Eldritch Horror Theatre

”Uh...”

Seeing Fu Qian standing next to Ji Liushuang, Jia Keke was visibly shocked.

As she hurried over, a casual remark from the young woman made her freeze on the spot, bringing a surreal sensation of skipping timelines.

”Today isn’t exactly our regular office hours. Who sent a message?”

Classmate Liushuang remained completely unfazed, asking the question with an easygoing tone.

”Hello, Professor Fu...”

Emotions really were contagious.

Under Ji Liushuang’s excessively calm aura, the initially flustered Jia Keke managed to forcefully settle her mind a little.

However, after greeting Fu Qian, she hesitated the very next moment, swallowing whatever she had been about to say.

”It’s fine.”Although Jia Keke’s expression clearly conveyed that this was a confidential matter, she was met with Ji Liushuang’s unhesitating reply, one so brief she refused to waste a single extra word.

”...It’s Excellency An Gui. He just had someone contact me to advise that we shouldn’t leave the Academy grounds for the near future.”

This outcome wasn’t too surprising for Jia Keke. She quickly nodded and provided the name, confirming the earlier guess.

It really was a reminder from Demigod Angui.

Factoring in the time it took this assistant to track someone down, the notification could actually be considered quite timely.

”Last night, Anjing launched a retaliatory strike against Siren. People were assassinated in multiple districts. Excellency An Gui deduced that even more intense conflicts might break out later, so he advised us to reduce our outings.”

She continued her explanation before Fu Qian and Ji Liushuang could offer their thoughts.

”I went straight to the Academy at the first opportunity, but when I couldn’t find anyone, I followed your trail out here.”

And indeed, despite her young age, Classmate Liushuang possessed the unmistakable air of a big shot. For instance, she had no habit of carrying communication devices, and for another—

”Express my thanks to Excellency An Gui later.”

After carefully listening to the news her assistant brought, Ji Liushuang’s face still showed no signs of abnormality; she merely gave a slight nod.

”Tell him that I am completely safe here and that he doesn’t need to worry. Furthermore, the Gospel Team’s operations will not be affected in the slightest.”

...

Wasn’t she being a bit too confident?

Although Ji Liushuang’s complete lack of surprise led Jia Keke to vaguely suspect she had already caught wind of the news—and perhaps even made arrangements—that final sentence still felt unusually resolute.

It was true that the Gospel Team provided services aimed at non-transcendents, but its very nature was highly sensitive. Now that two major organizations were stirring up trouble, Jia Keke judged that while the Night Watchers might maintain a policy of observation in principle, it was still hard to say how they would ultimately react or if they would tighten restrictions in certain areas.

And yet, this girl was so confident they wouldn’t be affected?

”Understood. I’ll reply to him shortly.”

Of course, despite her internal doubts, Jia Keke strictly adhered to her duties as an assistant and refrained from asking unnecessary questions.

However, as she nodded, she did cast a quick glance out of the corner of her eye at Professor Fu standing nearby.

This was the recipient she had once hand-delivered a letter to. While they hadn’t interacted much since then, he consistently gave off a profoundly mysterious vibe.

If he had something to do with it, then those incomprehensible anomalies suddenly didn’t seem quite so strange.

Naturally, Jia Keke had no intention of confirming anything with him, opting instead to avoid eye contact as much as humanly possible.

As an assistant with professional ethics, her personal opinions might have been insignificant, but Jia Keke had always done her utmost to prevent the Gospel Team’s operations from receiving unnecessary external guidance.

Fortunately, to her immense relief, Professor Fu had merely remained a quiet spectator thus far, showing no inclination to voice his own opinions—

”Wait a moment.”

Unfortunately, the very moment that thought crossed her mind, the man suddenly called out to stop her, looking as though he had just remembered something.

...

”Do you need something else, Professor Fu?”

With a lurch in her chest, Jia Keke’s first instinct was to glance at Ji Liushuang. Regrettably, the young woman merely showed a hint of curiosity on her face and had absolutely no intention of speaking up.

”Ms. Jia, you’ve been here for a while now, haven’t you?”

”Yes. I haven’t left since I arrived.”

His smile was amiable, but seeing such an expression on an unfathomable demigod brought immense psychological pressure. So much so that as Jia Keke answered carefully, her brain frantically cycled through the Gospel Team’s various confidentiality tiers.

”So, are there any good restaurants nearby that you could recommend?”

However, the question he asked in the very next second made her freeze on the spot, as if her racing thoughts had suddenly been thrown into neutral.

”I haven’t come back much, so I’m completely unfamiliar with the area. I doubt Classmate Liushuang comes out here very often either.”

Unfortunately, Fu Qian seemed entirely unconcerned by her reaction as he merely surveyed their surroundings.

”Uh... I actually don’t go out all that much either. If you’re looking for somewhere a bit more private, would you like to head to my place? I can have them bring the food over.”

But regardless, she was still a Mid Tier who had navigated the jianghu for many years. Seeing that Ji Liushuang remained completely indifferent, Jia Keke took a deep breath, collected herself, and quickly offered a suggestion.

”That works.”

Professor Fu was indeed easygoing, acting as if he completely trusted her taste.

...

It was plain to see that the Gospel Team had plenty of operating funds.

As the assistant to the person in charge, Jia Keke’s residence wasn’t overly luxurious, but its location was absolutely prime, offering a peaceful sanctuary right in the middle of the bustling city.

After leading the two of them all the way there, Jia Keke stayed true to her promise of privacy and quickly took her leave to make the arrangements.

”When Jia Keke became my assistant, An Gui’s recommendation was indeed a factor.”

After watching her leave, Classmate Liushuang, who had been mostly silent during the trip, turned to look at Fu Qian and spoke softly.

”However, Jia Keke was originally just peripheral personnel with very few ties to An Gui. Furthermore, his uncharacteristically firm support for me caught a lot of people off guard, so barely anyone voiced their opposition at the time.”

Clearly, Ji Liushuang wasn’t completely clueless about her own assistant.

”Your uncles didn’t believe An Gui was trying to influence your decisions through Jia Keke. They were simply curious about why he was acting that way, so they just let him have his way to see what would happen?”

”It’s a completely understandable reaction. Do you think so too?”

Fu Qian gave a slight nod.

Her status as a non-core member wasn’t surprising in the least. If Jia Keke had been a recognized figure within the Ji Clan, she never would have been placed in charge of protection on the ship heading to Ye Island back then. It would have drawn far too much suspicion.

”Indeed. I believe she’s reliable, which is why I want her to believe that I’m reliable as well—and An Gui, too.”

Having validated her assistant’s loyalty, Ji Liushuang briefly explained her own behavior from earlier.

”I completely agree.”

Fu Qian undoubtedly approved of Classmate Liushuang’s mindset.

”Since she’s reliable, it just so happens I have something I need help with.”

The next moment, grabbing a pen and paper from nearby, he quickly sketched out a symbol and handed it over.