Eldritch Horror Theatre

Not bad. You’ve even mastered this move?

The entire core of the Unseen Hill was evidently undergoing a massive upheaval.

Facing His Excellency the Angel of Death, who had finally revealed himself, Fu Qian still offered high praise for the entity’s achievements despite suffering repeated attacks.

It was a truly spectacular sight. Humanoid shadows clustered as densely as a rushing waterfall, and their destination was undeniably right here.

Thrust instantly into the center of attention—fulfilling popular expectations—Fu Qian’s first thought was that this scene looked awfully familiar.

During his last mission, when he encountered that inflamed ”big tongue” in the center of the lake, he had witnessed this exact type of attack.

In fact, merely being brushed by one of those specters had directly caused that mission to fail.

According to his later deductions, these things might not possess much raw lethal power, but they represented the essential corruption of The Deep.

The more they touched him, the deeper he would be assimilated into this place, losing his independence before Ji Feng’s will.

Fortunately, these specters moved at a sluggish pace, making them easy enough to dodge for now. The real issue was what their appearance signified.To a certain extent, this was a form of attack that tapped into the very essence of the Unseen Hill.

Piercing the boundary between the realms in front of and behind the door, casually dragging out specters and bending them to his will—Brother A Wei’s effortless display of power showcased his sheer dominance over this place.

Coupled with that gaping rift he had cleaved open, he truly gave off the aura of the Unseen Hill’s new master.

The weight of his previous statement—”It’s already too late”—was steadily rising by the second.

It made it seem as though the clown really had executed his mission flawlessly. Despite being at a Rank below the Demigod Realm, he had relied on brilliant tactics to forcefully stall his opponent, buying precious time for his leader.

The situation was starting to look bleak, but regardless, the mission hadn’t failed yet, right?

”You flatter me. I’ve merely been studying hard recently and made a tiny bit of progress.”

Taking in the situation before him with his characteristically detached perspective, Fu Qian didn’t forget to offer a humble remark, asserting that he had indeed been showing his true strength back then.

...

Heh...

At this moment, silence spoke louder than words. Although Fu Qian was telling the truth, the implication was evidently deemed too outrageous for anyone to believe.

”That is some astonishing progress, then. So, by coming here this time, are you hoping to progress even further and harvest the seed you planted?”

Although his current form was fundamentally a mass of tangled feathers, and his mummy-like face lacked any clear features, A Wei still managed to flawlessly pull off a hollow, mocking smile, directly pointing out Fu Qian’s ”sinister intentions.”

”From my very first day here, I’ve been wondering what your goal was.

”That frivolous attitude of yours is nothing but a disguise. You’re absolutely not the type to do things out of mere boredom. You went to great lengths to send me here, and there had to be a reason—such as using me as a tool to digest this place?”

Judging by his fluent, unbroken delivery, A Wei had clearly been pondering this for a long time.

”You’re extremely interested in this place, but you also realized early on that something was wrong with it. Therefore, you needed someone to charge into the fray on your behalf, someone who would hand over all the spoils on a silver platter at the very end.”

He had obviously given his own role a great deal of thought. Fully absorbing the lessons of his past experiences, he didn’t overestimate himself.

”Brilliant tactics! You’re truly achieving several gains with a single action. Just a moment of carelessness on my part, and I completely became a pawn for you to manipulate.”

Letting out a string of sneers, A Wei even went so far as to clap his hands, mockingly paying respect to his formidable opponent.

”But unfortunately for you, once I realized my predicament, I also realized my one and only chance: the time difference.

”If you had been watching me the entire time, then naturally, I would have had no way out. But if you were arrogant enough to let me roam free and only check in occasionally, then I still had a sliver of hope—to break free from my predetermined fate by doing exactly what you didn’t dare to do.”

...

Saying he was interested wasn’t wrong, but the specific nature of his interest was probably quite different from what A Wei imagined.

Watching A Wei speak with such confident eloquence, Fu Qian simply listened intently while quietly musing to himself.

He had to admit, the logic was surprisingly smooth. It seemed that after suffering a loss last time, his opponent had really put in some hard work.

Unfortunately, as the old saying went, the joys and sorrows of men are simply not intertwined.

By projecting his own mindset onto others, Brother A Wei had constructed a brilliant conspiracy theory—but one that completely missed the mark.

Digesting the Unseen Hill?

What a joke. Although this place was undeniably high-tier, setting aside the rather sinister nature of its power, the most outstanding Warehouse Senior to date was openly trapped here.

If he couldn’t learn a lesson from such a bloody, glaring example before figuring out the underlying cause, he would be dangerously full of himself.

His interest in the Unseen Hill had always been purely academic.

It was just a pity that a vulgar person like Brother A Wei couldn’t possibly comprehend the sheer thrill of seeking knowledge.

But speaking of conspiracy theories, he actually felt a strong sense of déjà vu—Blazing Rainbow?

Back when that Excellency was scheming against The Abyss, it seemed they had used a very similar cannon fodder strategy.

”I understand now. But aren’t you celebrating a little too early? You haven’t completely secured it yet.”

Naturally reminded of a certain old acquaintance, Fu Qian nodded to show he grasped A Wei’s point, though he didn’t forget to offer a reminder.

”You’re also stalling for time right now, don’t forget that. What if I get provoked and do something impulsive?”

As he spoke, Fu Qian finally stood up.

He had no choice. The fastest specters had already reached him, and it was time to start dodging.

As for his claim about stalling for time, he wasn’t just talking nonsense.

For one, the mission hadn’t failed yet. For another, given A Wei’s personality, if he had truly finished digesting this place and was fully confident, he would likely be playing a cruel game of cat and mouse to vent his hatred right now, rather than rushing out so hastily.

Thus, Fu Qian suspected that A Wei’s current behavior was no different from the clown’s—he was still just stalling for time.

The clown had completely burned himself out; he couldn’t have possibly done a better job.

Now, A Wei had no choice but to step forward personally, using the results he had already achieved to restrict Fu Qian’s movements and buy a chance at final victory.

...

”You’re right. I am indeed still a bit short of reaching the true ’eternal night’. I just didn’t want you to act irrationally and ruin the peace of this place—like by waking her up.”

Seemingly having his mind read, A Wei fell silent for a brief moment.

But very quickly, adopting a tone that suggested he hadn’t expected to hide this from Fu Qian anyway, he even gestured toward the still-unconscious Sophia.

”After all, aside from thanking you for delivering me to this treasure trove, I’m also incredibly grateful for the useful tool you sent in afterward.”

Without waiting for Fu Qian to answer, A Wei waved his hand. The dried-up Sage Lakeside was instantly shrouded in a cloud of dark mist.

”Therefore, Your Excellency Andiel, I suggest you refrain from making any sudden moves.”