Eldritch Horror Theatre - Ch. 9: Painstaking Effort
Just as I thought!
From everyone's reactions just now, Fu Qian had a vague feeling something was wrong, and now he finally confirmed the reason.
The four of them couldn't see this part of the content; he was the only one who could.
Fu Qian didn't really believe in explanations like being "The Chosen One." After thinking it over, the only logical explanation had to be related to the Inspiration he had obtained earlier.
Especially since his Inspiration had increased significantly after the last successful containment.
The description of Inspiration stated that it enhanced one's ability to perceive intangible things.
This must be the reason he could see the hidden content in the notes.
Wasting no time, and under the complicated gazes of the others, Fu Qian quickly traced what he saw onto the ground.
To him, racing against time to complete the mission was the most important thing; he couldn't afford to miss any clues.
The passage wasn't long, and Fu Qian finished drawing it quickly.
The group stared at what he had drawn, looking at each other in blank dismay.
"What is this?"
"Cuneiform?"
"Looks like some kind of cipher?"
"I have absolutely no clue..."
The Team Leader was clearly just as confused.
"Su Gao, what do you think?"
Who would have thought this girl was the team's technical expert.
Fu Qian glanced at the White Porcelain Girl.
"It should be a special type of ciphertext."
Su Gao pondered for a moment before offering her assessment.
"I have a few guesses about the general direction, but deciphering it won't be easy. It requires ample time, which is absolutely impossible under our current circumstances."
Then isn't it completely meaningless? A total waste of time.
A wave of disappointment washed over the group.
"How about I give it a try?" Fu Qian suddenly said.
"You understand it?"
Everyone whipped their heads around to look at Fu Qian.
"I don't, but I can learn."
Fu Qian looked as if this were a matter of course, turning to face Su Gao.
"Tell me your hypotheses first."
"This..."
Su Gao wasn't entirely stunned, and she quietly shared a few of her ideas.
"Learn, my ass!"
At this point, the Buzz Cut Man finally couldn't hold back and roared.
He had been rubbed the wrong way by this kid for a long time.
Setting aside his unknown origins, he was somehow making everyone take orders from him.
To delay the spread of the Curse, their group hadn't hesitated to become butchers, mercilessly slaughtering their own kind.
Yet this guy actually had the mood to mess around here.
Violent power gathered in his palms; the Buzz Cut Man was truly harboring murderous intent this time.
However, before he could even step forward, a strong sense of crisis welled up in his heart.
Spinning around abruptly, an Air Bullet grazed past his neck.
At the same time, blood splattered as his entire left eye was obliterated by another Air Bullet.
Everyone froze on the spot.
This guy actually attacked without warning, and he was clearly going in for the kill.
They'd been fooled; there really was something wrong with this guy!
Paying absolutely no mind to the group's inner thoughts.
After attacking the Buzz Cut Man, Fu Qian locked onto the Team Leader without hesitation, firing three Air Bullets in rapid succession.
At such close range, there was nowhere for the Team Leader to dodge.
The next moment, a sharp, explosive pop rang out.
A vigorous burst of lightning erupted from the Team Leader's body, its brightness so intense that it almost instantly blinded everyone.
This cluster of lightning slammed squarely into Fu Qian.
Fu Qian felt as if his body had instantly turned to liquid.
[Containment Failed]
So strong!
Just as I thought, he was carrying an Ultimate Weapon on him.
Having returned to the Warehouse, Fu Qian took off the Work Badge around his neck without any hesitation.
Just because Su Gao didn't have time to do something, didn't mean he didn't.
From the moment he asked her, he had already made up his mind to restart, so when the Buzz Cut Man tried to attack, he didn't hold back either.
As for why he attacked the Team Leader, it was pure common sense.
In such a perilous situation, the Team Leader had still hesitated and not ordered a retreat. Fu Qian subconsciously felt that he must have something to rely on.
Those three bullets were just a convenient test.
It seemed his judgment was correct; the Team Leader indeed carried some sort of Ultimate Weapon on him, which was how that lightning that instantly one-shotted him was produced.
