Reality was just like that; he lived too easily, to the point where he didn't even feel a sense of tension.
He was completely detached from the mission.
But because of this, the facade he had built through his daily life and public persona began to crumble as the mission progressed.
The gloominess about him stemmed from his inner boredom and self-destructiveness.
He was starting to reveal his true self.
Jiang Siyan glanced at Nan Yue and gave her a perfunctory smile.
"Do you need help?"
Nan Yue wondered if giving Jiang Siyan something to do might improve his state of mind.
In all fairness, she appreciated both his looks and his temperament, so she didn't like seeing him project this fragmented, out-of-place aura.
"I actually do have something I need your help with."
Nan Yue's serious expression made Jiang Siyan, who had only been asking out of habit, pause for a moment.
Jiang Siyan followed Nan Yue back to her room, where she turned to him.
"I want you to help me keep an eye on Luo Jiyun and those people; see if they have any unusual behaviors in their daily routine."
Jiang Siyan's gaze was unreadable. "I can't see why you'd need my help with such a trivial matter."
In truth, based on his understanding of Nan Yue, she didn't need him to do anything at all.
Jiang Siyan found it somewhat amusing; was she worried about him and finding work for him to do?
What was he to her?
A cat prone to stress?
Nan Yue's misunderstanding of him was quite deep; did she really think he would be comforted by being 'needed' like this?
Nan Yue's eyes were earnest as she looked at him. "We still need to look for other clues, and since you're the most observant, you might find things we've missed."
Jiang Siyan stared into Nan Yue's eyes for a long time before finally giving a soft response.
"I understand."
Nan Yue and the others went to the theater, where most of the scavengers had gathered.
The theater was on the third floor and occupied a massive area; aside from the bridge, the theater was the only thing on that floor.
A movie was currently playing, with a few scattered guests inside.
The dark theater was mostly used by couples for trysts, so the dim lighting hid much, but it looked similar to the theater they had seen back in the Green City State.
However, the facilities were more refined, the seats were more comfortable, and it was much larger.
Most of the scavengers from lower city states had never seen a movie before; after realizing they couldn't find any clues, they simply sat down to watch.
It wasn't that they lacked a sense of crisis, but rather that they were simply too exhausted.
They spent every day rushing through missions or working part-time in the real world; they never had time for enjoyment.
Although the cruise ship was fraught with danger, the service and luxuries provided were things they had never seen before.
When their mental stability was unstable, they truly just wanted to sit down, think of nothing, and quietly watch a movie they had never seen.
As soon as Nan Yue's group entered, those scavengers became restless.
These were high-level players; if they were seen just sitting there watching a movie, they would surely be looked down upon.
The guillotine of the mission hanging over them finally jolted them awake.
To their surprise, however, Nan Yue sat right down next to them.
"What's playing?"
Zhao Linli didn't dare look at Nan Yue; he lowered his head and whispered, "It's... Gone with the Wind."
Nan Yue gave an appreciative "Ah." "That's a classic; I like it too."
Zhao Linli and several other scavengers looked at each other; seeing the four of them actually sitting down quietly to watch the movie, they felt even more restless.
"Miss Nan... I know you; you're on the Top Rankings."
Zhao Linli's roommate, Jiang Yang, leaned over and said, "Are we... are we just going to watch the movie here?"
Nan Yue shrugged. "It's pitch black, we can't see anything anyway; might as well watch the movie."
"There aren't many chances to watch movies outside, right?"
The previously restless scavengers gradually calmed down after hearing Nan Yue's words.
Zhu Xi Ning leaned against Nan Yue's shoulder. "You're still too soft-hearted."
Nan Yue patted her hand. "Everyone has worked hard; looking for clues doesn't have to happen this very second."
Everyone watched the movie in silence; when it ended and the lights came on, the scavengers still had looks of wonder on their faces.
"So that's what a movie is..."
"Wait, where are the high-level players?"
"There, up front; she headed over as soon as the movie ended. Couldn't you tell? She was just keeping us company."
"That's so kind..."
With the screen raised, the stage's original form was revealed.
It was a high stage, and its full extent couldn't be seen from the audience seats.
Nan Yue flipped onto the stage; under the glare of the spotlights, the audience below was hard to see clearly.
This stage was huge, with dressing rooms and a backstage area behind the curtains on both sides; the backstage was quite spacious, with another door leading directly to the stairs.
The theater was vast with many spaces where someone could hide.
Nan Yue searched every corner and confirmed that, for now, the theater seemed normal.
However, it was a closed space; once the front and back doors were locked, it wouldn't be easy to get out.
The others followed Nan Yue like little tails.
"In a closed space with so many hiding spots, there's no telling what might happen."
Wen Xiang Yuan listened to Gu Xiang Kai's analysis and asked, "I thought these were all supernatural explorations; is looking at this stuff really that useful?"
Gu Xiang Kai explained to her, "For example, since we were on the deck before, the boss used a rope to secure herself and her roommate, which saved a life."
"If we're in a closed space, unless the exploration involves spatial distortion, we don't have to worry about falling into the sea."
"And since it's enclosed, it also means things in the water won't easily get into the theater."
"So what we might have to face are things on the ship."
Wen Xiang Yuan hadn't expected so much could be analyzed; she listened and memorized everything, wishing she could split her brain open to record it all.
The other scavengers were also secretly taking notes; Gu Xiang Kai didn't intentionally lower his voice, so they could hear him too.
Zhu Xi Ning pulled her hand back from a pillar on the stage.
"The theater is fine."
"At least for now."
It felt clean to her, with no discomfort or dangerous presence.
Her foresight ability hadn't activated yet, likely because the difficulty of the mission hadn't been too high so far.
Nan Yue nodded. "There's probably nothing more to see here. We'll wait until tomorrow."
The other scavengers breathed a sigh of relief; at least they could relax a bit before the exploration began tomorrow.
At dinner, Joseph was the one cooking, and he prepared the octopus Nan Yue had killed the night before.
None of the other scavengers received this honor because they had only helped, while Nan Yue had single-handedly drawn all its attention and killed it.
However...
Nan Yue knew that to Joseph, it was just a large king octopus, but when she looked at it, she couldn't help but remember its body covered in eyes...
Rate on N.U.
