Eldritch Horror Theatre

”What are you doing?”

Caught off guard, Kelly had the sedatives snatched from her hand in an instant.

Fu Qian’s sudden move undoubtedly provoked a strong reaction.

It shocked not only Toshima Shiki, who had just been persuaded, but also Kelly, who snapped at him.

”It sounds like you have some important business to take care of, so what exactly are you planning to do first?”

Ignoring Kelly’s questioning, Fu Qian simply smiled at Toshima Shiki.

”That is none of your business.”

Toshima Shiki’s impression of him had clearly plummeted, and he immediately fired back with a cold tone.

However, judging by the twitch of the man’s mouth, Fu Qian’s question had clearly hit a sensitive nerve.

”So, are there any conditions that would get you to drink it right now?””I only promised to take it.”

Toshima Shiki’s tone was unwavering.

”I see. Understood.”

Fu Qian nodded and turned to Kelly.

”I doubt this patient will actually drink it. It’s best to let him finish his important business first.”

...

Kelly, who had been ready to blow up, was momentarily rendered speechless.

Theoretically, Fu Qian’s logic was perfectly reasonable.

Simply having Toshima Shiki accept the medication wasn’t enough to guarantee the problem was solved.

Given his mental state, his promises undoubtedly had to be taken with a grain of salt.

It was just that Fu Qian’s words and actions made it feel like things weren’t nearly so simple.

Frowning as she scrutinized Fu Qian for a long moment, Kelly’s gaze turned sharp.

”So what are you saying? We just—”

She cut herself off with a sharp hand gesture.

Fu Qian caught her meaning perfectly; it was obvious she was preparing to play hardball.

”What are you trying to do?!”

Toshima Shiki’s reaction wasn’t slow either, but before he could slam the door shut, Fu Qian jammed a hand against the wood.

”Don’t be nervous. Trust the professionals.”

After offering the patient a word of comfort, Fu Qian surprisingly refrained from repeating the violent maneuver he had used on Nancy, looking instead at Kelly.

”You mentioned earlier that forcing things could easily cause problems, and that we should focus on guidance. I think it’s best we come back later to supervise him on-site.”

”...Alright.”

After mulling it over for a long moment, Kelly finally nodded, accepting his suggestion.

Glancing back at Toshima Shiki, she said nothing else and simply headed downstairs first.

”Get some good rest, Mr. Toshima. We’ll be back in a bit.”

Fu Qian withdrew his hand from the door, flashing Toshima Shiki a cheerful smile.

...

Of course, Fu Qian wasn’t worried that Toshima Shiki wouldn’t drink the sedatives; on the contrary, he was worried that the man would drink them.

It was true that this was a medicine-feeding game, but there was an extra requirement: the sequence.

Under the current circumstances, there was no indication that Toshima Shiki was next in line. Therefore, he definitely couldn’t be given the medicine yet.

Besides, this trip hadn’t been a complete waste of time.

His earlier intuition had been verified: as long as he completed a ”task” according to the patient’s demands, he would definitely get them to accept the medication.

In that case, Sam’s situation only required a signature to resolve.

And as for Loretta, not even a signature was required.

So up to this point, he had figured out the exact methods to get all three patients to take their medicine. It could be arranged at any time. The only remaining problem was the ”sequence.”

So what exactly determined that sequence?

”I hope you can still get him to open his door next time you come back.”

Kelly was already waiting in the car. Seeing Fu Qian slide into the passenger seat, she immediately spoke in a cold tone.

It was obvious that even though she couldn’t easily refute Fu Qian’s behavior, she was still quite displeased by it.

”Why would I need him to open it?”

Fu Qian opened his hand, revealing a piece of iron wire he had pocketed from Nancy’s house.

”Relax, that’s the easiest part in all this.”

”Nancy really did hire an extraordinary assistant.”

Taken aback for a moment, Kelly clearly grasped what Fu Qian was implying. She silently stepped on the gas pedal and only spoke after a long pause.

”You flatter me. After all, she hired me to help treat you. It wouldn’t do to not have a few special skills.”

”So, should I be glad that her assistant isn’t as crazy as she is?”

Kelly let out a series of cold sneers.

Who was she looking down on?

Fu Qian similarly snorted, looking out the car window.

So what was the actual significance behind making the patients drink the sedatives in sequence?

So far, he hadn’t found any basis for the sequence. It seemed he could only look for clues from this angle.

Granted, his previous ”well-founded” gamble had successfully locked onto the first patient.

Theoretically, all he had to do next was use trial and error. He could complete the task by paying a certain price, but Fu Qian was incredibly curious about these Containment Conditions.

Out of all the tasks he had undertaken so far, this was definitely one of the more peculiar ones.

To understand it, he likely needed to reverse-engineer the problem: if he ignored the sequence, found the patients, forced the sedatives down their throats, and put them to sleep—what negative consequences would that bring?

Would the wrong sequence cause the remaining patients to run away?

That was clearly unreasonable. Setting aside the fact that these patients gave off strong shut-in vibes, he couldn’t imagine where they would even run to.

And judging by Nancy’s reaction after taking the medication, it was entirely impossible for the earlier targets to tip off the others.

Was it related to the thing in the sky? If the sequence was wrong, would the ”existence” Toshima Shiki and Nancy mentioned initiate a Descent?

Considering how undeniably supernatural this place was, he couldn’t rule out the possibility.

But even so, he still couldn’t see any elements that could dictate the sequence based on that.

Not to mention that Loretta clearly knew absolutely nothing about the thing in the sky.

”So, where are we going?”

While mulling this over, Fu Qian watched the rapidly retreating streetscape. It was obvious Kelly had a clear destination in mind.

”To the person who hired you.”

Kelly turned to glance at him, a cryptic smile surprisingly touching her face.

”To confirm exactly what duties you’re actually fulfilling.”

As expected of a worker’s comp psychologist, she really possessed a spirit of doubting everything.

This deeply loaded statement undoubtedly carried a massive amount of impact and implication.

However, as he thumbed the seatbelt across his chest and leaned back in his seat, Fu Qian felt little surprise.

Providing a perfectly reasonable explanation didn’t mean he wasn’t acting suspiciously.

From the moment they arrived until now, his sequence of actions had been: returning from his task empty-handed, questioning his supervisor’s sanity, and physically blocking his supervisor from completing the task herself without prior authorization.

No matter how clear and systematic his explanations were, in most workplaces, that would amount to incompetence coupled with gross insubordination.

Under these circumstances, it was perfectly normal for Kelly to harbor suspicions about his motives.

And exactly what she suspected was quite obvious. She was worried that all of this was still Nancy’s script—that he had been putting on an act this entire time, and she was the one currently undergoing ”treatment.”

To be honest, that series of actions just now perfectly aligned with the plan Nancy had laid out for him.

And the reason Kelly voiced her suspicions so bluntly was also very simple—this theory of hers was incredibly easy to verify.

As long as they went over to Nancy’s place and checked whether she had actually taken the medication, they would know the answer in an instant.