Chapter 57: Ill Omens Must Die (Part 3)

Staring at Fu Qian with an expression of sheer disbelief, Su Gao made sure she wasn't seeing things before executing a deep, formal bow toward him.

Su Gao's bow instantly plunged the restaurant back into absolute silence.

This self-proclaimed expert actually knew Su Zhiyan!

Judging by Su Zhiyan's demeanor, she even held him in considerable respect.

This sudden turn of events left the minion duo rooted to the spot, Brother A's mouth hanging open, completely forgetting to close it.

Fu Qian couldn't care less about any of that.

She actually still remembers me!

This repository is truly extraordinary!

"During our last operation, I never got the chance to thank you properly before discovering you had vanished. Afterward, I realized that if it hadn't been for Mr. Fu's guidance, the consequences would have been unthinkable. We tried searching for you later, but your trail had completely gone cold. We were afraid your injuries had flared up... It's so good to see you are alright."

Su Gao was clearly rather emotional, speaking more words in one breath than she probably had in a whole year.

"Thank you for your concern!"

So they really do remember everything, and judging by what she said, to them, my departure after completing the mission just looked like a sudden disappearance? They didn't perceive any special anomalies.

A flood of information flashed through Fu Qian's mind, but outwardly he merely nodded and greeted her casually.

"And you don't need to be so formal, just call me Fu Qian!"

"I thought I was a goner last time too, but somehow I managed to survive. My injuries have been healed for a long time now—I suppose what goes around comes around."

Fu Qian shamelessly branded himself as part of the righteous camp.

Mm!

Faced with Fu Qian's vague explanation, Su Gao didn't question it at all, merely nodding earnestly in agreement.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, her eyes lit up.

"Are you here today to deal with the Omen as well?"

"That's right!"

Just as he had guessed, this would save a lot of effort. Fu Qian nodded with exceptional satisfaction.

Her objective aligned with his own.

A pleasant surprise appeared on Su Gao's face, inexplicably bolstering her confidence.

"That's wonderful!"

There was even a hint of eagerness in her voice, though she quickly composed herself and pointed toward the headless young woman.

"What do you make of this situation?"

"I'm just here to have a meal today; you go ahead and handle your business."

Fu Qian had little interest in the bloodshed unfolding before him, wishing only to be a spectator, so he replied with an enigmatic air.

"Understood."

Su Gao didn't mind Fu Qian's indolence in the slightest, turning her attention right back to the crime scene.

Her previous experience had instilled in her a near-blind trust in Fu Qian.

"Mr. Fu?"

The minion duo cautiously approached him at that moment.

Su Gao's attitude toward Fu Qian had startled them quite a bit.

Judging by the conversation, this fellow had actually helped Su Zhiyan immensely?

No wonder he gave off such an unfathomable vibe.

"I am Lu Jun, a full member of the Xiyuan City Night Watch squad. I was a bit impolite just now, please don't take offense."

After hesitating repeatedly, the minion brother finally offered a serious apology.

In this world of martial supremacy, the fundamental rule of respecting the strong still held firm.

Although, as a member of the Night Watch, Lu Jun wasn't necessarily afraid of Fu Qian, reverence for the strong was practically engraved in his bones.

"It's fine."

Fu Qian wasn't one to bicker with this fellow, as he always considered himself a reasonable person.

He was well aware of how much hostility his previous self-absorbed attitude could provoke, and given that it was a crime scene, suspicion was only natural.

If this guy hadn't reacted at all, he would have been derelict in his duty.

Seeing how easygoing Fu Qian was, Brother Lu Jun visibly breathed a sigh of relief and redirected his attention back to the current case.

"The situation has been clarified. The deceased is Geng Yue, married. Her lunch was reserved two weeks ago, but the other person never showed up. She had already been waiting here for about half an hour. Based on the wounds, we can confirm this was the work of an Awakened one—very likely the Omen we've been tracking."

"It is indeed the methods of an Awakened, but we cannot yet conclude that it was the Omen," Su Gao said, nodding.

"Although killing in a public place to induce panic matches the Omen's behavioral habits, it's still too early to jump to conclusions."

"For now, investigate and handle it as a standard Awakened homicide case."

"Understood."

Lu Jun agreed hastily. It was evident that Su Gao exerted immense pressure on the two Night Watch members, causing both of them to speak with utmost caution.

"The person who made the reservation never arrived—that's still highly abnormal. We've decided to start our investigation from that angle, perhaps by tracking down her husband first. What do you think?"

As Lu Jun asked this, Su Gao turned to Fu Qian with a completely natural expression, seemingly seeking his opinion.

Don't look at me with that kind of expression!

He's the one asking for your opinion, okay? What's with this devoted-fan-like posture?

Did you just completely stop thinking the moment you found a professional like me?

Fu Qian thought for a moment.

"Looking for the husband is a move that can never go wrong, but at the same time, you'd better check out the fellow who failed to show up. There might be more valuable clues there."

"You mean the person who didn't show up isn't her husband?"

Lu Jun's expression shifted in shock.

"You're not married yet, are you?"

Fu Qian looked at him and shook his head.

"How did you kn—What do you mean?"

"It's obvious from your naive thinking. Do you harbor some excessively high expectations about marriage?"

Fu Qian sighed.

"A married woman books a restaurant half a month in advance, dresses to the nines, arrives early to wait for her husband, and then waits for half an hour without pulling out a blade to commit murder—what kind of pipe dream do you have to be living in to think that's what's happening?"

...

Having successfully enlightened a young man to the cruel realities of marriage, the group left the ill-fated restaurant.

As for the victim's remains, since she was an ordinary person and the necessary information had already been gathered, the rest would be handled by local security personnel.

The Night Watch had their own set of rules in these matters.

"After our last operation, I applied to join the Zhiyan Unit, which specializes in hunting down Awakened criminals. The Omen is my first target."

"This guy is quite powerful and acts with complete impunity, killing almost purely on a whim, and his targets aren't limited to Awakened ones. Because his whereabouts are extremely covert, we still know very little about him. Coupled with the fact that he relocates shortly after committing a massacre in any given place, we can currently only track him by his modus operandi. I followed the Omen all the way here."

On the way back to the Night Watch base, Su Gao briefly outlined the current situation.

Judging by the information she revealed, this Omen was indeed not easy to deal with. Even the all-knowing Night Watch didn't even have a name for him, making the search quite difficult.

Furthermore, another point of concern for Fu Qian was that his current mission clearly stated he needed to eliminate the Omen before the disaster struck.

This disaster surely didn't refer to the Omen's killing spree, so what could it be? And how was it connected to the Omen?