Chapter 15: The Follow-Up
After the grand performance of the theater group, Night Lan dashed to the Night Watcher Base, eager to figure something out.
Without missing a beat, Night Lan marched into Xiao Jin’s office, where he was buried in documents, looking as serious as a cat that just found out it’s been put on a diet.
“Uh… Boss Xiao Jin, are you super busy?”
Xiao Jin nodded, looking like he was trying to decode an ancient text.
“With something that big happening, yeah, I’m a tad busy. But if you need to say something, don’t be shy. I’m all ears!”
Night Lan hesitated for a moment, then blurted out her question.
“Well… what are we going to do about the Rising Sun Theater Group? They seem to have broken their promises… are the Night Watchers still going to treat them as targets?”
Xiao Jin paused his serious document-shuffling and stared at her like she just suggested pineapple on pizza. “According to our agreement, yes. But we still don’t know the current situation of the Rising Sun Theater Group or their next moves. Until we confirm some things, we’ll treat their members as enemies.”
“Um…”
Night Lan suddenly felt like Star Eclipses had no rights, even the good-hearted ones fell into this category.
To the Night Watchers, Star Eclipses were deemed dangerous beings. Even if there was a temporary calm, something could explode at any moment – so tackling the issue at the source seemed like the only sensible option.
She really wanted to tell Xiao Jin that there were other forces at play behind the scenes, and the Rising Sun Theater Group’s chaos was intentional.
But if she said that, wouldn’t she expose her identity?
If her identity as an Audience Performer got out, she’d probably be living a way less chill life…
Just then, Xiao Jin switched gears and continued from where he left off.
“However, this incident is special. There is someone behind the scenes manipulating the Rising Sun Theater Group’s chaos.”
“Wait, who?”
Did Boss Xiao Jin manage to figure it out? That was quick!
It hadn’t been long since the incident, and Night Lan was starting to admire his speed!
But Xiao Jin shook his head. Just when she thought he didn’t figure it out, he said, “It’s not us. The mastermind came forward—she approached me right after the chaos ended.”
“Approached you…? Was it the Night Watchers?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Who is it?”
“It’s the Star Eclipse Hunter and special Night Watcher—Xi Xia. She orchestrated this disaster with her stars.”
“Ah, what now?!”
Night Lan was hit with shock harder than a moose on roller skates.
Unbelievable! This was outrageous!
She’d wondered if the Night Watchers were involved, but never imagined it was someone she’d met a few times!
Why on earth did Xi Xia do this?
Night Lan’s feelings became a messy cocktail of anger, confusion, frustration, and sadness.
“Why did she do that?”
“For profit. She wanted to make the Rising Sun Theater Group a target again, and by using the stars to catch them all, she planned to claim a hefty bounty—so she said.”
“Umm… is it because of Uni?”
Thinking about Uni, Night Lan recalled that Xi Xia became a Star Eclipse Hunter to heal Uni’s body, which obviously required a small fortune to fund her medical expenses in this era.
But she already healed Uni, so why would Xi Xia still go through with this?
In the next moment, Night Lan suddenly had a thought.
Wait a minute.
What if Xi Xia had been planning this before she healed Uni?
And back then, Xi Xia wasn’t even on site, so she couldn’t possibly know about it.
Now that was super sketchy.
Curiosity getting the better of her, Night Lan asked, “So what are you going to do about Xi Xia?”
“She’s currently imprisoned in the Yun Chang City Holding Cells. After all the info is reported to HQ, she’ll be summoned for trial. We’re talking serious offenses here: intentionally leading multiple Ultra Star Eclipses and even Supernova Star Eclipses to chaos, harming innocent citizens. That’s basically a d*ath sentence. However, since she’s a Star Eclipse Hunter with a history of achievements, she might avoid the d*ath penalty and face severe punishment instead. The worst-case scenario involves stripping her of her stars, plating her in ‘Ordinary Criminal’ to serve a long sentence.”
“Ah… that’s… scary.”
Seeing Night Lan’s expression, Xiao Jin asked, “Is Xi Xia your friend?”
“Um… kind of?”
Essentially, Night Lan was feeling a whirlwind of complicated emotions.
Xi Xia intentionally let the theater group spiral out of control, causing a major incident—it was likely a catastrophe waiting to happen if Night Star hadn’t stepped in.
From that perspective, Xi Xia had a lot to answer for.
Even if it was to fund Uni’s medical bills, it was way over the top, raising big questions on morality…
How did it all go so wrong?
Xiao Jin continued, “It’s a shame, but Xi Xia’s Night Watcher status has been revoked. She’s no longer qualified to be a Night Watcher. The moment her mind started to rot, this was the outcome. Her punishment will be determined by HQ, and I don’t know what that will look like.”
“Okay, so what about the Rising Sun Theater Group?”
Xiao Jin replied, “That’ll depend on the HQ leader’s final verdict. We’ll have to wait a bit longer for new directives.”
“Got it.”
Overall, knowing the mastermind was found calmed Night Lan’s racing heart.
The unknown was scarier than anything, especially with a mysterious group targeting her theater.
At that moment, Xiao Jin suddenly asked, “By the way, Night Lan, why are you so interested in the Rising Sun Theater Group?”
Night Lan’s expression froze suddenly, and her heartbeat inexplicably quickened.
Right!
Why was she, a mere Night Watcher mascot, so concerned about a mysterious organization filled with dangerous Star Eclipses?
Her earlier inquiries had a hint of worry, practically screaming, “I’m secretly related to the Rising Sun Theater Group!”
Xiao Jin hadn’t pointed this out, so Night Lan figured she should just roll with it.
Could this be a conspiracy!?
Thinking it over, she felt a bit foolish for not noticing such a detail.
Quickly, Night Lan’s brain whirred into action, and after a few seconds of daze, she answered, “Um… because their performances are just so awesome! I was completely captivated by their grand show. Don’t you think today’s performance was stunning, Boss Xiao Jin?”
Night Lan felt it was perfectly reasonable for a fan to worry about the well-being of her beloved group!
Sort of.
“Is that so? It seems you were also captivated by the Rising Sun Theater Group’s performance. I wager many Night Watchers have changed their opinions of them as well; their show is indeed heart-stopping,” Xiao Jin objectively evaluated.
“While we can’t deny their performance was impressive, we as Night Watchers can’t let personal feelings get in the way. If they do anything out of line, you must make the right judgment, no matter what others think. That’s my expectation of you, can you do that, Night Lan?”
Because Night Lan was an Extraordinary Star Holder, Xiao Jin wanted to emphasize this point.
Upon hearing this, Night Lan nodded vigorously.
“Um, yes! I get it!”
