After a while, another group of guests arrived, including Hart, Kemp, and Shelley. During the conflict with the Seeker of Glory, the three were on leave and did not appear on the frontline. However, when the plague of decay spread throughout the city, all the Field Staff on leave were mobilized, and the three were no exception.

Fortunately, none of them were injured. The only one who might be considered injured was Hart. Possibly due to the plague of decay, Hart’s well-maintained, beautiful fur wilted in large patches and showed symptoms of shedding, like bald spots one after another.

Hart was somewhat depressed.

The Undying Club rarely welcomes so many guests at once; the atmosphere was a bit too lively. Palmer even put up a banner that read, "Warmly celebrating the Undying Club’s first movie marathon."

Initially, Palmer thought the movie marathon would just be him and Bologue curled up on the sofa watching movies all night, but Bologue suddenly proposed to invite friends to join them.

Seeing Bologue make such a change, Palmer was quite surprised. Perhaps the conflict had changed Bologue, the introverted, indifferent guy, to some extent. Palmer liked Bologue’s transformation.

The setup was almost done...well, not much was actually set up, just the projector and the screen.

"It’s a pity that the team leader and they can’t come." Palmer muttered to himself.

After a month of rescue, Lebius finally passed the critical stage. Although he regained consciousness, he still lacked the ability to move. The doctor said there was a high possibility that Lebius might become paralyzed. The forced command over his body not only broke his bones but also damaged his nerves.

Upon hearing this, Bologue and the others looked grim. Fortunately, the doctor didn’t rule out the possibility of Lebius making a full recovery. Geoffrey stayed in the hospital, receiving subsequent treatments. Thus, the Special Operations Group had completely stalled.

This wasn’t Bologue’s concern. He only knew that pressure had been rampant over everyone’s heads during this time, and their spirits were stretched to the point of numbness. They needed a moment to rest, to temporarily escape this cruel, real world.

"Where’s Church?"

Bologue looked around, but he couldn’t find Church.

"Church?"

Mentioning Church, Palmer suddenly showed a face of anger, "That bastard can’t come."

"Huh?" asked Bologue, "Did he refuse the invitation?"

"Sort of. I guess that bastard is probably on a date with Afeiya."

Thinking of these things made Palmer furious. Before, Church always hesitated, and after being backlashed by Secret Energy, it’s like Secret Energy swallowed up his tangled thoughts along with it. This guy seemed to have awakened and no longer tangled with those strange ideas.

The result was that Church Burton, Palmer’s former partner and one of his best friends, had been missing for several days. After work, he would disappear into the Cultivation Room. Others said that Church had found a part-time job, helping to take care of flowers and plants.

Despite the anger, Palmer also celebrated for Church. Although there were many twists and turns in between, the broken life of Church was finally bound and pieced together by something.

Palmer displayed a relieved smile, then turned into a belly of resentment again.

"I wish for a vacation, I really wish for a vacation..." Palmer mumbled to himself.

"As long as we get through this period, we can rest," Bologue added, "To be precise, after the other Field Staff resume work, we can rest."

Currently, there were only two types of Field Staff in the Field Operations Department: those who were hospitalized and those who were working outside. People like Bologue and Palmer, who were healthy staff, were precious labor at this time.

No more guests should come; Bologue arranged the chairs. Serey and Bode brought out trays filled with steaming food. To speak the truth, Serey was a decent cook. Bologue really liked the fries Serey made. According to Serey, he had hundreds of years of experience in cooking, and there were probably not many people in this world who could match him.

The lights dimmed, and everyone took their seats. Hart and the others sat together, and Palmer joined them but kept a distance from his father.

Fuen didn’t bother with Palmer. He sat with Serey and the others; they were considered old friends who hadn’t seen each other in years.

Belli and Balder seemed a bit reserved; they rarely came here and sat at the back. Bologue and Aimou found themselves amidst these groups, squeezed together in the middle.

The projector started slowly, casting light onto the screen.

"By the way, what are we going to watch?" At this point, Serey noticed the matter.

"Shh!"

Palmer raised his finger to his lips, indicating for Serey to be quiet.

The crunching sound of chewing started. Hart bit into the crispy fries in large mouthfuls. The others turned to look at Hart. Hart, slightly embarrassed, said, "I’m a bit hungry."

A short, crisp "pop" sounded, followed by some faint, hissing, gas-like sounds.

The aroma of alcohol spread in the darkness. Fuen grabbed a bottle of wine and took a strong sip, returning to this ghost place, the Undying Club, made Fuen recall many past events. He even felt as though he’d become young again, transformed into that once-rash guy.