Eldritch Horror Theatre

The price was actually quite reasonable.

Cooperate nicely and win back your freedom. Such deals were common even in movies and television.

Claiming the Harbinger was his favorite patient while directly asking Fu Qian to help target him—to Fu Qian, Attending Physician Servis’s reaction made perfect sense.

Time was running out. The Harbinger could take even more drastic measures at any moment.

The fact that Servis had waited until now to outline the terms of the deal proved he was actually quite composed.

”So you ended up sending Lasik away?”

But Fu Qian was far more concerned with a specific detail in the terms.

”Sent away in secret... Her condition was very poor toward the end. She was on the verge of a complete breakdown and couldn’t accomplish much anymore.”

Servis heavily emphasized the phrase ”in secret” as he pointed at the notebook in Fu Qian’s hand.

”I can imagine. Hope breeds disappointment. The more she believed in its power, the more devastating the final result.”Fu Qian didn’t find this strange at all and gave a slight nod.

Servis had made it perfectly clear. After Lasik had trekked all the way here, the true catalyst for her breakdown was writing those words in the notebook.

Driven into a corner, under so much pressure her mind could snap at any moment, she suddenly saw a Book of Truth capable of confirming anything. It required no further temptation; very few could resist giving it a try.

Then, her final shred of hope was crushed to dust by the cold handwriting on the page. Losing the will to carry on after that was entirely normal.

”So you really recognize this notebook?”

Servis looked a bit surprised, seemingly unable to imagine how Fu Qian knew what the object did.

But some anomalies were impossible to deny—for instance, the fact that Fu Qian had stubbornly resisted writing a single extra word in it up until now.

”I’ve seen a similar one... So, did you tell Lasik how to use it?”

Fu Qian remained perfectly candid.

”No, the Harbinger told her. I simply watched from the sidelines.”

It was hard to say how much he believed Fu Qian’s claim, but Servis still washed his hands of any responsibility, emphasizing that he had simply sat back and done nothing.

”Understood. The treatment for the Harbinger had basically been declared a failure by that point, so you might as well try turning waste into treasure and prove the object’s effects to him.”

Fu Qian didn’t seem to find any issue with this. He nodded slightly, even showing a hint of approval.

”Besides, this was also a chance for Lasik to prove herself. If she had any extraordinary traits, being pushed into a desperate corner would help draw them out to their fullest potential.”

Not only that, but he had even extracted extra value out of the situation.

...

So where exactly did this guy come from? How could he say such things so naturally?

Beneath the dim light of the Black Box, the mood quickly went off the rails.

The two men on either side of the desk chatted with casual ease, sounding as if they were conducting a rigorous, detailed project assessment.

Their dispositions were strikingly similar, carrying a vibe of high mountains and flowing water—kindred spirits meeting in their complete disregard for humanity.

And as Fu Qian brought up the technique of squeezing out Lasik’s remaining value, a profound look inevitably filled Servis’s eyes.

”You’re right. The reason the Harbinger has that title is because he considers himself a master of prophecy.”

Regardless, such highly efficient communication was no bad thing when every second counted.

Servis immediately began introducing their upcoming target.

”His hobby is predicting what will happen in the near future, and he firmly believes this is a peerless gift—because he is often right, and he has been right more and more frequently.”

I see. So it actually involves magical elements like this?

Sure enough, playing the Director instantly exposed the stench of money on him.

”Is it because you’ve been cooperating with him more and more?”

Hearing about this master of prophecy, Fu Qian sighed inwardly and casually posed the question.

”Exactly... His prophecies come true because I make certain things happen in the Sanitarium based on his predictions, turning them into reality.”

Unable to help looking Fu Qian up and down again, Servis even cracked a faint smile in that moment, mixing surprise with satisfaction.

...

So it really was like that? I knew there was no need to rush into introducing magical elements.

Servis showing his hand once more had undoubtedly flipped the situation around again.

The reason the master of prophecy was so accurate was because someone was turning his predictions into reality.

It was honestly a bit of dark humor, but it suddenly made everything they had experienced along the way fit perfectly together.

Just imagining the scene was enough to realize that comparing those two to a comic duo was quite fitting.

”I had no choice. The Harbinger’s symptoms were too severe. Convincing him head-on was far too difficult, so I had to use some guiding methods.”

While Fu Qian was letting his imagination run wild, Servis continued to sigh, indicating there was a good reason for his actions.

”No need to explain, I understand. I’ve actually been doing something similar.”

Fu Qian simply waved his hand, signaling that he didn’t belong to the Medical Ethics Committee and that he was no stranger to such maneuvers.

That’s right, he was talking about a certain wealthy woman named Sissi Gatsby.

Looking at everything he had done with her, it could definitely be considered different tunes played with equal skill.

”I have already foreseen that this will be a pleasant collaboration.”

Seeming to grow accustomed to the surprises Fu Qian brought, the increasingly satisfied Servis even mimicked the Harbinger’s demeanor.

”Anyway, things are just that simple. The Harbinger knows what’s in here. He even knows I’m waiting for him here.

”Because of that, he won’t come inside no matter what. He will only use his prophecies to send innocent people to face the shock on his behalf... like Lasik earlier.”

Servis gestured toward the direction he had just come from.

”After her will was pushed to the verge of collapse, it could be said that the Harbinger won that round. But out of humanitarian concern, I still sent her out of there—”

”Mainly because she was rather boring, right? In the end, she just seemed like a normal person with nothing particularly interesting about her.”

Unfortunately, his words were quickly interrupted by Fu Qian, who pointed out a much more central reason for letting her go.

...

”Ha, haha... You’re right. There really is no need to dress things up in front of an expert.”

After a brief silence, Servis finally laughed out loud, confessing to Fu Qian’s claim without hesitation.

”Compared to you, she fell incredibly short. She was nothing more than an ordinary person with a relatively strong will to live... Boring, incredibly boring!”

Now that he had decided to drop the act, his attitude toward Lasik became very clear.

He didn’t feel any sympathy for her struggles. Instead, after evaluating her, he felt that her mind was far too normal and she didn’t belong here, so he had simply tossed her out.

This wasn’t exactly good news. According to that logic, Fu Qian, who had received his high praise, clearly belonged here.