Eldritch Horror Theatre

Who could have imagined that just when the situation was looking so promising, the winds would change again.

For a moment, Fu Qian could deeply empathize with the Prime Minister’s feelings at Shangfang Valley.

”What are you doing?”

His sudden, violent outburst successfully triggered a scream from Michelle.

Speaking of which, it really wasn’t easy for this executive. Today’s rapid flip-flopping of emotions had truly stretched her past her breaking point.

Although the security guards here lacked impressive equipment, their training was quite solid.

Just seconds after Fu Qian pressed his gun against the old expert’s head, a swarm of men rushed in.

”What are you people good for? How could he have a gun on him!”

Michelle immediately turned her fear into anger.

”That’s impossible. My people checked, and the door detector didn’t react at all...”Under her reprimand, a man who looked like a captain muttered a weak excuse.

”Where is the item?”

Fu Qian couldn’t be bothered with their confusion, coldly questioning the old expert instead.

”Don’t say a word!”

Before the purple-faced old expert could even open his mouth, Michelle barked out the order.

”The gun is fake—grab him!”

At the same time, the security captain’s report had instantly reinvigorated her, making her feel as though she had regained control of the situation.

Bang!

Unfortunately for her, a bullet shattered her skull before the words even faded, the sheer force sending her entire body flying backward.

”Where exactly is the item down below?”

Retracting his hand with utmost naturalness, Fu Qian pressed the gun against the old expert again, repeating his question to a room full of shock.

Urgh...

With such precious jade ahead, the old expert who had been putting on airs just moments ago now eagerly opened his mouth, but his throat could only squeeze out a faint rasping noise.

It was obvious that he possessed a very strong desire to answer. For one thing, the gun was real. For another, Fu Qian’s clean headshot proved that this terrorist didn’t particularly care about consequences.

It was just a pity that, overwhelmed by sheer terror, the man had suffered a bout of temporary aphasia.

Smack!

Fortunately, Fu Qian always had a special treatment for minor ailments caused by excessive nervousness.

He didn’t repeat the question to further stress the man out. Instead, he slammed the butt of his gun directly into the old expert’s mouth.

Elegantly styled as it was, Mercy still packed quite a punch. After a brief bout of twitching, the old expert spat out several stark white teeth, doing a fine impression of Qiu Qianchi.

”Don’t do anything rash!”

In just a few short seconds, Fu Qian’s actions had undoubtedly intimidated the crowd. With several riot batons pointed at him from afar, someone couldn’t help but roar, though the shout noticeably lacked confidence.

For ordinary security guards who weren’t even issued firearms, the scene unfolding before them was far too intense. Michelle, having just taken a bullet to the head, was still twitching on the floor.

An ordinary-looking young man suddenly turning into a god of death was sometimes far more shocking than a hardened outlaw.

That included Red Dragon, who was standing among the onlookers.

That’s right. During the chaos just now, he had squeezed his way into the room along with them.

However, seeing that Fu Qian had the situation under control, he didn’t rush to break his cover.

He was also likely the only person in the crowd who understood why Fu Qian was doing this.

Even so, he was still somewhat startled by the man’s ruthless methods.

”Third Zone... bottom level.”

Facts proved that Fu Qian’s medical techniques were quite effective.

The old expert, now missing half his teeth, answered the question strenuously but quickly. One could even sense that he was trying his absolute hardest to enunciate every single syllable.

”Very good.”

At this moment, faint traces of deep blue were already reflecting upon the man’s trembling skin.

After silently estimating the time, Fu Qian nodded in praise, adjusted his angle, and pulled the trigger.

Without even a grunt, the old expert’s skull was instantly blown off, revealing a mangled mess of red and white inside.

Amidst the room full of screams, Fu Qian conducted a meticulous search, confirming that there were no traces of fluorescence left in the remaining mass.

”Professionals with long-term contact don’t have it either.”

As he muttered to himself, the security guards clearly grew restless, seeing that he had lost his human shield.

Fu Qian ignored them. He looked out the window, and in the next moment, rich colors enveloped everything.

...

The weight in his hands vanished; the old expert he had been using as a shield was nowhere to be seen.

”Blue.”

In the entire room, the only other person remaining was Red Dragon. He glanced around, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.

”Blue.”

Fu Qian nodded.

Everything around them was indeed exactly like the situation when they had first met Adele—eerily quiet.

”Position hasn’t changed. We’re still inside the building.”

”The information you just extracted is crucial. If that guy wasn’t lying, we can proceed with our previous plan and use this window of opportunity to head down and search.”

It was clear that, despite being a bit shocked, Red Dragon was highly satisfied with the results of Fu Qian’s violent interrogation.

”The chances of him lying are slim.”

Fu Qian replied casually, his eyes fixed on the door.

A vigilant Madam Star was quietly pushing the door open. Upon seeing Fu Qian and Red Dragon, she visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

”It looks like a cycle—two colors and a white light. What happened in here just now?”

”Just a minor conflict. What happened out there?”

Fu Qian didn’t bother elaborating, instead focusing on another matter.

He had seemingly heard her overly theatrical scream just a moment ago.

”A team of special personnel rushed over.”

That suddenly jogged Star’s memory.

”Red Dragon and I had an agreement—he would go in, and I would provide support from the outside. I never expected that right after the gunshot went off inside, five or six people would suddenly pop out. They looked far more professional than these security guards.”

”I see.”

Fu Qian looked thoughtful.

”Real security personnel?”

Red Dragon reacted quickly, asking in an inquiring tone.

”It’s not strange. If there can be a real and fake Laboratory, there can naturally be real and fake security guards.”

Fu Qian agreed.

”This might be exactly why Mask and the others haven’t made a move.”

”Makes sense. So what’s our move now?”

Red Dragon seemed to finally realize just how perilous their previous situation had been.

”As a team, our first priority is obviously to reunite with the rest of our members.”

With a look of firm resolve, Fu Qian delivered a line that sounded incredibly righteous. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like anyone was buying it.

”You mean we’re heading up to the top floor? After all, they might just be down below.”

”Indeed.”

...

”All we know so far is that this is the timeline where the personnel evacuated. The exact time cannot be confirmed, and the elevators are still useless. Also, I specifically checked just now... Adele’s corpse isn’t there either.”

Although she wasn’t exactly the brains of the team, Madam Star’s execution skills were quite decent. As the three of them made their way upstairs, she quickly summarized their current findings.

”It seems that even within the same timeline, the impact of our actions isn’t continuous. Either that, or this is simply an earlier point in time.”

Red Dragon analyzed her findings, but in the next moment, he stopped dead in his tracks, staring in shock at a figure in the distance.

”Qing?”