Chapter 68

Steadfast

The Chen Garden steward and both captured men in black were equally startled by Chao Musheng's sudden appearance.

"Mr. Chao." The steward signaled the enforcers with a look — get the captives out of sight. "You haven't rested yet? It's so late."

"I'd already fallen asleep, but a cat woke me, and then I remembered that the steward had specifically asked about a cat earlier — so I thought I'd come and have a look around." Chao Musheng noticed the enforcers hauling the two men away, and let his gaze settle on the gagged figures. "Who are they?"

"Thieves who broke into the estate." The steward wanted to shut this down before Chao Musheng asked anything else. "Please don't be alarmed, Mr. Chao. We'll deal with these two properly."

"Ah." Chao Musheng drew out the syllable. "Thieves."

The two gagged men, listening to the system's countdown toward their deletion, had stopped struggling.

Player failure to clear instance — anomalous activity detected by instance NPC — immediate deletion initiated.

Ten, nine, eight—

"Such a beautiful estate — it would be a shame to let thieves damage it." Chao Musheng raised his phone. "Don't worry, I'll call the police right now."

The steward, who had been about to have the men taken somewhere for interrogation: "..."

There was no one more aggravating than someone who couldn't mind their own business.

Seven, six, five—

The emergency line connected. Chao Musheng told the operator: "Hello — we've apprehended two thieves—"

Three, two— zzt—

A massive electromagnetic roar in both players' skulls, splitting and excruciating. They dropped to the ground, braced for the end — but when the pain faded and they opened their eyes, they were still looking at the same patch of weeds.

"Steward." Chao Musheng walked to the two players and pulled the cloth from their mouths. "Taking the law into your own hands is a criminal offense."

"Cough, cough." The players stared up at the handsome NPC who had materialized from nowhere, their eyes bright with the specific quality of people who have just been returned from the edge. He looked, to them, rather like a descending savior.

"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Chao — I was concerned they'd make noise and disturb the guests, I hadn't considered the implications." The steward's smile had gone almost entirely rigid. This was an unwelcome intrusion.

"Not at all — the Chen family invited me as their guest. Standing up for my host's interests is the least I can do." Chao Musheng noticed the strange, radiant relief on the two thieves' faces and felt mildly puzzled.

Caught stealing, and yet clearly overjoyed about it. Did they actually prefer being taken by police to falling into the Chen family's hands?

If he hadn't come out — what exactly had the Chen family been planning to do with them?

Chao Musheng held his position and waited for the police. The steward had no options; he stood there and waited too.

"Hey — you can't go anywhere." Chao Musheng stopped the Chen enforcers who had been quietly edging away. "You made the apprehension — when the police arrive, they'll need to understand the circumstances. If you're not here, who answers their questions?"

"It's a minor theft, and nothing was actually taken. The police don't need to spend time on something like this." The steward forced a laugh. "It's very late, Mr. Chao — please, go and rest."

"Petty theft might be simple, but this is Chen Garden." Chao Musheng's tone was full of admiration for the estate. "Master Chen is a well-known philanthropist, and Chen Garden is home to such remarkable art and antiques. What if these thieves have accomplices? What if there's a broader scheme that could threaten the Chen family's security?"

He turned a reproachful look on the steward. "When the estate itself is involved, nothing is too minor to take seriously. Steward — matters affecting your master's safety are never small. You have a responsibility to him."

The steward: "..."

How was it possible for one person to be this comprehensively irritating.

The two bound players, watching the steward lose ground, came very close to weeping with relief.

They had no idea why the system's countdown had simply vanished, but they were alive — and they knew that if they'd ended up in this steward's hands, the outcome would not have been good.

Though — a supernatural instance with police in it?

What was outside the instance boundaries? If leaving Chen Garden meant being swallowed by thick fog, was death still the end result?

"Xiao He — maintain cover. Keep Mr. Chao safe."

"Xiao He — we've coordinated with colleagues at the substation. They'll be coming to take the thieves."

Xiao He followed his earpiece instructions step by step, angling his concealed camera toward the people outside the wooden building.

The station ran a rapid ID comparison on the enforcers. Every one of them had a criminal record. Previous convictions, served time.

"Neither individual matching the two apprehended subjects is in the criminal database. Xiao He, fall back — colleagues are on their way."

Xiao He watched the steward carefully, confirmed he didn't dare lay a hand on Chao Musheng, and slipped away.

In a different dark corner, You Jiu — who had been tucked away and watching for some time — hesitated a moment longer, then also changed direction and left.

Before he went, he looked once more toward where Xiao He had disappeared.

Xiao He was a local, someone native to this world — and yet he'd been in the shadows running surveillance on the Chen family's every move. What was his actual identity?

A perfectly good supernatural instance, turning into a mystery drama.

The police arrived quickly. They took not only the two apprehended would-be thieves but also, with great courtesy, several of the Chen enforcers and the steward himself, and invited them all to ride along.

Police vehicles couldn't enter Chen Garden's inner roads, so Chao Musheng, in his capacity as a public-spirited citizen, walked with the officers all the way to the parking point and gave a full account of everything he'd witnessed.

"Thank you for the assistance, Mr. Chao." Chen Garden had staff nearby, so the third unit leader kept his words brief. He gripped Chao Musheng's hand with deliberate formality. "On behalf of my colleagues at the station — we're grateful."

"Not at all." Chao Musheng smiled. "It's what anyone would do."

The two players, sitting in the back of the police vehicle, couldn't stop their eyes from moving. So the world outside the instance wasn't thick fog — it was buildings, and streets, and everything that looked exactly like the real world.

