Eldritch Horror Theatre - Ch. 3: Useless Person
Great!
At this rate, he would soon become a psychopath with zero Sanity Value.
[Sanity Value -1. Entering Containment Scene]
Fu Qian chose to restart without hesitation.
The continuous failures had successfully piqued his interest.
"You're awake?"
The familiar voice of the Old Man rang out.
Uh-huh.
Gritting his teeth and "reasoning" with the man once again, Fu Qian climbed out of bed, went to the door, and squinted outside.
There was something new in the courtyard—a torso and limbs that looked more like a wolf's than a human's, an exaggeratedly long neck, and a head full of long hair.
At this moment, this aberrant creature was staring up at the starry sky with two hollow eye sockets, completely motionless.
This bizarre standing posture—could it be the legendary werewolf that transforms during a full moon?
The problem was, apart from its head, the rest of its body was completely bare.
One could even faintly make out human facial features.
The most striking detail, however, were the torn strips of cloth draped across its body.
This guy used to be human, discovered the beauty of the wild here, and decided to return to nature?
Fu Qian made an irresponsible guess.
Looking at its position, he must have walked right into its face earlier; no wonder he was sent packing with a single slap.
Those deformed claws, larger than his own head, must be the murder weapon that finished him off.
As for why it was invisible before but visible now, Fu Qian felt he had already guessed the reason.
The answer likely lay in that "Inspiration+1"; it allowed him to see more things.
"The moon is about to set."
The Old Man's urging voice came from behind again.
This time, Fu Qian didn't even look back. He hunched over and sneaked out quietly, staying carefully in the werewolf's blind spots.
The werewolf remained rooted to the spot, continuing to gaze at the starry sky, completely unresponsive to Fu Qian's movements.
Heaving a quiet sigh of relief, Fu Qian carefully surveyed his surroundings and soon spotted a way out—a set of double stone doors.
But the problem was that the door not only looked incredibly heavy, it was also just a few meters away from the werewolf.
Could the placement be any more obnoxious? Why not just have the monster sit right on it!
Complaints aside, Fu Qian wasn't blinded by anger. Instead, he earnestly analyzed his current predicament.
No matter the difficulty, one must analyze it calmly, respond methodically, and finally gracefully chop off the boss's dog head.
That is a man's true romance!
And from the looks of it, he currently had two options.
One: Play hide-and-seek with the werewolf here, betting that its eyes and nose were useless. If the enemy didn't move, he wouldn't move, just stalling until the time ran out.
After all, the condition for successful containment was surviving for one hour.
Two: Brave the risk of getting his heart pierced by a claw to open that seemingly one-ton door and run into the unknown dangers hiding behind it.
Fu Qian decisively chose to try the first option.
As everyone knows, the golden rule to living a long life in horror movies is: unless absolutely necessary, keep your damn hands to yourself.
Fu Qian glanced at the prompt in the top left corner of his vision; he had successfully survived for 15 minutes this time.
Careful not to make a single sound, Fu Qian moved slowly and eventually hid himself behind a tree, his back to the werewolf.
16, 17... 20!
At the twentieth minute, the star-gazing werewolf suddenly let out a howl and began to move.
Dropping that strange posture, the werewolf appeared exceptionally manic.
It started bouncing around the courtyard at an unbelievably fast speed and discovered Fu Qian behind the tree almost instantly.
With nowhere to hide, Fu Qian was sent packing by a claw once again.
[Containment Failed. Survival Time: 20 minutes]
[Rating: Useless Person. The most foolish thing one can do is expect a madman to follow the rules.]
[Reward: None]
[Current Sanity Value: 15]
Playing it safe doesn't work, huh?
Fu Qian exhaled, profoundly realizing the malice of this place.
No wonder the task was to survive for an hour.
It seemed this werewolf had a standard 20-minute timer before throwing a fit. His plan to camp in the courtyard until the end was unviable.
If he retreated, there was the murderous Old Man waiting inside the cabin.
Now, the only way out seemed to be opening the stone doors and making a run for it.
But leaving aside how to do it without being noticed, was this even something a human could push open?
Re-entering the containment scene, Fu Qian stared at the heavy stone door with a face full of grief and indignation.
Regardless, he had to try.
Fu Qian quietly picked up a rock from the ground and threw it into the distance.
Before the rock even hit the ground, a black flash of lightning shot past.
The werewolf, originally staring at the sky, sprang up the moment it heard the wind sheer.
It crossed several meters in an instant and swatted the rock away with one claw.
Before Fu Qian could even curse, the werewolf in mid-air kicked off its hind legs without hesitation, changed direction, leaped across half the yard again, and slammed right into Fu Qian's chest.
Fu Qian's plan to create a diversion went instantly bankrupt.
[Containment Failed. Survival Time: 10 minutes]
[Rating: Useless Person]
[Current Sanity Value: 14]
...
What kind of monstrosity is this!
Again!
[Sanity Value -1. Entering Containment Scene]
Persuade with reason, get up, go out, take cover.
Looking at the posing werewolf in the yard.
Fu Qian seriously started contemplating resignation.
From the looks of it, this place left absolutely no way out. Surviving an hour was simply an impossible mission!
If he failed again this time, his Sanity Value would drop to 13 points.
He'd be one step closer to becoming a brain-dead idiot.
This werewolf clearly had excellent hearing; the slightest rustle would alert it.
But if he didn't go open the door, once its timer was up and it stood up, it would certainly be a dead end anyway.
He glanced back at the cabin.
The Old Man was glaring fiercely, holding a gleaming sickle.
A thought stirred in Fu Qian's mind.
What did this guy say to him just now?
To come out and look at the moon.
But he'd been looking at the moon for so long, and it didn't seem to have changed at all!
Could it be that his viewing posture was wrong?
Since childhood, Fu Qian had been known for his outstanding divergent thinking, even earning the humorous reputation of having "the broadly leaping mind of a mental patient."
Sizing up the werewolf in the yard, he had an idea.
Finding a spot, Fu Qian reached out, raised his head, mimicked the werewolf's posture, and began gazing deeply at the moon.
No reaction?
Fu Qian wasn't one to give up so easily.
One minute, two minutes...
Just as the werewolf shook its body and was about to get up for a stroll, a change finally occurred.
That incredibly heavy-looking stone door opened soundlessly, swinging inward from the outside.
It actually works like this?
Although his guess had been confirmed, Fu Qian couldn't bring himself to be happy.
This place was quite bizarre, and he didn't know how many more things were waiting for him ahead.
However, since the path forward was open, Fu Qian quickly dropped his stance.
Suppressing any noise, he stayed in the werewolf's blind spot and inched his way to the door step by step.
Done and dusted.
He slipped out the door, and his vision instantly brightened.
Fu Qian finally understood why this place was called the "Full Moon Garden."
On the rolling terrain, countless small flowers with white petals and yellow buds swayed in the wind.
Every single petal acted like a tiny mirror, reflecting the brilliant moonlight like a flowing river of mercury.
Thank goodness, at least there didn't seem to be anything else here for the moment.
Fu Qian let out a long breath.
The very next moment, he sucked that breath right back in.
(End of Chapter)
Comments
Post a Comment