Chapter 80: Schadenfreude
Yun Chang City.
Night Lan was at the Night Watcher Base, enjoying a cozy moment with White Fish and the others. She was in her element, relishing their company.
“What game should we play today?”
Night Lan approached Star Yoon, all geared up to slack off and play some games together. Recently, they had been immersed in multiplayer games, and she was loving it.
“How about a platformer? I remember there’s a super fun one that requires a lot of teamwork to beat in two-player mode. We should give it a shot!”
“Yay~ let’s do it!”
Night Lan was all fired up, brimming with excitement.
Just then, Zero Meow, who was sketching away on her bed, suddenly piped up, “Hey… I saw some Night Watchers on a mission in the Free Country talking about how the Rising Sun Theater Group showed up in some city there and just did a performance. Everyone’s totally shocked, meow!”
White Fish grinned.
“That’s because no one knew the Rising Sun Theater Group had gone to the Free Country. Everyone probably thought they’d relocate to another city in Huaxia, but surprise! They decided to go international instead!”
“Right, meow! Moving to other cities is one thing, but heading overseas? That’s just wild! The Night Watchers on the forum are all buzzing about it, it’s a hot topic, meow.”
Zero Meow momentarily set aside her sketchpad and dove into the forum drama. She felt a ridiculous sense of superiority.
She was among the first to catch wind of the Rising Sun Theater Group’s movements, even ahead of many seasoned Night Watchers. It was like she had scored a victory over them.
Zero Meow was just too awesome!
Most people were oblivious to the Theater Group’s whereabouts; they only had a chance to figure it out during weekend performances when info shared from other cities revealed their location.
But lo and behold, the Rising Sun Theater Group didn’t pop up in every corner of Huaxia; they were over in the Free Country!
Once the word got around, many Night Watchers sighed in relief.
They no longer had to deal with the pressure brought by the Theater Group and could finally stop living on the edge.
Meanwhile, that burden shifted to the Star factions in the Free Country.
The Night Watchers on the forum were reveling in the misfortune.
Amidst scrolling through the Night Watcher’s official site, Zero Meow suddenly turned to Night Star.
“Hey meow, what do you think about this, Night Lan?”
Night Lan, who had been focused on slacking off with Star Yoon, fell into thought.
“Um, not much to think about.”
“Aren’t the Audience Performers Night Lan’s friends? Even I would worry a tad that she might struggle to fit in the Free Country.”
“Relax! She’s got the theater members around her. Even if she’s a bit hopeless, someone will have her back.”
As Night Lan said this, White Fish was watching on the side, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
How do you put this?
Night Lan was just too impressive~
She sounded like two people in one, not bad for an Audience Performer—top-notch acting!
Meanwhile…
In the reception room of the Night Watcher Base.
Xiao Jin, Bai Yuan, and Wang Chao were huddled up, jawing about the Rising Sun Theater Group.
“Whoa! I can’t believe the Rising Sun Theater Group moved to the Free Country! That totally blindsided me,” Wang Chao exclaimed, his mind blown.
Bai Yuan nodded thoughtfully.
“The situation in the Free Country isn’t as stable as in Huaxia. If the Rising Sun Theater Group puts on a show, odds are nobody will cooperate with them. If they mess up and ruffle some feathers, those in the city could be in deep trouble.”
“Still, from the news coming in from the Free Country, their first performance went rather smoothly without any interruptions.”
“That’s because no one knew they were coming! If they had, there might’ve been some action taken.”
Wang Chao suddenly grinned mischievously, eager for some schadenfreude.
“I’m dying to see how those guys in the Free Country handle the Rising Sun Theater Group. They call themselves the Order of Sequence, right? Is a religious organization like that really up to the task?”
Bai Yuan shook his head.
“It’s not just the Order of Sequence. There are a bunch of Star factions in the Free Country; the situation’s messier than in Huaxia. You can bet some folks will want to test the waters.”
Wang Chao snickered disdainfully.
“Sending people over is just a recipe for disaster.”
Come on, the Night Watchers in Huaxia must have faced off with the Rising Sun Theater Group countless times.
Back when the group only had three members, they had battled them quite a bit and had a pretty solid understanding of their capabilities.
Now that the Theater Group keeps adding members, the Night Watchers were starting to feel powerless.
As things stood, they had zero desire to clash with the Rising Sun Theater Group.
If they weren’t causing trouble, why poke the bear?
Just let things lie low.
That was the best strategy for now.
But should anyone try to provoke them, that’d be nothing short of a d*ath wish.
And the folks in the Free Country clearly had no clue; poking the bear would only lead to their own destruction.
He couldn’t wait to see what kind of mess they’d create.
Xiao Jin, meanwhile, sat quietly, chuckling to himself.
He had already received intel about the Rising Sun Theater Group from Mo Tu.
So while the other Night Watchers were shocked, he remained cool as a cucumber, almost feeling like it was about time.
“I just got word that someone from the Free Country seems to be visiting headquarters.”
“Oh?”
Bai Yuan and Wang Chao perked up at Xiao Jin’s statement.
“What’s going on?”
“The Order of Sequence seems to want to consult us on how to deal with the Rising Sun Theater Group given their experience.”
“Hahaha~ talented folks! They actually managed to swallow their pride; I respect that,” Wang Chao couldn’t help but laugh, thoroughly amused by the news.
Bai Yuan smirked too, also entertained by the whole thing.
Wang Chao couldn’t help but add, “If I were to host them, I might just give them a few golden nuggets of advice, like creating chaos at the performance site, attacking the performers, or grievously injuring one of the Audience Performers or something.”
Bai Yuan’s mouth twitched.
“The first two could lead to consequences… but grievously injuring an Audience Performer? You really want to turn the Free Country into a disaster zone?”
No joke, if all the Star Eclipses from the Theater Group went on a rampage, it might just be a piece of cake to make that happen in no time!
Innocent civilians didn’t deserve that.
Xiao Jin deliberately cleared his throat a few times.
“Wang Chao, you’re a Night Watcher too; mind keeping up appearances?”
“Ah~ I’m just joking around; it’s no biggie since it’s just the three of us here.”
“Hmm…”
Xiao Jin chuckled inwardly, knowing Wang Chao was just fooling. But if Night Lan caught wind of this, she’d probably note it down for future reference.
Only he knew what connection Night Lan had with the Rising Sun Theater Group.
“By the way, it’s been a week—where’s Mo Tu? I haven’t seen him around,” Wang Chao wondered aloud.
To that, Xiao Jin fed her a line.
“He’s got something to deal with; we won’t be seeing him for a while.”
