Eldritch Horror Theatre

That phrase sounded familiar.

At that moment, Fu Qian was struck by the sheer variety of horror tropes on display today.

It certainly wasn’t frightening, but the scene was undeniably abstract. Everything was paradoxical, leaving his brain feeling as if it were getting a deep massage—

The Greed Worms had not only occupied their target’s office but were actually manning the posts?

Even if this was just a reflection of death, it still stretched the imagination.

Furthermore, not only was the receptionist’s gender correct, but her lines were spot on.

Even the bit about ”temporarily not accepting public business”—when he had visited to ask questions, Laywoman Tooth-Throat had genuinely been the only listener among the Greed Worms.

Even the slightly vacant look in her eyes captured that soul-crushing essence of working a desk job. She looked more authentic than the original.

”Did she say the exact same thing when you were here last?”

Fu Qian looked at Serana, openly discussing the receptionist right in front of the woman.”Her tone was similar, but she didn’t have such a good excuse.”

Beneath her mosaic disguise, it was naturally impossible to see Serana’s expression, but her tone betrayed a hint of surprise.

Impressive. This balance of life and death truly was remarkable.

Though it was just a minor detail, it gave Fu Qian a deeper feel for this so-called reflection of death.

The reason Serana hadn’t heard that excuse during her previous visit was simple: at the time, he hadn’t yet visited the Escort Agency, meaning the Laywoman Tooth-Throat in the outside world had never heard those words either.

Although Laurie and his group had been keeping the place under surveillance, their behavior at the time clearly indicated they had never paid a visit or engaged in business negotiations, likely to avoid startling anyone.

So the information the original bodies absorbed in the outside world was continuously being mapped into this place?

It was far more dynamic than a simple divide between the living and the dead.

”It certainly sounds professional. But with only the three of them here, isn’t such a large space a bit of a waste?”

Agreeing with Serana’s assessment, Fu Qian looked deeper into the office and successfully spotted two more familiar faces.

Laurie and Brother Shulan were each sitting in a separate cubicle, and their behavior was even more subdued than their counterparts in the Real World; they hadn’t glanced in this direction even once.

”I recall you came here to uncover the Dominator of Death’s enlightenment from them... Rather than asking me these questions, shouldn’t you be asking them something else?”

Unfortunately, Serana didn’t offer a direct answer this time; instead, she reminded Fu Qian that his focus seemed to have drifted.

”That is true, but you’ve probably already asked them everything else, haven’t you?”

Without denying her point, Fu Qian actually took a step forward, easily imagining the scene of Serana’s previous visit.

Hmm...

At that moment, the Blood Clan Demigod didn’t utter a word, giving off a strong impression that she was staring intently in his direction.

”I did ask a few things... but you can try again. You might just get a new answer like you did just now.”

Despite the momentary silence, he couldn’t detect anything unusual in her tone when she spoke again.

...

Fear was a cage, too.

Fu Qian could somewhat grasp the meaning behind that scrutiny.

Don’t treat other people like fools.

As noted before, his methods when dealing with this Blood Clan Demigod had been rather ruthless, leaving her with a bit of psychological trauma.

And along the way here, he hadn’t deliberately masked his personal style. Not to mention, in Serana’s cognition, the Bookstore Owner’s Rank was undeniably in the Demigod Realm.

Consequently, despite him using the identity of A Wei, it was hard to keep Excellency Serana from drawing connections. By now, she was probably getting a strong sense of déjà vu regarding the Bookstore Owner.

But as he had also considered earlier, revealing his true identity and its underlying implications would likely place considerable pressure on both her and Gulade.

Therefore, lacking concrete proof, even if she had a few suspicions, she would likely subconsciously repress them out of these pragmatic considerations—just as she had a moment ago.

”That makes sense. Have they just been sitting here the entire time?”

Savoring the subtleties of the human heart, Fu Qian nodded. He looked as though he were carefully weighing how to frame his questions, while simultaneously curious about the trio’s whereabouts.

”It appears so. Their state is quite strange; they possess a certain degree of communicative ability, yet they adhere to rigid behavioral patterns.”

Serana agreed with Fu Qian, recounting her own observations.

”Well, at least their appearances are relatively normal. To your senses, what makes them stand out the most?”

Fu Qian felt it was fine, however. As he spoke, he approached Brother Shulan, sizing him up.

”Otherwise, you wouldn’t have found this place by pure coincidence.”

...

”You’re right. I can indeed sense that they are different, especially after further integrating into this place.”

Since Fu Qian was being so blunt, Serana hesitated for a moment before answering frankly.

As she spoke, a luster flowed over her, unabashedly displaying the fire clinging to her form.

”Though it wasn’t my original intention, the sensation is quite unique. I can sense more clearly through the storm, and that was how I discovered them during my search.”

Exactly. One should never blindly use coincidence as an explanation.

Serana’s words undoubtedly made much more sense to Fu Qian.

It was true that she had entered a while earlier, but considering the distance between here and The Port, it wouldn’t be so easy to just stumble right into the Greed Worms’ nest.

Serana being able to find this place was highly likely due to a more direct reason, such as her unique state.

Everything had its pros and cons. By further integrating with Death, wouldn’t she be more like a fish in water in this Realm of the Dead?

And because Laurie and the others were Reaper Familiars, their behavior was likely distinct as well, leading to a mutual convergence.

”What was it about them that attracted you?”

Fu Qian continued to confirm the details.

”More complete, even more real... Even though their consciousness isn’t that clear, they seem to belong here far more than most people do. Just like me.”

Serana weighed her words slightly before answering, her final remark even sounding a bit like self-mockery.

”I see... Just like you.”

Fu Qian ruthlessly twisted the knife, thoughtfully waving his hand in front of Brother Shulan’s face.

”What are you doing here?”

Unfortunately, the latter merely gave him a single glance before going back to looking completely spaced out.

”They won’t answer. Even in this state, they remain highly vigilant.”

This scene was seemingly not unfamiliar to Serana. She casually chimed in from the sidelines, obviously having asked the exact same question earlier.

”Understood.”

Fu Qian didn’t force the issue for the time being, nor did he continue to ask. Instead, his gaze fell upon a dusty filing rack nearby. A moment later, he pulled out a file from it.

[Number: 07]

[Incident Type: XX]

[Death Toll: XX, Major]

[Permanent Archive]

...

It was impressively an Incident File. Unfortunately, the already sparse contents were heavily redacted in black—so the original personnel of the Escort Agency had been projected here in this form?

Fortunately, this didn’t stop Fu Qian from seeing past the phenomenon to the essence, bringing to mind those tombstones he had seen before.