Chen Garden was large and situated in the city's outer districts. The car moved through open roads at first, and the players registered nothing unusual. But as it approached the denser city center and the lit towers appeared — buildings blazing in every window despite the late hour, traffic flowing even now — they found themselves pressed against the glass.

The instance world had this kind of depth to it. Why had the Main God put this much effort into building something this real?

The officer assigned to watch them looked at their expressions with mild confusion. This was an unremarkable night view you could see from anywhere. What exactly were they so amazed by?

Every car had a different license plate. Every pedestrian had a different face. Even the cats darting through the roadside shadows were vivid and distinct.

The longer the players looked, the more wrong it felt. This world was too real. There was almost no trace of instance-ness anywhere in it.

They were brought in and walked through the corridor to a room, and the corridor itself was its own education: a drunk man attempting to confess his love to the arresting officer; a lost child crying for a police auntie to hold them; two men spitting at each other while a third officer trying to mediate got caught in the crossfire.

NPCs in this world, outside the instance boundaries — they had this kind of variety to them?

In the room, an officer came to take their personal information.

"Name, place of origin, age, ID number?"

Both players: "..."

What was an ID number?

Shortly afterward, someone came and scanned their fingerprints and eye prints.

"Captain — no records found in the database. Preliminary assessment: possible undocumented migrants."

"Two people who infiltrated Chen Garden as domestic staff, and between them no identification documents?" The third unit leader puzzled over this. "Chen Garden turns away our officers on zodiac and waistline grounds, but lets in people with no documentation at all?"

How young were these two? How good-looking?

*

"Mr. Chao." Chen You arrived to find the situation already resolved and the people already gone. He looked at the bodyguards behind Chao Musheng and smiled. "Thank you for your help tonight. Please — it's late. Let me see you back."

"Thank you." Chao Musheng glanced around. "Where's the second young master? I haven't seen him all evening."

Anywhere Chen You appeared, Chen Fang generally materialized within two minutes. On a night this eventful, his absence was unusual.

"He's unwell and resting." Chen You, interpreting this as affection for Chen Fang, added: "He went out street racing this afternoon and came back to a difficult conversation with Grandfather. By dinnertime he was calling it a sick day."

"Young Master Chen Fang does love his excitement." Chao Musheng gave Chen You a half-smile. "If he had even a fraction of your steadiness and reliability, Master Chen would have so much less to worry about."

"Thank you, Mr. Chao." Chen You pressed the upward curve of his mouth back down, not wanting the pleasure to show too plainly. "My brother is still young. A few years and he'll settle."

He walked Chao Musheng to the entrance, where Secretary Liu was standing at the door. Before Chen You could say a word, Secretary Liu's tone had already taken on an edge:

"Running around with bodyguards in the middle of the night — do you think you're the heir apparent to Kunlun?"

"The bodyguards are from the boss — if you have complaints, take them up with him." Chao Musheng climbed the step and clipped Secretary Liu's shoulder as he passed, staggering him back.

"I say two words to the man and he runs out into the night." Secretary Liu brushed the spot. "Young Master Chen — thank you for walking Mr. Chao back. He didn't give you any trouble?"

"None at all." Chen You smiled. "It's late — I won't keep you, Secretary Liu. Good night."

So Chao Musheng had gone out running around at this hour because of a falling-out with Secretary Liu. He was still too young — bolting out in temper, while Secretary Liu waited in the doorway to see him come back. Xu Chenzhu, looking on, would only conclude that Chao Musheng had unstable emotions.

No employer wanted an emotionally unstable employee.

"Well played, Xiao Chao." Back in the courtyard, Secretary Liu and Chao Musheng exchanged a satisfied high five. "Though — how did you know Xiao He had gone to the wooden building?"

"Someone tipped me off." Chao Musheng yawned. "Brother Liu — I'm exhausted. I need to sleep."

"Go on, go on." Secretary Liu had no tiredness in him whatsoever and felt fully energized.

He was entirely serious about making life difficult for the Chen family.

Chao Musheng went inside. Not wanting to wake Xu Chenzhu, he took off his shoes and felt his way up the stairs in the dark.

"You're back?"

The corridor light came on. Xu Chenzhu was standing at the top of the stairs in his sleepwear. Without his glasses, the lines of his face were sharper than they were during the day.

"Did I wake you, Mr. Xu?" Chao Musheng stood on the wooden steps with his slippers dangling from his hand, curling his toes against the wood.

"The floor is cold — put your shoes on." Xu Chenzhu looked at Chao Musheng's feet, then quickly away. "You didn't wake me. I wasn't asleep."

"It's almost two in the morning." Chao Musheng pushed his feet into the slippers. "Why haven't you slept?"

"Meow." Ink Blob crept over quietly and settled on top of Chao Musheng's foot, immovable.

"Some insomnia." Xu Chenzhu looked at the cat adhering to Chao Musheng's foot. Something tightened briefly at the corner of his mouth.

"You're clingy." Chao Musheng bent down and scooped Ink Blob up — and, in the process, found he'd also lost whatever remained of his own sleepiness. "How about I keep you company for a film?"

"I'm used to the insomnia." Xu Chenzhu smiled. "It's fine. You should sleep."

"Watching a film together is more interesting than lying awake alone." Chao Musheng stepped forward, caught a corner of Xu Chenzhu's sleeve, and pulled him down the hallway toward the screening room. "Come on."

Watching Chao Musheng pull at his sleeve with that particular certainty of purpose, Xu Chenzhu felt himself carried backward several years.

The Chao Musheng who was sixteen had pulled him out of the water with exactly this same unswerving resolve.