Eldritch Horror Theatre

So it wasn’t a matter of facing trials and tribulations, but rather a case where unity of will forms a fortress?

Was the Sanctuary really this popular? Even a random hitchhiker was heading to the exact same destination?

With the mission requirements finally arriving so late, Fu Qian felt for a moment as if he were staring at some legendary internet-famous tourist trap.

Yuan Shan’s presence could still be explained as doing a job for money, but Wen Li had explicitly stated she was taking him to the Sanctuary to stand trial.

As for classmate Su Gao, she hadn’t even offered a reason, yet her words carried an innate persuasiveness that made it hard to suspect her of lying.

All in all, this vehicle, which was supposed to be a prison cage, had transformed in the blink of an eye into a crowded carpool.

And his own objective instantly shifted from plotting an escape to simply going with the flow.

After all, he had a driver, a bodyguard, and people to draw away attention. What could be more ideal?

”You look unfamiliar.”

See? He didn’t even need to help things along; they were already taking the initiative to strike up a conversation.Unsurprisingly, the first to speak was Wen Li, acting every bit the gracious host.

Although there hadn’t been much interaction with Su Gao in reality—essentially just bumping into each other at the Academy—under the current circumstances, this unfamiliarity was obviously even more extreme.

Taking the initiative to speak, she looked Su Gao up and down, seemingly knowing absolutely nothing about this hitchhiker.

”Please don’t misunderstand. I just feel that if I had seen a face like yours before, I certainly wouldn’t have forgotten it.”

At the same time, her habit of speaking sweetly hadn’t changed one bit; even when expressing suspicion, she didn’t forget to offer a compliment first.

”Just call me Su Gao. I don’t know your name either.”

Unfortunately, Su Gao, sitting in the passenger seat, neither pushed her away nor showed any delight at the compliment. She simply tossed out a casual introduction.

So you actually knew you didn’t know her? And you got in the car anyway?

Eldest Miss Wen’s expression management was masterful, but in that moment, Fu Qian could almost feel the tumultuous shouting in her heart.

In this regard, regardless of what her specific persona was supposed to be here, classmate Su Gao had clearly retained certain—core traits.

No matter how outrageous her actions were, she always carried them out with such calm and natural ease that people subconsciously found it hard to refuse her.

”Wen Li.”

Reluctant to give the other party too much momentum, Wen Li neither avoided introducing herself nor offered unnecessary details, simply spitting out her name in a cold tone.

”Then I know you.”

Su Gao’s reaction was flattering enough to be overwhelming. She nodded almost immediately, expressing her long-standing admiration.

”The one who outshines Jiang En and Taylor, the pinnacle of young geniuses in Shangjing for years.”

Not only that, but she even took the initiative to add further details. It was just that the content—

She even knew about Southern Jiang En and Northern Taylor? Wasn’t her dialogue completely backward?

The lines Su Gao delivered were clearly what Wen Li should have been saying. For a moment, Fu Qian could feel the profound weight of the Shangjing Martial Arts Community.

”Not just young. Emotion-related domains involve numerous taboos, and very few can walk far down that path—but once they touch upon divinity, it is said they can see the road ahead much more clearly than those on ordinary paths.”

Amidst this marveling, the driver actually chimed in, immediately turning into a hype man.

See the road ahead more clearly than ordinary paths? That was a new piece of information.

However, considering the low level of reality in their current setting, he had no idea how credible it was.

The details she revealed were clearly full of extreme praise for Wen Li’s talent and future prospects, and Fu Qian found it all deeply amusing.

”In short, I’m still surprised that a genius like this isn’t properly honing her skills, but is instead wasting her energy on this kind of thing.”

Yuan Shan’s effusive praise hadn’t even ended before she directly classified Wen Li’s moonlighting as a bounty hunter as a dereliction of her proper duties.

”Because it was just good luck.”

Fortunately, the subject in question remained fairly composed, actually retaining the core of her self-awareness: her attribute as a child of destiny.

Compared to her achievements, the effort she had put in was truly not worth mentioning.

At the same time, she clearly had no intention of explaining why she had the leisure to come out and catch people, firmly shifting the topic back to Su Gao instead.

”Of course, Excellency Su Gao’s luck is also very good.”

Did she mean bumping into a free ride just when she wanted one? Although Eldest Miss Wen didn’t like venturing out, she was actually quite seasoned when push came to shove.

The air grew slightly silent for a moment, but Fu Qian easily understood the implication behind Wen Li’s words.

Su Gao’s strength was certainly not to be underestimated. He believed the two transcendents beside him felt this even more profoundly than he did right now.

But Wen Li clearly wasn’t trying to say that Su Gao was like her, owing her achievements to luck.

She had just stated that Su Gao looked unfamiliar, so making such an assessment now would lack persuasiveness. Therefore, this sentence was actually meant in its most literal sense.

Even though he still didn’t know what crime he had committed, Wen Li’s attitude was clearly serious, and the gleaming Handcuffs further proved that she would not tolerate any mistakes.

Meanwhile, both Su Gao’s entrance and her dialogue could be considered quite suspicious. It would be abnormal if Wen Li didn’t probe her.

”It is indeed quite good; there aren’t many people around here.”

As it turned out, classmate Su Gao was no pushover either. She simply nodded and gestured outside.

This was, of course, the truth, and it even helped dispel Fu Qian’s doubts.

Since earlier, he had been wondering: could this group really not see the weirdness of their surroundings?

Judging by this exchange, they could see it just fine. It was just that they probably had some special explanation for it, leading them to believe this scene wasn’t strange.

And Su Gao answering this way certainly didn’t mean she had misunderstood Wen Li’s true implication. On the contrary, she was clearly playing dumb, leaving it up to the other party to decide whether to keep questioning her.

But as mentioned before, Su Gao always maintained that special persuasiveness. Even with such an inherently forceful stance, her tone remained perfectly natural and easygoing throughout. It even made people’s first reaction be that she had a good reason for it, rather than feeling deliberately targeted.

”Of course. Even if there were people, they wouldn’t have a driver like me.”

And amid this increasingly subtle atmosphere, it was the veteran driver in the front, Yuan Shan, who took the initiative to speak.

Her first sentence was a boast, showing clear confidence in her driving skills.

”However, when it comes to luck, I believe this Madam Su still can’t compare to you.”

But the next moment, acting like a judge, she delivered a final verdict on Wen Li’s earlier claim.

”—It sounds like you two know each other?”

Despite being the declared winner, Wen Li didn’t look happy. Instead, she grew suddenly vigilant regarding the potential implications.

”Not really. I’m just fairly well-informed.”

Yuan Shan was undoubtedly the most relaxed of the bunch. She waved her hand slightly, speaking in the tone of a jianghu know-it-all.

”I’m not sure why you’ve suddenly taken an interest in this kind of thing, but it’s obvious you don’t often do this, or else it’s almost impossible that you wouldn’t know her. You might have reached your current level of success through luck, but the woman sitting next to me was watered by the blood of many.”