Eldritch Horror Theatre

”Did you do that?”

With so many experts present, Fu Qian was far from the only one to notice the change.

As the group stared in eerie silence, Ai Ke—who had acted as a bodyguard the entire way—was the first to ask Ah Kai for confirmation. It seemed she still harbored a faint sliver of hope that he had actually produced some results.

”I’m not sure...”

Unfortunately, even though the timing seemed perfectly natural, the man himself still lacked the courage to simply claim credit.

Professor Ah Kai stared at the newly materialized passageway, briefly reduced to muttering to himself.

The former Dean of the Benevolent Curse Institute truly had a lot to answer for. He had completely stripped the confidence out of a perfectly fine future academic star.

”So what were you doing just now?”

Amid these musings, Fu Qian asked a casual question to help clear the man’s head.

”A Miracle I haven’t tried yet. I wanted to see if it could help us establish a connection with reality.”Not letting Professor Fu’s efforts go to waste, Ah Kai quickly gathered his wits and explained his previous actions.

”I wasn’t entirely certain of the success rate, but according to the records, this is supposed to be an extremely mild Miracle... yet it seems to have triggered a massive disturbance just now. I don’t understand...”

It was clear he had learned from his previous mistakes. His approach this time had been far more conservative, and his aim highly practical. Unfortunately, the outcome still left much to be desired.

”There was a bit of a commotion, yes.”

Fu Qian didn’t bother with empty comfort. A distinct tremor had indeed rippled through the entire ship moments ago, only to settle down in the blink of an eye.

Moreover, despite not walking over to inspect it yet, Fu Qian was fairly confident that the downward passage was absolutely not some disembarking route back to the Benevolent Curse Institute.

”But look on the bright side. At least we seem to have gained a new area to explore, and there’s a high probability you triggered it. Both your intent and the outcome were good.”

Of course, that didn’t stop Fu Qian from offering some casual encouragement, and he was indeed speaking his genuine thoughts.

Regardless of where it led, for a team currently starved for leads, any new development was a good thing.

And despite past precedents, Fu Qian doubted this disturbance was just Nepheli stirring up trouble again.

For her current self, petty tricks like that not only lacked motive but would also easily expose her.

The Miracle’s anomalous effect was highly likely caused by the very conclusion Stoss and Nepheli had both acknowledged—inside the Long Night, conceptual symbolism and reality were already completely blurred.

Conducting an experiment in a place where the fundamental rules were broken was bound to result in a few accidents.

”I’ll go take a look.”

Almost the instant Professor Fu concluded his summary, someone chimed in.

Having just finished her scouting duties, Demigod Su volunteered once again with absolute naturalness.

...

Now that was decisiveness.

Fu Qian wasn’t surprised by Su Gao’s reaction in the slightest.

As previously noted, leadership was never about talking the most. Clear thinking, a resolute will, and making the final call at critical moments were what truly mattered.

As it stood, not a single trace of light could be seen in that downward passage.

On the contrary, it seemed to exude the same surging nothingness they had felt outside the ship, brimming with an impenetrable darkness.

Faced with such a sight, it was hard to harbor any optimism. The immediate impression it gave was a descent into eternal night, an absolute Road of No Return—and yet, they still had to go.

Regardless of its foreboding appearance, a discovery like this couldn’t be ignored under their current circumstances.

Classmate Su Gao clearly understood this from the very first second. Never forgetting her role as the leader of this investigation, she didn’t hesitate to put herself in danger once again.

”You’ve already taken the lead once. Let me do it this time.”

The next moment, however, Ai Ke proved that a demigod like her was no coward either. Recognizing the necessity, she immediately proposed they take turns braving the danger.

”That’s fine. I’ll go too.”

However, the one who answered her was Fu Qian.

Knowing that Su Gao disliked this kind of back-and-forth, the operations advisor smoothly took the initiative. Stepping forward as he spoke, he stood beside Demigod Su once again.

...

Was the logic there a bit flawed?

Clearly, the reasoning Expert Fu offered was quite a challenge to human comprehension.

Watching his movements, Ai Ke opened her mouth, momentarily left speechless.

The implication of that single step couldn’t have been more obvious. Not only did this Academy professor support Su Gao’s decision, but he was also fully prepared to brave the danger alongside her once again.

This was entirely different from their previous movements inside the ship; the danger level was significantly higher.

As an operations advisor, he technically had no obligation to go to such lengths. Wasn’t his professional work ethic a bit too extreme?

”Then I leave it to the two of you.”

However, this was no time for marveling. A moment later, Stoss—who had kept silent the entire time—formally approved the proposition.

”But I will accompany you. Otherwise, you might struggle to handle entities of a higher Rank. Besides, things up here seem stable enough for now.”

His tone shifted, leaving no room for argument.

”Alright.”

To be fair, his reasoning was sound. No matter how one looked at it, the Old Man was still their only apparent Tier 2 combatant.

As Fu Qian made this mental note, Su Gao accepted without further protest, offering a soft acknowledgment before taking the lead.

”You two hold the fort here. Do not make any extra moves for the time being.”

Before following them down, Stoss made sure to give Ah Kai and Ai Ke specific instructions.

It was obvious he had also realized that the power of a Miracle was highly uncontrollable in this state of spacetime.

To increase the chances of the trio making it back, it was best not to act recklessly right now.

...

”It looks like we’ve genuinely stopped.”

The newly materialized downward passageway was just as crude as everything else on the ship.

Furthermore, the destination it led to looked even more foreboding.

It was clearly not some hidden Fourth Layer of The Ark. It was merely a crude wooden ladder angling downward, its lower rungs plunging into an abyss of absolute, imperceptible darkness.

Walking down it felt akin to a hero embarking on a journey of no return.

Even as Excellency Stoss offered his observation, Su Gao was already stepping onto the ladder.

The older man’s assessment was entirely sound. Regardless of how one looked at it, lowering a ladder from a ship fundamentally implied a temporary mooring, rather than The Ark continuing its journey while merely expanding its internal space.

Had they dropped anchor once again? Theoretically speaking, did that mean they were stepping back into a time from over a thousand years ago?

Thinking about it from that angle, the descent actually held a profound sort of significance.

The downside, of course, was an unavoidable concern: what if the ship set sail again after they went down?

If that happened, their scouting squad would be in a terrible position—well, an even worse position than they were already in.

”I can’t see a thing. The environment down here seems to be the exact opposite of the ship’s interior—it’s actively stripping away our vision.”

Following closely behind Su Gao into the darkness, Fu Qian quickly heard the Old Man’s latest observation.