Reassessing Lin Qiye

"Old Zhao, calm down and lie back down." Chen Muye hurried over to persuade him.

"Your life is no longer in danger, but you're still badly injured. It's hard to say when you'll recover enough to rejoin the squad. For now, you just need to rest. Besides, it's already been three days since your fight with the Ghost-Faced King."

Even though the captain had tried to calm him down, Zhao Kongcheng couldn't settle himself.

Three days? I've been lying here for three days?

Zhao Kongcheng clearly remembered that after leaving Lin Qiye's home, he had received a report from the squad and gone to intercept the Ghost-Faced King. Together with Lin Qiye, who had come after him, he had held the monster off.

When Lin Qiye had exhausted his mental power and run out of strength, Zhao Kongcheng had used Ghost-God Guidance, successfully triggering his own Forbidden Ruin, Life-Extinguishing Flashing Moon.

But afterward, Lin Qiye had seemed to become a different person. His aura had surged, and with just a few simple moves Zhao Kongcheng couldn't make sense of at all, he had stabbed the true body in the Ghost-Faced King's chest to death.

The last thing Zhao Kongcheng had seen before losing consciousness was a smiling "Lin Qiye."

"Your life is under my protection. I, Zhou Meng, guarantee it." Those were the last words he remembered hearing.

Damn, I said I'd put on a real show this time! Instead, that kid saved my life, and now I owe him a favor. How embarrassing!

That's right, Zhou Meng! That guy, whoever he is, took over Lin Qiye's body! He saved me, but there's no telling who he really is!

"Captain! Lin Qiye—"

Zhao Kongcheng had finally sorted out what had happened that night, and his voice trembled with agitation again.

"That's enough, Old Zhao. If you keep getting worked up and asking questions, don't expect anyone to help you if you tear your wounds open," Hongying said angrily from her seat beside him.

"When we got to the scene, you were completely unconscious. You nearly scared us to death! Good thing I treated you in time, or we wouldn't have gotten you back alive!" Si Xiaonan, the squad medic, chimed in.

"That's right, Old Zhao. Just get some rest. We've looked into the things you want to ask about over the past few days. We'll tell you once you're feeling better," Wen Qimo said with a smile, standing a little farther away.

"No! I fought the Ghost-Faced King with everything I had. Even if I borrowed someone else's strength in the end, I deserve some credit for the effort, don't I? Hurry up and tell me how that kid Lin Qiye is doing!" Zhao Kongcheng refused to let it go and even began throwing a tantrum.

He really couldn't stop worrying about Lin Qiye.

"All right, Old Zhao. I'll tell you what happened afterward." Wu Xiangnan, the vice captain, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke.

"Three nights ago, as soon as we got word that the Ghost-Faced King had appeared in the old city, we all rushed over. But by the time we arrived, it was already dead. That kid Lin Qiye handed your body over to us."

"We all thought you'd sacrificed yourself, but then we found you were still breathing, though barely. Xiaonan hurried to give you first aid, and that was how we managed to save your life."

"There are a few things about this incident I still need to confirm with you, but those can wait. First, let's talk about Lin Qiye, since you're worried about him. That kid is your colleague now."

"Huh?" Zhao Kongcheng's mouth fell open in surprise.

I talked myself hoarse, damn it. I even took him to an adult-themed hotel for a heart-to-heart and went to his home, but I still couldn't convince him.

How come he was willing to join the Nightwatchers after one fight?

Surely this couldn't have anything to do with that Zhou Meng too, could it?

Seeing the look of disbelief on Zhao Kongcheng's face, Wu Xiangnan continued, "He's very concerned about you, though he doesn't know you've woken up yet. As for why he joined the Nightwatchers—"

"It was to repay you a favor. He also said he'd only join the Nightwatchers for ten years. After that, he'd have nothing more to do with them," Wu Xiangnan said with a somewhat strange expression.

"That kid actually said he was repaying me a favor? He saved my life, yet he says he wants to repay me. I've really lost face this time!" Zhao Kongcheng muttered to himself, somewhat self-mockingly.

"All right. While your head is clear and it isn't time for your next dose of painkillers and sedatives yet, there are some things we need to confirm with you," Wu Xiangnan said, his tone turning somewhat serious.

"First question: how did the Ghost-Faced King die? Second, what kind of abilities did Lin Qiye display? Third, did your Ghost-God Guidance take effect?"

Zhao Kongcheng gathered his thoughts for a moment, then told everyone in the 136th Squad everything that had happened that night, leaving nothing out.

After hearing him out, everyone in the 136th Squad looked thoughtful, and the hospital room fell silent.

"According to you, Lin Qiye used some incredible method to cut off the Ghost-Faced King's head and exhausted his mental power. To protect him, you used Ghost-God Guidance to awaken your Forbidden Ruin, but you still couldn't defeat the Ghost-Faced King. Then Lin Qiye seemed to become a different person, fought the Ghost-Faced King one-on-one, and said he would save your life." Chen Muye briefly summed up what Zhao Kongcheng had said.

"But, Old Zhao, that doesn't add up. I don't know about the earlier events, but as the squad medic, I'm the most qualified to speak on Ghost-God Guidance. It's essentially a drug, yet when I examined you, I didn't find any trace of it in your body at all."

"Still, the captain examined your Nightwatcher insignia, and the needle coated with Ghost-God Guidance did show signs of having been used. What on earth happened?" Si Xiaonan was confused for a moment.

"It must have something to do with that guy Zhou Meng. I'm sure he borrowed Lin Qiye's body to kill the Ghost-Faced King, then used some method to keep me alive even after I'd used Ghost-God Guidance." Zhao Kongcheng reached his own conclusion.

Is that what happened? Zhou Meng? Besides Michael's Mortal Divine Realm, is Lin Qiye hiding another secret? Enough strength to cut off the Ghost-Faced King's head with a single stroke of his hand?

Even if it was only one stroke, its power was definitely greater than my full-strength attack!

Chen Muye did not join the squad members' discussion. Instead, he sank into thought.

It seems we need to conduct a comprehensive reassessment of Lin Qiye's strength!

As for Zhou Meng, the style of that name sounds like he's from Great Xia, but I've never heard of anyone by that name among the Nightwatchers.

His way of doing things is somewhat strange and hard to read, but he doesn't seem to mean any harm. He definitely isn't one of those lunatics from the Ancient God Church, either.

And he can take over Lin Qiye's body and unleash mental power at the Infinite or even Klein level.

Could he be someone sent down by the higher-ups?

No, I need to check with my superiors! Even if Zhou Meng was sent by them, he's still an uncertain factor. We have to make sure he can be controlled!

With that thought, he walked out of the hospital room, passing Leng Xuan, who had remained silent by the door, and took out his phone to dial a number.

"This is Chen Muye, captain of the 136th Squad. I have an important and urgent matter to report to Commander-in-Chief Ye."