Eldritch Horror Theatre

”I think I understand, but it looks like your ’momentum’ didn’t have much of an effect, did it?”

Reminiscing about the past didn’t stop Fu Qian from continuing his mockery.

”I’ve said it before, the definition of luck isn’t that absolute.”

Given his vast life experience, Takahashi Yae possessed an astonishingly resilient psyche. He spoke at a leisurely pace, not looking at all like someone who had just faced a death threat.

”There’s a massive difference between making me stay and actually killing me.”

He pointed at his own face.

”Believe me, over the past few centuries, plenty of people have wanted to do just that.”

”Yet the end result is that most of them are gone, while I’m still alive and well.”

”It was the same just now. When Ms. Violetta chased after me, I chose to stop instead of running simply because I didn’t want to cause too much trouble.”

”This was for everyone’s benefit. After all, you probably didn’t want the building next door to suddenly collapse or for cars on the street to lose control, right?””I even told my subordinates not to rush over and make a mess of things.”

”How about it? Doesn’t that show my sincerity?”

By the time Takahashi Yae finished speaking, he was putting on an increasingly superior front, showing absolutely no trace of the man who had been running for his life just moments ago.

”I get it. You’re respecting fate and going with the flow.”

Fu Qian put on an expression of sudden enlightenment.

”But that raises another question. Why would someone like you, who has such insight into fate, join Anjing Company and work under someone else?”

”Considering you’re even older than Anjing Company, you theoretically could have built your own.”

”Why didn’t you? Because you didn’t feel like it?”

”I have to say, your fragile life is entirely mismatched with your ability to attract trouble.”

Takahashi Yae had already braced himself mentally, but his Dao heart still suffered another turbulent ripple.

”The answer to your question is simple, however. You just mentioned having insight into fate.”

”Over the centuries, I have tried countless times to peer into my own fate, searching for a path to the Demigod Realm, but that future was always shrouded in the Mist, forever out of reach.”

”That was until Anjing Company emerged, allowing me to see a possible variable within that Mist.”

”I never refuse fate’s gifts.”

Truth be told, after their initial probing, Old Man Takahashi was handling the conversation quite well. He was practically an open book, explaining his abilities with remarkable clarity.

Of course, a major reason for this was the unique nature of his power. Even if others knew about it, it wouldn’t do them any good.

There was simply no way for his enemies to formulate a targeted countermeasure against it.

The best method was exactly what Su Gao had just done—pure, violent suppression that completely suffocated any room for fate to maneuver, causing his ’momentum’ to utterly collapse.

Speaking of which, Su Gao had just shown off another impressive trick.

It was clear that her Shock Blade had genuinely terrified Takahashi Yae.

As for how she managed to do it, Fu Qian could easily guess what Su Gao’s answer would be—’I don’t know either. I just felt like doing it, so I did.’

”You mentioned earlier that you aren’t the one in charge here?”

Having satisfied his curiosity about Old Man Takahashi’s abilities, Fu Qian casually flashed the Badge in his hand.

”Indeed, I’m not. I don’t have that much time to waste on such pure amusement.”

Takahashi Yae’s tone was laced with clear disdain when mentioning the notoriety law.

Tsk, tsk. Such dedication!

The only problem was that those three hundred years of avoiding amusement didn’t seem to have yielded much for him.

”I actually find it quite interesting,”

The next moment, Fu Qian shook his head.

”At the very least, the sound that thing makes still feels like it belongs in the Transcendent category, right?”

”Three hundred years.”

Takahashi Yae wore a mocking sneer.

”Do you know how many of these things I’ve seen? Many of them were far more bizarre and exaggerated, yet they ultimately proved to be completely worthless.”

”Then why did you react so strongly?”

Fu Qian was subtly referring to the little stunt he had pulled using Takagi.

”I have my duties. Of course, since those duties are excessively dull, I chose to spice things up with a little fun.”

Takahashi Yae maintained his lofty posture.

”I get it. You’re just a security guard.”

Fu Qian nodded in realization.

”You hate it so much, yet you have no choice but to stand guard here. It seems the person in charge is of a higher Rank than you.”

...

It seemed Takahashi Yae had no intention of revealing any information about the project’s true supervisor.

The long centuries had clearly left the man a bit unhinged—claiming to disdain amusement while simultaneously seeking out high-risk thrills.

Yet when it came to crucial matters, he still had his wits about him. Faced with Fu Qian’s probing, he opted for complete silence.

”This has been a truly delightful academic exchange. You can go now.”

Seeing the atmosphere grow slightly tense once more, Fu Qian stretched his limbs lazily.

Of course, strictly following doctor’s orders, he didn’t actually move from his spot.

”Really?”

Takahashi Yae looked highly skeptical, his gaze immediately darting over to Su Gao.

”Why not? Thank you for answering my questions. I’ve learned a lot today.”

Fu Qian looked entirely sincere.

’...I didn’t leak any important information just now, did I?’

Those words successfully made Takahashi Yae’s heart skip a beat, prompting him to rapidly replay their entire conversation in his head.

Regardless, getting away safely was an undeniable victory.

Besides, it wasn’t as if he was walking away empty-handed.

At the very least, he now knew that this Dancy fellow wasn’t the mere pawn he had imagined him to be.

Even that Peak Tier 4 from Siren clearly placed a great deal of weight on his opinions.

This wasn’t fundamentally good news. The more this held true, the more their previous actions seemed like a long-premeditated scheme.

Coupled with the fact that various projects had been experiencing back-to-back issues recently...

After confirming that Su Gao had no intention of stopping him, Takahashi Yae left without another word. His brisk, retreating figure looked like a man rushing to clock out from work.

”Do you think there’s something wrong with this?”

Only when he was far in the distance did Su Gao walk over to Fu Qian’s side, looking at the Badge in his hand as she asked.

Going all out had ironically caused the conflict to dissolve into nothingness within that subtle atmosphere. To her, it actually felt quite nice.

”It’s hard to say. At the very least, there are no issues with its official certification. I just find it interesting.”

Fu Qian toyed with the Badge in his hand.

”A redundant, useless definition that still manages to encompass everyone is like adding an extra attribute to people.”

”And the varying highs and lows—values that can even be quantified—prove that it operates on its own set of rules, even if it seems useless right now.”

”To me, that’s quite a fascinating existence. It makes me want to meet the person who invented it.”

All in all, this trip to Ye Island had been quite rewarding.

Whether it was the Miracle Potion or the notoriety law, this sort of borderline-insane behavior strongly reeked of the Origin Council.