**Chapter 19: Joining the Group and Peeping**
After dinner time.
Night Lan returned to the lounge of the Night Watcher Base.
A few little loli girls were nearby, discussing the highlights of their beach trip, reminiscing about the good times they had.
Night Lan didn’t join in the chatter; instead, she was talking to someone.
That someone was the middle school girl currently training at the capital headquarters—Night Feather.
Although Night Lan wasn’t as close to her as with White Fish and the others, they were still friends.
And since they were friends, chatting was fair game, right?
Now, why did Night Feather contact her? Well, it was because Night Lan had revealed her secret identity as Sunlight from the headquarters.
Keeping such a huge secret was bound to hit Night Feather hard.
After all, she had just recently become a newbie herself.
Night Feather thought, “I should have been able to compete on the same starting line. But here I am, and she’s already at the finish line. How outrageous!”
Is this some kind of insider privilege?
No, that doesn’t fit either.
It’s not really insider privilege, considering Night Lan had actually helped the headquarters deal with a problem.
That was the Star Eclipses incident caused by the Dream Narrator.
That was a major accomplishment!
Facing a Supernova Star Eclipse and convincing it to leave? Talk about a big deal!
With such achievements, making it to be a Sunlight candidate was a no-brainer.
But Night Lan didn’t spill this info to Night Feather; instead, she gave her vague responses to her inquiries.
Just a little fibbing to keep things smooth.
Of course, Night Lan had to endure a barrage of Night Feather’s middle school nonsense, enough to make her toes curl comfortably in bed.
Fortunately, Night Feather finally calmed down and didn’t try to dig deeper.
Then Night Lan had a sudden thought and asked, “By the way, Night Feather, did you run into a black-haired youth at the headquarters? Um… he’s got that neighborhood big brother vibe, but when he smiles, it feels like he might cause a ruckus—definitely a mischief-maker.”
Night Lan was talking about Mo Tu.
That guy should currently be at the capital headquarters.
Sure, the headquarters was huge, but there was always a chance Night Feather might have crossed paths with him, right?
Night Feather pondered for a moment.
“I think I saw him. When I rushed back to the lounge today, I bumped into a black-haired youth, just as you described. Not sure if it’s the same guy, though.”
She then told Night Lan the details of her encounter with the black-haired youth so Night Lan could figure it out herself.
Too bad Night Feather hadn’t thought to ask for the guy’s name.
Otherwise, they could’ve confirmed it right away.
After listening, Night Lan quickly concluded.
No doubt about it.
The guy Night Feather bumped into today was indeed Mo Tu.
Didn’t expect that guy would be living in the newbie zone.
Seems a bit like a wolf in sheep’s clothing to her.
Is he looking for some fun?
From what Night Feather mentioned earlier, Mo Tu had teased her, which was quite the mischief.
He’s bullying the newbies now—where’s his senior dignity?
Who knows when he’ll return.
“Do you know that senior?” Night Feather asked.
“Just a friend, nothing to worry about.”
“Oh.”
Night Feather didn’t press further and returned to the previous topic.
For instance, Night Lan’s identity as a Sunlight from the headquarters.
“Just wait, Night Lan, the Dark Sky Controller will soon soar to greater heights in the starry sky and dominate all the darkness in the universe!”
By that, she meant she would soon surpass Night Lan’s position.
Looks like this new information hit her hard, and now she’s doubling down on her efforts.
Night Lan had no idea what to say, so she just offered a half-hearted, “Go for it~”
That was the end of Night Lan and Night Feather’s idle chit-chat.
Before Night Lan could think about her next move, another message from the capital came through.
This time, it was a private message from the Leader.
He conveyed that there was a group chat for Suns at the headquarters, and anyone in that category could join.
And quite a few Suns at headquarters had suggested bringing Night Lan into the group.
The Leader was just checking in to see how Night Lan felt about it.
If she didn’t want to join, then no biggie.
She wasn’t your typical Sun at the headquarters, so she didn’t have to follow overly complicated rules.
Skipping out on the group chat was no problem.
After all, Night Lan wasn’t involved in any activities in the capital anyway; she could do whatever she pleased.
Ultimately, it was just that the other Suns were curious and wanted to pull Night Lan into the chat for some gossip.
Seeing the Leader’s message, Night Lan pondered.
“Hmm… Join a group chat full of big shots, huh?”
Though Night Lan was usually pretty open online, it was under the condition that her identity was concealed.
As long as her identity wasn’t out in the open, she didn’t have to worry about social s*icide online.
But a group chat of Suns at headquarters…
It felt just like a company chat.
A little intimidating, to say the least.
Without a doubt, Night Lan wouldn’t dare speak freely in there, not without risking a full-on social disaster. Nope, she’d just go in to lurk.
After thinking it over, Night Lan decided to check it out.
If she turned it down, going back to the capital next time might be awkward.
Before long, Night Lan hopped into the group chat.
There were only about a dozen people, so it wasn’t a massive group.
However, everyone in it held considerable clout within the headquarters—figures many Night Watchers looked up to.
These were all big shots!
Let’s hope she doesn’t offend anyone.
Night Lan silently prayed.
At the same time, she typed a quick “Hello everyone,” and then fell silent.
Lewis (Electric King): “Hey there! I’m looking forward to your arrival at headquarters!”
Amray (Dreadnought pilot): “Welcome, welcome! Interested in driving a giant robot? The world-destroying kind, of course!”
Long Li (Sacrifice Slash Initiator): “We have a newbie! Hurry to the capital so I can give you a hug!”
Garnet (Iron Claw): “Welcome! I hope your arrival won’t break our existing stability.”
Fool (Silent One): “Hahaha! We got a new member!”
Liu Ying Mo (Fast and Furious): “Whoa, she actually came in?!”
……
What started off as a quiet group soon became lively.
Everyone welcomed the newcomer.
The atmosphere felt less like a serious corporate chat and more like a laid-back online group chat, easygoing and fun.
Night Lan contemplated for a moment.
Hmm.
Not sure about the vibe here.
Time to keep lurking.
Night Lan glanced at the member names.
The front likely had their real names.
The stuff in parentheses seemed to be their titles or nicknames.
Probably associated with their stars or something.
Feeling a bit juvenile, huh?
Whatever.
Among all the unfamiliar names, only two rang a bell.
One was the group leader, the Leader, and the other was Sunlight Night Watcher Yu Xin.
The former was the actual top dog in the Night Watchers, while the latter was the playful nemesis of the lazy king, Wang Chao.
Of course, Night Lan recognized them.
But as usual, Night Lan wasn’t keen on speaking up.
Now she’s started feeling shy again.
“Are you peeking?”
“Getting bashful?”
“C’mon, let’s chat! It’s such a bummer if you just lurk after the Leader worked hard to get you in! Don’t turn into a passive observer!”
Night Lan was unfazed.
No matter how much these big shots tempted her, she absolutely wouldn’t say a word!
Staying as a lurker was definitely the way to go!
