Eldritch Horror Theatre

”I really do believe she isn’t in a hurry to leave.”

Resourceful and decisive, Wen Li demonstrated the absolute pinnacle of double standards in that moment.

Even though Lisa’s attitude was much more earnest, she still chose to believe Nepheli.

”I understand.”

But Professor Lisa took it in stride. She didn’t whine about the unfair treatment; she simply nodded, her gaze sweeping across the rest of the group one by one.

In theory, this scrutiny carried far more pressure than Nepheli’s earlier appraisal.

After all, Wen Li had already laid her cards on the table: whoever was chosen would win a two-person trial.

Besides, it didn’t seem like Lisa had many options left.

The three people from the Dark Sanctuary had already been singled out, and Wen Li had explicitly cleared Nepheli.

In theory, unless she wanted to treat this like a joke, her only remaining targets were the rest of the passengers who had hitched a ride with them.One was the referee, Wen Li. Another was Yuan Shan, who clearly had a deep relationship with her. And the final one...

Unsurprisingly, Lisa’s eyes finally landed on Su Gao, who was sitting quietly in her spot.

Honestly, she was indeed suspicious. Ever since they walked through the door, she had been the only one who hadn’t said a single word.

She didn’t drink, she didn’t chat, and she even sat completely by herself.

Even with the situation reaching such a boiling point, she seemed entirely indifferent.

Aside from Nepheli, all the other passengers had witnessed how she joined them, and the strangeness of her boarding was so blatant she wasn’t even trying to hide it.

Finally, there was Fu Qian’s exclusive information: even though Su Gao carried a sword like Classmate Liushuang, she had nothing to do with cultivation, so the excuse Nepheli had used for Ji Liushuang wouldn’t work for her.

Too bad, Professor Lisa. Guess why, despite her being so suspicious, Excellency Nepheli still hadn’t singled her out earlier?

Sighing inwardly, Fu Qian remembered quite clearly that Nepheli hadn’t even been willing to let her gaze linger on the woman.

It couldn’t be helped. Executive Yama Su’s aura was just that oppressive.

”It’s not me.”

However, she wasn’t completely unapproachable. Su Gao clearly noticed Lisa’s stare. She turned her head and actually spoke up first.

Oh?

Her tone was so calm and firm, carrying an inherent persuasiveness, that Lisa opened her mouth but found herself entirely speechless.

”It is you.”

But Su Gao’s uncharacteristic approachability didn’t end there. She continued.

...

A reverse accusation?

Su Gao’s voice remained perfectly calm, but the information was explosive. The sheer contrast of it left everyone temporarily stunned.

To be fair, if it had been anyone else, this exact exchange wouldn’t have been out of place.

Professor Lisa was acting as a state’s witness; whoever she accused was likely to face severe punishment.

Under those circumstances, snapping back, picking a fight, or furiously accusing her of crying wolf would simply be human nature.

But this was Su Gao speaking, which gave it an entirely different weight.

Even though she didn’t offer a single reason for her counter-accusation, everyone inherently felt she wasn’t the type to play petty games. She had to be telling the truth.

And if it was the truth...

”I want to believe you, but can you give a convincing reason?”

Shaking off her initial shock, Wen Li realized this could be a major breakthrough and immediately prompted Su Gao for more.

”I cannot. I just know that the moment the door closed, that special effect was already active.”

Su Gao shook her head slightly, offering no evidence to convince the crowd.

It started the moment the door closed... and she had known the entire time?

Talk about being a detached bystander. While the rest of them were running around pooling their efforts, had she just been watching them like a circus act?

Unfortunately, this modest demeanor only provoked a stronger reaction.

Rather than being upset about confirming their entrapment, the group seemed far more bothered by the presence of a spectator who made all their frantic efforts look ridiculous.

”But you didn’t warn us.”

This time, Nepheli spoke up. By comparison, she didn’t sound particularly accusatory, just mildly curious.

”Because it wouldn’t have mattered. The Rank of that power is too high; she merely served as a catalyst.”

She freely admitted to knowing but not warning them, even going so far as to expose Professor Lisa’s exact role in the ordeal.

...

It was hopeless, so she simply hadn’t bothered to say more.

Nepheli’s probing had successfully made a bad situation look even worse.

Even though Nepheli herself seemed the least concerned about it.

”So how did you know you could trigger it?”

Her relaxed attitude was obvious. A moment later, she turned back to Lisa, apparently fully convinced that Su Gao was telling the truth.

Heh...

She hadn’t even said a word. With a single glance, the entire situation had completely flipped on its head. Professor Lisa looked more than a little helpless.

Faced with Nepheli’s question, her immediate reaction was a laugh that seemed to mock the unpredictable whims of fate.

”Is it possible... I just know?”

And following that display of human nature, she ended up repeating one of Su Gao’s phrases, which once again sent shockwaves through the room.

”It really was you?”

Madam Number Seven spoke for everyone, voicing her shock first.

”Yes, it really was me.”

Turning to give her a deep look, Lisa finally laid all her cards on the table.

...

He would call that efficiency.

Even though she didn’t walk the sword path, Classmate Su Gao still maintained that perfect, one-strike-one-kill demeanor.

In just a short amount of time, almost everyone in the Sanctuary had been swept up in the fallout.

Ironically, as the eye of the storm, Fu Qian ended up with some free time.

As long as he ignored the accumulating pain in his body and his increasingly chaotic sense of self, watching this drama unfold was actually quite entertaining.

With each harboring their own motives, everyone was employing their own tricks—simultaneously scheming and cooperating, trying to maintain a delicate balance while looking for a breakthrough...

But the absolute highlight had to be Classmate Su Gao’s performance.

She was truly silent until making a stunning impact. Having kept a low profile for most of the ordeal, it only took her a few sparse words to push the entire situation into a new era.

What seemed like a long, arduous investigation was forcefully cut short when she simply spoiled the answer.

It was so abrupt that even the ”answer,” faced with this absurd turn of events, lost all interest in maintaining her cover and just confessed on the spot.

It was truly surreal. Other people might not understand her cheat-like performance, but to Fu Qian, it made perfect sense.

”Echo.” He was probably one of the few people who actually knew the specifics of Su Gao’s ability, having even tested it across various operational environments.

This somewhat absurd power granted her a natural immunity against all forms of threats, no matter how alien or bizarre.

And her sufficiently ”pure” essence gave her an astonishing level of Insight into everything around her.