主妇丈夫倡导的户外生活

Harker had been tipped off by one of the bodyguards that Mina has been spotted around the club districts lately. It seems whatever lead she had about her parents\' killers, it had led her into constant bar-hopping and clubbing.

She hasn\'t returned for two weeks now, and Harker feared that her time as a human was running out soon. If she doesn\'t get constant SS cells and RH null blood, she\'d turn back into a mermaid. It\'s too dangerous for her to go out on her own under these circumstances even when he could understand her purpose.

"Just where in the blazes are you, Mina….. I\'m pretty sure I saw you here just now." He mumbled to himself as he searched the area with his refined snake eyes and body heat sensor.

Even though she was transformed, Harker had noticed that Mina\'s body temperature was still very slightly lower than an average human. It was a very minor difference, but still pretty important. He put all his focus on sensing her in this area.

If she tries to run away from him, Harker thought he might have to use his two incapacitating abilities. And he doesn\'t really want to do that.

He just wanted to talk things through with her, and explain that even though he worries about her, he\'s still on her side. They could meet up every two weeks while going on their own individual escapades. Harker had always wanted to help her, he just wanted to make sure she\'s safe because he loves her.

The music was too loud and there\'s too much stimuli going on in this club. This was why Harker hated this sort of place. It\'s even more chaotic than his dreams...

Speaking of those dreams, he had another strange one where he could only remember a singing ghost by the sea. Other than the song, he can\'t remember much about her either.

There\'s also something about... an eye sore.

It really wasn\'t anything helpful, and he\'s starting to think these dreams were not really as special as he wanted to believe. It could have been any other dream and he was just getting paranoid.

But the connection to An Xin…. That\'s what keeps him going in this attempt to recall his subconscious memory more.

"Fuck, I need to focus on Mina for now. It\'s just too loud here that I can\'t think straight." He muttered.

He followed what he believed to be where Mina went. After passing through this maze of human bodies, he ended up reaching the dumpsters at the back of the club. He looked around and saw a nearby public restroom with a tough-looking man waiting outside.

Harker could sense Mina there. He rushed towards it, but the tough guy blocked his path.

"VIP only. Got a ticket?"

"What!? It\'s the public restroom, for the love of corn!"

"VIP. Ticket." He only repeated the words again, and cracked his knuckles.

Harker can sense more than one body inside. Actually, there were a lot of bodies, but they seemed to be down under.

"I see it now. I ain\'t a snitch, and I\'m not working with the police. My friend just went there, so I need to follow after her." Harker explained. "So could you be a dear and…."

"Look me in the eyes, pal."

As soon as he said that, his eyes gleamed and turned green. The big bouncer for the hidden VIP area of the club immediately collapsed. Harker easily caught him and lifted him by the arms like a baby, sitting him down in one of the dumpsters.

"Impressive. Thought you were toast as soon as you started rambling about your friend."

Harker\'s eyes widened as soon as he heard that voice, his heart almost leaping out of his chest. "Fucking hell…. What are you doing here, Professor!?"

Professor Seward just leaned on the exit door, one hand to her large hip.

"I should be the one asking you. As far as I recall, you mentioned that this kind of place \'ain\'t your scene\'. Yet here you are, even putting a big bouncer to sleep just to get to the VIP strip club area." She grinned wide. "You sure are something, Harker."

Harker scoffed. "Don\'t get it twisted. I\'m just lookin\' out for a friend."

"Just a friend? You seemed pretty worried. And it\'s a girl too. What\'s the name again….. Mona, was it?"

"Mina." Harker corrected. "Anyway, just go and find another hook-up, Prof. This ain\'t exactly your business."

He opened the door and saw a staircase leading down instead of a toilet. Pretty sly, he\'d give them that. They must be doing quite a lot of illegal stuff down there.

"It is now." Professor Seward went beside him. "Anyway, I\'m not in the mood for hook-ups right now. I\'m more into a \'see what bullshit my students are up to\' kind of mood."

Harker thought she truly must be the most insufferable woman he\'d ever met. He went downstairs, thinking he could just easily use the Enhanced Snake Skill to knock her out and blame it on the drugs or alcohol if she asked questions after.

They descended down and saw a whole other kind of party here. There were less people, and the setting was completely different. The interior was antique-looking, and almost everything seemed to be made of wood. The people were also dressed in classy suits and long dresses reaching to the floor.

"What\'s this, a Victorian-era style club?" Harker frowned. "This is what they\'re keeping a secret for the VIPs?"

Joan had a complicated expression on her face right now as she observed the area. She looked like she was about to puke and also cry while laughing and getting birth at the same time.

Harker moved away from her. "If you\'re going to throw up, please go do it outside. As these folks might say \'Be a dear and don\'t ruin the decor\'."

The expression disappeared, and Joan made a face at him. "I\'m not going to throw up and ruin the decor. I just thought this place looks pretty decent and could pass for the real thing. Also, it\'s a pub, not a club."

Harker rolled his eyes. "Whatever. If you\'re here to be nosy, better keep your eyes peeled for someone with blonde hair, blue eyes and looks a whole lot like Marilynne Moonroe."

"Pretty hard given that most blondies here are trying to look like her." Professor Seward pointed out. "Which is funny because she\'s not even from the Victorian era, she\'s from the Hollywood Golden Age of the 50s and the sexual revolution."

"Thanks for the trivia, will be sure to remember it." Harker just went and looked around. "Let\'s split up to cover more ground."

And so, they split up in search of this one blondie. But Joan wasn\'t really taking it seriously, and was merely observing how Harker interacts with the patrons and asking around if they found his beau. Seems like he really cares a great deal about this gal.

"She sure is lucky." Professor Seward thought, having a man go crazy for her like that.

"Hopefully, neither of them would have to die and leave the other wanting to end life or living on as an empty shell. Young lovers that love too hard end up like Romie and Julia or whoever those are. The ones that committed suicide."

She asked the bartender for some absinthe and easily got some. She took out her handkerchief, poured some of the green fairy there, and dabbed the festering wound lightly.

But it was already as black as tar and looked like it would grow maggots soon.

Joan sighed. "This night really sucks."

"Is that so, Joan? I would dare say you just got the morbs again."

A man sat next to her, holding a glass of absinthe. And as soon as she turned towards him, all the color got drained off her face.