Eldritch Horror Theatre

Rational Curtain Call: being critical of the youngsters’ mindset made the entire event seem perfectly logical.

Neither the evaluation nor the explanation was difficult to understand.

In chronological order, the final act of the entire event should actually have been Bloodletting High School.

And that story concluded with him placing the notebook under the victim’s head.

By piecing together its contents, it wouldn’t be hard to deduce—apart from Wen’s fall from the building—that Eva was the real killer, driven mad by jealousy.

The difference between the chest and facial wounds would also be enough for investigators to determine the sequence of the two crimes: intentional homicide and desecration of a corpse.

The peculiar state of Joshua’s corpse, along with the love triangle among him, Salma, and Wen, practically allowed his death to be pinned on Wen.

Meanwhile, the latter was dead and completely unable to defend himself.

In fact, judging from Wen’s attempt to hide the body at the time, even if he had survived, he might have genuinely believed he was the killer.

So even if the police submitted the entire case to the Night Watchers for review, unless they happened upon a sufficiently professional and dedicated investigator, or someone already familiar with the All Fools’ Day issue, they probably wouldn’t notice anything amiss.As for the final act he had personally experienced—the Scavenger work completed in less than ten minutes at the party—it aligned completely with this final outcome.

First, according to the mission summary, calling him to the party was ultimately defined as a prank.

In other words, even Butters didn’t believe Joshua was truly dead.

And the others outside the room were nothing more than spectators waiting for a show.

That was why, when looking for pallbearers, he had deliberately chosen Joshua’s two closest friends.

They were the only two people at the entire party who shared a tacit understanding that the corpse might be real.

In fact, they had likely begun to realize this while leaving the party.

But they wouldn’t expose it, not even when he hid the truth in plain sight by playing the Scavenger in front of the crowd.

Because to those two, finishing what needed to be done was clearly far more important than a joke.

As for the audience, Mister Wolf had ostensibly chosen the most unexpected style of performance.

He didn’t lose his composure under pressure, nor did he rack his brains to sneak out. He simply walked out openly, even earnestly explaining his job description when questioned.

While offering absolutely zero enjoyment for the thrill-seekers, his words and actions fit the holiday theme so perfectly that they themselves felt like the punchline, stripping them of their detached status as an audience.

Ultimately, in that subtle atmosphere, a bloody party murder was covered up.

After his final guidance at Bloodletting High School, his two assistants should have already realized Joshua’s death could be pinned on Wen, freeing them from that bizarre incident.

If they had even an ounce of sense, they wouldn’t reveal the truth about the party.

Even if they did, the other witnesses and the corpse’s time of death wouldn’t support their claims.

Furthermore, judging by the final summary, his presence throughout the entire event seemed to have been conveniently erased once the curtain fell on the scenario.

In other words, apart from a vague rumor, the version of the story accepted by everyone at the party was likely that the two assistants and Butters had carried Joshua’s ”corpse” out, playing a prank on everyone together.

Telling the police now that the man was already dead when they left would only invite trouble for themselves.

The entire event would become an unspeakable secret of their absurd youth.

And this was exactly the beautifully simple solution he had decided to try after his earlier explorations.

Honesty is a Virtue.

Moreover, if his previous guess was correct and every scenario was a superposition of numerous possibilities, the correct way to complete it was simply to align them.

That would mean there was more than one way to perfectly conclude the event, and it could absolutely end in a much less rational way.

Rampaging supernatural powers, macabre slaughter—it was entirely possible for the supernatural elements in the plot to be far more pronounced.

Theoretically, compared to the characters appearing across these five acts, the mission he had experienced was more like a much more brilliant prank.

Unfortunately, as he had noted earlier, the Warehouse seemed to have downplayed this part, making it feel all the more suspicious.

He might as well treat it like the restrictions placed on his abilities—perhaps It truly had Its own difficulties.

Hopefully, this special reward would offer some psychological comfort.

...

[Name: Blood and Wine and Blood]

[Type: Consumable]

[An extremely ordinary, unadorned round paper cup. It can be used to hold liquids, but because it is barely waterproof, it will lose its effect after a single use.

Pouring in blood or wine past half its capacity will activate it. Once activated, blood and wine within a certain range will share a concept, existing in a superposition of both states for three hours.

If liquid remains inside the paper cup after the duration ends, it will induce intense vomiting within the same range.]

[Note: Drinkware that requires washing is a blasphemy against the word ”carnival”.]

This... really is extremely ordinary?

After carefully reading the description of the special reward, Fu Qian fell deep into thought as he looked at the item that had appeared in his hand.

Purely from a visual standpoint, the description of this special reward was remarkably accurate.

The round cup was wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, white with a faint tinge of yellow, holding a volume of about two hundred milliliters.

It weighed practically nothing in his hand, and there truly wasn’t a single decorative pattern anywhere on it.

It genuinely looked like a disposable cup that no one would spare a second glance if tossed onto a table—but that was exactly what made it special.

Fu Qian raised the paper cup to eye level.

As a Tier 2 Transcendent, even knowing its true effects, he shockingly couldn’t sense anything from it at this distance.

Although it looked almost like a toy, and its inspiration seemed to come from that All Fools’ Day Party he had attended, if its activated effects possessed this same imperceptible quality, it would actually be quite interesting.

Of course, the paper cup shared the common drawback of all consumable rewards—it couldn’t be tested, leaving many details unclear.

Fu Qian shook his head. After examining it one more time, he placed the cup on the table before him.

He had to admit, it did have a unique flair.

Placed among his pile of collections, the originally archaic and eerie Table of the Evil God—which normally made people afraid to look directly at it—was instantly imbued with a sense of cheapness.

Those many terrifying and extraordinary collectibles suddenly became so grounded they looked as if they had just been dug out of a construction site.

Fortunately, Fu Qian had never obsessed over things like class or style; instead, he rather appreciated this mix-and-match aesthetic.

Nodding slightly, he took a few more glances at it before standing up and walking into the depths of the Warehouse.