Eldritch Horror Theatre

Fu Qian and Su Gao were in complete agreement about their current situation. Even though Nepheli had arrived with ulterior motives, her words remained highly credible.

It was almost certain that Yasui Tokiyuki was preparing to take things a step further, and the little game involving the notoriety law was a crucial part of his plan.

They had picked quite the time for an investigation, stumbling straight into a ritual to become a God.

When Su Gao had asked how to handle the situation just now, she was clearly still following his lead.

But the current situation was obviously incredibly delicate.

Nepheli’s initial goal had been simple. She had first used Sawada and his secret scheming as a probe to figure out his and Su Gao’s true capabilities.

At the same time, she had quietly laid a trap. If successful, it would have instantly banished him and Su Gao, ensuring Yasui Tokiyuki’s plans could proceed with minimal interference.

Furthermore, while she likely hadn’t expected him to be in the Demigod Realm before arriving, the ultimate move she had prepared in advance still gave her the confidence to deal with them both. It was clear that she was extremely cautious.

Unfortunately for her, her luck was poor. Things had not progressed toward a perfect outcome.

Under these circumstances, Nepheli’s choice to ”trust in your ability to weigh the pros and cons” was undoubtedly a fallback option, though not an unreasonable one.She was clearly confident that once they understood the exact situation—even though the banishment had failed—the two of them would most likely not disrupt Yasui Tokiyuki’s ritual.

Yasui Tokiyuki’s actions this time were undoubtedly a massive gamble.

And starting from midnight yesterday, it was obvious that there was no turning back once the bow was drawn.

In this situation, even if Su Gao restored her true appearance and went straight to Gin Kazuhiro to explain the truth, the Night Watchers might not take any action.

After all, no matter what, Yasui Tokiyuki would definitely not stop. Otherwise, nothing but death awaited him.

But if Nepheli’s claims were true, he could only cancel the materialization of notoriety if he succeeded. In that case, the current Yasui Tokiyuki had essentially tied the victims of Ye Island to himself as hostages.

Killing a fully prepared Divine Emissary, especially one assisted by another Divine Emissary, would likely be exceedingly difficult.

Once the struggle dragged past Yasui Tokiyuki’s original timeline, every additional second would mean another second of torment for hundreds of millions of brains.

From this perspective, letting Yasui Tokiyuki successfully ascend as quickly as possible was actually the optimal choice.

To put it bluntly, when the concept of notoriety was widely broadcast, Yasui Tokiyuki already had his hostages.

Of course, that was just Nepheli’s side of the story. It was possible that even if Yasui Tokiyuki became a God, he wouldn’t be able to cancel the materialization of notoriety, or that killing him would automatically dispel it.

But Gin Kazuhiro most likely wouldn’t have the courage to take that gamble.

”Nepheli was clearly very confident when she left. Truthfully, it’s hard for us to change anything right now,”

Fu Qian stated a moment later, being highly pragmatic.

”...Indeed.”

His words left Su Gao silent for a long time before she finally let out a soft sigh.

”Almost everyone has become his hostage now.”

”Not just now. If he succeeds and can freely control the materialization of notoriety, those people will still be his hostages,”

Fu Qian added with a smile.

”Under those circumstances, even the Night Watchers might weigh the pros and cons and bend their principles a little, right?”

”From what I understand, that is definitely possible.”

Su Gao pondered for a few seconds and sighed again.

”Unless the concept of notoriety is gradually dissolved, but that won’t be easy to pull off.”

Though she showed undisguised disgust for Yasui Tokiyuki’s actions, she was clearly still sharp-minded and capable of making an objective judgment of the situation.

”So this is the power of fully combining resources and technology? It’s truly formidable,”

Fu Qian murmured, sighing to himself.

Massive resource backing, combined with a top-tier team of technical consultants, had led this Divine Emissary—who was in poor condition—to finally decide to take a risky step forward.

And from the look of things, even with the added variables of himself and Su Gao, he was still progressing quite smoothly.

”Since that’s the case, let’s just lay low and act as spectators for now.”

”Nepheli spoke quite boldly, but she might not actually be that carefree. We are highly likely still under her surveillance. It wouldn’t be ideal if we made any big moves and caused a misunderstanding.”

Fu Qian delivered his final conclusion.

”As for any threats, they aren’t much of a problem either. When the time comes, if Yasui Tokiyuki wants to cause trouble, you just need to restore your true appearance.”

”Okay.”

Su Gao nodded, clearly having no objections to this.

”However, just because we aren’t going out doesn’t mean guests won’t come knocking, so we still need to make full preparations,”

Fu Qian added a moment later.

”After all, I’m currently a witness to a murder. Once Hayami Suzune reports it, we might as well see how the Night Watchers react.”

”Understood.”

Su Gao nodded once more in agreement, watching as Fu Qian continued to stroke that peculiar flower.

”I heard you mention it earlier—was what Nepheli just used a ’Miracle’?”

It seemed Ah Kai had been right; there truly weren’t many people capable of using such a method.

Even Su Gao, who was typically highly knowledgeable and experienced, clearly didn’t seem to know much about it.

Seeing the doubt on Su Gao’s face, Fu Qian silently evaluated the situation. Of course, he was also just applying what he had newly learned today.

”It’s a rather fascinating method. Aside from the traits I mentioned earlier, the most important thing is that upon success, the Rank of the power it triggers is extremely high, practically reaching the Deity Level.”

”There’s a reason Nepheli chose to use this against us. In fact, the moment she walked through the door, I was curious about what methods she had up her sleeve.”

”Furthermore, the people from the Academy Court of Benevolent Curses are all experts in this field.”

As he spoke, Fu Qian looked thoughtful, struck by an idea.

Since this circle was so small, and they were even in an absolute competitive relationship with each other, it felt highly unlikely that Brother Ah Kai didn’t know this Divine Emissary’s background.

From this perspective, he really needed to find time to take a trip back to the Academy.

Today’s mission also confirmed that the consequences of him killing Yi’an weren’t as terrible as he had imagined. At the very least, Kasi was clearly still on his side. When the time came, there would be a few more hearings at most; he wouldn’t be summarily executed on the spot.

”The transcendent world really is unfathomable!”

Su Gao had clearly listened to Fu Qian’s explanation very earnestly, and she murmured in awe.

”Do you need to rest? Should I keep watch?”

”No need, you go ahead.”

Fu Qian flatly refused her good intentions.

”I still have one final preparation to make.”

...

Without offering further explanation, he watched as Su Gao, readily accepting good advice, went back the way she came to rest. Fu Qian touched his face and took off his third mask.

The next moment, his vision shifted, and the dim Warehouse appeared before his eyes.

[Identity verification complete. Today’s work begins.]

[Warning: Breach Incident.]

And unsurprisingly, the notification of the breach chimed in.

[Name: Brain Erosion, ID: 2-506]

[Today’s work contents have been updated: Enter the Containment Scenario of 2-506 and complete re-containment.]