Chapter Forty-Two: Time to Leave Work

“That’s actually quite pleasant,” Qi Chen remarked, savoring the pure music drifting into his ears. He truly found the listening experience rather enjoyable.

But with a mission weighing on their shoulders, they had no time to linger and appreciate the melodies.

The grand concert hall was a square-shaped building, designed in the style of a classical courtyard, with six large, independent performance rooms—three on each of its two floors, situated at the front and along both wings.

At the rear of the building were the offices for the administrative staff, which was the pair’s main destination for this operation.

Today happened to be the routine holiday observed every seven days in City Three; as a result, many citizens had come to the concert hall for a rare moment of relaxation. Both the performance rooms and the corridors outside were bustling with people—conveniently providing plenty of cover for them to blend in.

Strolling casually down the hallway, Qi Chen appeared to be admiring the rare works of art hanging on the walls, but in reality, he was constantly surveying his surroundings. His companion, the Warmhearted Man, was doing the same.

“There’s nothing unusual in the performance areas. No trace of anything strange,” Qi Chen murmured, lips pressed together as he realized there was nothing outwardly odd about the interior of the concert hall. He turned to his partner, intending to voice his doubts.

But the Warmhearted Man had anticipated this. Before Qi Chen could speak, he said, “Come on, let’s find a concert hall to sit in.”

Qi Chen looked baffled, but his partner was already heading toward the nearest performance room.

Well, so be it. This wasn’t exactly the kind of slacking off he’d been hoping for under the guise of work.

...

Melodious piano notes reverberated through the specially designed hall. Row upon row of red seats were filled with residents, eyes closed and faces relaxed in enjoyment.

At the back row, Qi Chen and the Warmhearted Man sat side by side. Unlike the others, though, their demeanor was different.

“Doesn’t seem any different from usual,” Qi Chen mused quietly, the soothing music putting him in a contemplative mood. He leaned in and lowered his voice. “Everything is just too normal.”

The Warmhearted Man replied in the same soft tone, “Being too normal is the biggest abnormality.”

With no breakthrough in sight, the pair chose to remain in the concert hall for now. Yet after listening for a little while longer, a thought struck Qi Chen and he whispered, “How long does a concert session usually last?”

“About two hours, maybe two and a half. Why?” his companion replied.

Qi Chen had another question. “Are the performance times the same for all the concert halls?”

At this, the Warmhearted Man caught on immediately. “You mean, use the end of the performance and the dispersing crowd as cover to slip into the administrative area?”

The reason they hadn’t gone straight to the offices at the back of the hall was fear of alerting anyone—they would stand out, since ordinary spectators had no business wandering into the staff area.

Their pairing was far too conspicuous; sauntering over there would surely attract unwanted attention.

But if they left amid the departing crowd, they’d be unremarkable, able to blend right in with those heading for the exit—which happened to be right next to the offices.

So, for now, they just had to enjoy the music.

...

“Wake up! The concert’s over!” Qi Chen nudged the Warmhearted Man, exasperated to find him dozing off.

“Sorry, sorry—couldn’t help it!” he said, cheeks reddening. “Hurry, let’s follow the crowd!”

As the final notes faded, a wave of audience members rose from their seats and streamed toward the exit. The two blended into the throng, feigning nonchalance as they shuffled along.

When they were almost at the main exit, Qi Chen and the Warmhearted Man slipped away from the crowd and headed straight for the administrative area.

Most of the staff were still busy tidying up after the performances in the various halls; the two encountered not a soul as they reached the offices.

The corridor was eerily silent, each door tightly shut.

“Careful, there are security cameras,” the Warmhearted Man warned in a whisper. Qi Chen had noticed them too—one at each end of the corridor, covering the entire hallway.

Entering the corridor unseen would be nearly impossible.

“Maybe use your ability?” Qi Chen suggested, glancing at his companion—this was something the Overlord couldn’t manage.

“Follow me.”

The Warmhearted Man looked at ease. Stealthily exploring places like this was nothing new to him.

He glanced around, confirming no staff or extra cameras nearby, then moved silently to a wall. An orange phantom slipped from his body. The slender figure pressed a finger to the wall, and the hard material instantly softened, forming a finger-sized hole.

“No one inside,” he reported, sounding even more relaxed. Then, expanding the effect, he transformed the entire wall section into a soft, elastic surface. He thrust his hands through, pulled apart the opening, and created a makeshift “door.”

A veteran indeed—Qi Chen marveled again at his partner’s mastery of his power, and followed him through. Once they were both inside the office, the wall quickly reverted to its original, solid state, as if nothing had happened.

“See if you can find any clues in here,” the Warmhearted Man said.

Qi Chen needed no prompting and began searching through the office’s files and documents. But after a thorough inspection, he found nothing.

They exchanged glances—his partner had come up empty as well.

“Should we check the next office?” Qi Chen suggested tentatively.

Fortunately, the offices were separated only by single walls, so they could easily search them all using the same method. After combing through a large number of internal documents about the concert hall, the undercover duo finally came across something suspicious.

“There’s a concert hall on the second floor that’s been sealed off?” the Warmhearted Man mused, immediately contacting the Analysis Division via earpiece to confirm the news.

Normally, a closure of this magnitude would have been reported to the Administrative Hall, but the Analysis Division replied that no such notice had ever reached the authorities.

“Then let’s go check out that hall!” Qi Chen was fired up, eager to gather more intelligence on potential enemies. He was determined not to let any more innocents get caught up in this, not to let any more blood be shed.

They set off without hesitation, silently retracing their steps and ascending to the second floor, where the suspicious concert hall was located.

“It’s right in the corner too—probably the least frequented of all the halls,” Qi Chen noted, his suspicions deepening.

But just as they were about to investigate, a gentle melody suddenly played.

He glanced at his watch—it was time for the staff to go off duty.

...