"Don't let your guard down. I can already feel danger closing in, step by step. A vast net draped with bloody scraps of flesh hangs over our heads." Black Crow's voice was frightening, carrying a suffocating weight, as though his eyes could see the Reaper walking toward them.
"If the Night Watch ship isn't safe, I think you should start considering a way out as soon as possible."
"Once you become a member of the Night Watch, there's no leaving. We're all outsiders—outsiders who can't escape this city."
"I mean you could become a different kind of night watchman." Drawing on the information he had gathered recently, Gao Ming began his analysis. "The first night watchman was dragged into this city by the Shrine's owner. Maybe the owner wanted to torment him, or maybe there was something they wanted from him. Whatever happened, one thing is certain: the first night watchman and the Shrine's owner were enemies. But look at the night watchmen now. Is there anything remotely police-like left about them? They take bribes, extort people, and abuse their authority. They've been completely assimilated by this city's darkness."
"You can't survive without being assimilated. The night watchmen who held to their principles were purged long ago. The ten who wear epaulets now are all terrifying people whose hearts have been consumed by dark desires." Among the Night Watch, epaulets symbolized power and status. Black Crow was still a long way below its highest-ranking members.
"You could think more flexibly. The First Night Watch certainly didn't create the Night Watch Rules to see his successors turn into this. So as long as you hold on to the Night Watch's faith in your heart, you can discard the outward identity at any time." Gao Ming sounded like an unscrupulous boss luring