling the strings.

Otherwise, the heroes of the world would remain as ignorant as the few people standing in front of him.

”Alright, save the chatting for another time. You probably don’t have the luxury right now.”

A moment later, the woman behind Fu Qian who had freed him offered a cold reminder.

Evidently, without a formal introduction, none of the three connected Old Man Lu’s highly distinctive appearance to anything specific.

”What on earth is going on?”

The warning successfully grabbed his attention. The cellmate completely forgot his shock over Fu Qian’s transformation and let his gaze dart between the two newcomers.

”This is...”

Suddenly, he noticed something strange. In disbelief, he reached out and touched the adjacent wall.

A heavy layer of white frost was condensing at a visible rate across every corner of the room.

And the source was clearly the doorway.

The two newcomers seemed to have brought a mobile arctic chill in with them.

That wasn’t even the main issue.

”Why... why can’t I feel the cold?”

Muttering to himself, the cellmate glanced down at his body. However, the hand he had pulled back from the wall hovered in hesitation.

”That’s right. You’re the one with the problem.”

Unfortunately, any fleeting hope he harbored was mercilessly shattered in the next second.

The man who had freed him grabbed his right sleeve and yanked it up, forcing him to face reality.

On the man’s relatively sturdy arm, dark red, spiderweb-like patterns were rapidly surfacing, writhing faintly in time with his breathing.

”Crimson Frenzy.”

The woman behind Fu Qian chimed in.

”I don’t know why, and I don’t know who did it, but this curse has spread throughout the entire prison. It seems you two are relatively lucky; you were infected a bit later than the rest.”

She extended her own arm as she spoke, having rolled up one of her sleeves as well.

In comparison, the pattern on her arm was much brighter and more vivid than the ones on Fu Qian and his cellmate.

Having rolled up his own sleeve at almost the exact same time, Fu Qian compared their arms and nodded, confirming her conclusion.

”Alright, we should head out. The others are waiting for us outside.”

The male rescuer immediately prompted them to move.