Night Watchman Headquarters — The Possibility of Metamorphosis

"Who knows? I'm frustrated too — I've been on the road constantly lately. Oh, right — I did run into some Aberration Events similar to what we encountered with Xue Ren back in Xili City. Didn't you say last time that someone gave Xue Ren the Soul-Devouring Orb? We still have no idea who it was. Still haven't tracked them down."

Li Qinghe sighed as she spoke.

Lu Yuan thought for a moment, then smiled.

"Qinghe-jie, if Aberration Events keep coming up, how about I go with you?"

Since Aberrations were becoming more frequent, his efficiency in encountering them and absorbing the unknown aura should improve considerably.

Beyond that, his current strength was genuinely formidable.

While he could certainly keep honing his Spirit Techniques and Body Techniques at school to grow stronger, at this point Lu Yuan felt that using the opportunity to engage more directly with Aberrations was just as worthwhile a choice.

Li Qinghe blinked. She turned to look at him.

"You want to work overtime? You haven't even graduated. What's wrong with you?"

Lu Yuan's expression darkened. Why was this woman always so determined to slack off?

He cleared his throat. "I'm just... curious about Aberrations."

Li Qinghe considered that, then glanced at Si Tingyu beside her.

"He's Scary Rain's student — does your mentor approve?"

Si Tingyu, who had been quietly listening, smiled.

"At Yuan's current level of strength, there isn't much left I can actually teach him. He's Battle King Rank now, isn't he? He can train on his own from here."

Li Qinghe's eyes went wide.

"You're already Battle King Rank?! That fast?!"

She'd been so consumed by Aberration work that she hadn't visited the Land of Origin in days — she'd had no idea Lu Yuan had already reached that level.

"Yeah. Just broke through."

Lu Yuan smiled.

Li Qinghe gave him a peculiar look.

"Oh no, oh no. Now that word gets out about your strength, that old man is definitely going to start pressing again."

Si Tingyu's mouth twitched, and a helpless expression crossed her face.

"Mm... Yuan, getting out of here for a while might actually be good."

Lu Yuan quietly nodded in agreement.

"Alright then — come with me to the Night Watchman Headquarters."

Li Qinghe stood, reached back, and pinched Si Tingyu's cheek with a mischievous grin.

"Sweet thing, big sis is heading out — be good and wait for me at home, okay?"

Si Tingyu sighed, rubbed her cheek, and shot Li Qinghe a glare.

Lu Yuan: "..."

He kept his gaze carefully forward and pretended he hadn't seen anything.

Though, admittedly, there was a small and treacherous part of him that understood the impulse entirely.

Lu Yuan followed Li Qinghe out of Si Tingyu's dormitory, and the two of them climbed into Li Qinghe's sports car, driving to a sleek black tower at the heart of the Imperial Capital.

"We're here. Out!"

Li Qinghe led Lu Yuan out of the car and up toward the building. Approaching the main entrance, Lu Yuan glanced up at the tower — the sheer grandeur of the Night Watchman Headquarters was something he hadn't quite expected.

He fell in step behind Li Qinghe, and they entered.

Inside, the lobby teemed with activity. A sweep of Lu Yuan's gaze revealed that nearly everyone present was a Gene Warrior radiating Spirit Power. There were civilians too — but only the reception staff, every one of them remarkably attractive.

The Night Watchmen were one of the most powerful official organizations in the Empire, which meant their benefits and compensation were undoubtedly excellent. The civilians who made it into the headquarters proper almost certainly came from families with some degree of influence — they'd simply never Awakened to become Gene Warriors.

As Li Qinghe moved through the lobby, everyone she passed offered a respectful nod.

"Elder Li."

"My Lord."

"..."

She acknowledged each greeting with a small nod of her own.

And in her wake, every Night Watchman turned with curious eyes to study the figure following her. The moment they got a clear look at his face, more than a few froze, shock flickering across their expressions.

When they watched him trail Li Qinghe into the private elevator reserved for the upper floors, the lobby erupted into feverish whispers.

"Did you see that?! The one behind Elder Li just now — that's him, isn't it? Lu Yuan?! The number-one prodigy on the Prodigy Rankings?!"

"Obviously! We're not blind!"

"They always said Elder Li and Lu Yuan were close, and it's really true — she actually brought him here to our headquarters."

"From the look of things... is Lu Yuan going to join us?!"

"Must be! The Night Watchmen are something else — even a talent of his caliber, one of the top geniuses in the entire White Cloud Star Domain, is coming to us. Looks like being a Night Watchman really does have prospects!"

