Eldritch Horror Theatre - Ch. 101: The Hunter Craves Blood
[Containment achievement condition: Find the stolen Blood of Thorns]
[Current Sanity Value: 113, Current Inspiration: 31]
[Skills: Air Bullet, Visceral Critical Strike, School of the Cat, Feast (Locked), Decree Residue, Transcendence, Mythic Form]
[Weapon: Tyrant's Fist]
Adding the two newly acquired skills, his total number of skills had now increased to 7. Fu Qian naturally brought all of them along without hesitation.
So far, he hadn't encountered a situation where the number of carried skills was restricted. Fu Qian deduced that the total number of skills hadn't reached the upper limit yet.
If one day he really had too many skills, he might have to make some trade-offs.
As his divine sense slowly recovered, Fu Qian observed his surroundings.
This looks like a bookstore?
It wasn't a random guess. In the small space before him, several brown bookshelves stood vertically and horizontally, filled with rows of various books.
Judging by the direction of the sunlight, it should be just past noon. People were wandering around the store in twos and threes.
At this moment, he was leaning back in a sofa chair, a soft cushion supporting his neck, and in front of him was a small wooden counter.
What a leisurely bookstore afternoon, the working environment this time is quite good!
Fu Qian stretched, but didn't relax his guard too much.
Thinking back to the Ring Archipelago, it was also bright sunshine and soft beaches at the beginning. Who could have imagined the level of bizarreness it reached later?
Actually, as an avid reader, Fu Qian had once entertained the idea of opening a bookstore. After all, that way he could slack off and read books justifiably.
Unfortunately, after looking into it later, he found that a bookstore owner wasn't as leisurely as he thought.
Besides sitting there collecting money, there was shelving, inventory taking, accounting, restocking, and many other chores to do.
Even to keep the finances afloat, he'd have to set up special sections for 'Five Years of Gaokao, Three Years of Mock Exams' type of test prep, so he eventually gave up.
Today, he could take the opportunity to experience the life of a bookstore owner.
"How much is this?"
At this time, someone came over holding a book and asked Fu Qian.
"One buck."
Fu Qian didn't even lift his head.
"...Aren't you going to look at what book it is?"
"No need."
One has to be a bit free and easy in life.
Anyway, money earned here couldn't be brought back.
Seeing the customer hurriedly drop the money and leave, Fu Qian looked at the few people still wandering around the store.
Are you kidding me? This is a high-tier martial world, and you guys are wasting your prime time reading books here?
Go home and hit the sandbags!
"Sorry everyone, the shop is closing."
Fu Qian thought for a moment and directly knocked on the table.
"It's only one-thirty..."
The customers' complaints had no effect; Fu Qian directly transformed into a capricious boss and kicked them all out.
The bookstore returned to peace. Fu Qian leaned back in his chair, enjoying the high-cost quiet time.
However, this leisure didn't last long.
More than ten minutes later, a breeze blew past.
The bookstore door opened silently, then closed again.
Looking up, an extra person had appeared on the sofa in the store.
From the side, he could see that this person was around forty years old, with sharp facial features and piercing eyes.
Of course, the most important thing was that this guy was a Beyonder.
That series of entry movements just now couldn't be performed by an ordinary person.
The middle-aged man was currently turning his back to this side, leisurely opening a booklet to read.
"Ding Yi, 30 years old, unemployed, uncle passed away a month ago, rushed from out of town to inherit this bookstore. Is this your information?"
He slowly reported a string of details.
"It could be."
Fu Qian answered amiably.
Hmph!
The middle-aged man gave a cold snort, stood up, walked all the way to the counter, and slammed the booklet in his hand heavily onto it.
"Weren't you a little too careless when you forged your information, or are the Night Watchers that unprofessional in your eyes?"
"In order to help you recognize the current situation clearly, let me first introduce myself: Qin Feng, Team Leader of the First Squadron of the Second Detachment of the Shangjing City Night Watchers."
Qin Feng stared into Fu Qian's eyes.
"For the following questions, I hope you will answer truthfully."
"Trust me, this is absolutely for your own good."
Night Watchers, as expected!
Fu Qian's heart stirred. From the task introduction just now, he knew that the Night Watchers had just lost an important item, so logically, they would definitely take action.
This guy was highly likely here for that very reason.
"First, your surname is not Ding, and you are not 30 years old."
Seeing Fu Qian remain silent, Qin Feng gave a cold smile.
"Fang Xun, 25 years old, Eighth-tier Beyonder, arrived in Shangjing 10 days ago. Am I right?"
"You guys even know this!"
Fu Qian praised weakly.
"Of course we know!"
"There are always people harboring a fluke mentality, thinking they can deceive our eyes."
"To tell you the truth, every Beyonder who enters Shangjing, even if you don't actively report, will be recorded in the files immediately. We just usually can't be bothered to argue with you all."
Sounds very high-end!
Fu Qian blinked, but grasped another layer of meaning.
"So there's a situation now? Can you tell me what happened?"
"Cut the crap, right now I'm the one asking you questions!"
Qin Feng slapped the counter until it creaked.
"Tell me, what is your true purpose for coming to Shangjing?"
"Haven't you already seen it?"
Fu Qian pointed around.
"Opening a shop, learning, enjoying the life of a big city."
"Bullshit! You'd best not harbor any wishful thinking."
"If you don't cooperate, don't blame me for being impolite!"
By the end, Qin Feng was already speaking with harsh tones and a stern expression.
How impolite? Arrest me and subject me to severe torture and interrogation?
That would actually be perfect.
According to the task, that Blood of Thorns was stolen from the Night Watcher Base.
It would be a perfect opportunity to go over and understand the situation.
"I need you to explain properly, why would there be such abnormal behavior like forging documents? What is your motive?"
Well said, I want to know too.
But unfortunately, I know absolutely nothing about the prior information.
This was the truth. Regarding the current situation, Fu Qian knew even less than this Night Watcher.
He had even just been told the two names, Ding Yi and Fang Xun, by the man himself.
In past containment missions, he had always appeared in his true identity, and the people around him completely recognized his appearance.
This time it was actually a double-layered nesting doll situation, which was indeed puzzling.
Fu Qian was frowning in thought, but Qin Feng beside him lost his patience.
Just as he wanted to yell a couple more lines at this unruly citizen, his expression suddenly became exceptionally agonized.
At the same time, Fu Qian detected a trace of abnormal fluctuation and instantly retreated a few steps.
The next moment, Qin Feng's facial features violently twisted, his entire head bulged and expanded, and then exploded with a bang.
Red and white brain matter scattered, splashing all over the bookstore.
...
As expected, the handsomer the entrance, the faster the death?
Fu Qian looked at the mess around him and stood stunned for a long while.
If he hadn't reacted quickly and escaped the blast radius just now, he would have at least been splattered all over his body and face.
However, speaking of having his face splattered, Fu Qian suddenly thought of something.
He quickly went to the bathroom and found a mirror.
Sure enough, the face inside was not his own!
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