Eldritch Horror Theatre - Ch. 53: Mandatory Rest
[Task Complete, Containment of No. 1-003 Successful]
The scenery before his eyes rapidly dissolved, and Fu Qian once again returned to the Warehouse, leisurely listening to the mission summary.
[Evaluation: The Observer]
[Imagination is the source of wisdom; otherwise, even if the path lies right in front of them, the blind will never see it.
On the path of the extraordinary, there are threats that are entirely unfathomable. Even the terror they inspire cannot be transmitted. Once one steps into these dark wells, there is absolutely no return.
They don't even need to possess malice; their mere existence is a threat.
As one of the unfortunate ones, you successfully perceived the incomprehensible mystical information and rescued some of the lost lambs, even though the lambs will not remember the existence of the shepherd.
This catastrophic incident only existed in the victims' minds for less than half an hour before being completely forgotten. The dead and missing are forever erased from the outside world, without even a trace left in memories.
Absolutely no data related to this incident has been recorded.]
[Kills: None]
[Rewards: Sanity Value +20; Inspiration +5; Thug 2/3]
[Current Sanity Value: 75]
[Would you like to replay the event review?]
Why are the kills none? Shouldn't there be another 26 kills added?
Looking at the mission stats, Fu Qian felt indignant.
Profiteer!
Complaints aside, Fu Qian could roughly guess the reason.
The group of people, including Feng Yunhong, had already been counted as kills once before, and he had received the corresponding benefits.
It seemed that these types of kills wouldn't be calculated repeatedly, otherwise, he could have just delayed finishing the mission and farmed a hundred kills back and forth; maybe there would even be some achievement rewards.
Speaking of which...
Fu Qian quickly flipped to his actual reward.
[Thug: Digestion Progress 2/3]
[Maintaining the calmest of thoughts amidst the most frenzied slaughter—this is an essential quality for opposing all powerful entities.]
As the information flashed by, a mental wave rippled from head to toe, surging through his entire body.
Unlike the previous violent scouring of his blood and Qi, under the impact of this wave, his emotions instantly relaxed, his spirit was soothed, and his thoughts became unprecedentedly clear.
The mental trauma caused by forcibly enduring the information torrent was also rapidly repaired.
Not only that, he felt his resistance against mental attacks had vastly increased.
Finally took another step forward!
The second stage of digesting Thug seemed to lean towards the mental aspect.
The fact that he was able to digest it successfully was highly likely related to him forcibly enduring the mental shockwaves on the Stone Seat.
He had previously worried that if he encountered a high-level Mental-Type Beyonder, he might accidentally fall for their tricks. Now, with his increased mental resistance, he shouldn't have much to fear.
This reward was surprisingly fitting; it made the mental torture he suffered somewhat worth it.
Recalling the experience of sitting on the Stone Seat, Fu Qian couldn't help but feel his brain cringe.
[Today's work is complete, thank you for your efforts.]
[You have worked continuously for four days. To ensure a balance of work and rest, you will enter a mandatory three-day vacation, during which you will be unable to log into the Warehouse.]
Work four, rest three?
Fu Qian was stunned for a moment, then expressed extreme satisfaction with this humane regulation.
The intensity of the missions over these past few days had been getting higher and higher; he really did need to rest and relax his nerves.
As a freelancer, Fu Qian always had plenty of time, but the feeling of actually 'being on vacation' was something he hadn't experienced in a long while.
Leaving the Warehouse and returning home, it was still very early.
Fu Qian made himself something simple to eat, then went downstairs for a walk with the leisurely pace of a retired old man.
Fu Qian lived in an old residential community, the kind without elevators.
Most of the residents were retired couples whose children had already started their own families—elderly grandpas and grandmas, many of whom were old neighbors for years.
At this hour, the sun had just risen. Office workers weren't even awake yet; there were only scattered people doing their morning exercises or walking their dogs.
Speaking of which, out of health considerations, Fu Qian had actually stuck to getting up early for morning exercises for a while, but was soon forced to give it up.
The root cause was simply that the grandpas and grandmas slept far too little.
Every day when Fu Qian went out for his exercise, no matter how early it was, he would see them sitting neatly on the benches along the community paths, even segregated by gender into two rows, forming a true scenic highlight of the neighborhood.
Any young person passing by would have their eyes followed until they were completely out of sight, followed by a flurry of gossip. Even if a dog passed between them, they could trace its ancestry back several generations.
Fu Qian wasn't exactly socially anxious; this scene wasn't enough to scare him off.
Unfortunately, many of the aunties and uncles were quite familiar with his family's situation. Every time they saw him, they would shower him with pity, sighs, and excessive concern about his well-being.
People always sympathize with those who pose no threat to them.
When Fu Qian was little, he was considered a childhood trauma for quite a few other kids. Now that he was an unemployed vagrant, the elders had no grudges left in their hearts; they all just encouraged him to work hard and not give up on himself.
After enough times, Fu Qian simply gave up his morning exercises.
But today, he leisurely strolled all the way to the community gates with complete ease, even finding a spot on a bench to sit down, feeling the warmth of the rising sun.
He finally understood why the elders liked to bask in the sun here in the mornings.
Just like a cat, the comforting touch of the early morning sunlight fully released the laziness within one's heart.
The grandpas' laziness was different from legendary aristocratic elegance. The latter was the apathy after all desires were fully satisfied; the former was the relief after giving up on desires.
As for Fu Qian, he was the 'spilled mud finding its level' type of going with the flow. Of course, he himself described it as being 'smooth and unhindered, unbound by external things.'
Fu Qian's appearance naturally drew the attention of the grandpas and grandmas.
However, given that he hadn't shown up for a long time, no one came up to talk to him right away, though the rumors were already flying thick and fast privately.
Fu Qian didn't mind this at all. He just focused on enjoying his leisure time until the sun got too hot, then went home.
When he was sunbathing on the second day, Fu Qian was resting with his eyes closed when he suddenly heard a commotion from the "audience seating" by the benches.
Opening his eyes and looking over, Fu Qian saw a dynamic, red four-door sports car slowly driving into the community.
Even if they hadn't eaten pork, they had seen pigs run; the elders had a good eye for things, and their focus quickly shifted to the sports car.
Fu Qian also took a few glances.
He wasn't particularly passionate about cars, but he absolutely didn't mind appreciating such a crystallization of human industrial civilization.
The roads in the old community were very narrow. The sports car, however, was quite polite, crawling forward slowly for fear of bumping into the elders.
The grandpas and grandmas were also very appreciative; they rubbed their hands together, wishing they could go up and stroke it a few times.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the car stopped right in front of Fu Qian.
"Is it him?"
The window on the driver's side slowly rolled down. A woman wearing sunglasses pointed at Fu Qian and asked the person behind her.
"Yes."
Qin Mingze's head popped out from the back seat, and he nodded with a complicated expression.
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