Eldritch Horror Theatre

They were leaving him absolutely no way out!

Back in the Warehouse once again, Fu Qian realized he had underestimated the difficulty of this job.

In just a few minutes, his SAN Value had dropped to a mere 17 points. At this rate, becoming a vegetable was just around the corner.

The main problem was that neither the hard way nor the soft way seemed to work!

Looking at the Work Badge on his chest, Fu Qian felt a faint urge to snap it in half.

Wait a minute!

Judging by the old man’s unfathomable combat strength, the hard way definitely wouldn’t work.

But the soft way... going by the old man’s reaction the last time, communication was at least possible.

As long as they could communicate, reasoning with him wasn’t entirely out of the question.

The only issue was that the guy clearly had an incredibly sharp eye.Even if Fu Qian gritted his teeth and insisted it didn’t hurt, his expression had completely betrayed him.

Expression... expression...

Fu Qian suddenly had an idea. He grabbed the Work Badge on his chest and ripped it off.

His vision flashed, and he found himself back in his familiar home.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he grabbed his phone and headed out the door.

”Sir, are you... looking for someone?”

Half an hour later, inside a postpartum care center, the young woman at the front desk looked at Fu Qian cautiously.

”I heard you have a device here for experiencing childbirth pain?”

”...We do! Did you want to try it?”

The receptionist’s eyes instantly lit up, like she was looking at fresh meat on a chopping block.

”What a good man! Whoever becomes your wife in the future will be so luck—”

”Does it guarantee pain?”

Fu Qian cut her off to ask the only question he cared about.

”Guarantee... pain?”

His question clearly short-circuited the girl’s brain, freezing her smile in place.

”...Of course it does. Our equipment is the most high-end on the market right now, with top-tier simulation effects.”

”Then set it up.”

Fu Qian waved a hand.

”I can’t wait.”

Without ruthlessness one cannot stand firm!

...

Soon enough, Fu Qian lay down on the torture instruments—bah, the equipment.

Several women gathered around. The one in the middle, who looked like a director, flipped through his paperwork.

”Mr. Fu, the machine’s pain simulation is divided into ten levels. We’ll raise it level by level from the lowest. Just yell stop when you can’t take it anymore. If you’re ready, we’ll start with level one.”

”No need. Just crank it straight to level ten.”

Fu Qian yawned.

What a joke. Once he was inside the scenario, he wouldn’t be given any time to adapt.

What he needed was the adaptability to handle sudden, intense shocks.

”Are you sure?”

”What do you think?”

Fu Qian couldn’t be bothered to waste words with them and just gestured for them to start.

Too arrogant!

The women exchanged glances, their eyes glinting with murderous intent. The director who had just spoken gritted her teeth.

”Turn it on!”

That was it?

It didn’t seem much different from getting kicked in the balls!

As the machine activated, agonizing pain hit him.

Fu Qian focused on experiencing the pain stimulation brought by the electric currents, trying his absolute best to keep his expression natural.

A few minutes later, the women staring intently at him exchanged baffled looks. They couldn’t resist going over to check the equipment.

Strange, was the machine broken?

”Sir, does it hurt?”

The leading director asked cautiously.

”Yeah, it hurts. Can’t you tell?”

”I can’t tell at all...”

With his expression looking like he was enjoying a sauna, anyone who didn’t know better would think he was getting a foot massage. Who the hell could tell it hurt!

The director frowned.

It still didn’t feel like enough!

Fu Qian also frowned inwardly.

In terms of raw pain, it was still a bit lacking compared to the Containment Scenario.

”Is level ten the highest?”

Caught off guard by Fu Qian’s question, the director was slightly stunned.

”The machine itself actually goes up to level twelve, but...”

”Give me a level twelve.”

Fu Qian didn’t give her a chance to argue.

Too arrogant!

The director gritted her teeth in hatred and gave the person next to her a look.

”Turn it up to twelve.”

”But—”

”It’s fine. The equipment might be broken anyway, so we can just test it out.”

