Eldritch Horror Theatre

To even possess the elegance of the winding stream and floating wine cups? It cast him in an entirely new light.

Starting with the three elements of time, place, and person, he had drawn them in step by step until finally revealing the needles hidden in cotton. This move by the Harbinger was truly not bad.

Yet, right at the peak of his momentum, he casually surrendered the pen, inviting the intruder of ambiguous loyalties to show his hand. Such breadth of vision elevated his image to yet another level.

Of course, this gesture did not imply good intentions.

Everyone was busy; who had the time to build rapport here? This was truly roasting the Columnist over an open fire—

Seeing what I’ve written, do you really feel nothing?

Do you really still completely trust Servis’s words?

Furthermore, whether you trust them or not is one thing; how do you intend to act so the remaining two can judge what you believe?

It was entirely a test, and the kind where a single misstep would carry severe consequences.

”Pardon my meager skills.”Unfortunately for them, when it came to handling pressure, Professor Fu had never been weaker than anyone else.

He did not even cast a glance toward the Attending Physician. In that moment, he naturally raised his hand and accepted the pen, which was adorned with a golden thread from top to bottom.

[Judgment will descend in six days.]

His subsequent movements carried no hesitation as he briskly wrote that line of text in the notebook.

...

In the work of composing poetry, one had to emphasize never resting until one’s words astonish.

His Excellency the Harbinger was young after all; he did not realize just what kind of person he had handed the pen to that day.

For ten full seconds after Fu Qian lifted the pen, the only sound in the office was of breathing.

The remaining two heavyweights locked their gazes onto that short line of text, as if trying to melt it away with beams from their eyes.

Yet, just like the earlier contents, this sentence—steeped in negative implications—seemed welded into place. Not a single ripple appeared.

Was the notebook real or fake, after all?

As a result, the very question previously used to torture the Columnist was returned in full.

For Servis and the other, either the notebook was fake, meaning even blind scribbles would not be rejected.

Or they had to admit that Judgment would descend upon this place in six days.

The crux lay in what kind of Judgment? Judging whom?

They were still completely in the dark.

One could only say that the intruder’s casual sentence had directly blown up the beautiful prospects of the entire sanitarium, even making their current confrontation look pale by comparison.

It was as if two people were having a decisive duel atop the Forbidden City, only to look down and see the entire Forbidden City submerged, leaving nothing but ruined beams and shattered tiles beneath their feet.

The main reason was that the word ’Judgment’ carried far too much weight, subconsciously steering people’s thoughts toward apocalyptic scenarios.

Not bad. This meant his earlier efforts had not been in vain.

In contrast, Fu Qian, who had just made a name for himself with a single move, was far more optimistic.

If it shared the same nature as the Abyss Notes, then it meant that not only would false things fail to remain, but things one didn’t firmly believe in couldn’t be written down either.

And the situation before his eyes had essentially proven two points simultaneously.

First, the stability maintenance plan was very successful. Time truly hadn’t quietly slipped away in corners he couldn’t see; there were still six days of operational time remaining.

Second, the task runner possessed a stable Dao heart, eliminating any self-doubt and remaining fully confident in this fact.

As for what exactly was being judged? Unfortunately, he didn’t know either. He wasn’t deliberately keeping them in suspense to torture the two fellow Daoists.

”What Judgment? Who exactly are you?”

Unfortunately, the victims clearly didn’t buy it. After waiting bitterly and seeing no retraction, the person in charge of the sanitarium—ultimately more concerned about the safety of this place—couldn’t help but ask.

”I don’t know, and there is no way to know.”

The response he received in return was despair-inducing.

”But look on the bright side. Now you believe that I want to leave this place, right?”

While treating others with sincerity, Fu Qian did not forget to transmit his optimism to everyone, suggesting that one could still find a silver lining in that sentence.

...

Fleeing before Judgment Day? That did indeed...

Fu Qian’s image had originally been infinitely suspicious, but right now, his stance actually felt well-founded and reasonable.

Because he knew Judgment was approaching, he had no intention of staying in this place for long and was preparing to quickly escape outside.

What straightforward and persuasive logic.

Even the saying ”look on the bright side,” upon careful thought, was difficult to refute.

From their initial contact up until now, relying on his unconventional thought process and his astonishing ability for rapid flip-flopping, the intruder’s deterrence had undoubtedly grown increasingly formidable.

And what left Servis and the other most uncertain was a core question—just what was this guy here to do?

In theory, he should be like the poor Lasik, the type of character who wandered into a devil’s den by mistake and would use any means to trade for freedom.

However, in the face of the hope for survival, this man’s performance was truly far too nonchalant.

Coupled with his repeatedly shocking maneuvers and a curiosity that thrived on chaos, they couldn’t help but wonder whether he genuinely wanted to leave or had come specifically to stir up trouble.

Yet the moment his claim of Judgment came out—especially since it was verified by the True Word Notebook—it impressively provided an irrefutable reason.

Never mind how he knew Judgment would descend; knowing that Judgment was arriving and therefore wanting to leave—that was perfectly reasonable, right?

Amidst all the scheming, the most taboo thing was someone’s purpose being unclear.

As long as he wanted something, no matter how outrageous, it would offer them a small measure of reassurance.

Thus, for the remaining two, this was actually a good thing.

”I have to marvel once again... you are truly suited for this place.”

Speaking again, having clearly absorbed this point, Servis stared at Fu Qian and offered this high praise.

”You flatter me.”

Fu Qian remained as humble as ever. With casual politeness, he handed the pen forward.

It was the winding stream and floating wine cups, after all; whoever it flowed to, it was their turn.

...

”Thank you.”

Facts proved there was nothing wrong with Fu Qian’s politeness; the Attending Physician had indeed been struck by a burst of poetic inspiration.

Faced with the offered pen, Servis hesitated for only a moment before reaching out to take it.

Throughout the entire process, the Harbinger showed no intention of intervening, merely maintaining the appearance of sitting back to watch their performance.

As for the True Word Notebook, because Fu Qian had added his words directly beneath what the Harbinger wrote, the page was already nearly full, leaving only a tiny blank space—

[I am Servis, I am a doctor at the sanitarium.]

Yet Servis didn’t even turn the page, directly writing a new sentence in that blank space.

As for the specific content, at a glance, it actually possessed the brilliance of different tunes played with equal skill compared to Fu Qian’s earlier style, straight to the point and minimalistic to the extreme.

Servis neither responded to the earlier paradox regarding the Recorder Old Man’s name, nor touched upon whether Fu Qian’s words were true or false. There wasn’t even a line like ”The Harbinger’s prophetic ability is fake” to directly force the other party into a corner.

The content was plain yet resounding, brimming with an aura that declared: let them be as strong as they may, I shall be arbitrating across eternity alone.

Whether you are deranged or insane, I am truly a doctor, and I am right here watching you; the final outcome will not change in any way.

”You can test it to see if the notebook is broken.”

Furthermore, after finishing the sentence, Servis handed the pen back to the Harbinger, suggesting the latter verify the game’s integrity.