Eldritch Horror Theatre

This condition...

The sudden task requirement only deepened Fu Qian’s frown.

There were four patients and four doses of sedatives. Did that mean the core of this task was delivering them in the ”correct order”?

But if that was the case, wasn’t the difficulty a bit too low?

After all, it was an incredibly simple permutation problem. Exhausting every combination would only yield twenty-four possibilities.

That meant even without using his brain, the absolute worst-case scenario would only take twenty-four attempts to clear the task.

It seemed a bit inconsistent with the Warehouse’s usual style.

”Yes, sedatives.”

Doctor Kelly answered with absolute certainty, addressing Fu Qian’s doubts.

”It’s to treat the patients and protect others. Since they’ve consistently failed to attend their follow-up appointments, their current conditions are highly unstable.”Unstable, so the solution was to just knock them out?

No matter how he looked at it, this seemed incredibly unreliable!

Complaining inwardly, Fu Qian accepted the four paper bags, along with a Checklist Kelly handed him right after.

It was strange, but since the task demanded it, he might as well focus on adapting to local customs first.

The Checklist contained a simple table clearly listing the names and addresses of the four patients. There was nothing else on it.

Fortunately, none of them seemed to live too far away.

”So, do I deliver them one by one according to the order on the Checklist?”

Fu Qian asked after a moment of thought.

”Just deliver them as soon as possible. I’m counting on you.”

Kelly completely missed the underlying meaning of his words. After entrusting him with this heavy responsibility and offering a polite remark, she turned back to the pile of medical records on her desk.

She was clearly highly efficient—just as she had claimed.

...

He had to look on the bright side. At least this time his identity wasn’t a patient, but an assistant physician.

Carrying the four doses of sedatives out of the Clinic, Fu Qian looked down the empty street and mused.

Since there were no special variables at play, he decided to check the first one... Toshima Shiki.

Fu Qian quickly memorized the first recipient’s name and address, then set off following the street signs.

Given that this place wasn’t very large to begin with, he didn’t bother looking for transportation.

”Toshima Shiki?”

It took about half an hour for Fu Qian to finally reach the first delivery address. After knocking on the door, he met the second living person of his trip.

Of course, this man’s appearance didn’t suggest someone suffering from psychiatric distress.

Fu Qian sized up the guy who had opened the door.

He looked to be in his thirties, with a thin but clean face and medium-length hair combed in a meticulous manner. Even at home, his clothes were very neat, and he wore a pair of Rimless Glasses.

At this moment, the man was staring at Fu Qian through his lenses with a puzzled gaze, cautiously keeping the door’s security chain fastened.

”That’s me. Who are you?”

”Time for your medicine.”

Fu Qian didn’t explain much, simply offering one of the paper bags.

”What medicine? I’m not sick.”

The man was visibly startled and instinctively took a step back.

Shooting Fu Qian a look that clearly said, Is there something wrong with your head?, the man slammed the door shut a moment later with a loud click.

Sure enough, it wouldn’t be that easy!

Fu Qian wasn’t too disappointed. A second later, he knocked on the door again.

As everyone knew, getting psychiatric patients to take their medication was never a simple job even inside a hospital, let alone with a runaway patient.

”What exactly do you want? If you don’t leave, I’m calling the police.”

Toshima Shiki was obviously very displeased, his tone harsh.

”Go ahead and call. I’d actually like to see a few more living people.”

Faced with the threat, Fu Qian responded with a blank expression.

”Since you missed your scheduled follow-up appointment, the doctor prescribed you some medicine and asked me to deliver it.”

Briefly explaining his purpose, Fu Qian took the item out of the paper bag and flashed it at him.

”A little something in a bottle that will make you much more mellow.”

”The doctor sent you?”

Toshima Shiki froze, seeming to finally remember something.

”But I’m sorry. Unless the doctor hands it to me personally, I won’t accept medicine from anyone, much less drink it.”

However, just a few seconds later, the man rejected him even more firmly.

So this guy really did have some issues?

Fu Qian wasn’t in a hurry. Instead, he optimistically analyzed the information he had gathered.

The task itself didn’t have a time limit, meaning he wasn’t in much of a rush. Any new finding was good news.

If necessary, he knew several ways to unfasten a security chain without alerting the person inside.

”Since you won’t accept medicine from anyone else, why didn’t you go to the Clinic on time?”

Fu Qian immediately followed up.

”If you absolutely must have me accept it, I have a condition.”

Toshima Shiki didn’t answer the question. Instead, after sizing Fu Qian up and down, he suddenly spoke.

”What condition? Let’s hear it.”

Fu Qian nodded, his expression still unchanged.

This seemingly turning-point condition wasn’t particularly rare to him.

It was only about accepting it. Given how difficult this guy was, there was likely still a huge gap between accepting the medicine and actually drinking it.

...

Faced with Fu Qian’s unfazed attitude, Toshima Shiki—despite being the one setting the condition—momentarily lost some of his momentum.

”Candles.”

But a moment later, he still mustered his courage and spoke.

Oh?

Fu Qian glanced behind the man. Although the lighting was dim, a nightlight was at least on. What did this guy need candles for?

”How many candles do you need?”

”10 jin.”

Huh?

It had to be said that the quantity Toshima Shiki requested was genuinely a bit frightening.

It made one involuntarily imagine what he was planning to do with them.

However, amid his astonishment, a strange intuition simultaneously swelled in Fu Qian’s heart.

It was a certainty—he didn’t need to confirm it to know that as long as he brought the candles, this guy would definitely accept the sedatives.

What was with this feeling of having accepted a side quest?

So this world really did have surreal elements to it!

It wasn’t that surprising, though. Just looking at the empty rooms with their lights on all over the street was enough to show how unusual things were.

So, in that case, was the core nature of his task to fulfill these ”conditions” to get them to accept the medicine one by one?

If they were all tasks like this, while a bit nonsensical, it wouldn’t be a big problem.

”Alright, wait a moment.”

Amid his thoughts, Fu Qian casually agreed and chose to take his leave directly.

Toshima Shiki didn’t say a word either, shutting the door heavily.

Although ten jin of candles was a lot, they were common items. Since the man hadn’t specified a brand, gathering them wouldn’t be too hard; at worst, it would just require running to a couple of different places.

However, after making his way downstairs, Fu Qian didn’t immediately search for nearby shops that might sell candles. Instead, after briefly getting his bearings, he headed straight for the second delivery address.

He just felt that things weren’t that simple. If completing tasks was required to get people to accept the sedatives, he might as well accept all the ”tasks” first to get a look at the full picture.

What if the next person needed a leather whip?