The director remained expressionless. I refuse to believe we can’t teach you a lesson.

Ha... ha...

Now this was somewhat interesting!

Fu Qian gasped for breath, using every ounce of his strength to maintain a Mona Killer smile.

”Sir, are you alright?”

This eerie expression made the women’s hearts pound with fear.

”I’m fine. I feel absolutely wonderful!”

...

After two hours of hard work, having successfully turned his Mona Killer smile back into a proper Mona Lisa smile, Fu Qian left the postpartum care center in satisfaction.

A few minutes after he left, screams like a slaughtered pig echoed from inside the center.

...

Wearing a solemn expression, Fu Qian put on his Work Badge and returned to the Warehouse once again.

[Consume 1 SAN Value to attempt Containment again?]

[Yes]

”You’re awake?”

Accompanied by the familiar voice, the pain came flooding back like a tidal wave.

Fu Qian controlled every fiber of his muscles, filling his entire body with an aura of kindness, peace, and innocence.

”Yes, I feel much better today. I don’t feel like I need treatment at all.”

”Is that so?”

The old man stared at Fu Qian closely. After a long while, he finally murmured in thought.

”Very well.”

With a raise of his hand, he pulled the long needle out of the back of Fu Qian’s hand.

”The moon is exceptionally warm tonight. You should go out and take a look.”

Diligent effort pays off!

He had finally done justice to his intestines, which felt like they were about to tie themselves in knots!

Fu Qian almost burst into tears, but on the surface, he just nodded expressionlessly.

Carefully controlling his body as he climbed out of bed, Fu Qian gave a cool, aloof nod of greeting and walked in the direction the old man had pointed.

Only now did he see the full layout of the entire room.

It was a wooden house, looking at first glance like some kind of abandoned hospital or Clinic.

Strictly speaking, the area wasn’t small. The problem was that the vast majority of the space was stuffed with clutter, with all sorts of random junk thrown all over the floor.

Stepping on the floorboards produced loud creaks.

With how rickety the place was, a single kick to the wall might let him view the moon right from inside the room.

Grumbling inwardly, Fu Qian quickly reached the doorway, finding that not only was it battered and torn, but it was also half-blocked by debris.

”Hurry up. The moon is going down.”

Just as he was about to carefully observe the outside, the old man’s eerie voice drifted over from behind.

Was this a threat?

The IV drip was already pulled out; if he didn’t go out, could the old man really just chop him up?

Fu Qian scoffed. The next moment, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the old man standing up—

An absurdly large scythe was clutched in the old man’s hands, its cold gleam so sharp it hurt the eyes.

His scalp tingling with dread, Fu Qian stepped outside without the slightest hesitation.

So... beautiful!

An azure veil of stars unfurled overhead, profound and distant, with a bright moon of unparalleled size at its center.

The old man really hadn’t lied to him.

This moon was so white—bah, so big!

Truly, in all his years, Fu Qian had never seen such an absurdly huge full moon. It felt like it took up half the sky.

With a feeling like Mount Tai crushing down from above, anyone with megalophobia probably would have collapsed to the ground, unable to get back up.

Most importantly, bathed in this snow-white moonlight, Fu Qian felt the agonizing pain in his body rapidly dissipating.

So this was the real way to eliminate the pain!

Praise the moon... Fu Qian took two steps forward, unable to resist the urge to strike a pose.

Swish!

An unparalleled, fierce gust of wind struck, and blood splattered everywhere!

Fu Qian felt a sharp pain in his back as the scenery before his eyes rapidly dissolved.

In his dying moments, Fu Qian used all his remaining strength to turn his head, wanting to see who was classless enough to launch a sneak attack—

There was absolutely nothing there!

[Containment Failure. Survival time: 5 minutes.]

[Evaluation: First Glimpse of the Dream Realm. Pain can cultivate one’s character, and the moon leaves you intoxicated.]

[Reward: inspiration +1]

[inspiration: Increases your ability to perceive formless entities.]

[Current SAN Value: 16]