Eldritch Horror Theatre - Ch. 35: What Weapon Are You Using?
Fu Qian glanced at the middle-aged man who had emerged from behind the stone stele.
He had a slightly chubby build, ordinary looks, wore a loose-fitting knit sweater, had somewhat thinning hair at the front, and bore a smiling expression. At first glance, he looked like a twenty-five-year-old programmer.
As soon as he broke away from the team, he sensed someone tailing him. He hadn't bothered to pay attention to the guy, not expecting him to be so relentless as to follow him all the way here.
Although he looked harmless, the way he walked out just now was absolutely silent, his body seemingly as light as if it lacked mass. One glance was enough to tell he was a master of stealth and thievery.
Being targeted by this kind of character usually didn't spell anything good.
"I must say, you make me look at you in a whole new light,"
The middle-aged man looked at Fu Qian, his gaze akin to a cat toying with a mouse.
"You hide your capabilities on the surface, but in truth, your cultivation realm is probably the highest in your team. Even I almost lost track of you."
"With such a low profile and forbearance, you would surely achieve great things in time. Of course, provided that you still have time."
"You flatter me."
Fu Qian's eyes remained on that ring of invisible barrier. He brushed him off casually, acting as if he hadn't heard the man's last sentence.
His reaction obviously exceeded the middle-aged man's expectations. The man narrowed his eyes.
"Actually, I'm a bit curious. Can you tell me what you're trying to do by breaking away from the team by yourself and running all the way here?"
"Running away."
"Running away?"
This answer clearly took the middle-aged man by surprise.
"Yeah, the atmosphere here is a bit oppressive, so I'm going home to rest."
Fu Qian's tone made it sound as natural as saying, 'I need to use the bathroom, so I'm going to take a leak.'
...
"An expedition personally led by Li Weixuan—an opportunity so many people beg for but can't get—yet you want to go home?"
The smile on the middle-aged man's face turned cold.
"If that's really the case, then you don't need to worry, because I'll be sending you on your way very soon."
"You can certainly try to run, or take out your Arrow Bell, and see if Li Weixuan can make it in time to save you."
Arrow Bell?
Fu Qian thought for a moment. He seemed to have heard it mentioned when the team members were chatting earlier. To put it simply, it was a survival tool provided by The Academy to every student out on an expedition, similar to a distress flare.
Given that communication devices failed completely in many forbidden zones, when faced with a life-or-death situation, it could be activated and fired to seek help and mutual support.
"It's fine. I don't need to call for backup just yet."
Fu Qian waved his hand, frowning at the middle-aged man, and asked a question he actually cared about.
"What weapon are you going to use to kill me?"
What weapon?
The middle-aged man was clearly a bit dumbfounded, wearing an expression that said 'Are you crazy?'.
"Aren't you going to ask why I want to kill you?"
"I don't care. Besides, is it really me you want to kill?"
Not getting an answer, Fu Qian sighed.
"What do you mean?"
The middle-aged man's gaze turned sharp.
"Just taking a random guess. From the time I left the team until now, you've followed me all the way here. There were countless opportunities for you to strike, yet you insisted on following me this far.
And now that you're about to make a move, instead of launching a sneak attack, you've openly revealed yourself and told me I'm going to die. It feels like you're deliberately creating pressure to force me to run."
"You even reminded me that I could use the Arrow Bell to call for backup. No matter how you look at it, these actions don't seem like something an assassin would do."
"Your target should still be deep within the ruins. You're trying to make a feint to the east and attack in the west, aren't you?"
"Hoping to drive me as far away as possible, then use the Arrow Bell to lure Li Weixuan over for a rescue, while you take the opportunity to double back and eliminate the real target?"
"Interesting... Then why don't you guess who my target is."
The middle-aged man suppressed his voice, seemingly tacitly confirming Fu Qian's guess.
"That isn't very hard to guess either. First, we split into three teams. The fact that you targeted me so quickly means there is a high probability that your target and I are in the same team. When you were tailing us, you noticed me breaking away and thought it was a good opportunity, so you followed."
"Aside from me, there are nine other people in that team. Judging from your performance, you are clearly quite skilled in stealth and assassination. You tailed us all the way, and even that Dean Li Weixuan failed to notice you."
"Considering that it's impossible for Li Weixuan to keep his eyes on our single team all the time, you could have totally found a chance to kill your target in one blow and flee. That wouldn't be any worse than your current choice.
But you didn't choose that, which means you lack confidence in eliminating the target in a single strike, and you worried that if Li Weixuan came over, it would be hard for you to escape. So you needed more time to ensure the mission's completion.
With your strength, the ones in our team who make you unsure of a one-hit kill... is it Ji Liushuang, or Yuan Xin?"
Fu Qian watched the middle-aged man. The other party's pupils clearly contracted for a second when he mentioned Ji Liushuang.
"Understood, it's Ji Liushuang."
Haha.
The middle-aged man burst into laughter.
"If it is truly as you said, then why do you think I want to kill Ji Liushuang?"
"That makes it a bit hard for me. That classmate Ji looks like someone with a highly esteemed status. It's probably another case of financial group or family interest conflicts and the like.
Once matters like this are involved, it's quite natural for a lapdog who excels at assassination like you to show up."
Fu Qian remained expressionless. He truly had not a shred of interest in this kind of petty, messy drama. He didn't expect it to keep finding its way to him.
"You're courting death..."
Under Fu Qian's repeated mockery, the middle-aged man's face finally couldn't maintain its composure, and he uttered a classic line of rage born from humiliation.
"It'll be the same if I kill you and activate the Arrow Bell myself."
The next moment, the middle-aged man moved like lightning, instantly appearing at Fu Qian's side. He struck out with a palm silently, brimming with killing intent—
Sigh, after all that, this guy actually fights bare-handed too.
Fu Qian let out a sigh.
Wasting my precious time!
I thought a guy working as an assassin would at least have some divine weapon or sharp tool that I could use to test if it could damage the barrier.
How disappointing.
Facing this terrifying strike, Fu Qian dodged to the side with a swish.
When he tested the barrier earlier, this guy hadn't arrived yet, so he definitely didn't realize there was an invisible obstacle here. How could he not take advantage of that?
This was also why he had just stood there without moving.
Fu Qian's evasion speed clearly startled the middle-aged man. He hadn't expected to still misjudge him despite being as cautious as possible.
With his strike missing, he was just about to change his move when his whole body crashed headlong into some obstacle.
What is this thing!
Looking at the empty space beside him, the middle-aged man's brain short-circuited for a moment.
Before he could recover his wits, a sharp pain shot through his ribs. A red whip flashed by, splattering a mist of blood.
At the same time, an inexplicable sense of irritability rose in his heart.
This whip is weird!
The middle-aged man pushed off the invisible barrier, dodging the next two lashes, and the irritation in his heart slightly lessened.
It's just a flesh wound on the ribs. I have to be careful not to get hit by this whip and try to fight in close combat...
Just as this thought arose, he saw Fu Qian's face right in front of him.
This guy actually gave up his ranged advantage to engage in close combat with me?
For a moment, the middle-aged man couldn't comprehend Fu Qian's actions, but then another sharp pain hit his ribs. It felt as if something had pierced through the wound, its tip splitting into countless fine threads that deeply entangled with his internal organs.
The next moment, intense heat rushed out. Amidst a sky full of blood light, his corpse plummeted heavily from mid-air.
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