While the lobby buzzed with excitement, Lu Yuan and Li Qinghe had already ascended to the top floor. They stepped out of the elevator and walked down a corridor carpeted in deep black until they reached the Night Watchman Chairman's office.

Li Qinghe knocked.

The door opened. Inside stood a middle-aged man with an unremarkable face and a full head of wavy brown hair.

At the sight of Li Qinghe, he offered a polite smile.

"Elder Li."

Then his gaze shifted to Lu Yuan. He paused for just a moment before his expression brightened considerably.

"Mr. Lu Yuan is here as well? Please, come in."

He stepped aside quickly to usher them both through.

Lu Yuan surveyed the room as he entered. Directly across from the door was a floor-to-ceiling window with a sweeping view of the Imperial Capital. To the right, a sectional sofa — one main seat and two side pieces — surrounded a low black coffee table. To the left stood a massive bookshelf lined with volumes. In front of the window was a wooden desk, and behind it, a stern-faced middle-aged man with dark hair was rising from his chair.

He came forward with a broad, easy smile.

"Ha! Mr. Lu Yuan, welcome to Night Watchman Headquarters. What brings you here today with Qinghe?"

Gu An's gaze landed on Lu Yuan, a trace of barely concealed anticipation shining in his eyes.

Lu Yuan glanced at Li Qinghe. She smiled.

"Uncle Gu, Yuan wants to help the Night Watchmen handle Aberration Events. Work out the details with him."

Gu An's face lit up at once.

"If that's Mr. Lu Yuan's intention, it is wonderful news for the Red Maple Empire," he said without hesitation. "Here's my proposal — Mr. Lu Yuan could take on the same role as Qinghe: Honorary Elder of the Night Watchmen. You'd receive full Elder rights and benefits, with minimal obligations. Your only duty would be to step in when an Aberration Event proves beyond our teams' ability to handle. What do you say?"

Lu Yuan nodded with a smile. "That works for me."

He'd planned to handle Aberration Events anyway. Having the Night Watchmen help him locate the particularly troublesome ones would actually save him effort. With benefits on top of that? All the better.

Gu An hadn't expected such immediate agreement. A look of delighted surprise spread across his face.

He invited Lu Yuan and Li Qinghe to sit, then had the brown-haired man retrieve the contract.

Lu Yuan read it through. Just as Gu An had described — no mandatory attendance, no obligation to handle minor Aberration Events regularly. His sole duty was to intervene when Night Watchman teams found themselves in over their heads.

That was the one obligation.

As for the benefits: access to the Night Watchmen's Aberration archives, limited authority to mobilize Night Watchman personnel — with reasonable justification, of course — and an annual salary of five hundred thousand Fifth-tier Spirit Crystals.

By Lu Yuan's standards, the salary was modest. No comparison to what those star-domain-level powers had dangled during their recruitment attempts. But there was nothing to be done about it — the Red Maple Empire's ceiling was a single Battle Emperor, and the gap between it and those star-domain-level factions was simply enormous.

Not that he had any intention of funding his cultivation through a salary. His resources came from the Land of Origin.

Beyond the salary, there was also a villa in the White Willow District and an annual living stipend of one billion Red Maple Coins.

To an ordinary person, those figures were extraordinary. To a Gene Warrior — especially one at Lu Yuan's level — they amounted to a modest quality-of-life perk. A small convenience, nothing more.

Lu Yuan ran it by Li Qinghe. She reviewed the contract, confirmed everything was in order, and Lu Yuan signed.

The moment the ink was dry, Gu An could no longer contain his smile.

"Welcome, Elder Lu Yuan. From here on, we're on the same side."

Lu Yuan smiled back. "You're too kind, Chairman Gu."

"Qinghe joined before you, so feel free to ask her anything. And if something stumps her, my door is always open."

Gu An smiled warmly.

Lu Yuan nodded with complete sincerity. "Thank you, Chairman Gu. I will."

"Excellent. Qinghe — why don't you show Elder Lu Yuan around?"

Gu An glanced at Li Qinghe.

She rose, stretched with a lazy roll of her shoulders, and grinned.

"Let's go, Yuan."

Gu An watched them out the door. The moment it clicked shut, the last of his restraint dissolved entirely.

"Ha ha ha! The number-one prodigy on the Prodigy Rankings — and he ends up with the Night Watchmen! Let those old fossils fight over him now — can any of them top me?! And Qinghe's already ours!"

Something came to mind. Deeply pleased with himself, Gu An pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

**Beep. Beep. Beep.**

The call connected almost immediately. Gu An's grin stretched from ear to ear.

