Eldritch Horror Theatre

Su Gao’s tone was so natural that, just by looking at her, one could feel her yearning to lay down her arms and return to a quiet life.

She was still just a young girl full of fantasies about the world!

Watching this made Hayami Suzune’s blood boil all over again. She glared at Fu Qian, staring so intensely that her eyes practically bled.

Even Laige, a veteran of the jianghu, couldn’t help but chuckle.

”That guy wasn’t exactly famous. Besides, things were different back then; transcendents didn’t receive such fanatical worship.”

”In fact, a little girl like you might have even been scared of him.”

He sighed as he spoke.

”His name was Delin. He was fair, perceptive, and powerful. He far surpassed me in every aspect and was an exceptional team leader. We worked together for nearly five years.”

Having experienced too much, Laige had long since lost any overflowing sense of pity, but he didn’t mind casually reminding her about the sinister nature of the world.

”Unfortunately, on our final mission, we still underestimated the malice of the human heart...””Transcendent power, in the hands of certain people, created unimaginable tragedies.”

”I understand what you’re saying, but it’s still hard to picture it.”

Su Gao let out a soft breath.

”Trust me, that’s not a bad thing. Even I don’t want to revisit that scene in my dreams.”

Laige shook his head, carrying the solemn weight of a man finding his past too painful to recall.

”If you’re really that interested, I can take you to visit him someday.”

”Ever since washing his hands of the business, his temper has mellowed out quite a bit. He’d probably be glad to chat with a young person like you, especially since he also has a very pretty daughter.”

The lifeline that could save someone’s fate sometimes drifted right beside them, completely unnoticed.

Laige thought to himself as he spoke.

He had already heard Hayami Suzune say entirely too much about this cold-blooded thug named Dancy.

Familiar with human nature, he knew there was no reasoning with a guy like that.

Their mindsets were entirely divorced from humanity. They didn’t even fear the threat of death, living only to satisfy their own mad desires.

So if this little girl Violeta was completely entranced by him, it most likely wouldn’t end well for her.

He didn’t have the energy to offer universal salvation to every living being. If she accepted his proposal, her chances of escaping this predator would significantly increase, and perhaps Delin might even be willing to offer her some protection.

’Of course, that all hinges on her breaking free from this thug’s mental control—fuck, pretend I didn’t say anything!’

Su Gao’s next action instantly made Laige want to curse out loud.

”Mister Dancy, what do you think?”

The moment Laige finished speaking, Su Gao turned her head, earnestly asking for Fu Qian’s opinion.

’How could this guy possibly agree to such an idea—’

”Yeah, I think it’s a great idea.”

Fu Qian cut Laige’s train of thought short, delivering an unbelievable answer.

”Did Captain Laige just say that your friend Delin... has a cute daughter?”

’Fuck!’

In that instant, Laige fully understood why Hayami Suzune had been driven to murder back then.

’His first reaction is actually about fresh prey? Scum isn’t nearly a strong enough word for this bastard!’

...

Su Gao seemed to remember very little about the events of the past.

Having expertly drawn their ire, Fu Qian couldn’t even be bothered to imagine Laige’s mood, focusing instead on another point.

Actually, this wasn’t strange. The first time they met in the Old City, Su Gao clearly hadn’t recognized him.

Due to the effects of the Fool Tree, it wasn’t just her body that had shattered.

From this perspective, there was a very high probability she didn’t remember Laige or Delin either.

Even when she had been hiding in the tree and observing in secret, no one had likely called out Brother Laige’s name.

But her reaction just now was definitely a bit unusual. She must have learned about them through other channels.

For example, the Night Watchers’ database?

After the dust settled, had she relied on internal records to retrospectively figure out what had happened to her?

It was a reasonable explanation.

At the same time, Su Gao wasn’t very sensitive to her own name. Fu Qian’s interpretation was that the records she accessed might have had certain parts redacted.

If that were true, it would be quite an interesting piece of information.

Had the Night Watchers classified certain details of that past incident as top secret?

As for the reason, it was hard to judge for now. Fu Qian didn’t think it necessarily had to do with his identity as a task runner; perhaps it was because of that strange mine shaft.

The Golden Cup Cult he had come into contact with later was clearly an ancient and mysterious organization.

In just a split second, Fu Qian’s thoughts had already raced through numerous possibilities.

...

”You’d better not get any twisted ideas.”

At this point, Laige’s tone carried a genuine edge of murderous intent.

”I’m just joking. I’ve lived here for a long time, too.”

Facing the threat, Fu Qian tapped a finger against his head and explained with a smile.

Was this bastard trying to say that he knew his limits, and that he wouldn’t have survived here for so long otherwise?

Laige finally realized they had gone off on a tangent earlier and let out a soft snort.

”Is that so? I certainly can’t tell from your recent actions.”

’Here it comes!’

Hearing Laige’s words, Fu Qian smiled to himself.

”Is Captain Laige referring to Carlos?”

He responded directly in the next breath, refusing to beat around the bush.

”His actions genuinely have nothing to do with me. In my view, he seems a bit paranoid over some recent events.”

”You mean the incident at sea? The conflict between Siren and Anjing hasn’t just been going on for a day or two. Though admittedly, their move this time was a bit bolder, actually coming straight to Ye Island.”

Laige stared at Fu Qian’s face.

”Are you trying to claim that a Tier 4 Transcendent from Anjing Company sought you out because of that incident? Where’s the cause-and-effect relationship there?”

”Of course there is. Excellency Carlos suspects I might be a Siren spy, hiding in the shadows and waiting for a chance to strike against Anjing.”

...

’The nerve of this guy!’

Despite his shock, Laige didn’t think Fu Qian was spouting nonsense, because absolutely no one would make up a lie like that.

His purpose for staying behind just now had been to confirm the reason Carlos rushed over. If this was really the case—why would Carlos make such a judgment?

Thinking about it now, the timing of this guy’s appearance was indeed a bit too coincidental...

Even though he was just an ordinary person, he was quite resourceful...

His disappearance last time had been very suspicious. According to Hayami Suzune, she had suffered mental influence and accidentally killed the Anjing personnel, but the condition of the corpses had actually been somewhat strange...

Moreover, looking at Carlos’s current posture, it was hard to imagine they would provide such protection—the guy who died hadn’t been there to protect Dancy, but to deal with him!

As a result, someone had silenced the guy and pinned the blame on Hayami Suzune!

At that moment, a sudden realization hit Laige.

”So, do you actually have any connection with the Siren Group or not?”

A moment later, he asked the question with feigned casualness.

”I do!”

Unexpectedly, Fu Qian simply nodded in response.