Chapter 2963: Seemingly Familiar

So the Night Watchers' headquarters, the "Birthday Party," was situated directly above a luxurious metropolis, connected to it by hidden channels?

That suddenly seemed to explain why Loss had such a top-tier occult atmosphere, and why astrology and channeling were so prevalent there.

It was a classic case of the top setting a bad example—a bunch of top-tier transcendent bosses were right overhead, playing cards and telling fortunes.

In short, fate was a wondrous thing.

Back in that instance, his strategy to borrow another's knife to kill—letting Thirteen believe she had everything under control until the very last moment—had been the right call.

The Night Watchers' headquarters, brimming with experts, was located just a few corners away.

If he had been even slightly more unrestrained, making Thirteen feel the situation was slipping out of control and prompting her to call for backup, the outcome would likely have been quite gruesome.

Even so, there had still been an extra demigod in the opposing lineup at the time.

He couldn't rule out the possibility that they, just like Chief Yuan, had sneaked out to grab a bite to eat.

"A staff—well, I suppose there's nothing wrong with calling it that."

Yuan Shan was surprised for a moment by Fu Qian's choice of words, but she quickly seemed to recall Thirteen's abilities and that gun of hers, which boasted visual effects even flashier than a staff.

"Among the people here, I'm actually somewhat familiar with her. You haven't had any illegal activities fall into her hands, have you?"

She evidently believed Fu Qian's explanation. Considering his various alternate personas, Yuan Shan quickly found it completely unsurprising.

However, as she casually described her workplace relationships, she quickly grew alert, realizing a potentially awkward situation.

"Not at all. Chief Thirteen shouldn't know me; I've merely admired her methods from afar... She doesn't often come here to eat too, does she?"

Fu Qian signaled for her not to worry; it wasn't that easy for him to leave a criminal record.

"Hard to say. Some people here probably recognize me."

Sighing in helpless admiration, Yuan Shan glanced around. Since the person involved didn't care, it didn't matter to her, either.

Her implication was that as the person in control of Loss, Thirteen had eyes and ears everywhere.

"Fortunately, there aren't too many people today. We shouldn't have to wait too long."

...

"How do you have the free time to come here?"

Unfortunately, it seemed there were still too many people today.

Just as Chief Yuan finished her main course and was hesitating over whether to order dessert, a brisk greeting rang out. Thick red hair, a teardrop mole under the left eye—who else could it be but the Night Watchers' Loss Chief?

"Eating..."

Cornered here due to a momentary lapse in judgment, Yuan Shan felt helpless but reacted calmly. After all, the person in question had said himself that he had no criminal record.

"Understandable. I'd rather gnaw on my own toes than eat in there—and who might this be?"

Thirteen instantly empathized. She unceremoniously took a seat beside them, her gaze falling on Fu Qian's face.

"A guest of Excellency Stoss."

Seeing that they truly didn't recognize each other, Yuan Shan completely relaxed, casually assigning a respectable identity to Fu Qian.

"Just call me Fu Qian."

He knew Yuan Shan hadn't introduced him by name because she wanted to leave that choice to him.

Fu Qian didn't deflect, directly adopting his intellectual persona.

Uh...

It was evident that this name indeed already had a certain level of renown.

Even Thirteen had clearly heard of it before, though she couldn't match it to his face.

But even this level of recognition seemed enough to make her suspicious.

"So it's Professor Fu. You are much more—leisurely—than I imagined."

Looking Fu Qian up and down, Thirteen deliberated for a moment before choosing a peculiar adjective.

"You flatter me. The same goes for Your Excellency."

Fu Qian naturally engaged in friendly mutual flattery, commenting with a smile.

Oh?

Though these were mere pleasantries, saying them right now felt distinctly odd.

On one hand, Thirteen was somewhat unsure of Professor Fu's situation and had probed him with a rather unrestrained attitude.

On the other hand, Professor Fu was being quite aggressive, seemingly hinting that this pair of friendly colleagues shared a similar professional work ethic.

"Care to join us for a bite?"

Yuan Shan could clearly sense this subtle tension and immediately tried to use the food to lighten the mood.

"Sure."

Thirteen's friendship with her was indeed quite solid; she didn't even bother with a polite refusal.

...

"I heard a lot has happened on your end recently."

They were all socially adept; a little bit of disharmony wouldn't show on their faces.

Chief Yuan finally got to eat her dessert and ordered an extra portion for Thirteen.

The soft, milky aroma seemed to awaken a bit of responsibility in the two of them, with the latter initiating a conversation about work.

"I'm mentally and physically exhausted. None of them are easy to deal with. The main issue is that everyone is busy right now, so it's hard to even find people."

Yuan Shan felt she had been asked exactly what was on her mind, immediately letting out a sigh befitting someone giving her absolute utmost.

"If it weren't for Professor Fu's help, I really might not have been able to handle it."

Of course, she still had the tact not to claim the consultant's credit for herself. Chief Yuan immediately praised Fu Qian, seemingly wanting to use this to completely dissolve the previous hint of discord. Oh?

Hearing this, Thirteen looked over to appraise him once more, but her gaze ultimately landed on the tabletop.

"Why aren't you eating?"

Inside Fu Qian's exquisite white porcelain ramekin, even the surface caramel remained perfectly intact.

"I ate a bit at the Birthday Party earlier."

Fu Qian's answer was so natural, even though the content was practically horrifying.

"It wasn't even the freshly made kind—"

Since the person involved didn't mind bringing it up, Yuan Shan felt even less need to keep it a secret, recounting Fu Qian's glorious deeds.

"I still envy your side. You might have troubles too, but at least calling for backup is much easier."

Of course, going too far was as bad as falling short, so she quickly steered the topic back.

Moreover, this showed that the friendship between the two was indeed quite solid.

If they were only superficially polite, a phrase like 'your job is easier' would be very difficult to say between two colleagues.

"Actually, it's not that comfortable. A little while ago, a huge blunder nearly happened."

But even with their friendship, bringing this up seemed like touching a sore spot.

Thirteen sighed, seemingly having recalled some unbearable memories.

"Professor Fu, have we met somewhere before?"

And at the end of her recollection, her gaze fell upon Fu Qian once again.

...

At this sudden twist, even Yuan Shan, who had been trying to lighten the mood, narrowed her eyes.

"Is that so? I feel that way too."

Unfortunately, the person involved was someone who never experienced panic. Stared at by those eyes, Fu Qian merely gave a faint, ambiguous smile and spoke vaguely.

Although during the operation in Loss, he had used the identity of Grimshaw.

However, since he hadn't made any attempt to disguise his personal speaking style, it was completely understandable for Thirteen to have such suspicions.

In fact, his reaction would only make her suspicions increasingly justified—though Fu Qian paid no mind to her sharpening gaze. Instead, he looked behind her.

Without disturbing a single speck of dust, another figure had suddenly appeared there.

Black clothes, a narrow hat, and skin like white porcelain—perhaps it was White Porcelain.

The long-unseen Su Gao stood quietly, in no rush to speak.

"Here, the taste seems pretty good."

Fu Qian pushed the ramekin over to her.