"Chengxin, old friend — I've got some good news for you."

At the Red Maple Guard Headquarters, Si Chengxin cast a glance at Si Tingfeng, who was mid-report, and raised a hand to signal silence.

Si Tingfeng faltered in confusion and watched curiously as Si Chengxin stood and turned toward the window — and the dark Night Watchman tower visible beyond.

"Old Gu," he said mildly, "what kind of good news has you this cheerful?"

Gu An let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Oh, nothing much, really. You know how Qinghe's one of our Honorary Elders? Well, she and that kid Lu Yuan are absolutely inseparable, and today he came by headquarters. Said he wanted to do the same as her — become an Honorary Elder with the Night Watchmen. I could hardly stand to see the two of them separated, so naturally I had no choice but to agree. As of today, Lu Yuan is our Honorary Elder."

The smile on Si Chengxin's face went rigid.

His jaw tightened. Waves of turbulent pressure rolled off his body.

*Crack.*

His grip slipped, and the phone shattered in his hand.

Si Chengxin drew a long, slow breath. He turned to look at his nephew, rearranging his face into something warm and amiable.

Si Tingfeng noticed the sudden shift and grew wary.

"Sir? Is something the matter? You look... quite happy."

"Ha. Of course I'm happy."

The words came out through clenched teeth.

Then, in a dangerously quiet murmur: "Tingfeng. I told you to go invite that brat Lu Yuan to join the Red Maple Guard. Did you?"

Si Tingfeng blinked. "I did, but Yuan said he hasn't graduated yet and didn't want to think about it for now. He still has about four more years, so I figured there was no rush — I planned to bring it up again later."

"Ha... no need. Don't bother inviting him anymore."

Si Tingfeng was taken aback. He knew better than anyone how much Si Chengxin valued Lu Yuan, how relentlessly he'd worked to bring him into the Red Maple Guard. Lu Yuan was the number-one prodigy on the Prodigy Rankings — what commander wouldn't want a talent like that?

So why the sudden reversal?

"...Why not?"

"Why?" Si Chengxin's smile turned razor-thin. "Because he's already joined the Night Watchmen. By the time you got around to asking again, the boat would have long sailed."

The color drained from Si Tingfeng's face. Cold sweat prickled at his hairline. A bitter taste spread through his chest.

*Oh hell. That bastard Yuan — did he just throw me under the wheels?!*

*I'm done for.*

Then Si Chengxin's voice came again, low and unhurried:

"For the next two months, your team is going to work extra hard keeping order in the Imperial Capital. If a single incident slips through, you will answer to me personally."

Si Tingfeng's mind went blank. Two straight months of overtime?!

His mouth twitched. His throat felt uncomfortably dry.

"...Yes, sir."

"Are you mumbling?!"

"YES SIR! The mission will be completed without fail!"

"Get out!"

Si Tingfeng scrambled toward the door. Then Si Chengxin's voice stopped him cold:

"Hold on. The report. Finish the report first."

Si Tingfeng: "..."

Meanwhile, back at Night Watchman Headquarters, having thoroughly enjoyed his bout of gloating at Si Chengxin's expense, Gu An smacked his lips — and found it wasn't quite enough. He dialed again.

"Old Li? Something's been weighing on me that I need to share... What is it? Well, you know how the Li family's Qinghe and Lu Yuan are so close together..."

"Karol? How's the front line holding up? Oh, nothing major on my end — just something I wanted to share. A little bit of joy..."

"Hello..."

While Gu An reveled in his triumph, Lu Yuan and Li Qinghe had long since left the office and were making their way through the Night Watchman headquarters — the break room, the strategy room, the mission room, the archives, and more.

"By the way, Qinghe-jie — didn't you bring that Soul-Devouring Orb back to headquarters last time? Are all the Aberration Entities kept here?"

The memory of the unknown aura he'd absorbed from the Soul-Devouring Orb flashed through Lu Yuan's mind, and his eyes lit up at the thought of what else might be stored in the Night Watchmen's vaults.

*If every Aberration Entity carries that aura, maybe I can absorb from all of them?*

*If I absorb all of it... maybe I'll be that much closer to metamorphosis. Maybe it could even trigger it outright.*

Li Qinghe blinked, then nodded.

"Mm. The Aberration Entities are all kept in the basement. Interested?"

Lu Yuan's eyes brightened. "Can I go see them?"

"Of course. You're an Honorary Elder — you have clearance. Want to head down now?"

Li Qinghe smiled.

Lu Yuan's lips curved upward.

"Let's go take a look."