Before Yue Ge could speak, Huan stepped forward and asked, "Nightingale? Why you? Where's the Boss?"
Yue Ge let out a slight sigh of relief. The interviewer wasn't this girl who looked younger than Bai Ya. It made sense—after all, if the head of the Fate Organization were a child, the whole Organization would collapse.
It wasn't that Yue Ge looked down on her. But anyone the Crow and Huan respected as "Boss" had to be skilled. As Chosen Ones, they carried their own pride. Plus, both had been Chosen Ones for years—their superior couldn't possibly be this young.
Nightingale glanced at the wall behind her but said nothing.
"Gone out? He told me to come here, yet he's vanished." Huan could only smile wryly.
"No badmouthing," Nightingale whispered, crossing her arms over her chest. Her voice lived up to her name—clear, ethereal, almost songlike. Each word lingered in the air, unforgettable after just one hearing.
"Fine, fine," Huan sighed, glancing at Yue Ge. "Sit for now. The Boss stepped out."
"Will the interview still happen?" Yue Ge sat opposite Nightingale but grew uneasy under her gaze. It wasn't scrutiny—just pure curiosity.
"Wait a bit... He should return soon," Huan said uncertainly.
"Um... do you need to tell me something?" Yue Ge finally asked after enduring her stare.
Nightingale shook her head silently.
"Then why keep staring?" Yue Ge knew he had nothing to attract girls, and the recent fight hadn't left him messy.
She shook her head again, then gestured to Huan.
"Don't mind her. She's like that," Huan said bluntly.
Nightingale didn't argue. But after Yue Ge's comment, she stopped staring, lowered her head, and scribbled on paper. She slid it to him:
—I saw the fight. You're strong.
Yue Ge stared at her, puzzled.
"..." Nightingale pressed a finger to her lips, thinking. Then she tapped the table. When Huan looked over, she handed him another sheet:
—DO NOT DISTURB
Bold printed letters filled the page—likely a pre-made sign she'd grabbed. Writing wasted time.
Huan read it, paused briefly, then nodded. He stood. "I'll step out. Call if needed."
He closed the door behind him, leaving only two in the room. Yue Ge waited for Nightingale to speak. But she seemed to have only shooed Huan away. She tidied papers silently, writing nothing more.
Yue Ge wasn't rushed. Bai Ya had warned him she'd be busy until afternoon or evening. If he finished early, he could find her. Time still felt early, hard to track inside the building.
Nightingale suddenly tapped the table and pointed to a sofa in the corner. To get attention, she used taps, not words.
"...Can't you just speak?" Yue Ge asked. He guessed her meaning but feared embarrassment.
She shook her head, innocent yet stubbornly silent.
"I'll wait here then... shouldn't take long," Yue Ge sighed.
This Organization really had too many oddballs...
Was this some "no talking to strangers" rule? If he hadn't heard her voice earlier, he'd have thought her mute. Nightingale wasn't her real name—just a codename like Crow's. She must belong to the Support Squad too.
Yue Ge didn't know what the Support Squad truly did. It couldn't be mere logistics or trivial tasks. Crow's Essence was clearly Hazard-class—his power proved it. Huan's Essence was unconfirmed, but likely Hazard-class too; the Organization wouldn't recruit a child otherwise. That made the Squad's purpose suspicious.
One oddity might be coincidence. Two, a fluke. But three? A pattern. Yue Ge suspected this girl also had an Essence—at least Hazard-class. The simplest test was external manifestation.
Ordinary Essences only enhanced the body. Top-tier ones might grant beast-like traits, causing mild Essence-fusion in rare cases. Higher classes, like Crow's or Yue Ge's own, triggered full-body fusion. Bai Ya called it the Essence adapting to human form—without it, "effective Essences" wouldn't work.
But Yue Ge was an exception. He could manipulate Death Aura freely, even without fusion. He was practically its embodiment, creating it from nothing. The why? He had no clue.
Lost in thought, Yue Ge barely noticed Nightingale stand. She walked to the wall, felt along it, and opened a hidden door. The dim room revealed not a treasure vault or secret passage—just an ordinary bedroom.
After opening it, she returned, stuffed the "DO NOT DISTURB" sign into Yue Ge's hand, and darted inside.
"...Is she napping?" Yue Ge sighed, staring at the paper.
He suddenly missed Bai Ya.
But he didn't wait long. As Nightingale shut the bedroom door, the office phone rang. Yue Ge hesitated to answer—then it switched to speakerphone. A man's voice filled the room.
"Yue Ge, you're in my office now. Come to Z1. I'm waiting."
"How do I get there?" Yue Ge frowned slightly.
"Go to A6. I've opened the door. Consider it a last-minute interview location change."
"...I'm on my way," Yue Ge sighed.
