Chapter Forty-Six: Gutter Rats

Qi Chen cautiously entered the backstage entrance beneath the stage. The Overlord, already summoned, hovered behind him, ready to respond forcefully at the slightest sign of danger.

“So cold...” He shivered involuntarily, his expression growing more solemn as he sensed the increasingly thick, eerie aura saturating the space. The materials he’d received from the Department of Eerie Affairs had mentioned that when the power of the uncanny gathered to a certain extent, it could begin to affect human senses.

A sudden drop in temperature was one of the most obvious phenomena.

That meant he was headed in the right direction. For now, it seemed that only the grand piano, which possessed large-scale mental distortion capabilities, could emit such a dense, otherworldly energy.

He halted, staring intently at the ground ahead. There was a corner just before him, but unusually, that side was illuminated, and on the floor, faint shadows shaped like human figures could be discerned.

After some consideration, he abandoned his plan to have the Overlord simply smash through. Instead, he decided to think a little: perhaps there was a way to circumvent those shadows without alerting them.

A diversion?

Qi Chen, whose abilities were nowhere near as flashy as Warmheart’s, could only think of this, or perhaps... His gaze flicked back to the way he had come, precisely spotting a vent opening in the wall.

There was his solution.

Having already done this once, Qi Chen now slid into the vent without needing anyone’s help. He traced the direction along the pipe with his fingers, and once certain he was on the correct path, he pressed forward, enduring the ceaseless chill as he crawled onward.

This time, he was even more careful than before, moving at a snail’s pace. His elbows and knees shifted with utmost caution, terrified of making any sound that might betray his presence.

Thus, inch by inch, he moved toward his target. Not far ahead, the wall of the duct was no longer fully enclosed, but instead resembled an iron grille; pale light spilled through the gaps, and Qi Chen instinctively slowed his breathing to the barest minimum.

He edged forward, peering through the slits. He could now clearly see the owners of those shadows.

As expected, they were the stagehands who had earlier stepped onto the stage and then vanished.

And the grand piano, which had disappeared with them, must have been carried to this very place.

At this moment, Qi Chen, hidden in the ventilation duct, was directly above those puppet-like staff members!

“Don’t look up for no reason...” he muttered silently, holding his breath and inching forward with great care. Just ahead was an air vent, and judging by its location, it opened into the room guarded by these abnormal staff.

Inside, either the grand piano was kept, or a greater secret was lurking.

Qi Chen felt his limbs cramping from tension, but fortunately, he hadn’t attracted any attention. He made it to the air vent without incident.

Peering through the slats, his hand gripping the edge, he saw the grand piano indeed inside the room.

But the room contained not only the piano, but also a round table crowded with chairs.

At that moment, a figure whose back was facing him sat at the round table, motionless, with not even a trace of breath escaping.

Suddenly, the figure stood up in a swift motion, slowly twisting his body around, his cold gaze fixing directly on the air vent!

Qi Chen immediately pressed himself flat, lips sealed, making not a sound.

He hoped he hadn’t been discovered.

...

Footsteps echoed through the office corridor. Warmheart followed behind a line of audience members, maintaining the same lifeless expression and ignoring the sounds around him.

But his seemingly unfocused eyes were consciously tracking the sources of every sound.

When two figures dressed in black entered his field of vision, Warmheart knew the target he had been stalking was finally in sight.

The two silent men strode swiftly down the corridor, their purpose clear as day. They headed straight for the second floor and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

A surge of urgency rose in Warmheart’s chest. Glancing sideways at the audience rooted to the spot, he wagered that if he did anything out of the ordinary now, these puppet-like figures would instantly reveal their true nature.

But he couldn’t just stand here forever—why else would he have infiltrated the audience?

After a moment’s thought, an idea sparked in his mind.

Passion appeared in a flash, exposing the powerful, pulsing engine in his chest cavity. Under Warmheart’s command, it swung both fists and punched the ceiling with tremendous force!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fists imbued with a unique uncanny power struck the ceiling, and instantly, the hard material softened impossibly, turning to slush.

Gravity, like an invisible hand, dragged the transformed ceiling downward. The “viscous” wall dripped, landing squarely upon the bodies of the audience standing beside Warmheart.

The faces of every audience member were enveloped, yet they remained rooted, unmoving.

Seizing the chance, Warmheart bolted, Passion possessing him. Every step was perfectly silent as he raced in the direction where the two men in black had vanished.

The enemy would soon be revealed!

...

Qi Chen watched the vent for a full five minutes, until a sudden knocking at the door drew the eerie man’s gaze away. Qi Chen finally exhaled in relief.

He wasn’t sure if the man outside had discovered him, but the arrow was already nocked—he had to risk seeing who had arrived.

He gently pried the vent slats down. Now, two men in black had entered the room.

One, tall and lean, quickly took a seat at the round table, directly opposite the burly man who had been there from the start. The other, shorter and stockier, stood guard by the door like a bodyguard.

“How’s the plan coming along?” The tall man asked, covering his mouth as he spoke.

“Everything’s almost ready, except for the warehouse in East City.” The burly man replied in a raspy voice, his fingers tapping the table repeatedly.

“Bad news—the missing guillotine has drawn the attention of the Department of Eerie Affairs. They’ve formed a special task force. It seems they won’t rest until they’ve uprooted us completely.” The tall man coughed twice. “My boss wants to know... can you handle the Vertical Eye Society?”

“If the Department of Eerie Affairs gets any information from those wild ones, we’re in trouble.”

“No problem. The Vertical Eye Society has lost two uncanny operatives in a row—it’ll be easy to wipe them out now.” The burly man replied indifferently. “The key is... when do we act?”

“My boss thinks the wait has been too long. And as you said, the Department of Eerie Affairs is getting involved. You know their power better than I do, as an outsider. If this drags on, we might lose a few things, but your boss might pay with his life!”

A flash of annoyance crossed the tall man’s face, but he maintained his composure, replying coldly:

“For great undertakings, how can one act rashly?

“Next week, Old Li is going to City One for a meeting. We’ve arranged for some people from the Mist to take care of him. Once he leaves City Three, that’s our opportunity.”

This answer satisfied the burly man, who nodded. But instead of responding, his gaze turned icy, and his fingers began tapping the tabletop in a rapid, patterned rhythm.

A surge of unease welled up in Qi Chen’s chest. He then heard the shorter, stockier man at the door produce a similar tapping sound.

A chilling sensation suddenly enveloped the ventilation duct. The iron vent before Qi Chen screeched, twisting rapidly in a flash!

The vent transformed into a sharp iron spike, thrusting straight toward Qi Chen’s face!

“Kill him!”

...