Eldritch Horror Theatre

The might of the King of the Abandoned Prison truly lived up to its well-deserved reputation.

In that moment, alongside Wen Li’s aura, Fu Qian could confirm one more thing: the bullet’s target had been completely obliterated, leaving absolutely nothing behind.

Specifically, starting from the precisely struck bullseye, the target crumbled inch by inch into dark red rust sand.

That’s right, the bullet was not only fired, but it had happened in an excessively normal setting—Eldest Miss Wen seemed to be at target practice.

The object struck by the bullet infused with the Power of Calamity was, astoundingly, just a humanoid steel target.

Even in his perception, Wen Li’s aura was lively and vibrant, showing absolutely no signs of injury.

At first glance, it seemed as if she had woken up groggy from a nap and accidentally loaded the wrong bullet during her shooting practice.

Ultimately, aside from wasting this precious protective item, the target had endured an unreasonable, reality-defying devastation.

And it successfully elicited a low gasp of surprise from Eldest Miss Wen.

...”Looks like a bit of trouble.”

Already back in the Warehouse, Fu Qian muttered to himself as he recalled the information he had just received.

Of course, it was impossible for Wen Li to have loaded the wrong bullet, even if her performance looked entirely natural.

There could only be one reason for this scene: she had encountered significant trouble and decisively used the bullet to respond, just as he had instructed when he gave it to her.

The trouble naturally didn’t come from the target; that was just an ordinary piece of metal.

While Wen Li’s act of taking it out on the target seemed bizarre, it wasn’t difficult for Fu Qian to understand—in her estimation, the magnitude of the trouble was simply too great.

So great that by the time it erupted, the effect the Calamity Bullet could achieve would be extremely limited. It was better to use it in advance as a potential cry for help—and a warning.

That’s right. In her estimation, the situation must have become so critical that having him notice the bullet was fired and rush to her rescue was the better option.

Whatever was threatening Wen Li made her believe she likely wouldn’t even get the chance to fire the gun.

Keeping the bullet held little meaning, and it might even end up implicating him.

Of course, choosing to do this might still be meaningless.

For instance, he might not be able to sense that the bullet had been fired, or even if he did and understood the critical situation she conveyed, he might weigh the pros and cons and choose to abandon the rescue.

But she still did it.

She even followed his original instructions, hiding it among regular bullets and firing it discreetly.

”What a sensible girl.”

Amid his praise, Fu Qian had already stowed away the Embrace Armor, completely hiding even its blood-colored marks within his flesh.

Under his newly Sublimated restorative powers, no wounds were visible on his body anymore.

Although, at the same time, aside from a pair of shorts he conjured just in time, he was stark naked.

For daily activities, that armor was still a bit too conspicuous. Ultimately, he still needed to find some clothes.

In fact, this was the exact trouble Fu Qian had just mentioned.

Because, honestly, the situation Wen Li encountered wasn’t entirely surprising.

It was a possibility he had considered the moment he gave her that bullet.

...

”Observe carefully, and do not interfere.”

In a certain unreal time and space, a Night Watchers group leader named Qi Xue had once described their attitude toward Wen Li this way.

Even while admitting that she was a rare specimen.

And the reasons he provided afterward were full of holes.

This stance, unreasonable from every angle, was something Fu Qian—who never liked taking things for granted—had never forgotten.

Especially after the ’desperate to marry’ incident.

That Ear Stud, filled with the resentment of a predecessor, had been handed to Wen Li through Old Man Wen’s hands.

Fu Qian believed its origins could absolutely withstand scrutiny, but for a High-Tier Transcendent, achieving this was simply too easy.

That’s right, Fu Qian had always retained a bit of curiosity regarding Qi Xue’s superior, who was ’not on the same level.’

It didn’t matter how much this superior knew about Wen Li’s situation before her advancement, or what they wanted to observe from her.

Fu Qian believed it was impossible for them not to pay attention after Wen Li unexpectedly and smoothly advanced to the Mid Tier.

Especially after she arrived in Shangjing and shined brightly in the transcendent realm, rising at the speed of a rocket.

In fact, in Fu Qian’s view, this was highly likely the reason Old Man Wen had been in such a rush to send his granddaughter to Shangjing.

After all, if he were in his shoes, he would probably have had similar thoughts.

”The Night Watchers had a poor impression because it involved gray-area industries?”

How could someone like Old Man Wen, who had spent his life rolling in the business world, believe such an excuse?

The local Night Watchers’ abnormal attitude toward his granddaughter was the only thing he could be sure of.

So he might as well send her to a larger stage, where she could either obtain protection or attract more attention, increasing her safety margin a little.

Unfortunately, an individual’s awareness had its limits. From the current situation, Wen Li hadn’t entirely escaped their sights, even right under Chief Yuan’s nose.

And brushing aside the minuscule possibility of pure coincidence, the threat that currently made Wen Li feel powerless to resist was highly likely aimed at him—

That direct superior of Qi Xue and Tan Mingxue not only knew what had once been inside Wen Li’s body, but even knew that a certain group capable of traveling everywhere might be interested in that anomaly.

Now, they also harbored suspicions about the mysterious figure causing trouble in the West Plain, so they plagiarized one of his favorite strategies—striking the grass to startle the snake, testing his reaction.

And as for himself, after recognizing Tan Mingxue and realizing the Night Watchers’ ambiguous attitude in the West Plain incident, this was also a foreseeable development.

The only thing that slightly surprised him was his earlier thought: That really was fast.

Of course, there was now an explanation for this as well. The opponent’s actions might not have actually been that fast; instead, Eldest Miss Wen, who had always been able to read hearts, likely used her own sharpness to sense something and accelerated the process.

Now she had done everything she could; the rest was up to him.

Having picked up and packed away all the equipment scattered across the floor, Fu Qian activated his Wrist Mark.

...

In the empty living room, it remained an afternoon of peaceful years.

However, after casually changing into a set of leisure clothes, Fu Qian didn’t linger to appreciate it. He directly activated the mark again, returned to the Warehouse, and put on the Emissary, its bloodstains having mostly recovered.

By comparison, the weather in Shangjing wasn’t quite as nice.

Amid the pattering light rain, even though it was only just the afternoon, it surprisingly felt as if dusk were approaching.

For someone running a shop, this naturally wasn’t good news, but one had to be good at finding the beauty in life.

Coming downstairs, Fu Qian bent over, picked up a blank envelope from the floor, and casually opened it.

”I’ve returned. Come have tea when you have time.”

The handwriting belonged to Yuan Shan, and it looked incredibly friendly.

She still had some sense of responsibility after all. Chief Yuan had finally ended her vacation in the Sacred Night Capital and returned to the evil that was work.

He hoped she would be satisfied with the upcoming situation.