Eldritch Horror Theatre

”Of course.”

Despite a twinge of reluctance, Chang Mo knew full well that some sensitive details in the report crossed the Night Watchers’ taboos.

Yuan Fang was in no position to declare a stance right now, making it perfectly normal for him to seek more details from the person involved.

Thus, she did not hesitate, simply voicing her agreement and taking her leave.

Looking relieved, Classmate Liushuang followed closely behind her.

Soon, the only people left in the room aside from Fu Qian were Yuan Fang and Li Weixuan, the latter having just sat back down after stepping over to securely shut the door at Yuan Fang’s signal.

The atmosphere lapsed into a brief silence, broken only by the rustle of Yuan Fang flipping through the report.

”So...”

A moment later, he finally set the document down and fixed his gaze on Fu Qian.

”Why did Your Excellency kill Bai Jinting?””Because he deserved to die.”

Fu Qian replied completely naturally, his expression unchanging.

...

”Professor Fu... were you really the mysterious assassin on the Archipelago?”

At that moment, both Yuan Fang and Li Weixuan were visibly shaken.

Clearly, they hadn’t actually been all that confident in their previous question.

”To be honest, I don’t think ’assassin’ is a very fitting title. I didn’t ambush him from behind; I stomped him to a pulp right to his face.”

Casually correcting their terminology, Fu Qian even volunteered the extra detail with a completely unabashed demeanor.

”Alright... You don’t seem surprised in the slightest that I asked this, Professor Fu?”

Exchanging a glance with Li Weixuan, both men could sense the shock in each other’s eyes. Faced with Fu Qian’s brazen confession, Yuan Fang momentarily seemed at a loss for where to even begin.

Of course he wasn’t. An evil deity always achieved multiple benefits with one move. Why would he grace them with his presence just for such a simple issue?

As stated before, the goal was to farm a high Merit Value for this alternate persona.

Fu Qian merely scoffed inwardly.

There were also the Veil Sisters who had come seeking a cure. Directing them here had primarily been a reward for their cooperation in his tests, but was this seat naive enough to think that as long as they kept their mouths shut, it wouldn’t attract any suspicion?

The Archipelago had only changed hands, not been destroyed. With a little effort, it wouldn’t be difficult to dig up parts of their past experiences.

A newly promoted Demigod of the Academy, a Lifetime Professor, the director of a key Laboratory, the temporary pillar of Apocalypse... Considering his recent actions, how could he possibly expect the Night Watchers not to pay attention to someone bearing so many halos?

Offering a truth was far better than letting them jump to wild conclusions.

Especially a truth that could further reinforce his persona.

”I just felt that a single minor taboo wouldn’t be enough to make the two of you act so solemnly.”

A moment later, Fu Qian looked at Yuan Fang and slowly answered his question.

”But in that case, the taboo is a major one...”

Furrowing his brow, Yuan Fang made no effort to hide his difficulty.

”Because of his scope of operations, it’s true that Bai Jinting, as the head of the White Tower, wasn’t subject to the standard protection protocols for ordinary people.”

”However, the impact of this incident has been massive. I believe the Night Watchers still require an explanation from Your Excellency.”

”Understood, but I believe I explained that earlier—he deserved to die.”

Yet Fu Qian’s momentum remained undiminished, completely lacking the self-awareness of someone who had just caused a massive disaster.

”In fact, I’ve always wondered how you managed to let him live as long as you did. Now I think I understand why. In the Night Watchers’ files, Bai Jinting... is just an ordinary person?”

In the next moment, he turned the tables and seized control of the conversation.

...

”He wasn’t?”

Yuan Fang’s shock was visibly profound, and the expressions flickering across Li Weixuan’s face were just as rich.

”There was something with a very high Rank protecting him. I’m not sure if it was related to limb grafting, but it might have been drawn there by the concept of the King of the White Tower.”

Making absolutely no attempt to conceal or evade, Fu Qian openly revealed an absolute secret.

Besides the Demigod Yibu, there was something else...

And without a doubt, it was truly shocking enough.

Taking a deep breath, Yuan Fang clearly realized that the situation was far more complicated than he had imagined.

”We truly did not possess this information...”

”As for the limb grafting, we did know that things on the Archipelago were getting increasingly out of hand. However, the internal consensus was that since it was being gathered together under a certain degree of control, we didn’t need to intervene yet, as long as it wasn’t too excessive.”

Explaining softly a moment later, Yuan Fang didn’t even try to hide the trace of shame in his tone.

”That perfectly aligns with my understanding. That’s why I stepped in to help manage it—to eradicate those filthy, vulgar, and utterly unaesthetic practices.”

Smiling coldly, Fu Qian made no effort to spare his pride this time.

”So Your Excellency truly was targeting the limb grafting...”

As a regional director, Yuan Fang wasn’t overly swayed by emotion, earnestly verifying Fu Qian’s motives.

”The very existence of such a practice is an insult to Transcendent exploration.”

Without denying it in the slightest, Fu Qian’s eyes carried the earnestness of an academic.

”Fiddling around with permutations and combinations like building blocks. Never contemplating the underlying reasons, and never trying to figure out why.”

”With something like that existing there, could you truly not imagine how many people would be led astray?”

His gaze scrutinizing them deeply, Fu Qian’s questioning was resounding and forceful.

”Apocalypse might be reckless, and they might even possess something like Claudora’s Divine Flesh, but do you truly believe the two are the same thing?”

...

So the true reason behind the assassination—an event that had caused a massive uproar and spawned countless conspiracy theories—was actually just someone’s academic purism?

The imposing rhetorical question clearly sent Yuan Fang and Li Weixuan into deep thought, and for a moment, neither of them made a sound.

Wasn’t that a little too exaggerated? Besides, he hadn’t even been part of the Academy for that long—wait. Come to think of it, looking at the recent string of incidents, for all of his ruthless methods, the things he ultimately accomplished could actually be classified as punishing academic misconduct...

And he actually was a member of the Academy Disciplinary Department...

He appeared crude and unruly, but was he actually a pure stream of the academic faction—just one whose methods were slightly too severe?

”Don’t think of me as so terrifying.”

As if seeing through their thoughts, Fu Qian sneered once more, interrupting their train of thought.

”So you don’t know what they were using to conduct those vulgar trial-and-error experiments in the beginning either?”

Fu Qian was naturally referring to what Old Man Lu had personally admitted: the sacrifices the ignorant masses had made in their quest to explore the path of limb grafting.

Of course, as a deeply experienced Night Watcher, whether Yuan Fang knew about it beforehand or not, it clearly wouldn’t be difficult for him to think of it given the hint.

”That is also why, despite being a Demigod whose might shook the seas, Yibu was never anything more than a coward in my eyes.”

However, before he could voice his shock, Fu Qian turned his head, seeming to look into the infinite distance, and added one more remark.

”He knew, and he despised it, yet he never did what he should have done.”

And then you did it—even when you weren’t a Demigod at the time...

Even when faced with the obstruction of a Demigod...

Even when having to break through the protection of a high-tier power...

The two listeners looked at each other once again, both able to see the profound shock in the other’s heart.