Eldritch Horror Theatre

Even with her employer keeping watch, Su Gao only slept for a short while.

But even after waking, she stayed upstairs in a daze for a long time, only coming downstairs when dawn broke.

Meanwhile, after repeated testing, Fu Qian had quickly familiarized himself with his new ability.

As it turned out, after being completely dispelled by the Decree of Return, the bloodstains on the Emissary were slow to recover.

This meant that the new Anchor Point could be maintained for a considerable amount of time.

Thanks to this effect, as long as he activated the ability for a moment before taking off his mask, he could guarantee that the next time he put it on, he would return directly to his log-out location.

This meant that in this place, much like in the Real World, he could travel back and forth to the Warehouse anytime, anywhere.

While the ability's actual combat effectiveness still needed testing, Fu Qian considered this feature alone to be immensely useful.

"Here, help yourself."

Despite making zero sales overnight, he felt absolutely no guilt about going out to buy a massive pile of breakfast.

Eating was one of life's great joys; how could he possibly give it up?

"Thank you!"

Su Gao didn't decline, naturally taking a seat in her usual spot.

Sure enough, she still preferred sweet things.

Watching her carefully eat her pumpkin cake, Fu Qian lowered his head and uncovered his own bowl of porridge.

During last night's shift, despite witnessing more than one human tragedy, the greatest benefit was that the boiling euphoria within him had finally begun to subside. He felt much more relaxed now.

Now this was the life!

Just as he picked up his spoon, his gaze shifted toward the door.

Chief Yuan?

...

Looking at the familiar figure outside, Fu Qian felt a moment of confusion.

Given how chaotic last night had been, shouldn't she be busy? Yet here she was, dropping by bright and early.

The fact that she was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday proved as much.

As he wondered, Chief Yuan stood frozen at the entrance for a full few seconds before finally deciding to step inside.

Fu Qian guessed she had probably been startled by the "Open for Business" sign.

"Morning!"

Upon entering, facing the gazes of Fu Qian and Su Gao, Yuan Shan breathed a sigh of relief and offered a greeting, looking completely dead on her feet.

"Morning. By all rights, shouldn't you have a lot of important things to do?"

"None more important than coming over to say thank you!"

Yuan Shan offered a faint smile, pulling up a seat next to the counter just like Su Gao.

It seemed Gulade had dodged a bullet this time.

Fu Qian thought to himself, not asking about the situation after his departure.

Either way, if Yuan Shan had actually chosen to act ruthlessly, there was no way she would be free right now.

"Actually, you're just in time. I was about to tell you something."

"Oh? What is it?"

Yuan Shan was immediately startled, displaying a reflex-level vigilance.

"I'm taking my employee on vacation. We won't be in Shangjing for a while."

Fu Qian pointed at Su Gao.

"A vacation... to where?"

Yuan Shan clearly hadn't expected him to say that.

"Ye Island."

Fu Qian answered honestly, making no attempt to hide it.

Ye Island...

Yuan Shan frowned slightly, finding the talk of a vacation hard to believe.

"Aren't you leaving a bit too abruptly?"

"I was worried that if I left any later, I might end up getting into a fight with your backup."

Fu Qian already had an answer prepared for her doubts.

...

Surprisingly, that made perfect sense!

The reason Fu Qian gave naturally reminded Yuan Shan of Brother Logan from last time, leaving her momentarily speechless.

"Then I wish you both a pleasant vacation in advance... Is there anything you need my help with?"

Uh...

Fu Qian thought for a moment.

"Pass a message to Wen Li for me. Tell her I'll be away for a while."

"It's a small matter."

Yuan Shan agreed without hesitation, then looked as though she wanted to say something but stopped.

"Something troubling you?"

Fu Qian asked out of courtesy.

"It really is a headache."

Yuan Shan massaged her temples, looking thoroughly drained.

"I really envy you two!"

I didn't see you with such a headache when you were slacking off.

Fu Qian wore a look of disdain.

Still, as a dignified expert of the Demigod Realm, Chief Yuan really was giving her utmost with total devotion. Considering how many incidents had erupted in Shangjing recently, her reaction was not surprising.

Speaking of which, quite a few of those troubles seemed to be related to him.

"A headache over handling the aftermath?"

Thinking of this, Fu Qian offered a rare word of proactive concern.

"...Yes."

Chief Yuan was momentarily overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.

"Understandable. Since this matter blew up to such a scale, blocking the news is impossible."

"Mhm..."

"So many companies and families in Shangjing, big and small, are probably watching closely."

"If you only punish the chief perpetrators, it probably won't be enough of a deterrent. Plenty of people will still be itching to make a move."

Mhm...

"And you can't exactly go around explaining it to them one by one, like how you let them off the hook because Serana's stance was ambiguous."

Mhm...

Fu Qian's words were such that every word pierced the heart. The more he spoke, the more frustrated Chief Yuan appeared, until she finally couldn't help but snatch the bowl from in front of him and down it in one gulp to drown her sorrows with porridge.

Fortunately, as an expert in being considerate, he could understand her inner turmoil. So, despite having his breakfast stolen, Fu Qian didn't lower himself to Yuan Shan's level.

"Actually, it's not that troublesome."

Hm?

Yuan Shan's eyes lit up at his words.

"Do you have any suggestions?"

"Your worry is simply that there won't be a deterrent effect. If the Gulade Household doesn't end up in a miserable enough state, it won't scare off those shrewd foxes."

"Yeah! Every single one of those guys is incredibly cunning."

"Understood, so just make Gulade suffer enough and that's it."

"What do you mean?"

"The newly appointed Municipal Officer Gan is a hardliner who isn't willing to be a puppet for the major organizations. Why not take this opportunity to increase your support for him?"

...

"I know the Night Watchers have their own principles of conduct, but this timing is very fitting, isn't it?"

"All the organizations whose interests are damaged will believe this was brought about by the Gulade Household's petty tricks. The probability of them having the confidence to protest is not high."

"At the same time, they should have the courage to vent their anger on those who caused the trouble, with an ally-like tacit understanding."

"Every party will be perfectly justified, except for Gulade, who did the wrong thing."

"That actually is worth a try."

The more Yuan Shan listened, the brighter her eyes grew. In her excitement, she couldn't help but try to snatch Fu Qian's fried egg, only to be blocked as he strictly guarded it.

"This will be enough to achieve a deterrent effect. I believe Shangjing will be able to quiet down for a while."

It would quiet down because he had been targeted by the Red Moon, and It wouldn't continue stirring up trouble in the short term.

Fu Qian kept these words in his heart and didn't say them.

"Sure enough, I felt I should come talk to you earlier."

With her mind made up, Yuan Shan's mood lightened considerably.

"Of course, it would be even better if you could stay in Shangjing, but I can't force you. Enjoy your vacation."

...

Chief Yuan was busy after all, and she hurried off shortly after.

"Are we going to Ye Island now?"

After she left, Su Gao immediately expressed her surprise, not expecting Fu Qian to be ready to act so soon.

"Now."

Fu Qian nodded.

"In light of your outstanding work performance, you are specially rewarded with a paid vacation. You don't get seasick, do you?"

"...I don't."

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