Eldritch Horror Theatre

Those who offer sincerity should reap it in return, but sincerity carries different weights.

For instance, Professor Fu kept far too many secrets. If he laid everything out on the table, Excellency Serana might not be able to handle it.

Ultimately, as a reward for her growth, Fu Qian chose to share his complicated history with the Rebirth Club.

Evidently, this amount of information alone was plenty for Serana to digest.

”I originally thought... the Apocalypse Branch was no different from them.”

After only a moment of silence, she spoke again, having seemingly understood Fu Qian’s motives.

At the same time, a faint prejudice against the Academy colored her words.

It went to show that the Apocalypse Branch in particular truly had a poor reputation.

”To the Night Watchers, we are much more of an eyesore,” Fu Qian said, shaking his head to defend his Work Unit.

”Indeed. The Archipelago might very well have intended to gather all the trash in one place.”Serana’s commentary remained as blunt as ever.

Her attitude made sense. The Blood Clan had always been synonymous with noble bloodlines.

The Rebirth Club’s ideology—allowing the Transcendent Tier to shatter the limits of bloodline—was a greater blasphemy to them than to anyone else.

”But you still couldn’t accept it and chose to just annihilate the trash... And to the Night Watchers, this sort of behavior is neither here nor there. Even if they knew, they’d have no interest in making things difficult for you.”

Unsurprisingly, Serana had generously interpreted Professor Fu’s motives and laid them out in the open.

In her mind, he might act recklessly, but as an intellectual, Professor Fu clearly possessed a degree of moral fastidiousness.

Even if the Archipelago was already a designated garbage dump for the Night Watchers, he still couldn’t stand the sight of it and had taken action.

”They do know, actually.”

Professor Fu confirmed her theory. Recalling his exchanges with Yuan Fang and Li Weixuan, he stuck to the truth.

...

”It seems I’ve learned something incredible. My apologies for misunderstanding you all this time.”

Even if she wasn’t entirely willing to admit it, Serana was clearly touched by the ease of their conversation, letting out a soft sigh.

”Not at all. There can be many kinds of motives. When dealing with the Night Watchers, naturally, one must pick the pleasant-sounding ones.”

Unfortunately, he waved off her guilt the next moment with a mysterious smile.

”I’m actually quite interested in some of their accumulated technology.”

Hmm...

”Professor Fu is truly forthright.”

Staring at a face like his, the tone of the conversation felt somewhat different.

Even though he had frankly admitted his intention to pilfer, Serana couldn’t bring herself to be sarcastic, attempting instead to look for the bright side.

”Thank you for the compliment, but I brought this up mainly to answer your earlier question.

”The Rebirth Club’s background is far deeper than it appears. Now that the matter in the Archipelago is resolved, even more incredible things have surfaced.”

Such praise was clearly a rarity for Fu Qian. In return, he pulled the topic back so he wouldn’t just gloss over the issue.

”So you chased them all the way here, and you really did discover something...”

Having almost derailed the conversation, Serana was not to be outdone. She quickly connected the dots, seemingly understanding one of the driving forces behind the numerous incidents in Shangjing over the past few days.

”Yes, and this time I truly discovered something incredible.”

Fu Qian was naturally satisfied with such an astute reaction, so much so that he generously continued to share.

”What is it?”

Seeing a man like him speak so solemnly inevitably piqued Serana’s curiosity.

”Did you know that someone in the Rebirth Club has allegedly advanced to become a New God?”

...

Even with ample mental preparation, it was obvious in that moment that Serana had just suffered an explosive shock.

Someone in that organization, which only knew how to take crooked paths, had actually advanced to Tier 1?

Could they truly master authority just by stacking Transcendent Tier bodies onto themselves like building blocks?

Rumors were running wild in the industry that the Rebirth Club had made some astonishing achievements—their shadows could seemingly even be seen in the fierce, ongoing conflicts between conglomerates.

But some things were simply too fundamentally different...

”Do the Night Watchers know?”

The moment she regained her voice, Serana couldn’t wait to ask.

”They might have an idea, but they might not know the specifics.”

The Night Watchers’ image as a symbol of world order was deeply ingrained in people’s hearts.

Even a player like Serana subconsciously sought to confirm their level of control when encountering a situation that made her feel powerless.

Fu Qian, on the other hand, recalled his long-distance clash in Lanphilai and gave a rough assessment.

”Yuan Shan probably doesn’t know.”

Before she could ask again, he added another sentence.

”Understood.”

It was evident this was exactly what Serana had wanted to ask next. Preempted, she paused for a moment before nodding.

Sharing an astonishing secret that even the local Night Watcher chief didn’t know—no matter how reluctant she was to admit it—clearly represented the concept of ”trust.”

”So here in Shangjing... based on your investigations, what clues are there related to the Rebirth Club?”

After weighing her words, she had indeed learned to stick to the topic, knowing that the core issue was still why Professor Fu was living incognito here.

”A lot.”

To her pleasant surprise, Professor Fu’s generosity continued. He actually started counting them off on his fingers.

”For example, Dayun Mingwang, the swarm of bugs, the Dominator of Death...”

...

Thus, the conspiracy was set.

Under the dim lighting, facing the silent vampire lady, Fu Qian was highly satisfied with the results of today’s exchange.

Making the matter of the Dominator of Death logically consistent wasn’t too hard, but it wasn’t exactly easy either.

First, because there were too many details, and second, because Serana inherently held a lot of suspicion toward him.

Weaving a web of conspiracy in front of her under such circumstances undoubtedly required a meticulous grasp of nuance.

This was why he had brought out the identity of Professor Fu.

Now, he believed that to her, the hidden hand of the Rebirth Club—a certain terrorist organization—already seemed faintly omnipresent.

And she had inadvertently uncovered a corner of some earth-shattering conspiracies—such as her experience in Moore.

”The Rebirth Club has always been scheming for the legacy of the Dominator of Death? Dayun Mingwang came for this as well?”

Over the sound of Professor Fu turning the pages of his book, Serana finally finished digesting the information and broke the silence.

The mysterious Dayun Mingwang having a Rebirth Club background was relatively easy to accept. After all, he had even hinted at it right in front of Taylor.

His excessive brazenness even made people suspect he was trying to frame them.

”Probably more than that. After all, it looks like before their schemes are even completed, they already have a New God.”

Fu Qian shook his head, signaling for her not to be so optimistic.