Eldritch Horror Theatre

Professor Ah Kai really was diligent.

It hadn’t been that long since he participated in Operation Ark as technical support, yet preparations for a new test had already begun two days ago.

When he disembarked back then, he hadn’t exactly been in good shape either.

The news Professor Rob brought left Fu Qian sighing in admiration that Heaven Rewards Diligence.

”The Benevolent Curse Institute? Ah Kai is still over there?”

His immediate curiosity was about the office location, though, and he gazed out the window into the distance.

Though it wasn’t a condemned building just yet, the once-grand Benevolent Curse Institute had suffered quite a bit of devastation during the Ark incident. Ah Kai was actually still holed up there?

”Yeah, that’s right... He said his office wasn’t affected much, and that it’s actually quieter this way.”

Judging from Rob’s answer, that was exactly the case.

Even before the accident, most tutors at the Benevolent Curse Institute had been conducting their research from their residences. Yet despite the devastation, Professor Ah Kai still chose to hold his ground.”I see. Take me to have a look.”

Shaking his head slightly, Fu Qian stood up.

Huh?

This overly decisive action seemed to catch even Rob by surprise, though he perked up in the blink of an eye.

There could be many reasons for someone to disappear. No matter how worried he was, it remained mere speculation.

Yet Professor Fu didn’t question this concern in the slightest and simply set off immediately.

...

”Any new developments recently?”

As they rushed toward the Benevolent Curse Institute, Professor Fu suddenly spoke up, though the question left Rob somewhat stunned.

”...Over at the Laboratory?”

Rob blanked for a moment, unable to help but ask for clarification.

”Right. You didn’t just provide materials for Ah Kai that one time recently, did you?”

Fu Qian casually confirmed, expressing his earnest expectations.

”More than that. But after gaining Dean Li’s forgiveness last time, I haven’t done any of those rule-breaking things again...”

Seeing that Professor Fu was serious, Rob couldn’t help but feel a bit weird about it, but he still cautiously declared upfront that he absolutely hadn’t messed around during this period.

”You haven’t done it anymore? What a pity... Tell me, did anything interesting come out of it?”

His eyes widened into saucers, however, when Professor Fu slightly shook his head after hearing that, seemingly expressing regret that he hadn’t messed around.

Fortunately, Fu Qian didn’t offer any further illicit guidance and quickly gestured for him to continue.

”I wouldn’t exactly call it interesting, but it’s definitely a new development...”

Not only did Professor Fu remember the matters on his end, he even seemed genuinely invested in their progress.

If the Benevolent Curse Institute hadn’t already been right in front of them, Rob might have almost tossed his friend’s safety to the back of his mind.

”I added Divine Flesh one more time previously, making the Insect Swarm a bit stronger. As a result, the mushroom production efficiency also improved. But as their numbers increased, some of them actually started floating...”

As he led the way, Rob detailed the specific progress of the project.

”Oh? Floating in what way?”

Though Professor Rob had modestly claimed it wasn’t that interesting, Fu Qian felt quite a bit of intrigue as he imagined the potential scene.

”Just purely suspended in midair. They aren’t connected to the other mushrooms at all, but they don’t drift around either. It’s like they grew right out of the void.”

Frowning as he described the scene, Rob clearly found it bizarre himself.

Is that so...

Despite not seeing it with his own eyes, Fu Qian fell deep into thought, recalling the scene of his encounter with the Fungal Emperor—those mycelia lurking beneath the mundane dimension, seemingly representing the true reality of the world.

Of course, when it came to the Transcendent Tier, levitation really wasn’t that bizarre of an effect compared to the previous mimicry. No wonder Rob hadn’t thought to bring it up earlier.

However, that last encounter had truly left a profound impression.

So much so that any interesting development in Rob’s project was worth referencing in Fu Qian’s eyes, including the sight right in front of them—

The door was actually left open. Following Rob into the familiar room, Fu Qian’s gaze immediately fell to the floor.

...

Professor Ah Kai’s diligence was visible to the naked eye.

Inside the already somewhat cluttered office, scattered manuscripts could still be found everywhere.

And in a relatively tidy empty space in the middle, a few familiar props could be seen.

For instance, that classic Black Long Awl, a puddle of liquid formed from something melting, a completely intact silver-gray insect shell... Of course, the most eye-catching item was an excessively sprawling fungus.

It was definitely Professor Rob’s handiwork; Fu Qian could easily tell from the smell alone.

These four items were arranged into a pattern that wasn’t quite a square, but was nonetheless regular.

It looked like Professor Ah Kai hadn’t just been doing theoretical research here, but had even conducted hands-on experiments on the spot, putting all the borrowed materials to use.

Moreover, describing the mushroom as excessively ”sprawling” was no exaggeration. It had long lost its original shape, and at a glance, it looked as if all the mycelia composing it had been freed from their restraints.

After completely unraveling, they had formed a structure almost akin to a spiderweb, even climbing onto the manuscripts not too far away.

...

It had to be said, this was quite a fascinating sight.

It seemed to prove that Professor Ah Kai’s research had truly made some progress, and the materials borrowed from Rob’s end had indeed come in handy.

But just as the latter had said, the man himself was nowhere to be found.

On one hand, there were the props left behind on the floor. On the other hand, there wasn’t a soul in sight.

Even looking out through the perspective of the King of the Abandoned Prison, there were no anomalies on the Vision Radar.

It looked as if he had just packed up and left the moment the off-work bell rang.

But for a guy like Ah Kai, who would love nothing more than to eat, drink, and sleep in his room, it was hard to imagine him following such a strict schedule.

Besides—

Fu Qian reached out his hand toward the center of the pattern. Two seconds later, he confirmed that nothing unusual happened.

It seemed Professor Ah Kai hadn’t gotten so uninhibited as to plant a Seed of Death just because this was already a condemned building.

But if he hadn’t botched things this way, how else could he have botched them...?

”I remember you mentioning that even harvested mushrooms maintain a certain connection with the Insect Swarm... Was there any unusual activity over at your Laboratory earlier?”

Turning to look at Rob, who was holding his breath in fear of disturbing him, Fu Qian asked casually.

”Yes. Actually, I only ran over after noticing the anomaly, and that’s when I found all this.

”I even tried searching elsewhere, but I came up empty-handed. Do you think something happened to Ah Kai, Professor Fu?”

Nodding earnestly, Rob proved that Professor Fu’s memory was correct. The reason he had suddenly thought of checking on Ah Kai also became much more reasonable.

”Look on the bright side. At the very least, there’s a good chance you noticed the very moment something went wrong.”

Fu Qian nodded, refraining from any pointless optimism.

”Take me over to your place to have a look.”