Eldritch Horror Theatre

Good news: the Apocalypse Branch in the Real World was currently enjoying its peaceful years, with no exaggerated risk of a leak.

Bad news: in these temporary files to which he had been banished, the risk of a leak was already so high that guarding against it was pointless.

If it really was Professor Rob’s little test that allowed Master Yuhun to conjure up the recent commotion...

...then such loose restrictions practically meant that being could casually throw out whatever tricks they had up their sleeve.

After all, given the Academy’s research style, similar risks were probably scattered everywhere.

”Keep up the hard work. Guard against arrogance and impatience.”

Having briefly confirmed the grim situation, Fu Qian ended his on-site guidance. Before leaving, he made sure to offer some friendly encouragement.

”...Alright.”

Rob was clearly even more confused by the situation, but it seemed Professor Fu didn’t have much of a problem with this sensitive project.

So, while feeling relieved, Rob didn’t dwell on how excessively vague the guidance was. He simply escorted him all the way out by reflex.A leader’s time was very precious, understood?

Of course, even so, this little bout of moodiness could not escape Professor Fu’s piercing golden eyes.

The Academy was a massive enterprise. With countless affairs and projects from top to bottom, if you alone delayed things by a minute, how much time would that cost the entire Academy?

Didn’t he see that this academic leader wasn’t even planning to drop by Professor Claudora’s place?

Of course, seeing as Rob still knew his limits, Professor Fu didn’t subject him to a face-to-face Three-Stage Questioning. He simply used his eyes to signal the other man to get back to work before brushing his sleeves and walking away.

...

What kind of changes Professor Claudora’s special constitution might undergo when combined with Master Yuhun’s power of observation was something worth anticipating.

But even though the distance wasn’t far, Fu Qian didn’t plan on making a special trip over there.

The reason was exactly as previously stated: time was precious.

Professor Rob might not actually have a fungal infection, but the state of the entire Academy was, frankly speaking, deeply concerning.

If his previous speculations regarding the concept of Master Yuhun’s power were correct, then it was hard to believe the adverse effects over at the Linghui Courtyard weren’t contagious.

The most likely scenario was that the entire Academy in the Real World was currently following in the footsteps of the Akons.

Although that didn’t mean he absolutely had to race against the clock. After all, this was fundamentally a deathmatch with Master Yuhun in the arena, and the priority was to win.

He even had to search for ways to win by any means necessary.

But it was far too naive to expect him to willingly walk into a place that was clearly suited for his opponent to operate freely.

If they wanted to try inviting the gentleman into the urn, they needed to show some real skill—and as it turned out, they did.

Heading straight downstairs in his Blood Crusade State, Fu Qian noticed something unusual even before he reached the ground floor.

A person... or rather, a silhouette?

On the relatively gentle steps below, a tall figure with a steady gait was walking firmly forward, step by step, with its back to him.

Its movements were extremely lifelike, but its overall form was so illusory that it was less substantial than a legendary ghost.

It faintly resembled a few crude lines sketching out the contour of a body, and as it walked, it dropped frames from time to time.

Even if this was a temporary file, it shouldn’t be this primitive, right?

Furthermore, there was more than just one like this.

He quickly caught up, specifically dropping his Blood Crusade State to walk parallel to it. Unfortunately, the humanoid silhouette showed no reaction whatsoever.

At the same time, more and more similar entities began appearing continuously all around him.

They varied in height and weight, but just like the first one, they all walked with steady, unswerving steps, looking straight ahead. They were even heading in the exact same direction.

’I often feel out of place among you all because I’m not plain enough.’

Walking among them, Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

After examining his own attire of understated luxury, he continued to follow along without a shred of shame.

It was a gift, after all, not ill-gotten gains embezzled from the Academy’s resources.

Moreover, speaking of which, the number of Academy personnel seemed to be dwindling as he walked.

At first, he could still spot the occasional person walking on the path, turning a blind eye to the humanoid silhouettes beside them.

By the time he reached his current location, he couldn’t even see a single cold-resistant mosquito.

Even this path looked a little unfamiliar.

Fortunately, thanks to his rich experience with inter-departmental collaboration, he could still roughly determine the direction...

At a certain moment, Fu Qian raised his head. Piercing through the thin mist that had appeared out of nowhere, he gazed at a seemingly familiar building up ahead.

The Benevolent Curse Institute—but an enhanced version.

Quite nice. This was exactly his first choice of destination.

...

The style was definitely familiar, but it was also distinctly different from the original.

Fu Qian was very confident in his sense of direction; the location before him was undeniably where the Benevolent Curse Institute stood.

Except, unlike the slightly desolate scene in his memory, the entire structure was not only more majestic and imposing, but its exterior also faintly exuded his own style of understated luxury. Its imposing aura was in no way inferior to Linghui, which was famous for precisely that.

Beyond that, it was even the final destination for all those humanoid silhouettes.

He could see them—now dropping frames far less often—filing without hesitation through a side door in the corner. Their posture was like that of pilgrims on a holy journey, providing a stark contrast to the place’s former desolation.

Speaking of which—

Fu Qian didn’t rush in after them. Instead, he looked back again.

Under the sky, which had not only grown misty but also silently darkened, this was clearly no longer the Academy from his memory.

So, whose memory was it?

While posing the question in his mind, Fu Qian was already readily accepting good advice, falling into step with the procession.

...

Blood Crusade had not been forcibly canceled.

The moment he stepped through that door, Fu Qian arrived at a conclusion.

The reason he specifically emphasized this was simple: the others were all undergoing a transformation, shockingly turning from illusions into reality.

It was simply like the legendary boundary between yin and yang. Those humanoid silhouettes, which had been gradually fleshing out, all abruptly transformed into solid physical bodies the moment they passed through the door. They became so detailed that he could even spot untrimmed nose hairs on each of them.

But they were all strangers.

Although he often skipped work, Fu Qian prided himself on having a rather extensive social circle within the Academy.

Yet, sweeping his gaze across these faces, he actually didn’t recognize a single one.

This was especially true for that burly brother he had seen first, whose body radiated an undeniable divinity.

For such a High-Tier Transcendent to wear a face he had absolutely no impression of almost gave him the sensation of having mistakenly wandered into some parallel universe.

But any friend who frequently read sci-fi works would know that even in parallel universes, there were often uncanny coincidences where one would bump into a few familiar faces—

At that moment, Fu Qian hurried a couple of steps forward, directly passing through the descending staircase to arrive at a space that was even more spacious than the Underground of the Benevolent Curse Institute he remembered.

People were already waiting, gathered quietly in a corner of the hall, standing three layers deep. He made his way straight to the side of a certain front-row participant and examined that somewhat familiar face with its stark white hair and beard.

’Feng... Old Man Yunhong?’

And in that moment, he truly retrieved a result from his memory.

’So even in a parallel universe, you’re still Tier 5?’