Chapter 3028 The Culinary Art of Brains

Putting pressure on others was an art.

Applying extreme pressure never meant using as much force as you had, but rather applying exactly as much as the target could endure.

Even if it looked like they had gained nothing, in Fu Qian's eyes, the young couple's performance was already quite excellent.

Under his delicate control of the heat, their thoughts had been boiling intensely the entire time.

And they had stubbornly held on until now without their heads exploding or anything of the sort.

Yes, Fu Qian's objective had always been very clear.

All his previous actions had merely been to cook their willpower.

This was truly delicate work; the criminal syndicate from earlier had already proven that if the heat was even slightly mishandled, their brains would simply turn to "mush."

As for what he hoped to obtain from this baking process?

Honestly, there was no clear-cut definition.

Fu Qian didn't even expect the two of them to withstand the pressure forever.

The reason was just as stated earlier: in Fu Qian's judgment, their only possible value lay in this willpower that would inevitably turn into a chaotic mess. His current actions were simply methods of trying to extract that value.

It was like a sealed pressure cooker. First, he wanted to see if it would emit any unusual sounds as the pressure mounted.

Second, even if it couldn't handle the pressure and exploded at some point, he could at least see what kind of fireworks the blast would produce.

What Fu Qian needed to do was apply pressure while maintaining equilibrium as best he could, constantly pushing that threshold upward so the explosion would arrive as late as possible.

For instance, declaring that no one was allowed to leave had instantly thrown the young couple into a desperate fight for survival.

"I'm very happy to help, but the question is, how do we search?"

Compared to the Long-Haired Man, his girlfriend was clearly in much better spirits.

They were actually going to look for a cat? And truly believed the cat was here?

However insane it seemed, for her, the situation could absolutely be described as a miraculous turn of events.

A death sentence and a stay of execution were two entirely different things.

By speaking up first, the Long-Haired Woman decisively displayed a proactive and cooperative attitude.

As for the question she raised—

"We'll split up."

The Mad Cat Gunner had unexpectedly formed a plan long ago. Clearly satisfied with her attitude, he simply gestured at their surroundings.

...

Are you sure? Do we really need to split up in such a tiny place?

Fu Qian's meaning was easy to understand, but his reasoning was completely incomprehensible.

In that moment, even the highly proactive Long-Haired Woman looked a bit dazed by this plan.

Splitting up to improve efficiency when searching for something was indeed a common strategy.

But when searching for something capable of coming and going like a ghost, relying on such a plain strategy made its effectiveness highly doubtful.

Not to mention that this Hidden Map was hardly large, making the necessity of splitting up highly questionable.

"Split into two teams. Don't overlook a single spot, and look for similar hidden passages."

Taking in their bewildered gazes, Fu Qian scoffed and immediately demonstrated the thought process of a leader.

It actually seemed to make a bit of sense; who was to say there weren't other hidden passages beneath this one... Even though it was such simple logic, the young couple remained deeply shaken, looking completely lost.

Of course, what followed was another severe problem—how should they split up?

Aside from the Mad Cat Gunner, there were only four people here in total.

As their gazes swept across the area, the Long-Haired Man and Long-Haired Woman ultimately ended up staring right at each other.

"...Can the two of us go together?"

As a result, their relationship, which had been on the verge of shattering, was miraculously repaired in that moment.

After confirming that he had actually earned his girlfriend's forgiveness, the Long-Haired Man took a deep breath and carefully checked with Fu Qian.

After all, for newly assimilated members, standard procedure was to break up their original formations to prevent any uncontrollable collusion.

"Of course."

However, Professor Fu practiced the principle of never doubt those you employ so thoroughly that he agreed immediately.

...

If the two were separated, how could they provide emotional value to each other? He certainly wasn't pretending to be magnanimous; this was exactly the outcome Fu Qian wanted to see.

In fact, this had been the very purpose of splitting up—giving two lovers who had developed a rift a chance to draw close to each other once again.

Tension and relaxation went hand in hand; having just experienced extreme pressure, it was time to let them catch their breath.

Naturally, Fu Qian didn't naively believe that mutually providing emotional value would definitely relieve their stress.

As everyone knew, emotional value could be positive or negative; it was entirely possible they would turbocharge each other.

However, that didn't matter in the slightest.

The key to them becoming a community of shared interests once again was that the pressure between the two pressure cookers could balance out, increasing their stability as a whole.

Whether they comforted or tormented each other, as long as it was a matter of reducing the surplus to supplement the deficit, it would be fine.

As for why he was so certain they would choose each other?

That was even simpler. Even the most emotional players knew that in such a critical moment, having a partner they knew inside and out was far more important.

Let alone the fact that they were still ostensibly a couple, even if they were mortal enemies, teaming up at this juncture would be perfectly normal.

In short, this entire operation was a complete frying, roasting, and deep-frying of their two brains, and the heat of every step had to be controlled flawlessly.

"Do you think they know something? Perhaps something even they themselves haven't realized?"

As for Yuan Shan and her companion, naturally, they wouldn't actually go their separate ways.

Watching the young couple head off together toward their designated area in that peculiar atmosphere, Yuan Shan turned her head, seemingly having understood something.

Professor Fu had already proven with facts time and time again that no matter how outrageous his actions appeared, there was always a profound underlying meaning.

And since she was a high-ranking member of the Night Watchers after all—having even been the one to introduce the traits of the Crowd—it wasn't hard for her to figure certain things out once pointed in this direction.

"You could understand it that way."

Fu Qian nodded, feeling quite gratified by her growth.

"Their appearance was indeed bizarre, but I still feel this is all a bit too ethereal and baseless."

Yuan Shan sighed. While acknowledging that those two did possess some value, she clearly lacked confidence in such an overly abstract, stream-of-consciousness method.

"Look on the bright side. They won't be ethereal for much longer."

Fully understanding her anxiety, Fu Qian even offered kind words of comfort.

'I suppose that's true...' The effect was immediate; fully aware of the fragile side of the Crowd, Yuan Shan instantly suppressed her emotions.

[SAN Value -1, inspiration +1]

But someone else failed to suppress theirs.

First, what rang in his ears was unexpectedly another familiar prompt.

Facts proved that Madam Three-Eyed really hadn't left; she was still contributing inspiration.

Tap, tap—

It wasn't even over. The next moment, a distinct set of footsteps actually echoed from above.

'She finally moved?'

Given that elegance which could practically be heard, Fu Qian easily pictured the silhouette of Madam Three-Eyed.

Perhaps they were missing a gatekeeper, but it was undoubtedly good news.

Looking toward the sound the next moment, it was indeed that figure clutching a Pocket Watch, descending the stairs step by step.