"Oh." Lin Qiye's expression remained calm.
Wen Qimo looked at him in surprise. "Oh? That's it?"
"What else should there be?"
"Don't you feel even a little stirred up? Your blood boiling?"
"A little, but only a little." Lin Qiye answered flatly, "I'm not interested in promotions or anything like that."
Wen Qimo gave him a strange look. "I forgot you're a 'heretic' who'll defect from the Night Watchmen in ten years."
Lin Qiye neither confirmed nor denied it, merely continuing, "So, according to you, those four Special Squads are already the ceiling of Great Xia's combat power?"
"Of course not. They may be the ceiling of team combat power among the Night Watchmen, but they definitely aren't the ceiling of Great Xia's combat power."
"You mean there are organizations similar to the Night Watchmen in Great Xia?"
"No. Great Xia has only one Night Watchmen, but above the Night Watchmen, there are five Human Apex."
"Human Apex?"
"As the name implies, they are the pinnacle of power humanity can attain. Since their strength approaches that of the ancient gods in myth, they are also called 'demigods.'"
"With mortal bodies, standing shoulder to shoulder with gods?"
"Although I know you're quoting a classic movie line, that's indeed the case." Wen Qimo raised his head to gaze at the night sky, his eyes filled with admiration.
"Those five are humanity's pillars, and the only hope humanity can see amid this boundless mist."
"Who are they?"
"I don't know. They're far too distant from us. Few people have seen what they look like or know their names. Still... there are some interesting rumors."
"What rumors?"
"These five Human Apex are known as One Sword, One Rider, One Venerable, One Void, and One Master."
"Sword, Rider, Venerable, Void, Master... What kind of rumor is that? There's no useful information at all, is there?"
"It's said that the Night Watchmen's highest commander is One Venerable among the five Human Apex. But... no one has seen him make a move in a very, very long time."
"I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"Has humanity ever... killed a god?" Lin Qiye pointed at the sky. "Not those strange Mythical Creatures, but real ancient gods that exist in mythology!"
Wen Qimo fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know, but I don't think so...
"Within the boundless mist, humanity is like a flock of lambs with their eyes covered. We don't know what has happened to this world, nor do we know when the apocalypse will descend.
"In this age where the existence of gods has been proven, if humanity truly killed a god, it would inevitably cause panic among all the other gods. They might join forces and wipe out humanity first. Then the situation humanity faces would become even more dire!"
Lin Qiye nodded. "I understand."
"Anything else you want to ask?"
Lin Qiye pondered for a moment. "Do temporary members get benefits and subsidies?"
"...Yes."
"Then I have no more questions."
"So after asking all those questions, that last one was the only thing you actually cared about?"
"Of course." Lin Qiye nodded as if it were only natural. "Special Squads, Human Apex... those things are too far away from me. I prefer to keep my feet on the ground."
"Fine..." Wen Qimo turned to him and asked, "Are you sleepy?"
"No."
"Then I'll take you somewhere."
"In the middle of the night... is it legitimate?"
"...It's legitimate." Wen Qimo's mouth twitched.
"Alright." Lin Qiye added a reminder, "Don't forget, I'm still underage."
Wen Qimo: ...
A few minutes later, the car slowly pulled up in a silent, deserted wilderness.
Lin Qiye opened the door and got out. After looking around, he turned to Wen Qimo with a gaze full of vigilance.
"Why did you bring me here?"
Wen Qimo silently rolled his eyes and pointed toward a cemetery in the distance. "Over there."
Lin Qiye followed the direction of his finger and fell silent.
He could vaguely guess why Wen Qimo had brought him here.
The two followed a narrow path forward and soon reached the edge of the cemetery.
This cemetery was not large. Compared to the public cemetery on the outskirts of the city, it was noticeably smaller, but both the craftsmanship of the tombstones and the spacing between them were far beyond those of an ordinary cemetery.
The tombstones here seemed more exquisite and more orderly.
"This is..."
"The burial ground for Night Watchmen stationed in Cangnan City." Wen Qimo spoke calmly. "Since 1936, when Great Xia's Special Biological Response Team officially became the 'Night Watchmen' and adopted a one-city, one-team management system, this place has been designated as the final resting place for Night Watchmen who died in Cangnan City.
"Of course, it's only the default resting place. When each person officially joins a Night Watchmen team, they can state whether they want to be buried in a Night Watchmen cemetery after death, cremated, returned to their hometown for burial, and so on...
"Back then, Zhao Kongcheng chose to be buried in the Night Watchmen cemetery. He said he had too much blood on his hands, and if he returned to his ancestral graveyard, he was afraid he'd scare all his ancestors."
As he spoke, Wen Qimo's lips curled into a smile, as though he could once again see Zhao Kongcheng saying those words so carelessly.
Lin Qiye silently looked at the rows of tombstones around him, his brows drawing together slightly. "So many..."
There were at least sixty or seventy different tombstones in this cemetery, and the vast majority were newly erected.
"It's been eighty-five years from 1936 until now." Wen Qimo sighed. "At the beginning, our losses truly weren't that great. After all, each city only encountered a few Mythical Creatures each year, and even when they appeared, their realms weren't very high.
"But as time passed, Mythical Creatures descended faster and faster, and their strength became increasingly terrifying. Our casualties... also continued to grow.
"Nearly half of the tombstones you see were for those who died within the last twenty years.
"Before Captain Chen Muye came to guard Cangnan City, it was said that two team members died here every year. Only after the captain arrived did the death rate fall drastically."
The image of that taciturn Figure in black appeared in Lin Qiye's mind, and he could not help but feel admiration.
"But Zhao Kongcheng only died tonight. Has his tombstone already been made?" Lin Qiye suddenly thought of something and asked in confusion.
"No."
"Then why did we come here..."
Wen Qimo raised his hand and pointed into the distance. "Look there."
Lin Qiye looked in the direction of his hand and saw a faint glimmer gradually brighten within the pitch-black cemetery.
Under the weak light, Hong Ying sat beside an empty patch of ground, her eyes red-rimmed. She held a blank tombstone in her arms, a carving tool in her right hand as she etched it bit by bit.
Tears slid down her cheeks onto the stone, only to be hurriedly wiped away.
At that moment, where was even a trace of her former energy?
"She... Didn't she say she was going to practice with her spear?" Lin Qiye stared blankly at the scene.
"She lied." Wen Qimo shook his head. "A Night Watchman's tombstone is carved by the deceased's teammates. It's an unwritten rule. Originally, I should have carved this stone.
"She didn't say it, but I knew very well that she was actually the one who most wanted to carve Zhao Kongcheng's tombstone.
"They had a good relationship. A very good one.
"So even though her lie was so ridiculously obvious, I turned a blind eye and let her secretly carve the stone."
Lin Qiye and Wen Qimo stood there quietly, watching Hong Ying focus on engraving the tombstone, neither speaking for a long while.
Beneath the hazy moonlight,
Within the deathly silent cemetery,
Only the carving knife in Hong Ying's hand let out a faint, mournful cry.
"Aren't we going over to say hello?" After a while, Lin Qiye asked Wen Qimo.
"Going over to greet her now would only make her embarrassed. She's too thin-skinned."
"But standing here like this... feels like we're perverts spying on someone else's secret." Lin Qiye felt somewhat awkward.
Wen Qimo turned to look at him, a trace of amusement appearing in his eyes.
"Do you think... we're the only two 'perverts' spying from the sidelines?"
Before you continue