Eldritch Horror Theatre

By his count, his vacation had barely lasted two days. Classmate Liushuang’s promise to hurry over as early as possible was clearly no exaggeration.

It even sounded like she had arrived first thing in the morning and, unsure if he had already left, had simply sat waiting until just now.

”I apologize for entering uninvited, but when I arrived, the door wasn’t locked like it was just now.”

Amid his thoughts, Ji Liushuang continued her smiling apology.

”And I promise, I absolutely didn’t wander around on my own.”

’This apology is a bit much.’

Fu Qian mused silently.

Since she had come straight here, Jia Keke had definitely delivered his reply.

He had explicitly told her she was ”welcome to visit anytime.” Classmate Liushuang couldn’t possibly have misunderstood that, so she had hardly entered uninvited.

The real point of Classmate Liushuang’s apology lay in the second half: the door not being locked.She was subtly reminding him that the abnormality earlier had been caused by a special lock.

It matched his own guess. The Dislocation of time between the inside and outside had likely formed a special barrier.

Naturally, he had already pinpointed the source of that power.

And given this was also Classmate Liushuang’s first time here, the culprit was self-evident.

Fu Qian shot a glance at Professor Lisa beside him.

Having received no invitation to sit, the woman had unceremoniously taken a seat on her own. Her suspicious gaze now darted back and forth between him and Ji Liushuang.

Classmate Liushuang’s subtle, immediate warning was likely out of consideration for his many secrets; she wanted to ensure he had as much of a handle on the situation as possible.

In fact, her acceptance of the invitation to visit likely stemmed from similar reasoning—she wanted to suss out the intentions behind Professor Lisa’s actions.

Otherwise, it was hard to imagine she wouldn’t have politely declined an invitation that effectively amounted to, ”Auntie is going to take you to see something pretty.”

”Understood. So you noticed the lock on my end was opened, and hurried straight over?”

Fu Qian nodded, pointing upward.

Once the barrier lifted, the changes at the top of the Tower were glaringly obvious. Professor Lisa’s Laboratory flanked this position to begin with, so it was no surprise they noticed immediately.

”Exactly. So how did you do it?”

This time, however, Lisa took over the conversation.

She was visibly baffled, so much so that the gossipy glint in her eyes had dialed back significantly.

”Once that mechanism is triggered, the interior of the Tower falls into a unique time loop. Thanks to the resulting barrier, the only way anyone without a prior connection can enter from the outside is through violent destruction.”

”Even someone in the Demigod Realm could never dismantle it so silently.”

...

So she was the culprit after all. And from the sound of it, it was quite a formidable lock.

What a pity for her that he had dismantled it from the inside.

”Security mechanisms like this should be a crucial part of the Laboratory’s handover process, shouldn’t they?”

Instead of rushing to satisfy her curiosity, Fu Qian furrowed his brow, questioning how thoroughly she had completed her previous duties.

”Weren’t you called away by Casi halfway through the handover?”

Unfortunately, this accusation clearly didn’t stump Lisa. She offered a sly smile.

”I came over today precisely to finish it up.”

Her knack for spouting complete nonsense was truly worthy of someone personally mentored by Dean Casi.

Naturally, Fu Qian didn’t buy that she was acting out of the goodness of her heart. Sitting this close, he could sense a distinct trace of mental fatigue lingering about Lisa compared to before.

Most likely, after her field expedition ended, she had studied her haul only to hit a dead end, prompting her to stomp out in frustration to find some amusement.

”I think you just wanted me to come knocking to ask for a lesson, didn’t you?”

Fu Qian scoffed, gesturing toward the door with his chin.

”Lock the door so I can’t get in when I return, and my most natural reaction would obviously be to go find you to ask what was going on.”

”Exactly!”

Caught red-handed, Lisa showed zero remorse, admitting to it with brazen confidence.

”I asked Classmate Ji. She sat here from early morning until the sun was practically setting without seeing so much as a shadow of you. Just hearing about it was infuriating.”

”Were you infuriated?”

Fu Qian naturally looked over at Ji Liushuang.

”...No.”

Having gleaned the full context from their exchange, she had visibly relaxed. She glanced at Lisa, smiling as she shook her head.

”It’s very quiet here. I spent the time catching up on the coursework I’d neglected recently, so I didn’t really notice the time.”

’I knew it...’

Fu Qian shot her an exasperated glare. Having noted Ji Liushuang’s expression the moment Fu Qian appeared earlier, Professor Lisa was entirely unsurprised by this answer.

”So how did you actually manage it?”

Fighting down a renewed surge of nosiness, Lisa gritted her teeth, determined to get to the bottom of it.

”Simple. A time Dislocation that even someone in the Demigod Realm can’t handle? That’s just because you don’t know my other identity.”

This time, Fu Qian didn’t dodge the subject.

”What identity?”

Lisa immediately sat up straight, eyes gleaming.

”You know nothing of a shut-in’s ability to reverse day and night.”

As he spoke, Fu Qian made sure to adjust the Circlet resting on his head.

...

He got the distinct feeling that if there hadn’t been a student present, Professor Lisa would have ripped off the restraint around her neck and transformed right then and there.

”It’s your right to keep your secrets.”

Unfortunately, her need to maintain appearances won out over her curiosity, and she managed to suppress the urge.

”So I take it you don’t need me to explain how the mechanism works, either?”

”Says who?”

Fu Qian wore a look of surprise.

”If Professor Lisa finds it convenient, I’d love to receive your instruction right now.”

...

At the end of the day, Lisa was nothing if not dutiful.

Met with Fu Qian’s eager, knowledge-thirsty gaze, she gritted her teeth, took a few deep breaths, and took the lead heading upstairs.

”Come along.”

Noticing that Ji Liushuang was still sitting there, Fu Qian called out to her.

She nodded and finally rose to follow them.

”Activating the barrier is simple: you just dial back the time by a certain amount. As for establishing a connection—”

Professor Lisa clearly didn’t mind having an extra student. Upon reaching the top of the Tower, she faced the clock dial and immediately began her lecture.

”While keeping the hour hand perfectly still, rotate the other hand backward for one full revolution. Be aware that this process causes considerable mental strain. Of course, that won’t be an issue for someone in the Demigod Realm. Go ahead, give it a try.”

”Alright!”

Called upon by the teacher, Fu Qian didn’t shy away in the slightest. He stepped forward and rotated the minute hand backward, firmly holding the hour hand in place as he did so.

A subtle wave of discomfort immediately washed over him. The hand beneath his fingers grew incredibly heavy; with every passing degree of rotation, the urge to simply stop grew stronger.

”Simple enough.”

Fighting through the discomfort, Fu Qian completed the full revolution at a steady pace before letting go and taking a step back.

”The number of people who can establish a connection isn’t infinite, is it? What’s the maximum number it can record?”

Before he could even finish the question, Lisa, unable to hide her surprise, held up two fingers.

”Newcomers overwrite previous ones.”

”Understood.”

Pensive, Fu Qian glanced at Ji Liushuang behind him.

”You give it a try too.”