Eldritch Horror Theatre

Whether he could figure it out or not, the task still had to be done.

Just as he was about to press Schwarzenegger for more details, the villa doors swung open.

A man dressed like a butler took the lead, marching straight toward them with a group of men and women in tow.

”Thank you for your hard work, Captain Gu.”

Seeing Fu Qian and Schwarzenegger, the butler offered a polite bow.

So Schwarzenegger’s surname was Gu.

”You’re too polite. This is our duty.”

It was clear that, despite the greeting being mere professional courtesy, Captain Gu was quite pleased.

The butler smiled and exchanged a few more pleasantries.

At that moment, a speeding car approached from the distance. The butler immediately dropped his smile and hurried over to meet it.Just as he’d thought, they hadn’t come out here merely to exchange pleasantries with the bodyguards.

Given how neatly the butler and his entourage had lined up, the arrivals had to be people of significant status.

The speeding car shot across the Plaza, barely slowing down before slamming its brakes right in front of the butler’s group.

The car doors opened, and several people piled out.

The one in the lead was a young man in his twenties with passable looks.

His hair was slicked back with pomade, and he wore a white suit and white leather shoes, looking like a complete fop.

”I’ve brought people to help. Where is little sister Wen Li?”

Facing the approaching butler, this guy wore a playful grin, pointing at the people who had gotten out of the car with him.

Three others had arrived with him: two men and one woman. Aside from a middle-aged man, the rest were quite young.

”Hello, Young Master Ye. The Young Miss is resting inside.”

The butler replied with a smile, his expression a hundred times more respectful than before.

’Are they all transcendents?’

Fu Qian narrowed his eyes. The aura these people gave off was remarkably similar to the Night Watchers he had encountered before—a sense of power far beyond what any ordinary person could possess.

It seemed ordinary bodyguards like himself were hired purely as cannon fodder. These were the real defensive force.

Still, this was a good thing for him. Maybe he could just sit back and watch while the task completed itself?

It felt like it wouldn’t be that simple.

Of course, given his past track record, Fu Qian was highly pessimistic about that prospect.

Hiss!

Beside him, Schwarzenegger Gu sucked in a sharp breath.

”Four transcendents!”

He spoke quickly in a voice even lower than before.

”To actually find such helpers... It seems the outside rumors are true. The Wen Family is in big trouble this time. No wonder they spent so much money hiring people.

”Don’t forget what I said before we came. Stay sharp.

”We take their money and do the job, sure. But if our opponents are transcendents, our first priority is to sound the alarm, not charge in like idiots.

”They wouldn’t bet everything on us anyway. At best, we’re just cannon fodder. Besides these few, there might even be Night Watchers here.”

’Mm-hmm, got it.’

Fu Qian nodded.

Captain Gu’s personal strength might have been average, but one look proved he was an old hand in the jianghu. He had a good eye for trouble.

He kept a clear head and, in a rare display of decency, didn’t want his subordinates dying for nothing.

However, Fu Qian really wanted to remind him of one crucial detail—transcendents generally possessed excellent hearing.

Sure enough, Eldest Young Master Ye, who had been about to follow the butler inside, suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He slowly turned his head, shooting them a playful, mocking smile.

Well then. Their scheme to slack off had been caught in the act.

Fu Qian sighed in sympathy. The pressure was entirely on Captain Gu now.

Captain Gu realized the danger instantly. Recalling what he had just whispered, his breath hitched.

Unexpectedly, after scanning the group, Eldest Young Master Ye’s gaze locked squarely onto Fu Qian.

”Are these the bodyguards you hired? Why is there a pretty boy like this?”

’Is this guy sick in the head?’

Fu Qian frowned, not expecting the trouble to find him instead.

Did pretty boys naturally just hate guys who were even prettier than them?

After all, despite the kid’s powdered face and slicked-back hair, he really didn’t measure up to Fu Qian.

Especially after taking on the Thug form, his previous flaw of a frail physique had been perfectly patched. He was now practically a walking hormone emitter.

Otherwise, how could he possibly plan a career out of being a sugar baby?

”These are extraordinary times. To ensure the Young Miss’s safety, we have to utilize all available forces.

”This is an elite team member brought by Captain Gu.”

Not knowing why Eldest Young Master Ye was suddenly targeting this bodyguard, the butler habitually tried to smooth things over.

’An elite team member?’

Eldest Young Master Ye sneered.

”Just how elite? Care to let me see?”

This guy just wouldn’t let it go. Were some people just born begging for a beating?

As a dedicated task runner, Fu Qian had no intention of wasting his breath on this kind of trash, but he hadn’t expected the guy to be so relentlessly annoying.

”Is that alright, Captain Gu?”

Although the butler found it absurd, he clearly didn’t want to go against Eldest Young Master Ye’s wishes too much, and turned to look at Schwarzenegger Gu.

”Well, he’s still on duty...”

Captain Gu’s expression changed slightly, and he shot Fu Qian a worried look.

Having knocked around the jianghu for years, he could naturally tell this Young Master Ye was picking a fight, even if he didn’t know why he was targeting Fu Qian so specifically.

Although his men had undergone strict training, they were ultimately still ordinary people. Clashing with a transcendent was absolutely unwise.

”Demonstrating strength to put the employer at ease can be considered one of your job responsibilities, right?”

Eldest Young Master Ye clearly didn’t want to let Fu Qian off easily.

From the moment he laid eyes on Fu Qian, he inexplicably hated the guy.

The key was that from just now until this moment, this lowly bodyguard hadn’t even looked him in the eye. This unwarranted arrogance made the anger in his heart surge.

”Oh? How would you like me to demonstrate?”

Seeing Captain Gu at a loss for words, Fu Qian spoke up directly.

”Whatever special skills you have, just show them all.”

Seeing Fu Qian finally answer, Eldest Young Master Ye smiled in satisfaction.

”I have far too many, and it wouldn’t be convenient to show all of them here.”

It seemed a conflict was inevitable, so Fu Qian wasn’t polite either.

After transforming into a Thug, he hadn’t yet fought a transcendent. This was a perfect chance to test his current combat strength.

The absolute worst-case scenario was losing 1 point of SAN Value and restarting. No big deal.

As soon as these words were spoken, even the butler’s face lost its color.

Captain Gu directly gave him a tug.

”Haha!”

Eldest Young Master Ye froze for a second before he caught the meaning behind Fu Qian’s words, bursting into loud laughter.

”This bodyguard is interesting. I didn’t expect you to actually hire such an expert!

”Tell you what. Since you don’t know what to show off, why not exchange a few moves with our little girl?”

Eldest Young Master Ye reached out and pulled the girl who had come with him forward.

”Now you can’t say I’m bullying you, right?”

’Little girl.’

Fu Qian looked at the person who had been pushed out.

She was definitely young, but her sense of style left a lot to be desired.

With hair dyed in alternating red and blue, eyeshadow heavy enough to rival a panda’s, and skimpy clothes showing off plenty of skin, she was a dead ringer for Harley Quinn.

Sure enough, nowadays if you didn’t dress like a freak, you’d be too embarrassed to call yourself a person of extraordinary talent.

Seeing Fu Qian looking her up and down, she gave a charming smile and shot him a flirtatious wink.

”Handsome, go easy on me.”

”Don’t worry, that’s my specialty.”

”That’s good, that’s good!”

The delinquent girl was shaking with laughter, patting her chest in an exaggerated motion.

The very next second, she flicked her wrist, and two gleaming Razor Blades appeared between her fingers.