Eldritch Horror Theatre

Despite his youth, the Night Watcher standing before him was no weakling.

That last sword strike carried real mastery. It felt like the work of at least a Tier 6.

His weapon was no ordinary piece of steel, either.

Fu Qian stared at the Longsword in the young man's grip.

That Air Bullet had nearly torn open the web of the Night Watcher's sword hand, yet the blade itself remained completely unscathed.

A young Mid Tier with a fine sword. Could he be from the Academy?

The Sword Comprehension Institute? One of Ji Liushuang's upperclassmen?

"Who are you?"

Fully aware of the overwhelming power behind their brief exchange, the young Night Watcher didn't dare advance. He kept his distance, his posture tense and on full alert as if facing a mortal threat.

"So you leaped in and started swinging your sword without knowing a single thing about the situation? Is this how you Night Watchers usually operate?"

Seeing the man's reaction, Fu Qian made no move to attack. Instead, he asked the question with a cheerful smile.

"You're a transcendent slaughtering your way through a gathering of ordinary people! What could you possibly have to say for yourself?"

The young Night Watcher pointed at the severed limbs scattered across the dance floor.

"Are you sure about that? For a transcendent, you think this counts as a slaughter?"

Fu Qian looked at him.

"And even if I did do all this, haven't you heard of the principle of subjective and objective intent in criminal law? You're handing down a guilty verdict just like that?"

"As specialized law enforcers, you shouldn't just be building muscle. You need to brush up on your theory, too."

...

At Fu Qian's words, the young man fell into a momentary silence.

It was true—he couldn't gauge the depths of this man's strength at all. The only absolute certainty was that the stranger was vastly stronger than him.

For a figure of his caliber to stand before a crowd of ordinary people, it was worse than a tiger entering a flock of sheep.

If he had truly let loose and slaughtered them, the scene would be far worse than this.

"What exactly is going on here?"

Reaching that conclusion, the Night Watcher lowered his stance and softened his tone.

Regardless, he was more than happy to talk if this Thug was willing to communicate.

He was the only one here right now. If a character like this actually got serious, he couldn't think of a single way to contain the situation.

"It's simple."

Faced with the Night Watcher's inquiry, Fu Qian maintained a perfectly relaxed posture.

"I accidentally stumbled into the wrong place and ended up disturbing the gentlemen and ladies of the party.

Then, just as I was about to leave, they spotted me. Driven by certain concerns, they decided to resort to violence to handle the intrusion. I was left with no choice but to act in self-defense."

Self-defense...

The Night Watcher's face twitched uncontrollably at Fu Qian's explanation.

For a transcendent to make such a claim was nothing short of shameless.

Even if he had just stood there and let them wail on him, could they have harmed a single hair on his head?

"Even if you were forced to defend yourself, didn't you go a bit too far?"

"Too far?"

Fu Qian pointed at the two security guards who hadn't yet managed to retreat.

"Has it occurred to you that this might be the outcome with the least amount of bloodshed?"

...

The Night Watcher wasn't completely devoid of logic. After a moment of stunned silence, he began to grasp the underlying meaning of Fu Qian's words.

He wasn't blind. A single glance at the state of undress among the surrounding crowd made it incredibly easy to picture the unspeakable nature of this gathering.

While whatever happened behind closed doors was their own business, given the typical behavior of this crowd, the odds of them resorting to violent disposal the moment they realized a stranger had seen their secrets were undeniably high.

Especially when they had no idea the intruder was a transcendent!

And if that were the case, this Thug using such seemingly gruesome methods to terrorize the crowd might have genuinely prevented further conflict.

If he had gone too easy on them... in the eyes of this crowd, security personnel were nothing more than expendables.

It made a twisted sort of sense. But it was still just a one-sided story. If he took this guy's word for everything, the man would practically be a peace ambassador.

Seeing the young man fall silent with a frown, Fu Qian patted his own head as if suddenly remembering something.

"Oh, right. Even though no one usually impersonates a Night Watcher, shouldn't you still introduce yourself?"

"Hu Mingyi, Night Watcher operative."

Even though he had temporarily lost the upper hand in logic, Hu Mingyi wasn't the type to let himself be manipulated.

He simply spat out his name coldly in response to Fu Qian's question.

"If you don't believe me, you can verify it anytime."

"Anyway, it's your turn now. I expect you to answer my next questions in full detail—"

"I will ask the questions."

Before Hu Mingyi could even finish his sentence, a voice interrupted him from nearby.

She's finally here!

Recognizing the familiar voice, Fu Qian looked up toward the entrance.

Wearing a solemn expression, Lanaya parted the crowd and stepped forward.

So this really is the Academy's turf?

The odds of the head of the Disciplinary Department just wandering around on a stroll should be practically zero.

Meeting Lanaya's man-eating glare, Fu Qian offered a smiling nod.

I knew it was you!

And in her answering stare, Fu Qian could see a deep, overwhelming sense of exasperation.

Lanaya's interruption had undoubtedly drawn the attention of the entire room. Under the weight of countless stares, she walked straight up to Fu Qian.

It had to be said, some things only became obvious by comparison.

The two young women who had been kissing passionately earlier were certainly mature and gorgeous. Yet, when compared to the brown-haired, blue-eyed Lanaya, they instantly paled into insignificance.

Beyond her looks, the flawless physical coordination born from her absolute bodily control infused her every movement with a natural grace and poise that ordinary people could never hope to achieve.

"Professor Lanaya."

The first to break the silence was actually Hu Mingyi, his face lighting up with pleasant surprise.

"You got here so fast!"

"I happened to be nearby when I got your message."

Lanaya gave a curt reply, offering no further explanation.

So that's how it is!

Even from that brief exchange, Fu Qian managed to glean quite a bit of information.

He had been wondering how Lanaya had managed to arrive so quickly.

Hearing Hu Mingyi's title for her, it was now almost a certainty that this Night Watcher was an Academy graduate.

And the moment Hu Mingyi received word of the incident, he had chosen to notify the head of the Disciplinary Department.

That was why the two of them had arrived right on each other's heels.

But that raised a question about Hu Mingyi's actions.

If he was worried about being outmatched, shouldn't he have called for backup from the Night Watchers? Why had his first instinct been to contact someone from his alma mater?

He knew I was from the Academy. That's why he specifically reached out to Lanaya.

That has to be it.

Fu Qian nodded inwardly and scanned the room.

Hu Mingyi obviously had no idea what was happening here before he arrived, and the chances of him recognizing me are practically zero.

Someone else in this room must have recognized me.

Sure enough.

It didn't take long for Fu Qian's gaze to lock onto a figure in the crowd.

A skinny middle-aged man was using the other guests as cover, secretly observing their direction.

Jia Yi.

It took a bit of effort to search his memory before Fu Qian recalled the name.

He was the regional head of the Yuan Consortium. Fu Qian had dealt with him during the previous incident when the warehouse was raided.

Compared to their last meeting, however, the man's complexion was noticeably worse. While he wasn't completely falling apart, his entire person exuded an unmistakable air of wretchedness.

Realizing he was locked in Fu Qian's gaze, Jia Yi—who was only revealing half his face from the crowd—gave an involuntary shudder.

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