Eldritch Horror Theatre

The Technique of Preying on Acquaintances was a taboo supreme art, especially when the victim didn’t even realize they were an ”acquaintance.”

Fu Qian had smoothed over the seemingly unsolvable contradiction raised by Excellency Serana in that moment with casual ease. Even his gaze remained perfectly candid as they made eye contact.

Those armed with facts never lacked such confidence.

”Then why did you show up in Moore?”

Of course, the challenge wasn’t over yet.

After a brief moment of thought, ”Serana” quickly brought up a new contradiction.

Her tone was even icier than before, giving the distinct impression that if he said a single word wrong, the spine that had already blossomed considerably would be ripped straight out of his body.

”Heh...”

Unfortunately for her, such a murderous aura was met only with an elderly, world-weary chuckle.

”I came to find Gene.”Fortunately, Fu Qian continued to elaborate without forcing Excellency ”Serana” to ask.

...

He had indeed already mentioned that earlier.

Even though her face was blurred, he could still seemingly feel Excellency Serana’s distress—the stifling frustration of anger trapped in her throat, unable to be vented.

Her ruthless methods were one thing, and Fu Qian didn’t doubt for a second that she would kill.

But her style was ultimately a bit too straightforward, making it difficult for her to deal with a treacherous person keeping needles hidden in cotton.

”Interesting.”

Sure enough, the interrogator quickly recovered her demeanor, and the wound on Fu Qian’s back didn’t expand any further.

”Let me think. To prevent being completely implicated all at once, you didn’t hesitate to proactively sever the perceptive connection between you. So you currently don’t know where Gene is... and yet you came to Moore to look for him?”

Considering that ”Laurie” was actually making sense, ”Serana” somewhat abandoned her brief Q&A format, incorporating the current situation into a more detailed analysis.

”Yes, to stop what he is currently doing.”

Not knowing where someone was but still coming to look for them did sound a bit contradictory, but Fu Qian nodded without blinking, even offering a reason.

”Severing the perceptive connection doesn’t mean we can stay out of trouble. His ideas are dangerous, and it’s very likely he’ll get us all killed.”

Hmm...

Fu Qian was naturally referring to their life-sharing ability—a power that was invincible against the weak, but came with massive side effects when at a disadvantage.

Given that Serana clearly knew about their shared perception, she most likely grasped this core detail as well, so he naturally incorporated it into his reasoning.

”But you don’t seem very afraid of death...”

His excuse was seamless, and ”Serana” truly didn’t seem to find any logical flaws, yet she still sharply pointed out one detail.

And it really did seem hard to deny.

Even after becoming a prisoner, ”Laurie’s” behavior had been genuinely calm up to this point, giving the impression that he had completely disregarded his own life and death.

There was an even more crucial point—

”When you were on the ship, you just walked directly past Solondil?”

That was true. When he went to find food back then, his behavior had been far too brazen.

And Serana, who had been lurking in the shadows, had indeed taken that scene in.

”Honestly, even I was almost fooled by you, until I suddenly realized there were actually two identical people on the ship... Didn’t you think that if you were discovered infiltrating such a secret operation, you would likely lose your life?”

...

So Siren’s third demigod was named Solondil?

Having successfully gleaned a piece of intelligence, Fu Qian was quite satisfied with the progress.

As for the question Serana raised?

”It doesn’t matter. I am the highest link in the entire system. Even if I die, the consequences won’t be too severe.”

Unfortunately for her, the moment he decided to use the name ”Laurie,” he had already thought of an explanation for his previous actions.

The damage sharing of the Greed Worms possessed a certain vector nature, showing a clear bottom-to-top tendency.

Under these circumstances, if the person at the top had a spirit of self-sacrifice, then theoretically, the risk truly was much smaller.

Therefore, the more Excellency Serana knew, the more likely she was to accept this reason, and he could even take the opportunity to test exactly how much she understood.

For the time being, Fu Qian continued his display of fearlessness in the face of death.

”...But you have no reason to take that kind of risk for nothing.”

And the facts proved that she really did know quite a bit.

After a slight silence, ”Serana” spoke again.

”I have no choice. I can’t find him, and he could cause trouble at any time, so I can only take a risk and try.”

”If Gene was on that ship, he would still be able to recognize me at close range. So I needed to move around a little more, even though I wasn’t entirely certain he was there...”

Fu Qian naturally answered fluently, even throwing a question back at her.

”And why did Your Excellency go to the ship to look for someone?”

...

Although her previous command allowing him only to answer and not ask questions was extremely strict, based on the persona he was playing, it would actually be abnormal not to be curious right now.

Even on a personal level, Fu Qian was quite curious about Excellency Serana’s mental journey to get here.

After all, theoretically speaking, the mutual convergence between the Blood Clan Demigod and the Greed Worms was orchestrated almost entirely by him single-handedly.

Currently, their development even looked quite ideal. The only peculiar detail was that the location was a bit remote.

After their Transcendent Perception vanished, the faith of the Greed Worms naturally received no response.

For these lost lambs, exactly what had guided them here? As the object of their faith, Fu Qian was still very happy to show some concern.

”Unfortunately, I also wasn’t sure he was there.”

Regrettably, Excellency Serana was ultimately in a bad mood and unwilling to share more details.

”But do you know what the benefit is? To me, it’s all the same...”

Her voice grew even colder in the next moment, pointing out a cruel reality.

...

True enough. They were all worms, and she had even managed to catch a leader by a stroke of luck.

Standing from the perspective of an avenger for the Gulade Family, this could easily be considered an overabundant harvest.

”I understand... You came for the Dominator of Death.”

It was just a pity that Fu Qian would never let her easily pivot to such old history. In the very next moment, he had a ”sudden realization.”

Due to his compromised perception, it was difficult to remotely guide the Greed Worms and provide them with shelter, so wasn’t an in-person meeting just perfect?

Although the situation in Moore was delicate, whether it was worth wasting precious time going out to sea had always been an issue under consideration.

Now that there was free labor delivered right to his door, there was absolutely no reason to waste it.

Even the question of whether that symbol represented the King of the Abandoned Prison or the Dominator of Death could be preemptively instilled using this exact opportunity.

”You know quite a lot, don’t you?”

Sure enough, as soon as this title—personally corrected by the King of the Abandoned Prison—was spoken, ”Serana” paused briefly, truly choosing to push the boat along with the current to try and understand more.

”I should be the one finding it strange.”

His eyes deep, Fu Qian didn’t hide his own doubts.

”Very few people know this secret. Who told you?”