Eldritch Horror Theatre - Ch. 8: Notes
"This stuff is getting thicker and thicker. We'd better not waste any more time." Fu Qian pointed his hand upward.
Successfully gaining four capable fighters so smoothly was practically an unexpected joy.
Without further delay, his primary objective right now was to bring the team to the side of that divine child to deliver it.
Besides, he wasn't spouting nonsense.
It had only been a few minutes since he came out of the building, but the shadows overhead had grown substantially thicker, and visibility had dropped significantly once again.
Even the wind had become uncomfortably viscous, feeling as if it carried invisible needles that stung the skin and made it go numb.
"The periphery has been mostly cleared as well." The Team Leader nodded and decisively issued orders.
Considering Fu Qian's poor condition, he specifically instructed the White Porcelain Girl Su Gao to keep a close eye on him.
As to whether she was watching over him or monitoring him like a hawk, it was hard to say.
Fu Qian had no objections to this whatsoever.
Regardless, his origins were mysterious, and it was impossible to completely eliminate their wariness with just a few words.
Not to mention that these few were currently all in a bloodthirsty state.
Soon, the group traversed the long street, advancing toward the center of the shadows.
The atmosphere along the way was intensely oppressive, and no one said a single word.
Indeed, aside from natural-born psychopaths, very few people could maintain a good mood after slaughtering their own kind—even with a perfectly justified reason.
This surrounding area was a rather old residential district; the buildings were tightly packed, severely restricting visibility.
The entire group had their weapons drawn, vigilantly on guard. Fu Qian, walking in the center of the formation, was actually the most relaxed one among them.
Just as they were approaching the central area, a sudden sense of alarm flared in Fu Qian's mind.
A window bordering the street was suddenly pushed open, and a grayish mass whizzed out, lunging straight for his face.
Su Gao's blade and Fu Qian's Air Bullet struck it almost simultaneously.
Smack! The creature was first staggered by the blow, then cleanly sliced in two by Su Gao.
Even so, the thing still managed to leave a deep gash on Fu Qian's shoulder.
Its severed upper half even crawled several meters on the ground before finally stopping.
Having undergone special training, Fu Qian no longer cared about such minor injuries and immediately retreated to a safe distance.
It was then that he finally got a clear look at what had attacked him.
Long black hair, a stain-covered coat; it looked like it had been a human being not too long ago.
Unfortunately, it was now completely deformed.
Its entire body looked as if it had been stretched ten times its length and snapped back. Its two legs had almost entirely retracted into its body, leaving only the tiny bottom stumps exposed.
"This kind of Curse... it's my first time seeing it." The Buzz Cut Man took a deep breath, yet his tone carried a faint hint of relief.
Fu Qian looked around; the Team Leader and the rest displayed the exact same reaction.
Although they had previously deduced that the Curse's pollution would mutate people into monsters, it was still just a deduction. Now that it was confirmed, their inner sense of guilt was actually somewhat alleviated.
"How's your injury?" The Team Leader turned to look at Fu Qian.
"It's nothing, let's keep going!" Fu Qian acted entirely oblivious to the wound on his shoulder; he had made up his mind to maintain the tough-guy persona to the bitter end.
"Mm." The Team Leader nodded silently. He had witnessed Fu Qian's reaction after being attacked just now.
He was now even more convinced that Fu Qian was a Beyonder accustomed to life and death.
Only a person like that could possess such insight and courage.
The Team Leader secretly praised him in his heart, resolving to find a way to help Fu Qian lift the Curse once this incident was resolved.
"Fuck, why are there still so many!" At this moment, they heard the Buzz Cut Man roar in a suppressed voice.
In just this brief moment, one Maggot Man after another wriggled out of the windows, from the rooftops, and even from the pipes overhead, swarming towards the five of them.
"Move!" The Team Leader ordered decisively.
The group quickly sprang into action, clearing a path before they could be completely encircled.
Fu Qian was actually quite happy. Along the way, no matter who made a move, he consistently rewarded the target with an Air Bullet without exception.
If he remembered correctly, the final summary included the number of enemies killed, which might affect the rewards or something. It never hurt to farm some stats.
Plus, he could practice his proficiency.
Very quickly, Fu Qian's Air Bullets reached a level where every shot was a headshot.
Coupled with the bonus from the School of the Cat, he was already hitting exactly wherever he aimed.
By now, the five of them had turned the corner of the long street, and the view before them suddenly opened up.
In a sprawling hall, nearly a hundred figures clad in human clothing were hunched over on the ground.
Densely packed, they covered the entire area.
Among them were many who were impeccably dressed.
Their bodies even swayed gently to some unseen rhythm.
Fuck! Even though Fu Qian claimed to be well-traveled and experienced, facing this scene still gave him a wave of nausea.
The Team Leader's face was already as black as coal; clearly, he hadn't expected it to be this severe.
"Alright, that's enough!" But before he could speak, the Old Man, who had remained silent all this while, spoke up.
Seeing everyone staring at him, the Old Man scoffed and continued.
"I believe this incident has exceeded our jurisdictional authority. We should report this to the agency and have them send people to handle it."
"I think you're just chickening out!" The Buzz Cut Man was the first to blow up.
"Report it for processing? Don't tell me you don't know how long it will take them to get here!"
"That's right, I'm chickening out." The Old Man didn't care in the slightest.
"I'm not like the rest of you. I only do what's strictly my job."
"What we did earlier can still somewhat be explained. But this scene right here, what do you plan to do?"
"With so many people, if we really turn this place into a living hell, are you absolutely sure we won't be disciplined?"
"If we all wipe out here, then the situation will truly spiral out of control."
"We don't even know what caused the pollution Curse; it's entirely based on what this guy of unknown origin is saying. Are you really just going to take his word for it?"
Why am I getting dragged into this again? Seeing the Old Man pointing at him, Fu Qian calmly shook his head.
"There's indeed no need to believe everything. Not everything I said was the truth to begin with."
...
"We can't just walk away like this; there'd be no way to report back," the Team Leader said with a cold face.
"Who said we're leaving empty-handed?" The Old Man pulled something out and tossed it over.
"At the very least, we found this."
Fu Qian took a glance; it was a battered, tattered black notebook.
"Where did you find this?" The Team Leader looked startled.
"While we were carrying out the purge." The Old Man grunted and pointed at Fu Qian.
"I just didn't trust him, so I held off on bringing it out for the time being."
"With this thing in hand, we can't exactly be considered to have found nothing, right?"
Seeing the other three fall silent simultaneously, looking somewhat persuaded, Fu Qian thought to himself: Not good.
This isn't right; this is the rhythm of the party disbanding before even seeing the boss.
Fu Qian pointed at the item in the Team Leader's hand.
"Hey, can I take a look at that?"
"This is an important item." Before the Team Leader could speak, the Buzz Cut Man was the first to get angry.
The Team Leader ignored him, however, and handed the notebook over.
"There's no harm in letting you see it. This thing is tied to another incident we've been investigating. I've already looked through the inside, and there's nothing special."
The notebook was very thin and didn't contain much content. Fu Qian flipped through it with his fingertips and frowned.
"I can't read this section at the bottom. What does it mean?"
What? Following where Fu Qian was pointing, everyone put on a 'are you kidding me' expression.
"You're not joking?"
"Why would I joke? This paragraph of random gibberish is completely incomprehensible."
...
The Team Leader silently handed over a stick.
"Can you copy it down?"
Fu Qian: "Why?"
"Because to our eyes, that space is completely blank."
(End of Chapter)
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