Eldritch Horror Theatre

Traveling really did build bonds, and this tour group was indeed full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons.

This place was also a restricted area, though not far from the standard tour route.

Lack of upkeep had left it less than glamorous, but its underlying luxury was still visible. This was the former living quarters of the royal family, after all.

To actually think of sneaking in here to get intimate—that took some serious passion.

And the unnatural excitement the two had shown right before entering finally made sense.

Everyone really did seek out different scenery on their travels. These two had likely come to this spot purely to unleash that passion—even if its intensity showed clear signs of spiraling out of control.

Ditching Brother Mediterranean wasn’t surprising, nor was sneaking in here particularly difficult. But anyone with a shred of sense would know that hooking up in a place like this was fine as long as they didn’t make a sound. If they were discovered, the fallout would be a nightmare to deal with.

Furthermore, Fu Qian was quite certain that the bed they were about to collapse onto in their tangled embrace had long since broken, leaving nothing behind but an empty frame.

It wouldn’t take much force at all to produce a massive racket—

Knock, knock!The sudden knocking finally disturbed the passionate scene inside the room.

The tangled movements abruptly stiffened, and alert eyes peered outward.

Unfortunately for them, Clara had chosen a highly concealed hiding spot. It wouldn’t be easy to spot her from their position, especially when they had to scramble to fix their clothes first.

The passion rapidly faded. By the time the two followed the sound to investigate, their mysterious warner was long gone.

...

Though her behavior was a bit eccentric, Ms. Clara didn’t seem to have fully evolved into someone who thrived purely on chaos.

Watching the three people leave one after another, Fu Qian silently appraised the situation.

It had, of course, been Clara knocking on the door to warn them just now.

She hadn’t taken the search seriously, content to neglect her duties and spy on people from the shadows. Yet, right as things were about to spiral out of control, she still couldn’t resist stepping in.

She might have ruined the lovebirds’ highly anticipated romance, but she had also saved them from a massive headache.

Of course, out of this entire affair, the one who walked away with the greatest harvest was undoubtedly himself—

He could practically draw a definitive conclusion: the couple’s mental state was indeed abnormal.

Having an eccentric idea occasionally wasn’t strange—like seeking a passionate romp in the former royal harem to forge an unforgettable, lifelong memory.

But just as he had suspected earlier, the two had lost themselves far too completely. Their mental states had subtly breached normal limits. Not only were they completely oblivious to their glaringly abnormal behavior, but one could practically sense a primal urge to procreate radiating from them.

Some force was influencing them. And what could it be? Himself, of course.

That was right. Those two snapping out of their trance had relied on far more than just Clara’s two knocks on the door.

At that exact same moment, Fu Qian had also provided a little help of his own—he had demoted them to Third Cause Rejectors.

The Blue Eyes the couple had paid for had completely lost their function, and they would never be able to buy working ones again.

As for why he dared to confidently claim the credit, certain that his actions had played a bigger role than the knocking?

It was very simple. There had been a specific sequence to their demotions, with about a two-second gap in between.

The immediate result was that the man shuddered first. As if suddenly comprehending the heavenly dao, his eyes regained their clarity, and he frantically pushed away the woman tangled in his arms.

The woman, trailing a step behind, only snapped into that enlightened, sage-like mode a moment later.

...

Did the ”Third Cause” provoke a desire to reproduce?

Even though the two concepts felt entirely unrelated, the experimental data was right in front of him.

The order in which they were stripped of the boon perfectly matched the order in which they snapped awake.

No matter how counterintuitive it seemed, it was still a logical conclusion.

This conclusion even made it remarkably easy to draw a connection to the mission objective—

”Prohibit the desecration of the authority.” Could this be the true nature of the desecration?

Without rushing to draw a definitive conclusion, Fu Qian—having successfully gleaned data from his observation subjects—strolled casually onward.

Being asked by a couple not to act as a third wheel was a request most people would find hard to refuse.

After accepting it, anyone with a bit of tact would likely pick an opposite path to avoid bumping into them again. And Brother Mediterranean was quite tactful.

”Hi.”

Fu Qian greeted the somewhat melancholy middle-aged man.

...

”That fast? You found them?”

The shunned team member was clearly feeling a bit dejected, taking a moment to snap out of his daze and react.

”Sort of. I suspect they’ll emerge on their own in a bit.”

This was why a good mindset was so important. As Fu Qian casually replied, he took the opportunity to size the man up.

The facts proved that out of the entire group, Brother Mediterranean was the only one who actually acted like a normal tourist.

He showed no signs of either a primal urge to procreate or any unbridled ambition.

Given the circumstances, Fu Qian chose not to rush into stripping this man of his boon.

Granted, that didn’t necessarily mean the man’s mood was fantastic.

Trapped in a group entirely composed of weirdos, the man in front of him was obviously catching the brunt of the negative feedback.

”Haha, I also think everyone is just a bit too on edge, though wandering off without a word really isn’t right.

”Just call me Captain. Want to walk around a bit on our way back to group up?”

Seeing that the enthusiastic guy who had volunteered to search earlier was actually so relaxed, Brother Mediterranean felt an immediate sense of kinship. His voice unconsciously grew a bit louder as he took the initiative to extend a hand.

”Sure. But I never would have guessed... do you make your living on the water?”

Fu Qian didn’t reject the friendly gesture, but as they shook hands, he made no effort to hide his curiosity regarding the title.

”No, my friends just call me that because I drive really fast.”

The man chuckled, making his explanation sound even more bizarre.

”No wonder.”

Fu Qian wasn’t thrown off in the slightest, nodding in agreement.

”Do you think there’s anything special about this place, An Ke?”

This easygoing nature clearly resonated with the Captain. As they walked side by side, he casually asked for his impressions.

”Of course.”

Fu Qian’s response was strikingly certain.

”It feels like walking through my own royal court. Everything here is welcoming my arrival.”

”Uh—hahaha!”

The Captain’s sheer astonishment lasted for quite a while. By the time it finally gave way to laughter, he could barely keep his voice down.

...

”You’re back too.”

Following their leisurely stroll, nearly half an hour had passed by the time they reached the gathering point.

A Lian wore a solemn expression, but seeing the two team members return together seemed to bring her a measure of relief.

Beside her, Clara and the couple were already waiting. None of them showed any outward signs of abnormality.

Although the Old Man was still missing, at least they hadn’t lost anyone else.

”Did you find anything? If there’s still no trace of him, I’m going to have to report this.”

Though she didn’t seem to hold out much hope, A Lian still turned and asked Fu Qian.

It was obvious that neither she nor Clara had found anything.

Fu Qian didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he turned to look in a certain direction—

”I’m so sorry, I accidentally got lost earlier.”

Without trying to muffle his footsteps, the Old Man’s repeated apologies rang out before he even came into view.

Just as he had said—the man had emerged on his own.

The Old Man was clearly playing a long game. He had to consider A Lian’s mental limits and do everything possible to keep the situation from devolving into a stalemate.

Facing the group’s astonished expressions, Fu Qian thought to himself.

And just like that, the team was reunited, the crisis vanishing as if it had never existed.