Eldritch Horror Theatre

”Not bad, right?”

The vehicle hadn’t even come to a full stop amid the dazzling nightscape before Yuan Shan excitedly dragged Fu Qian out.

She radiated a pure vacation vibe, showing absolutely zero self-awareness that she was marching someone to their death.

”Not bad.”

However, as a pragmatic materialist warrior, Fu Qian gave a fair assessment.

Naturally, he had long heard of the legendary Sacred Night Capital.

As an entertainment hub famous for its gambling, it was entirely different from the Ring Archipelago. It was a den of depravity operating under normal societal rules, deeply beloved by the vast majority of ordinary humans.

Tales of sudden wealth, romantic escapades, and legends existing only by word of mouth—this city, said to only come alive under the cover of night, acted as a top-tier catalyst for human desire. It was the ultimate interpretation of dazzling luxury and debauchery.

That was the description Fu Qian had heard. Observing it firsthand now, he concluded it was no exaggeration. The visuals alone were enough to make one feel the surging hormones.

It was indeed an interesting place, but the problem was: you’re telling me this is the Night Watchers Headquarters?Name aside, doesn’t it clash a bit with your world-shaking, arbitrating across eternity alone style?

There were some fascinating people among the Night Watchers!

Amid his silent praise, Fu Qian was even a little curious about where those guys actually worked.

”Heh!”

Yuan Shan looked quite satisfied with Fu Qian’s approval.

”If we get the chance, I’ll take you over to my place. It might not be in the liveliest area, but it’s incredibly comfortable. Every time I come here, I never want to leave!”

”Sounds good!”

Having accepted the previous premise, Fu Qian wasn’t the least bit surprised that Yuan Shan actually owned property in this place.

Of course, during that polite exchange just now, she had subtly mentioned a prerequisite—if they got the chance.

Theoretically, he was very likely about to boldly storm the Night Watchers Headquarters soon, so there was a high probability he wouldn’t get the chance to be a guest.

”It’s still early. Let’s get down to business.”

Yuan Shan’s tone dropped slightly as she waved to hail a cab.

”We aren’t going to the headquarters?”

Fu Qian blinked. He wasn’t surprised by her remark about it being early, considering it was still a long way from midnight.

However, in his view, if this were an official, pre-arranged meeting, a woman of her personality would have definitely had someone waiting here for them rather than making their own way over.

”No. My teacher retired many years ago.”

Yuan Shan smiled in satisfaction.

”Why don’t you guess where we’re going to find him?”

The person they were meeting was actually a former Night Watcher? This assignment really was special. After a moment of thought, Fu Qian honestly shook his head.

”That’s a tough one to guess.”

”For a retiree to stubbornly remain at their station, my guess is that they’re overly fond of the lifestyle here. And from what I know, there are plenty of entertainment options here besides the casinos. It’s hard to say exactly where he might be.”

”Spot on. I don’t know where the guy is either, so we can only head to his general area first.”

Yuan Shan listened with a smile, then finally sighed and gave the driver an address.

As expected, renowned hermits didn’t carry communication devices. And sure enough, Yuan Shan’s first stop was a luxury hotel.

......

”Not here!”

A short while later, Yuan Shan served as a live example of how hard it was to guess. Sighing and shaking her head, she signaled for Fu Qian to follow her out of the clamorous casino.

He could tell that despite her relaxed exterior, she was actually quite anxious about what was to come.

The proof of this was that, as they passed by high-end shopping centers along the way, she uncharacteristically didn’t spare them a single glance.

”Aren’t you going to try your luck?”

Fu Qian, on the other hand, was full of enthusiasm, completely lacking the self-awareness of someone involved in a serious matter.

”No. My luck has always been terrible.”

Yuan Shan shot him an exasperated glare.

”Besides, do you even have money?”

......

This sharp question undoubtedly poured a bucket of cold water over Fu Qian, leaving him momentarily deep in thought.

Using his research funds to buy casino chips did seem a bit unjustifiable...

A moment later, he pulled out the card Chief Yuan had given him.

”Can I overdraft on this?”

”It’s a transit card, not a credit card...”

Fu Qian’s whimsical idea made the veins bulge on Yuan Shan’s forehead.

”Alright then.”

Fu Qian looked thoroughly disappointed.

”By the way, aren’t transcendents worried about scaring off the ordinary folks when participating in this kind of entertainment? After all, their advantages in certain areas aren’t just minor.”

”That’s why transcendents can only participate in specific games.”

Yuan Shan calmed herself down, explaining to Fu Qian as she led the way.

”And it’s a good thing, too. Otherwise, tracking him down would be even more of a hassle.”

Made sense.

Fu Qian found himself growing increasingly interested in this city.

”In fact, those specific games are usually the liveliest ones.”

Yuan Shan continued.

”Many people don’t mind competing against a transcendent when sheer luck is involved.”

This time, she didn’t hail a cab, opting instead to lead Fu Qian on foot.

”Understandable.”

Fu Qian thought of a certain Bookstore Owner with a terrible personality.

The problem was, some people’s extraordinary attributes manifested entirely through their luck.

But it didn’t matter. For the people who came here, believing they possessed extraordinary luck was basically a default mindset.

”It truly is an interesting place, but I’m a bit curious—why would the Night Watchers go out of their way to set up an additional secret headquarters like this?”

Following behind Yuan Shan and sensing the high spirits of the pedestrians, Fu Qian asked a question he had been wondering about since earlier.

”Isn’t one Sanctum enough?”

”Logically, it should be enough. But things are never that ideal. You don’t actually think an organization this massive and ancient is completely unified internally, do you?”

The question clearly stirred up some emotion in Yuan Shan. She sighed as she spoke.

”That would indeed be hard to imagine.”

”Exactly. So, this is where the younger crowd comes.”

”I can tell.”

Fu Qian watched two hot women walking toward them and fully agreed.

When the women noticed him, they giggled and waved, even shooting a flirtatious wink at Yuan Shan.

The ambiguous lighting and atmosphere reduced this regional chief of the Night Watchers to an ordinary urban beauty.

Yuan Shan didn’t mind it at all, smoothly throwing a wink right back.

”But don’t worry, overall the Night Watchers are still very stable. It’s just that some people wanted a change of scenery for their workspace. Want to take another guess at where we’re going next?”

”A Church?”

Fu Qian looked up at some buildings with wildly contrasting architectural styles in the near distance, his brows slightly furrowed.

”Correct!”

Yuan Shan smiled brightly.

”The most interesting thing about this city is that it doesn’t have the highest number of casinos in the world, but it does have the most Churches.”

”Understandable. Certain things tend to make faith much more devout.”

Fu Qian chimed in, naturally following up with another question.

”So, tracking him down all this way, I still don’t know what your teacher’s name is?”

”Campbell. Henry Campbell.”

Since they were about to see him anyway, Yuan Shan slightly bent her principles.

Henry?

How interesting!

Fu Qian blinked, momentarily thinking of a certain ten-jin cat.