Eldritch Horror Theatre

Good question. He was actually quite curious about that himself.

Although he had yet to hear any detailed explanation about their destination—the Sanctuary—the mystery only made Fu Qian more curious.

For one thing, various signs suggested the place was strongly connected to Excellency Stomach.

For another, judging by his conversations with the group, not everyone was actually headed to the Sanctuary. At least, that was what they claimed.

In other words, the people present didn’t view the Sanctuary as their only way out. It was just an option.

That made Eldest Miss Wen’s insistence on dragging a captive to the Sanctuary all the more thought-provoking.

As for Professor Lisa, while her intuition wasn’t exactly top-tier, she was as reliable as ever.

Seeming to sense the old professor’s confusion, she offered timely assistance, speaking up to ask the question right then and there.

”But that is the truth.”

Wen Li, however, clearly had no intention of satisfying her curiosity.”Instead of wasting energy arguing over this, you would be better off figuring out how to clear the checkpoint so we can go our separate ways.”

Her tone was uncompromising, making it clear that whether they understood or not, they had to obey.

”Fair enough.”

Professor Lisa yielded instantly, showing a distinct lack of spine, and dropped the matter without another word.

”Unfortunately, if I had a solution, I wouldn’t be here... But your conversation just now did remind me of something.”

Not only that, she actually followed Wen Li’s train of thought, offering suggestions on how to clear the way.

”Keeping him alive is one thing, but that doesn’t mean he has to remain completely unharmed, right?”

Pointing at Fu Qian, Lisa was clearly referring to Classmate Liushuang’s earlier idea.

”If he really planted someone among us, their tolerance for seeing him injured would be lower than ours, wouldn’t it?”

...

So today was Judgment Day, was it? Time to settle old scores and exact revenge?

Unlike the rigidly traditional Linghui Courtyard, Apocalypse had always been known for its flexible thinking.

And Lisa didn’t disgrace that reputation. Building on Classmate Liushuang’s suggestion, she had proposed an improved version that effectively balanced both sides’ needs.

They didn’t have to kill him, but they could certainly cripple him.

If he couldn’t take the pain himself, or if his planted mole couldn’t bear to watch, the situation would instantly become clear.

It might have lacked originality, but given their shortage of ideas, it was a remarkably practical workaround.

Lisa had been incredibly blunt. As the subject of the discussion, Fu Qian understood her effortlessly, to the point that he couldn’t help but marvel at what a wonderful day it was.

The academic oligarch’s doomsday had finally arrived; it seemed the oppressed were finally getting a chance to vent their pent-up frustrations.

As for the only person who would actually get hurt?

He was just a captive anyway, long since stripped of his right to speak—

”So, how far do you think we should take it?”

The logic was flowing smoothly, but then came a shocking twist.

Wen Li nodded in agreement, but then actually turned around and asked the victim himself for his opinion.

Had he judged her too cynically? The longer one spent in the jianghu, the harder it was to face the straightforward honesty of the youth.

Fu Qian clicked his tongue in momentary awe.

It just would have been a lot better if she had phrased the question differently.

”Could we just not do it?”

A moment later, he casually posed the question.

”No.”

Wen Li shook her head, calm but resolute, signaling that he was getting off-topic.

”Is that so... Then I think there’s a much more efficient method.”

Fu Qian didn’t push the issue, immediately getting back to the matter at hand.

”Instead of having you do it and gradually escalating the severity to see if anyone cracks, why not make the process open-ended? Just let everyone step up and take a stab at me.

”If someone lacks imagination, or if their approach is too gentle or excessively harsh, you can mark them as a suspect.”

...

Was he seriously offering them advice right now?

Even before Fu Qian finished speaking, he had already drawn more than one shocked stare.

It was one thing to not treat others as human, but an aura like his—someone who didn’t even treat himself as human—was truly a rare sight.

Most importantly, the idea actually made sense. It effectively bypassed the drawbacks of a prolonged operation where the results could easily spiral out of control.

The core objective was to see if there was a hidden mole in the crowd, provided the captive wasn’t killed.

When the time came, the mere choice of torture method could reveal a lot of clues.

What if he had issued a strict death order that as long as he didn’t die, the mole absolutely could not reveal themselves?

That did sound like a potential flaw. Since Wen Li had explicitly stated he couldn’t be killed, combining the two would instantly render the whole torture exercise meaningless—but that only applied to ordinary people.

These prospective torturers in the Sanctuary possessed plenty of transcendent methods.

Take the most extreme scenario, for example: what if his body survived, but his mind was driven completely insane?

From the mole’s perspective, if the very mind giving the orders was gone, was there really any need to stick to the agreement?

All in all, despite being rather unfriendly to the person being tortured, the plan’s feasibility was surprisingly high. It could even be considered the crystallized wisdom of their collective brainstorming.

”That does make some sense. However, I should still give you a friendly reminder...”

Even Wen Li—the person with the most direct stake in this—voiced her approval after a moment of thought. She then pointed at the Handcuffs.

”These aren’t ordinary objects. No matter what extra life-saving measures you’ve held back, they will be bound by them.”

...

Were they really that miraculous? Eldest Miss Wen was dedicated to her work, that was for sure.

He had praised the Handcuffs earlier for clearly being no ordinary objects, and now that had been confirmed.

Feeling the smooth chains in that moment, Fu Qian didn’t doubt her claims about their effects.

Logically speaking, unless they had known before arriving that their target was already reduced to the constitution of an ordinary person, this was a tool meant to lock down an academic leader. What use would ordinary iron be?

As for the purpose of Wen Li’s warning, it was quite simple. For one thing, she didn’t quite believe he had gone to such extremes without leaving himself an out. For another, his overly enthusiastic attitude made him even more suspicious.

Her words were merely a warning: he’d better drop any idea of using death to escape, lest he end up playing himself to death.

It counted as a well-meaning reminder, though one could easily condemn it as hypocrisy—if she was so full of humanitarian concern, then why do this in the first place?

When he had asked earlier if they could just not do it, she had rejected him flat out.

”Thanks for the warning. It’s fine.”

However, keeping distinct matters separate, Fu Qian didn’t forget his manners. He thanked her while expressing that his mind was made up and she didn’t need to worry about it.

”So, which of you is going first?”

Wen Li genuinely seemed to take his word for it. She immediately nodded and looked at the crowd, recruiting the first volunteer.

This...

Since it was a somewhat bloody exercise, the ladies still appeared a bit reserved.

”I’ll go first.”

A full half-second passed before anyone volunteered, and it turned out to be Nepheli—the last person to hitch a ride—stepping forward with a beaming smile.