Dancer Theatre was a famed place even beyond the confines of Summer Crinkle because every year during The Festival of the Moon, the theatre would hire famous performers from around the world to perform, and the best performance would receive a fabulous present. Other than the prize, the performers would see their fame skyrocket once they performed at this festival, so every year, plenty of performers would swarm to Summer Crinkle to present their best performance.
However, other than during the Festival of the Moon, Dancer Theatre was also a famous tourist spot. In fact, many tourists came to this place simply because their idols had once performed at this world-famous theatre. Of course, the theatre on normal days would put on shows like opera and ballet to entertain the crowd.
While not every performer who took to the stage at Dancer Theatre was a great celebrity, they were famed in their own right, and this was how Dancer Theatre kept up its maintenance, through the sales of these tickets.
That day was the first showing of a new opera, so Ye Qi, who was tailing Hank, had no choice but to fork out enough money to support a normal family for five months to purchase 5 tickets—Tatum and Darien had spent every penny on that party they had after they became Apostles. Even though A Wa was quite a frugal person, he also didn't have much on him because he spent most of his money taking care of his animal friends. Furthermore, Tatum, A Wa, and Darien had spent the past half a year training in the headquarters, so they had no source of income. Regarding Alice… she was raised at the Cavalry camp and her daily needs were already taken care of for free, so she basically had no idea what money was.
This is part of the necessary expenses right? I wonder if I can apply for reimbursement from the headquarters.
Ye Qi glanced at the amount left in his account and his heart twitched. He pocketed the five tickets carefully. Forging Agni had taken a huge chunk out of his savings. That combined with the expenses over the half a year meant that even with constant income from Marley, he was about to join the pauper rank with his friends soon if he didn't find himself another source of income.
"There!" A Wa pointed down a direction ahead of them. Even though A Wa was expelled from his family and deemed not a fit Demon Hunter, he had the eagle-eye of a hunter which allowed him to spot Hank in the dark environment of the theatre. "There's no one around him, the person he's waiting for is not here yet!"
"Okay, follow me!" Ye Qi nodded and led his team to the other end of the theatre. "Let's separate for now, find yourself a place to hide and we'll wait for our target to arrive!"
The exorbitant ticket price deterred normal tourists from entering the theatre, which meant that half of the seats were empty. Ye Qi and his group easily found themselves a suitable perch to hide and wait for Hank's partner to arrive. Unexpectedly, Ye Qi followed behind Alice and chose to sit down beside her—since he had paid so much for the ticket, he'd figured, why not make use of the occasion to conduct an impromptu date…
"This place is quite nice, isn't it?" In the dark, Ye Qi stared closely at Alice's profile and asked with a smile, "Do you like the opera?"
"No clue, I haven't been to one in my life," the Cavalry Captain answered truthfully before berating him, "But we're here on a stake-out, not to enjoy the opera!"
"You know what, this is also my first time at the opera, and I'm glad that it's with you!" Ignoring Alice's comment, Ye Qi continued, "Plus, we're at the theatre, if our focus is constantly on another viewer and not the stage, that would be too obvious! So, let's enjoy ourselves! Of course, if you're willing to put your hand into mine and pretend that we're lovers, it'll be that much more convincing!"
"In your dreams!"
Alice's rejection came fast and furious. Ye Qi shrugged and turned to look at the stage even though his focus was attached to Hank, who was sitting several rows in front of them—their target's power was invisibility and that benefited from the theatre's darkened environment, so if he didn't pay full attention to the fluctuation in the room, Ye Qi wouldn't dare say he would be able to catch their target in the act…
Several fluctuation appeared in Ye Qi's mind. Using the sense of Blind Fighter, Ye Qi memorized and focused on the fluctuations around Hank. The young Demon Hunter who paid full attention on Hank didn't realize Alice was glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes and a blush rose to her face…
The opera that night was captivating. The viewers kept on giving thunderous applause. Hank, on the other hand, kept shifting in his seat; it was obvious that he was nervous.
Hank sweated in his chair, thinking about Ye Qi's visit from three days ago! However, the thought of the luxurious life he would have in return slowly calmed his heart—the imminent Gold Doubloons and the risk they represented entwined his heart like a pair of venomous snakes, causing him to have difficulty breathing.
"Don't move and follow me!"
Suddenly, an order appeared beside Hank's ear. He almost jumped out of his seat. However, he nodded quickly to show that he understood and stood up obediently—the lure of the Gold Doubloons was too big! Hank didn't think he would one day meet this legendary figure from the underworld! Thinking about the person's famous invisibility power, Hank's heart couldn't help but shake…
After getting into the horse carriage that awaited him at the theatre entrance, Hank's fear and anxiety fell away like old paint. He grabbed the bags of Gold Doubloons, hugged them to his chest, and sighed satisfactorily.
"Sir, Hank is always at your service!" Feeling the weight of the Gold Doubloons, Hank's tense face relaxed into a rare smile. Even though he couldn't see the person he talking to, he continued, "Please give me your orders!"
"Tonight I will have my men enter you circus! Be prepared to leave tonight!" the other party said succinctly before adding, "I've given you the money, if anything unexpected happens, I wouldn't mind taking it back from your cold lifeless body…"
"Sir, please do not worry!" Hank immediately said in a hurried and fearful voice, "My loyalty towards you will never be questioned!"
The horse carriage stopped at a road leading towards Summer Crinkle's countryside. Lugging the bags of Gold Doubloons, Hank returned happily to his circus. In his joyous state, he didn't notice the shadows that followed behind him.