Eldritch Horror Theatre

...Huh?

”Are you serious?”

The mysterious An Ke’s suggestion clearly provoked a strong reaction.

Waiting for the next one to crawl out to see what it did? You really had the nerve to suggest that!

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, even the usually composed excellency Ji Ning couldn’t help but frown to verify he was serious.

Across from them, the elegant Lu Yi was completely dumbfounded.

”Of course not. If that were truly his plan, he wouldn’t have bothered suggesting a way to save anyone just now.”

Before Fu Qian could say anything, Old Man Li sighed and answered for him.

”Wait a minute, so you...”

The old man’s reasoning was undeniably logical, but as Ji Ning and the others heard it, it sparked a flurry of associations.”Yes, I considered that idea too.”

Facing a hesitant Ji Ning, Old Man Li nodded calmly and pointed at the space in front of Lu Yi.

”Although it’s hard to believe this is the newborn’s true body, there is clearly a connection. It would certainly be worth observing what it does once it struggles out.”

”At least in my view, under our current circumstances, it’s one of the few clues still holding any value.”

”However, after I consulted Mr. An Ke, he didn’t seem too supportive of it either, so I let the minority submit to the majority.”

...

Dean Li had actually considered that...

Li He’s clear explanation wasn’t difficult to understand.

But the easier it was to grasp, the more chilling the thought became.

Ji Ning fell into a brief silence. Even Aike, who had no favorable impression of Lu Yi to begin with, couldn’t stop her eyes from flickering as she recalled the recent events.

On one hand, she was naturally shocked that the highly respected former Academy dean could devise such a ruthless plan in the blink of an eye.

On the other hand, if what he said was true, didn’t that mean this guy had just saved Lu Yi’s life?

She glanced at Fu Qian.

Although he hadn’t expressed many opinions earlier, Dean Li had been extremely confident that Fu Qian shared the exact same thought, and had even subtly asked for his opinion.

Without her noticing at all, a quiet exchange between the two had already taken place.

”An Ke, if you have any ideas, just say them. There’s no need to hold back.”

Fu Qian clearly had no interest in clearing up Aike’s doubts, nor did he seem to need to.

Without giving Aike a chance to ask, Li He looked over and directly urged him to speak freely.

As the team leader, he had taken the initiative to explain, naturally unwilling to let the precious time they had saved be wasted on pointless matters.

In a desperate situation, every second counted in the search for an opportunity.

”Actually, I only said that just now to let everyone know we still have a backup plan, so there’s no need to be overly anxious.”

Since the senior was so perceptive, Fu Qian didn’t demure.

However, the moment he opened his mouth, he clarified the intent behind his earlier remark, showing he wasn’t just toying with everyone’s feelings for no reason.

”As for other ideas, I do have one, and it actually relates to the fleeing Tree Infants.”

...

A backup plan... Was this guy really planning to go through with that if they ran out of options?

The atmosphere, which had eased slightly following Old Man Li’s explanation, stiffened once more.

Lu Yi, who already felt his life was hanging by a thread, suddenly had a strong urge to put some distance between himself and that guy.

Sadly, he quickly realized that even the two ladies, who appeared slightly more soft-hearted, were looking thoughtful rather than voicing any objections.

That was the whole point of a backup plan.

As the source of the evil plan, Fu Qian naturally noticed this shift and felt deeply gratified.

Although it wouldn’t be needed in the vast majority of cases, a backup plan was like emergency cash sewn into one’s underwear—it always provided a faint sense of security.

”The previous tests conducted by the two excellencies gave us two conclusions. First, there really is something following everyone, continuously exerting a negative influence. Second, it hides very well—so well that even the traps we set couldn’t catch it.”

Even as he mused over this, Fu Qian wasted no time, speaking briskly.

”And in excellency Lu Yi’s experience, the Tree Infants—which should exist, yet left absolutely no trace along our path—seem to possess the same exceptional hiding ability.”

Without waiting for a response, he pointed directly at the mutilated remains on the ground.

”Thinking about it simply, we can’t rule out the possibility that they are actually the exact same thing. That is to say, after the Tree Infants fled, they turned into some sort of tool.”

Tree Infants... Was he really just going to keep calling those things that?

Even though he was the one who had directly given them form, Fu Qian’s bizarre terminology still made Aike complain internally and question him aloud.

”We certainly can’t rule it out. But given our current situation, we also can’t seem to find them. So what’s the point of your argument?”

...

Young people really did lack patience after all!

Although the interruption was a bit impolite, Fu Qian didn’t take it to heart. He simply expressed his appreciation for the much more prudent Li He and Ji Ning.

”Of course there’s a point. If they are the same thing, it means that whatever is tracking us is a physical entity made of a mixture of glands, villi, membranes, and muscles.”

”They have shape and weight. They’re just hiding from sight.”

”And then?”

Faced with his soaring momentum like a rainbow, excellency Aike’s tone softened a fraction, though her brows remained tightly knit over Fu Qian’s choice of words.

”And then, considering they aren’t abstract conceptual entities, we can absolutely hunt them like cunning animals—by baiting them, for example.”

Although there were far too many assumptions, it actually seemed to make a bit of sense...

She wasn’t some brute who only relied on force, after all. Faced with Fu Qian’s slightly leaping conclusion, Aike didn’t rush to object this time, but instead looked up at Old Man Li.

”Simplifying things is indeed one approach. You should know that Ji Ning and I were already starting to doubt if we were even being tracked at all.”

The old man voiced his straightforward support.

”However, if that’s true, it implies the thing is highly cunning and cautious. Do you have a way to bait it?”

”I do.”

Fu Qian pointed straight at Lu Yi’s stomach, making the man unconsciously tense up.

”Judging from the behavioral patterns they’ve shown so far, they lock onto our physical bodies, but the final corruption still needs to be realized through the mental plane. That’s also why the corruption weakened when excellency Ji Ning walked outside her body earlier.”

”So, if we assume their sole purpose, driven by whatever power is behind them, is to corrupt us, then couldn’t a targeted assault on the mental plane equally ruin the fruits of their labor?”

Fu Qian raised his finger, shifting it all the way up to Lu Yi’s head.

”The art of baiting relies on either giving them what they love, or attacking what they must protect.”