This was definitely good news; it would certainly come in handy later when dealing with the boss.
Fu Qian wouldn't dare underestimate anything that could be called a Spawn of the Evil God.
Back home, the first thing he did was grab a pen and paper.
After closing his eyes and meditating for a long time, he put pen to paper, drawing out the contents of the notes once again.
Rote memorization of such meaningless characters was incredibly difficult, especially when having to ensure there were absolutely no errors or omissions.
By the time he had transcribed it all from memory, even Fu Qian, who usually prided himself on his exceptional memory, felt like he was on the verge of a cerebral hemorrhage.
Now I finally know how Huang Yaoshi's wife died!
While sighing with emotion, Fu Qian began the arduous task of decryption.
Due to his wide range of hobbies, he was considered a half-amateur in this field in his daily life.
But he wasn't a professional, after all. Without the hints from the girl Su Gao, deciphering this would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Now that he had a direction, the workload was greatly reduced.
Even so, by the time he finally made some headway, several hours had already passed.
[...Amidst the prostration of myriad servants, descending deep underground...]
...
After a long while, Fu Qian looked at the results in his hands and put the Work Badge back on.
[Entering Containment Scene. Current Sanity Value: 27]
"The current situation has exceeded our realm of understanding."
"Let's stop here—"
This time, when everyone arrived at the hall, Fu Qian didn't even give the Old Man a chance to take out the notes. He directly interrupted the argument, then looked seriously at the Team Leader.
"Is there any deep subterranean space here?"
"Deep space?"
The Team Leader frowned, not understanding Fu Qian's intention.
"Amidst the swarming of myriad servants, descending deep underground."
Fu Qian pointed forward, a look of complete confidence on his face.
"This is a ritual. The two lines I just recited are the key steps of the ritual."
"The evil entity will descend deep underground, and we need to find it as quickly as possible."
In truth, Fu Qian wasn't entirely certain this was what those two lines meant, but if he wanted these people to follow his arrangements, he had to maintain a professional image.
"I'm not familiar enough with this place, so I need to confirm with you: is there such a place here?"
This...
The group looked at each other in dismay.
"Yes."
At this moment, Su Gao, who had been silent, spoke up.
She pointed downward with her hand.
"Dozens of meters below this building is a highly secure Underground Vault. Many people store their valuables inside."
You even know this!
Fu Qian secretly praised.
Generally speaking, places like this aren't cheap. It seems you're quite wealthy too, sister.
"Do you know how to get down there?"
"I do."
Su Gao was a true heroine; immediately after answering, she drew her blade with a sharp shwing.
The next moment, the blade flashed, and a path was forcibly carved straight through the swarm of Maggot Men on one side.
Su Gao took the lead, marching at the very front.
Of course, her unrivaled, fierce slash inevitably disturbed the Maggot Men scattered all over the ground.
Amidst teeth-aching grunts, the Maggot Men turned around one by one, gathering towards them with slow determination.
Fortunately, they were indeed slow enough.
By the time the group, led by Su Gao, opened a descending escalator, the entrance was already surrounded by a dense throng of twisted bodies.
...
As the escalator entrance closed.
Fu Qian noticed the Old Man sighing silently.
This steady brother definitely hated him quite a bit right now, which was completely understandable.
To be honest, he kind of wished the group would just see red and go on a killing spree up there, going totally "Musou" mode. At the very least, he could have leeched quite a few kills.
But if they really did that, it would definitely waste a lot of time and very likely delay the completion of the mission.
Moreover, these four clearly hadn't truly gone mad yet.
The downward passage was almost pitch-black. After walking for an unknown amount of time, a light finally appeared ahead.
At the same time, a heavy, pungent odor assaulted their faces.
"Get ready!"
Without needing the Team Leader to give the order, everyone automatically entered a combat state.
Looks like we found the right place.
Fu Qian followed behind Su Gao, sidestepping through a massive metal door—
The scene inside the door was practically rated R.
(End of Chapter)
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