The Instructors' Meeting
By the time the speech to the recruits ended, it was already past ten at night.
But in the underground conference room, Yuan Gang, the instructors, and the members of the Masked Squad were still sitting upright, holding a meeting.
The meeting had only one subject: Lin Qiye and Zhou Meng, and how they should be treated from now on.
"Everyone's worked hard today, but training starts tomorrow, so I've called you all here for a meeting despite the late hour. We'll keep it as brief as possible," Yuan Gang said.
"You all saw what happened with Lin Qiye, or rather, Zhou Meng. Some of you even experienced it firsthand." At that, Yuan Gang glanced at the Masked Squad members sitting beside him.
The squad members were still wearing their masks, but their tattered clothes had been replaced with brand-new ones. Hearing Yuan Gang's words, they wished they could find a hole to crawl into.
If we'd known Lin Qiye wasn't just a God's Agent, but also had a true god inside him who could be summoned, we'd never have waded into this mess! Not even for money!
The Masked Squad had seven members in total. Five had taken the field, and the remaining two were now looking at those five, including their captain, with sympathy, immensely relieved themselves.
Good thing we didn't go out there! That was a god! Never mind what the god called Zhou Meng said—if he'd really gotten upset, he could have struck each of them once and sent them all to report to the King of Hell!
"Ahem, well, I bear the main responsibility for what just happened. It had nothing to do with you. I insisted on having you test Lin Qiye's limits to see if you could force out his second personality, and I overlooked how serious the situation was. First of all, I want to apologize to everyone in the Masked Squad and to all the instructors here," Yuan Gang said solemnly.
With that, he stood up and bowed deeply to the instructors and the Masked Squad members before him.
He wasn't merely putting on a show. He genuinely believed that what he had done had been far too ill-considered.
"Chief Yuan, you're being too hard on yourself. Who could have guessed that, besides having Michael's Mortal Divine Realm inside him, Lin Qiye was also another god's agent? And he could even let that god possess him in person. That was completely unexpected. If the members of the 136th Squad knew Lin Qiye's true situation now, I'd really like to see the looks of surprise on their faces," Wang Mian said hurriedly.
"That's right, Commander. Weren't you just trying to eliminate an unstable factor for the recruit training camp?" the instructors and the other Masked Squad members chimed in.
"Alas, we didn't eliminate the hidden danger. Instead, we've ended up with an even greater one, almost entirely beyond anything we anticipated. Since we're already on the subject, let's hear your thoughts. What exactly should we do about Lin Qiye?" Yuan Gang asked.
But as soon as they came to this crucial topic, everyone looked at one another and fell silent.
These instructors, as well as the Masked Squad, were all elites and experts among the Nightwatchers, far superior to ordinary people in every respect. Their silence wasn't because they lacked opinions, but because they simply didn't know what could be done.
Indeed, what could they do about a true god? Suppress him by force? That was a joke, unless they called in several of Daxia's strongest. Besides, Zhou Meng hadn't shown any ill intent.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Wang Mian spoke first.
"Commander, instructors, although I'm not directly involved in the recruits' training, I'd like to say a few words as someone who briefly fought Zhou Meng. My opinion is that we do nothing. Act as if nothing happened and continue training as usual. The only thing we need to do is further strengthen security around the camp."
Everyone immediately turned to him. Indeed, if anyone here had the most right to speak on the matter, it was surely the Masked Squad, who had fought Zhou Meng firsthand.
"You all heard Zhou Meng answer Chief Yuan's three questions just now. With the first, he confirmed his identity as a god. With the second, he explained that he'd lost his memory and didn't know where he belonged. With the third, he told us that when he descended was mostly up to Lin Qiye."
"As for that last remark about it depending on his mood, I'm inclined to think it was a mischievous joke. Judging by Zhou Meng's behavior, this god has plenty of 'humanity.' Although his identity is unknown, he doesn't act aloof and seems to enjoy playing pranks."
"Also, judging by our fight with him, I can say for certain that his ability is theft. Of course, the concept of theft here is extremely broad; it's a kind of theft beyond our understanding. Physical objects, our Forbidden Ruins, even thoughts are all things he can steal."
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help drawing another sharp breath.
He could steal thoughts and ideas too? Did that mean he could steal memories as well?
"However, from what I've just described, you've all noticed it too, haven't you? He's a god of unknown identity whose ability is strange but not directly harmful, and whose attitude toward us is fairly friendly. At the same time, he needs Lin Qiye as a physical vessel to manifest. And I have a feeling that, although Zhou Meng didn't say so outright, his manifestation must be subject to certain conditions."
"In other words, as long as we don't put excessive pressure on Lin Qiye, there's a good chance Zhou Meng won't appear. So we only need to keep Lin Qiye under control and let him train normally. As for Zhou Meng's background, abilities, and what further action to take, we'll need to report them to our superiors and let the commander-in-chief and the others decide."
With that, Wang Mian sat back down.
Yuan Gang nodded and asked, "What does everyone think of Wang Mian's idea?"
The instructors nodded thoughtfully as well and began to give Wang Mian's proposal serious consideration.
Everyone had to admit that what he said made sense. Since nothing had gone wrong so far, the best approach was to remain unchanged in the face of change.
Besides, there was nothing they could change right now. Lin Qiye was a Nightwatcher recruit, not an agent of some evil god from the Ancient God Church.
What he needed now was to become a qualified Nightwatcher as quickly as possible in the training camp.
A Double God's Agent was an immense historic opportunity for Daxia's Nightwatchers! Lin Qiye was only at the Cup Realm now, yet he already had such combat strength. Once his strength broke through, his prospects would be limitless.
Of course, Lin Qiye also needed to be well protected, lest those Lunatics from the Ancient God Church really did spirit him away!
"Good! It seems everyone agrees with Wang Mian. I'll report to headquarters shortly, explain what happened today, and present our opinion. I'm sure the senior leadership will respect it too." Yuan Gang slapped the table and stood up.
"At the same time, reinforce the base's defenses. Anyone approaching this place must be questioned, no matter who they are, to ensure these recruits' safety! Zhou Meng's existence must be kept strictly confidential. Until the relevant orders are issued, anyone who discloses it without authorization will be dealt with under military law! Tomorrow's training will proceed as usual!"
"As for Lin Qiye, let's give him more to do and ramp up the intensity! Even if he's a Double God's Agent, he's still only at the Cup Realm right now. Since our forbidden item isn't all that effective at suppressing Divine Ruins, we'll let him feel the training camp's enthusiasm in his body!" The corners of Yuan Gang's mouth kept rising.
"Yes, Commander!" The instructors immediately stood and saluted.
"Hey, Captain, Lin Qiye's the first person ever to get this much attention from every instructor in the training camp, right? Speaking of which, we put in all that effort and even got beaten up by a god. Don't we get any compensation?" Whirlpool nudged Wang Mian from beside him.
"You brat, compensation's all you ever think about! But Chief Yuan told me there are two forms of compensation. First, Master Sun from the canteen will make us a few good meals. Of course, we'll eat while the recruits watch. Second, we can discuss it with the instructors and decide Lin Qiye's training exercises and their intensity. How's that for compensation?" Wang Mian said with a smile.
At the news, the other squad members' eyes lit up.
"Heh heh heh, you brat, you're in for it now!"