Eldritch Horror Theatre

Look at how important professionalism is.

Even in this misaligned spacetime of a fallacy and Dislocation, his work duties could still carry over.

And it all stemmed from staying true to one’s original aspiration.

As for the guidance from the other side of the Walkie-Talkie, Fu Qian didn’t hesitate at all, genuinely choosing the path on the left.

The person on the other side might not have good intentions, but with an extreme lack of evidence, there was no need to waste energy trying to distinguish good from evil. At the very least, this path carried a stronger meme.

The atmosphere here was even more solemn.

It was hard to say how it compared to the other side, but ever since he left the previous area, the aura of a High Tier academic institution had rapidly intensified.

Excessively tall doors; decorations devoid of practical meaning.

The silver linework grew increasingly complex. Catching the glow of exquisite lighting fixtures, it sparkled overhead, along the walls, and even beneath his feet. Walking through it created a wondrous sensation, almost like flowing through time and space.

Furthermore, there were no branching paths; he just had to keep moving straight ahead.At first, rooms resembling auditoriums or Laboratories lined both sides of the corridor. Unfortunately, every single door was shut tight.

Keeping Brother Receptionist’s warning in mind, Fu Qian didn’t casually open any of them to investigate.

After he climbed another long flight of stairs, the view ahead suddenly opened up.

Beneath a sky full of starlight, an endless expanse of water stretched out to one side.

The building beneath his feet floated upon it like an iceberg, yet not a single breath of wind blew across the water’s surface.

No wonder they hadn’t quite believed his story; he had indeed run a bit far.

Fu Qian didn’t forget to confirm his current position, deducing that he was already in the upper-middle section of the entire structure.

For a cleaner whose main battlefield was supposed to be The Lake’s surface, this position was indeed a bit high.

”Over here.”

Fortunately, there was no need to climb any higher. Just as Fu Qian was enjoying the scenery, new guidance finally appeared—and it wasn’t far away.

...

Oh?

Tracking the sound with familiar ease, Fu Qian’s gaze quickly locked onto a room to his left.

Unfortunately, even though the person was calling him over, the large doors remained tightly shut, giving off the distinct air of someone ruling from behind a curtain.

Knock, knock!

Given the setup, Fu Qian didn’t actually expect the other party to open the door, but he still knocked out of courtesy.

”You did very well.”

As expected, one cannot be too polite. The door didn’t open, but the other party compensated with a bit of praise, immediately expressing satisfaction with Fu Qian’s attitude.

”Moreover, you are right. They are all too dull; the crisis has already undergone its Descent without a sound.

”If left unchecked, we might never get the chance to find the answer to the question.”

Before Fu Qian could offer a few modest words, the person inside continued, expressing deep agreement with what he had said earlier.

”The answer to what question?”

As an academic worker, however, Fu Qian was clearly more focused on that latter sentence than on the other party’s recognition.

”Heh... have the assessments for peripheral members become this lax now? To the point that you don’t even need to know this?”

Unfortunately, the immediate response he received was a slightly mocking laugh.

...

So cleaners weren’t recruited directly from the general public, but were instead screened from the research organization’s peripheral members.

Fu Qian naturally didn’t care about their tone. He merely gave a slight nod, indicating he had learned something new.

The other party’s mocking remark answered a question that had been puzzling him: why non-academic personnel were allowed to take shifts in such a highly classified location.

The facts proved that even if they didn’t conduct research, the cleaners still belonged to the same organization. The confidentiality level of this job was likely still quite high.

”The beginning of the universe, the end of the Transcendent Tier... Is there anything more fascinating than this? What a pity you cannot grasp it.”

As if able to see Fu Qian’s actions and feeling deeply bored by his reaction, the person Inside the Door quickly put away their mockery and actually answered him.

Compared to earlier, their tone had shifted slightly, carrying a highly infectious solemnity that made it hard to doubt their sincerity.

It was just the content...

The emotion was certainly on point, but at that moment, Professor Fu still frowned.

Honestly, if an advisor spoke like this during enrollment, any student with half a brain would turn and run, right?

The origin of the universe, the end of the Transcendent Tier?

Wasn’t this research topic a bit too exaggeratedly broad? It would probably be hard to even secure funding for it.

He had originally thought the people from the Academy were pretentious enough, but it seemed that if one wanted to engage in academia, the ability to elevate concepts to such absurd heights was practically a requirement.

”So, what do you need me to do?”

Internal roasts aside, it didn’t stop Fu Qian from asking.

The other party certainly hadn’t called him over just to complain about the difficulties of academia.

Praise first, emphasize the difficulties second, and state the request last—this routine was practically standard procedure.

”Very good... Don’t worry, I won’t demand you to do anything impossible, such as resolving the crisis directly.

”I just need you to go into the Back Room and help me find something.”

Seeming very satisfied with Fu Qian’s attitude, the Person Behind the Door quickly responded.

...Wasn’t this a bit too classic?

Speaking through a door, describing a crisis, and finally asking for help to find something.

At that moment, Fu Qian could almost see himself running errands in countless video games.

Coupled with the name ”Back Room,” the whole situation felt even more bizarre.

”What is it?”

So much so that in that instant, he was highly cooperative, his dialogue as rigid as a player clearing a quest exclamation mark.

”The notes I lost in there.”

The other party answered crisply and neatly.

Those words sounded a little familiar.

Fu Qian felt that for a researcher, losing one’s notes was indeed a grave matter, and the urgent desire to retrieve them was highly understandable.

But the magical part of the situation was that this didn’t seem to be his first time receiving such a commission.

As early as when he first arrived here, a certain jellyfish sporting a human brain had given him the exact same commission.

”So that’s how it is. But how could such an important thing get lost?”

Sighing, Fu Qian stepped into his role with great empathy, making no effort to conceal his doubt.

...

”That was indeed a grave mistake!”

Fu Qian’s words seemed to have struck a deep chord. The Person Behind the Door paused for a moment before speaking, the profound grief in their tone clearly palpable.

”The problem is, I don’t seem to remember how. I was clearly on the verge of finding the answer... yet I ended up losing them in a place like that.”

Interesting. Even this part was similar?

It sounded entirely devoid of substance, but to Fu Qian, it seemed the crucial information was once again hidden in the details.

To think it was just like the Brain Jellyfish from before—they were also nearing the conclusion of their research, only to lose their notes at the critical moment?

It was truly hard to believe this was purely a coincidence.

But if it wasn’t a coincidence, what reason could there be for such consistency to occur across different instances of a fallacy?

”Understood. So, how do I get there?”

Armed with a professional’s curiosity, Fu Qian genuinely accepted the commission.