“From my perspective, the existence of such establishments is inherently evil and dark,” Zhu Shi expressed her view.

  I then asked Chang’an, “What did you discover?”

  “Since I always went to that nightclub specifically for Jin Yu, I didn’t really wander around much. But after going there more often, I realized something. The nightclub has many young girls—this in itself isn’t surprising, as it’s a pce for youth. The problem is, at first, I thought a girl like Jin Yu, a college student, was already young enough. But I didn’t expect…” Chang’an hesitated before continuing, “The youngest ones there looked to be at least seven or eight years younger than Jin Yu.”

  “Ah?” Zhu Shi was shocked and couldn’t help but examine Jin Yu’s face.

  Jin Yu looked about the same age as me and Zhu Shi, maybe around twenty at most.

  If they were seven or eight years younger than her, then that would mean…

  Chang’an didn’t go into detail about what those younger girls did at the nightclub, but he continued, his face growing even darker.

  “Though I’m not a moralizing gentleman, even I have a line that shouldn’t be crossed,” he said solemnly.

  “At first, my goal was just to persuade Jin Yu to give up her revenge pn, but after discovering what was happening there, my goal expanded—I wanted to destroy that nightclub.”

  “That’s not going to be easy,” Jin Yu gnced at him.

  “I think you should know very well that there are many wealthy people who visit there. If anything goes wrong, it’s entirely different from other establishments. The people behind it are very powerful, so it’s not something that can be taken down through normal means.”

  “How do you know if you don’t try? As long as the evidence I collect is sufficient and I report it to the right authorities, I don’t believe it won’t have an effect,” Chang’an said resolutely.

  He then turned to me and said, “Two days ago, I was attacked, kidnapped, and beaten nearly to death. The first thing I thought of was that nightclub.”

  “Do you think they discovered your covert investigation and decided to target you?” I pieced together the logic.

  In other words, the operators of the nightclub might be the Oddities, or perhaps the Oddities was their backer.

  So, when Chang’an became a threat to the nightclub, that Oddities sent out their minions to eliminate the danger before it could grow.

  As for why they didn’t just deal with Chang’an directly and instead went through the trouble of brutally beating him, that remains unclear.

  On top of that, there were still things that didn’t make sense.

  I asked, “Then why didn’t you want to tell me the truth st time?”

  “I was afraid you’d kill someone,” Chang’an gave me that answer, which only made me more confused.

  “I don’t understand. Regardless of whether the operators of that nightclub and their backers could be the ones endangering your life, the things you’ve already discovered that they’ve done are already evil. Do you think they didn’t deserve to die?”

  Although I didn’t consider myself in a position to judge others’ evil, I still said, “Or do you think only the w should judge them, and that individuals don’t have the right to decide others’ fate? I didn’t think you had a Batman side to you.”

  “It’s not because of that,” he said, his expression complicated.

  “If you want me to give a specific reason, I’m not sure how to express it, but...”

  “But?” I asked.

  “Your reaction back then, it was just so calm,” he said.

  “When I realized things weren’t what I thought they were, I honestly breathed a sigh of relief.”

  It took me a moment to realize that the “back then” he was referring to was when I killed those two shadow figures in front of him two days ago.

  At first, I didn’t know that the shadow figures weren’t human, yet I still killed them.

  It could be called a mistake, but honestly, it didn’t stir much inside me.

  However, Chang’an seemed to see things differently.

  When he realized that they weren’t human, it seemed like a huge weight was lifted off his chest.

  “You’re bothered by such a trivial reason…” I said, stunned.

  Facing his complex expression, I truly couldn’t rete to his thoughts, and I found his words very out of pce.

  It was like in a story filled with bloody battles and magical combat, suddenly a character who seemed like they had come from a daily urban story appeared, discussing how interpersonal harm affects the mental health of those involved, why people shouldn’t hurt each other, and so on.

  The characters weren’t even on the same wavelength.

  That kind of delicate topic is more suited for daily urban stories, where even falling off a bicycle and breaking a bone would be a big deal.

  In our world, people dying here and there isn’t even that surprising.

  After having this realization, I became aware of the underlying issue.

  Yes, just like how the values suited for a magical combat story don’t align with those suited for a daily urban story, the world I live in with Zhu Shi and the world Chang’an lives in are fundamentally on different wavelengths.

  I can’t expect Chang’an to judge things based on my values.

  From his perspective, it’s surprising that his friend would be so indifferent about killing someone.

  Such a matter can’t just be brushed off with a “You’re really bold,” and moved on from.

