Eldritch Horror Theatre - Ch. 5: The Reward for Rejecting Humanity
[Survival time of one hour achieved; No. 3-2048 successfully contained.]
[Evaluation: Incurably Insane]
[In a nightmare riddled with crises, your crazed and bloody performance complemented it perfectly, earning you the right to survive. Congratulations on unlocking the achievement: I Reject My Humanity (judging by your performance anyway, your attachment to it wasn't strong to begin with).]
[Killed: Wolfman]
[Rewards: Sanity Value +20; Inspiration +5; Skill: Air Bullet]
[Special Achievement Reward: Visceral Critical Strike]
[Would you like to replay the event recap?]
When Fu Qian returned to the Warehouse, a series of messages was rapidly scrolling across his vision.
What do you mean my attachment to being human isn't strong?
Fu Qian felt quite indignant about the evaluation.
Looking around, the fog door from before had disappeared.
Finally done!
Fu Qian let out a long breath of relief.
He had to admit, this job was a bit too thrilling.
But the rewards were decent.
His previous repeated attempts had dropped his Sanity Value to the low teens. Recovering 20 points at once finally made up for the loss.
Otherwise, at his previous rate of consumption, he'd probably go mad in a few days.
The evaluation was also hard to describe; it was difficult to say whether it was a compliment or an insult.
I can also play an event recap?
Fu Qian chose to replay it without hesitation.
Reliving the process again, Fu Qian noticed more details.
When he saw the scene of himself under the moonlight, using a deformed arm to rip out organs, flesh, and other messy things from the Wolfman's mouth...
Fu Qian somewhat understood why he had received the [Incurably Insane] evaluation.
Of course, understanding it didn't mean he agreed with it.
In fact, Fu Qian didn't feel there was anything inappropriate about his actions at all.
In his view, facing a powerful enemy head-on, fearless and undaunted, and using every means possible to crush the opponent beneath him was the romance of a true man.
This was the beauty of blood and gore; it was entirely different from going mad.
In addition, he noticed that it was at this moment that the Old Man in the house put away his scythe and walked out, sizing him up.
Looking completely unconcerned about being caught up in the carnage, Fu Qian realized he hadn't chosen the wrong opponent—this Old Man was likely far stronger than the Wolfman.
After finishing the recap, Fu Qian began to take stock of his gains.
[Air Bullet: Compresses air to form an invisible bullet. Its power is not great, but it excels in concealment.]
This is not bad!
Fu Qian's eyes lit up. He gently rubbed two fingers together and tried to activate it.
An invisible bullet instantly whistled out, shooting straight into the depths of the Warehouse.
The range was decent, and the activation was quite fast.
Even if it wasn't very powerful, its convenience made up for it.
With this gain alone, more than half of the resentment in Fu Qian's heart dissipated.
If he could bring this skill along to complete his next mission, it would absolutely be a formidable weapon.
If I remember correctly, there's also a special reward?
Fu Qian quickly flipped to the other item.
[Visceral Critical Strike: Seize the opportunity to bypass the wound and directly damage the opponent's internal organs, dealing devastating damage.]
[A cruel killing move, elegantly helping your prey find release.]
This...
The scene of himself using mutated tentacles to rip out the Wolfman's internal organs flashed through Fu Qian's mind.
No matter how he looked at it, this reward had to be related to that action.
Is there some misunderstanding? I really don't have a fetish for ripping out people's organs!
Forget it, having an extra skill is never a bad thing.
[Today's work is complete. Thank you for your hard work.]
[You may now leave the Warehouse. See you tomorrow.]
The prompt chime sounded right on cue.
No need to wait for a specific time to clock out. Five stars!
Fu Qian took off the Work Badge around his neck.
His vision went dark, and he returned to his long-lost home.
This commute is incredibly convenient!
After making this remark, Fu Qian remembered something.
He picked up the phone on the table to take a look.
[...A transfer transaction of 30,000 RMB has been completed for your account ending in 1269. Balance: 35,240...]
When he found this text message, Fu Qian was still momentarily stunned.
An annual salary of ten million, and it's paid daily?
A true industry conscience!
His exhaustion instantly vanished into thin air.
Oh right, it seemed he had forgotten something.
Fu Qian smacked his forehead, quickly logged into the forum, and found that comment about killing a tiger with a Sliding Tackle.
He first gave it a like, and then silently replied below: [Tested personally. It works!]
That night, Fu Qian lay in bed reflecting on his new job.
He had to admit, today's experience challenged his imagination and overturned too much of his past common sense.
But even with all the incomprehensible weirdness, Fu Qian still found joy in it.
Challenging, thinking, fighting—in his eyes, this was far more interesting than clocking in for a 9-to-9 job.
Fu Qian found himself beginning to mentally accept this job.
...
After resting for the night, Fu Qian had a quick meal early the next morning and put on the Work Badge once again.
[Identity verification successful. Today's work begins.]
The moment the Warehouse appeared before his eyes, Fu Qian noticed something was wrong.
The Warehouse was flashing with patches of black patterns everywhere, and clusters of illusory bone spikes floated in mid-air, looking eerie and sinister.
I knew it!
Fu Qian wasn't surprised at all. In his view, it was perfectly normal for this Warehouse to have some sort of incident every day.
Needless to ask, there must have been another leak.
[Warning: Leakage Incident]
[Codename: 2-133; Name: Ritual Notes]
[Today's work content has been updated: Enter Containment Scene 2-133 and complete re-containment.]
[You may select the skills you wish to equip.]
Finally, I don't have to go in naked!
Facing the row of skill slots that appeared before him...
Fu Qian decisively equipped both Air Bullet and Visceral Critical Strike, and hit confirm.
[Entering Containment Scene 2-133: Old City]
[Containment Condition: Prevent the descent of the Spawn of the Evil God.]
[Current Sanity Value: 32. Entering a Containment Scene consumes 1 Sanity Value.]
Am I supposed to slay a god? These missions really are getting more thrilling by the minute!
Intuition told Fu Qian that today's work would be quite arduous.
[...1%...5%...50%...98%...100%. Old City loaded completely.]
[An indescribable aura of evil shrouds this once-prosperous place. The righteous Night Watchers are doing their utmost to eradicate the omnipresent corruption. Unfortunately, they do not yet know what they are about to face.]
[Skills: Air Bullet, Visceral Critical Strike]
[Weapons: None]
Night Watchers?
This was the first time Fu Qian had heard this unfamiliar title. However, although he wasn't sure exactly what kind of group they were, since they were "righteous," he felt they could be made use of.
At this time, Fu Qian's vision slowly recovered, and then he saw a pair of eyes.
These eyes were so close that they practically occupied Fu Qian's entire field of vision.
Amber-like pupils were staring at him motionlessly.
Fu Qian tried to move and found it difficult to breathe; something was gripping his neck.
"Can you hear me speak?"
The next moment, an ethereal and melodious voice rang out.
Fu Qian frowned, quickly recalling a piece of experience he had previously summarized—use more verbal communication and less body language.
Thus, even though he was gasping for breath, he struggled to make a sound.
"I... can..."
The next moment, a snow-white blade flashed past. Fu Qian felt a coldness in his chest and could feel blood gushing out.
"I'm sorry..."
That voice sounded again, this time seemingly carrying a hint of a sob.
"My sins... have deepened once more..."
Amidst a long sigh, Fu Qian's vision went dark.
(End of Chapter)
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