Eldritch Horror Theatre

Of course, there was also the possibility that absolutely no one in this world missed him.

Savoring the tranquility in his mind, Fu Qian got out of bed and leisurely went downstairs.

The bookstore downstairs looked exactly as he had left it.

In fact, with time synchronized between the two worlds, only a single day had passed.

Sitting down by the counter, Fu Qian glanced around casually. A moment later, he noticed something unusual by the door.

A letter lay on the floor, likely slipped under the door.

A utility bill?

That was his first reaction.

As someone who grew up in the Information Age, he knew physical letters had almost entirely lost their communicative function, devolving into mere tools of notification.

The paper felt exceptionally nice—clearly of high quality—and bore a line of elegant handwriting.

"Mister Fang, I've discovered something unusual that I thought might interest you, and I also hope to seek your guidance. Please come to my residence for a chat when it's convenient."

The signature clearly read "Wen Li."

It seemed his earlier assumption had been wrong; he did have a certain social circle in this world after all.

Something unusual? He wondered what exactly Wen Li had discovered.

She must have come looking for him earlier and, considering his habit of appearing and disappearing at random, simply decided to leave a letter instead.

She even went out of her way to slide it under the door. How thoughtful.

After all, since she had overseen the renovation project, she definitely had a key to this place.

Her choice of address had been very cautious, using "Fang."

Fu Qian tossed the letter onto the counter.

Since she had chosen to write a letter, the matter couldn't be too urgent.

He could check it out when he had time, but right now, he had other things to do.

If that little girl really was Su Gao, it meant the timeline of this mission had been set quite a long time ago.

The little girl had only looked about ten years old. As for Su Gao... he wasn't entirely sure, but he got the feeling she was older than him.

Although he didn't plan on consuming the rewarded Mist of the Abyss anytime soon, this mission had actually yielded a massive hidden gain.

That gain was a single sentence spoken by Mister Luo—he had learned about that place from some special record, the place where the Mist of the Abyss was buried.

With a little extrapolation, if there was a record, didn't that imply that someone had once researched and searched for similar things?

Like the group of people who had dug that underground tunnel.

This was definitely a clue for him to find other traits.

And to gather that information, there was one person best suited for the job.

...

Half an hour later, Fu Qian arrived at the Night Watchers Base, a place he hadn't visited in a while.

Out of a tiny bit of trust in Yuan Shan's professional work ethic, he didn't go looking for her at the mall.

Looking at the familiar Black Spire ahead, Fu Qian snorted, the corners of his mouth curling into a smirk as he strode inside.

The three-year term has arrived!

"Hey! You over there, sign in at the door."

The old man at the door, who had been there during his last visit, was finally no longer bleary-eyed. He called out to him with a commanding presence.

"You're looking for Chief Yuan?"

After hearing Fu Qian's purpose for visiting, the old man's eyes instantly widened into perfect circles.

"Yes."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No."

"...I can't let you in."

"That's fine. Just tell her the Bookstore Owner is here to see her."

...

The old man was clearly baffled, but Fu Qian's tone was simply too natural and composed, and he didn't seem to have any obvious mental issues.

In the end, the old man didn't chase him away directly, but rather contacted the people inside to report the situation.

About five minutes later, a woman who looked like a secretary walked out.

"Mister Fang? Please follow me."

It seems Yuan Shan is very dedicated to her work today!

Fu Qian silently praised her. Under the old man's silent gaze, he followed the female secretary through the doors.

Following the same route he remembered, the two quickly arrived at Yuan Shan's extravagantly spacious office.

The secretary opened the door for him and promptly left.

Dressed in a gray skirt suit, Yuan Shan sat behind the desk, her serious expression making her look quite the part.

When she saw Fu Qian walk in, a smile appeared on her face.

She put down the items in her hands and gestured for him to take a seat.

"Sorry for not greeting you personally. It's just that, considering you've always kept a low profile, it probably wouldn't look good if I ran out there myself."

Yuan Shan wore a beaming smile.

"It's fine. People of the jianghu do not fuss over trifles!"

Fu Qian sat down without standing on ceremony, casually spouting nonsense.

As far as he was concerned, she might have had a point, but it was far more likely she had just been too lazy to move.

"What brings you here so suddenly today? Could it be you've changed your mind?"

"No."

Fu Qian rejected her as bluntly as ever.

"But don't worry, I'm not here because of any trouble today."

"Oh? Then what do you want to do?"

Yuan Shan couldn't hide the curiosity on her face.

"I want to look up some information. After thinking it over, I figured your place would be the most suitable."

Fu Qian got straight to the point.

"Look up information? That's true enough; it wouldn't be easy to find a place more comprehensive than the Night Watchers' database."

"However, these are all classified documents, not open to the public. Even as Chief, I can't violate protocol—"

"How about I advance you the fee for my next assistance?"

"Deal!"

Yuan Shan agreed at lightning speed, a smug smile on her face as if she had been waiting for him to say just that.

"But giving you unlimited access is still out of the question. Tell you what, within my authority, you can pull any three files to offset one opportunity for your assistance."

"That works."

Fu Qian agreed readily, finding no issue with Yuan Shan's conditions.

Consensual exchange was a human virtue, whether it involved profits or bodily fluids.

Although Yuan Shan seemed unreliable, thinking she was easy to fool would be incredibly naive.

Fu Qian had never underestimated this regional Chief of the Night Watchers.

Seeing Fu Qian accept the terms without a second word, Yuan Shan's expression also showed a hint of appreciation.

She immediately led him out the door and all the way to the archives.

Considering he only had three chances, Fu Qian didn't bother trying to search for names like Miyamoto or Mister Luo.

In his eyes, the credibility of those two names was highly questionable, and it wasn't worth wasting an opportunity on them.

As for Delin and his team, since it was a secret commission, Fu Qian didn't think there would be any relevant records of them either.

The first thing Fu Qian asked for was Su Gao's file.

Given that it concerned internal personnel, the staff inside only pulled the file for him after specifically requesting permission from Yuan Shan.

Su Gao's record was extremely sparse, especially since portions of it had been redacted.

Fu Qian briefly skimmed through it and found the information he was interested in.

Sure enough, Su Gao had joined the Night Watchers over ten years ago, and there was virtually no information regarding anything prior to that, only mentioning that she came from a forbidden zone known as the Rotten Forest.

It really was her!

This mission actually sent me more than a decade into the past!

Now that his suspicions were essentially confirmed, Fu Qian couldn't help but sigh in reflection.

Judging by Su Gao's state at the end, her mind must have suffered some damage under the influence of the Fool Tree Sap Fluid, which understandably explained why she didn't recognize him later.

"The Rotten Forest. I need the file on this area."

Fu Qian said directly to the archive administrator.

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