"How about this?" Sun Hai said calmly. "Let's vote on whether Hela should join the Night Stars."
Feng Xuan nodded. "Sounds good to me."
"Wait, I think we should ask Hela what she wants first. If she doesn't want to join, we can't force her." Xing Lan looked at Hela and ultimately decided to respect her wishes.
Sun Hai fell silent for a moment, then nodded and looked at Hela, speaking solemnly.
"Then, Hela, are you willing to join the Night Stars?"
Hela looked at Sun Hai and fell into thought again. She had lived with their squad for over a month, so she knew what the Night Stars were and what they did.
As Hela understood it, Night Stars were people who went out and killed Variants.
As for Variants, the only one Hela had seen besides herself was the [Puppet Worm] from last night.
In fact, she had smelled its presence as soon as she entered the basement. The smell had told Hela only that it possessed tremendous energy and was enormous.
That was why Hela had kept staring over there at the time: she had wanted to eat the Variant. Unfortunately, Liu Xiaogang had blown it apart with a single shot, so she never got to eat it.
But if she became a Night Star, she would have more chances to face Variants in the future. Then she could eat as many as she wanted.
At that thought, Hela hesitated no longer and gave her answer decisively.
"I do..." Xing Lan's expression tightened.
"Hela, have you really thought this through? Being a Night Star is very dangerous."
Hela nodded. Xing Lan sighed and said nothing more.
"Since Hela herself is willing, it's settled." Sun Hai looked at the others, and seeing that none of them objected, he gave Nanming a meaningful look.
Nanming nodded, then took out a Night Star application form he had prepared in advance and handed it to Hela. "Sign this, and you can apply to attend the recruit training camp and become a Night Star."
Hela tilted her head, looking puzzled. Xing Lan immediately saw what was confusing her. "Um, the recruit training camp is where we're trained to become Night Stars.
"Everyone who wants to become a Night Star has to train there, and the training lasts a full year.
"But if your results aren't up to standard when you finish, you won't be able to become a Night Star."
Hela nodded in understanding.
"Hey, how long is it until the next recruit training camp starts?" Xing Lan began counting on her fingers.
"Two months," Nanming answered without hesitation.
"Oh, right, right, right, it's two months!
"Then, Hela, hurry and write your name." Xing Lan handed Hela a pen.
"Write it here." Xing Lan showed Hela where to write, and Hela took the pen and began clumsily writing her name.
Si Xiaobei had taught Hela how to write her name before, so she had no trouble.
"Mm, done." Looking at the crooked "Hela" written on the application form, Nanming took it back. "Once I hand this to our superiors later, Hela can attend the recruit training camp."
"Then, over the next two months, you'll start training Hela so she has some foundation," Sun Hai said calmly.
"Yes!"
"Is there anything else? If not, I'll be going."
"There is one more thing," Nanming said with a nod.
"Go on."
Nanming adjusted his glasses, his expression somewhat grave. "It's about the [Puppet Worm].
"When the police questioned her, the old woman told them how her husband became a [Puppet Worm]."
"What did she say?"
"The old woman said that after her husband died, a man in black came to her." Xing Lan's eyes lit up instantly.
"The man in black said he had a way to bring her husband back to life, but the price was that he would permanently become a monster.
"Because she missed her husband so much, the old woman agreed.
"After she agreed, the man in black took out an insect egg and gave it to her. The old woman said the egg was about the size of a ping-pong ball. Then the man in black told her that all she had to do was put the egg in the corpse's mouth and have him swallow it, and her husband would come back to life."
Sun Hai frowned slightly. "Was he from the Light God Society?"
Nanming shook his head. "We don't know. According to the old woman's description, the man in black was very young, just a kid of sixteen or seventeen, but the aura he gave off was nothing a child could possess.
"Even though the man in black wore a mask, the old woman could feel a gaze like that of the god of death. Just being looked at like that made her whole body tremble uncontrollably, as though he weren't looking at a living person at all.
"Also, the old woman didn't notice him appear or disappear. It was as if he had simply evaporated on the spot.
"None of the Light God Society members we know of match that description, but I think there's a good chance he's one of them."
Sun Hai nodded in agreement.
"What's the Light God Society?!" Xing Lan looked excitedly at Nanming, the stars in her eyes practically bursting out.
The corner of Nanming's mouth twitched slightly. "The Light God Society is an organization made up almost entirely of [Symbiotes].
"Although we don't know what their motive is, one thing is certain: they are an utterly hostile organization. They've caused multiple major incidents, and once even attempted to assassinate a member of the Night Stars' upper ranks."
"Th... then, could they be the final boss?!" Xing Lan's body trembled slightly. Her eyes had turned completely into stars, and there were even stars floating around her.
"..."
"If the Light God Society really did this, that means they've gained the ability to control Variants. That's hardly good news." Sun Hai stood up and walked toward the door. "This has to be reported to our superiors immediately. I'll take care of it, so you don't need to worry about it." With that, he pushed open the door and left.
"C... captain, goodbye!" Si Xiaobei, who had just come out of the bathroom, leaned against the wall and shakily bid the captain farewell.
Nanming immediately went over and helped Si Xiaobei to the sofa, letting him sit down.
"Hela!" Xing Lan sprang to her feet and pulled Hela up too. "Come on! I'll take you to train! We need to be ready for our future enemy, the Light God Society!" Then she took Hela's hand and headed for the basement.
As she passed Liu Xiaogang, Xing Lan gave him a kick and signaled with her eyes for him to come along.
Liu Xiaogang stared blankly for a moment, then followed them in a daze.
Watching from the side, Feng Xuan sighed helplessly. "Sigh~ the kid's Alzheimer's has gotten worse again..."
Liu Xiaogang suddenly sneezed and looked back at Feng Xuan in puzzlement.
Feng Xuan looked down at his phone, blowing a bubble with his gum and acting as though he knew nothing.
"Xiaogang, hurry up!"
"Oh, coming." Liu Xiaogang narrowed his eyes and glared at Feng Xuan once more before following Xing Lan into the basement.