  I turned my head to look at Zhu Shi and found that she was looking at me as well.

  Then, she turned to Chang’an and said, “What happened next? Since you believe the nightclub is behind the attack, why did we see you walk out of there earlier? What were you doing inside? Aren’t you afraid they’ll attack you again?”

  “I was pnning to report the evidence I’ve collected to the authorities, but before that, I wanted to get Jin Yu out of there,” Chang’an answered honestly.

  “As for whether they’ll attack me again…”

  “Although I don’t fully understand what you were talking about earlier, they couldn’t have attacked you in such a public pce. If they’re going to do anything, it’ll be in secret. On the surface, everything would still seem peaceful. Otherwise, who would want to go back there as a customer?” Jin Yu said.

  “While that’s part of it, the main reason is that I think they’re really cautious around me. They probably didn’t succeed in attacking me two days ago and couldn’t figure me out. I thought I’d take advantage of the opportunity to act tough and get Jin Yu out first,” Chang’an expined.

  “But since you ran into me outside the club, they might have noticed, so after thinking it over, I decided it was better to tell you everything.”

  “You should have told us the truth from the beginning. Even if you wanted to get her out first, you could have asked for our help. If you didn’t want to consult Zhuang Cheng, you could have come to me. Where did you learn this habit of wanting to handle everything on your own?” Zhu Shi said, exasperated.

  Chang’an seemed to subconsciously gnce at me.

  Wait, is this my fault?

  “I see…” Ma Zao suddenly spoke up.

  “So, the person who’s been eavesdropping on our conversation outside the door, are they from that nightclub as well?”

  "What?" Chang’an and Goldfish both reacted in shock, while Zhushi remained unfazed.

  I was about to activate a “firefly” to sense if someone was indeed outside, but before I could do so, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open.

  A man in a bck suit, appearing to be in his thirties or forties, walked in with a confident stride.

  "You're quite the sharp little girl! Since you’ve exposed yourself, there's no turning back now. If you had pretended not to know, I might have let you breathe a little longer," he said in a low voice, then turned to Jin Yu, "From the tone of your voice just now, it seems you’re indeed on Chang’an’s side. I was wondering how Chang’an was able to search for clues so accurately in the club. It looks like you’ve been secretly helping him. It's a pity that the boss thought so highly of you, but you’ve let her down."

  "Hmph..." Jin Yu’s face showed a faint trace of fear, but she still tried to stay calm.

  Zhu Shi, without changing her expression, asked, "So, did the nightclub boss allow your brother to take Jin Yu out just to see if she’s a spy?"

  "It was just a side task. My main job was to follow Chang’an and test his background," the man in the bck suit replied confidently, as though he controlled the entire situation.

  He even casually closed the door and looked at Chang’an. "The boss was originally worried you had hidden powers, but you just revealed that your ‘tiger skin’ was a bluff. It seems that the reason you survived the other day wasn’t because of your own strength. Since you happened to run into these people outside, it means they aren’t relying on you. You’re finished."

  "Who is he?" I asked Jin Yu.

  "He’s the boss’s most trusted assistant," Jin Yu finally couldn’t hide her fear anymore.

  "I heard he used to be a professional hitman, but now he works as the boss’s bodyguard. There were some outsiders who tried to interfere with the nightclub’s operations in the past, and they vanished without a trace. It’s rumored they died by his hand."

  "Are you still in the mood to talk?" the man in the bck suit sneered.

  "Or do you think that since you have five people on your side, you don’t need to fear me? I don’t even need a weapon to deal with you. In fact, this is just to crush your hopes. Let me show you a terror you could never have imagined in your past lives..."

  As he spoke, he snapped his fingers.

  Instantly, the private room changed in an unnatural way.

  Shadows oozed out from the walls like ink spilling from the wallpaper, forming dark, abyssal pools.

  From the pools, monstrous, hellish creatures crawled out.

  These were the shadow clones of the “Oddities.”

  Jin Yu, witnessing this nightmare-like scene, began trembling all over. Chang’an also became visibly tense.

  "How is it? These demons are soldiers granted to me by the boss’s partners. They obey my commands now," the man in the bck suit spread his arms dramatically, smiling with the confidence of an emperor who holds life and death in his hands.

  "This is a power beyond worldly understanding. If you don’t want to be devoured by these demons starting from your fingers and toes, you’d better listen to my instructions..."

  "...Hmm? You three over there, what's with the expressions on your faces? Why are you looking at me like that?"

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