Ling Miao drove the hovercar along the special lane.

Once Ye Lan knew she wouldn’t be in any danger, she felt much more at ease.

She was pretty curious about the Star Eclipse, too. She’d just take a quick look, then head back and cuddle up with Yexing to play games once these big-shot Night Watchers had dealt with it!

“I have a question. What happens to the person serving as the vessel when the Stars lose control?”

Ye Lan was a Star Holder too, so of course she was a little worried that the Stars inside her might lose control. But what would happen to her if they did?

She had to know.

“Oh, meow? Didn’t you read the Night Watchers’ guide to the basics?”

“I was reading it, but I ran into you before I could finish.”

“Oh~ I see, meow. Then I’ll tell you.”

Ling Miao could be a little bratty, but she’d still answer a question like this properly.

“The Stars and the person are one. When the Stars are affected by the person’s state and lose control, the effects are reflected back on them, too. First, you’ll stop being yourself. Little by little, you’ll forget who you are. Your obsessions will drive the Star Eclipse to do what you’ve always wanted to do. Even if it’s something good, the Star Eclipse will twist it into something bad and disrupt the lives of everyone around you. But even then...”

Ling Miao paused, deep in thought.

“Still, I don’t think you could call it human anymore. It’d be a Star Eclipse consciousness endowed with human thoughts and obsessions. The Star Eclipse would take control of your body and keep doing whatever it thought was right.”

After hearing Ling Miao explain it, Ye Lan understood.

“Then is there any way to deal with it?”

“We Night Watchers decide based on the situation. If it isn’t too serious, we’ll try to bring them back to their senses. But if there’s no way to save them, then we have to destroy the vessel.”

Ye Lan had already guessed what that meant.

“By ‘destroy’ you mean...”

“Kill the Star Eclipse core—in other words, the person who caused the Star Eclipse. Only us Night Watchers can do it.”

“Uh...”

Kill someone?

Ye Lan felt like that was a world away from her.

But now that she’d become a Night Watcher, it also felt strangely close. Her heart fluttered with unease.

Ling Miao seemed to notice Ye Lan’s worries, so she patted her on the head.

“Don’t worry, meow. There are people who handle that specifically. We just have to find the Star Eclipse core. Sometimes it’s really hard to track down.”

“Mm.”

......

A little while later.

The hovercar Ling Miao was driving came to a stop.

They were now at a huge plaza, with plenty of people walking around.

“This is as far as I’m going. Wait here in the car. I’ll go by myself, and I’ll livestream it for you.”

“Okay.” Ye Lan nodded obediently.

Still seeming unsure, Ling Miao reminded her again, “Whatever you do, don’t wander off. You’ll be in big trouble!”

“Yes, Senior Ling Miao!”

“Good.”

Satisfied by Ye Lan’s spirited reply, Ling Miao got out of the car.

She also switched on her floating-unit device and started recording everything she saw.

Then Ye Lan, sitting in the car, received Ling Miao’s signal and began watching from Ling Miao’s point of view.

Once she was alone, Ye Lan felt much more relaxed and started grumbling.

“Night Watchers are amazing. They can go on missions when they’re so young, and Ling Miao isn’t scared at all. She’s so brave! Wait, isn’t this basically child labor? Or do the Night Watchers just not care about that sort of thing? It sounds like a pretty rough job, too. I think I might’ve been tricked...”

With no one else in the car, she simply lay down and settled into a comfortable position. Watching the livestream would be much nicer that way.

Now she just had to see how the Night Watchers did their jobs.

Ling Miao, who had the livestream running for Ye Lan, started talking too.

“Watch closely, meow. I’m definitely going to make an outstanding contribution!”

After saying that, Ling Miao plunged into the oblivious crowd.

......

Meanwhile, after receiving the message, the three of them—White, Cai Xun, and Bu Jie—set out at once.

White glanced coolly at Cai Xun and Bu Jie. “Where’s Ye Lan? Did you leave her all alone at the base?”

Cai Xun laughed, trying to cover up his awkwardness.

“Haha... Don’t worry. That little girl looks pretty mature for her age, and she seems to know quite a lot. She should be fine.”

Bu Jie quickly chimed in. “Yeah, yeah, Noob’s right. That little girl knows a ton. If you ignored her size and looks, you’d think she was a seasoned pro who’d been on the circuit for years.”

White gave them both a long look, then turned away.

“Forget it. Let’s get to the mission first.”

“Sure!”

The three quickly split up.

Star Eclipse activity had appeared at Wanyu Plaza.

The plaza was huge, with all kinds of entertainment facilities and an enormous daily crowd.

The Star Eclipse gave off a powerful form of mental contamination. It affected ordinary people nearby without them noticing, making them do things under its strange influence that seemed perfectly normal to them.

The more people there were, the stronger its influence. That could sometimes interfere with the Night Watchers’ judgment, making things extremely troublesome.

Wanyu Plaza had three floors, each smaller than the one below. The large and small attractions created obstacles that blocked the view.

The enormous crowd made things even more difficult.

But they had no other choice.

Trying to evacuate the crowd by force would only panic people who had no idea what was going on, making the Star Eclipse even worse. The core might also use the chaos to escape.

Finding the Star Eclipse core in an environment like this was no easy task.

Fortunately, quite a few Night Watchers had been sent out.

They could sense it as soon as they got close. Then, by staying in close contact with one another, they could form an airtight perimeter. It was still manageable.

The second floor.

“Found it.”

Cai Xun’s expression turned serious.

A familiar yet deeply unsettling feeling rose in his chest. It was like his hair standing on end, prickling his scalp.

Not far away, a figure wearing a mask stood on a stage set up for virtual projection performances. The audience packed in front of it seemed to be mostly young people who’d been drawn over.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re about to put on a spectacular show for you! Stay tuned!”

The masked man seemed to notice Cai Xun watching him. He turned and smiled faintly at him.

Cai Xun broke out in a cold sweat.

He blinked and realized he could no longer sense the Star Eclipse. When he looked at the masked man onstage, the man seemed utterly ordinary.

No. That wasn’t right.

He’d clearly sensed just a moment ago that this man was the one who’d caused the Star Eclipse!

The moment the thought crossed his mind, the discomfort brought on by the Star Eclipse returned.

He blinked again. Now everyone in the crowd had turned into a masked person, identical to the one onstage!

“Shit!”

In Cai Xun’s eyes, everyone around him had become the person who’d caused the Star Eclipse—the people to his left, right, in front of him, and behind him.

Thump, thump! Thump, thump!

Cai Xun’s heart began to race. Cold sweat soaked his back, and the atmosphere felt unbearably oppressive.

The masked figures all turned toward him. Their eyes seemed to glow red, and their lips curled into eerie smiles, as though they were mocking him.

Expanding mental contamination.

Only then did Cai Xun realize he’d been affected without even noticing.