"Hm..."
"Oh." Lin Qiye's expression was calm.
Wen Qimo looked at him in surprise. "Oh? Hm? That's it?"
"What else should there be?"
"Don't you guys feel even a little bit excited, your blood boiling?"
"A little, but only a little." Lin Qiye replied calmly. "I'm not interested in promotions or anything like that..."
Wen Qimo gave him a strange look. "I forgot you're an 'heretic' who will betray the Night Watcher in ten years."
Lin Qiye neither confirmed nor denied, and continued to ask, "According to you, these four Special Teams are already the ceiling of Great Xia's combat power?"
"Of course not. They might be the ceiling of the Team combat power within the Night Watcher, but they are definitely not the ceiling of Great Xia's combat power."
"You mean, in Great Xia, there are organizations similar to the Night Watcher?"
"No, there is only one Night Watcher in Great Xia, but above the Night Watcher, there are five Human Pinnacles."
"Human Pinnacle?"
"As the name suggests, they are the peak combat power that humans can reach. Because their strength is close to the ancient Gods in mythology, they are also called 'Demigods'."
"To compare oneself to gods with a mortal body?"
"Although I know you're quoting a classic movie line, that's indeed the case." Wen Qimo looked up at the night sky, his eyes full of reverence.
"These five people are the pillars of humanity, and the only hope humanity can see in this vast Mist."
"Who are they?"
"I don't know. They are too far away from us. Few people have seen what they look like or know their names, but... there are some interesting rumors."
"What rumors?"
"These five Human Pinnacles are called One Sword, One Rider, Yi Zun, One Void, and Fu Zi."
"Sword, Rider, Zun, Void, Fu Zi... What kind of rumors are these? There's no useful information at all, right?"
"It is said that the supreme Commander of our Night Watcher is 'Yi Zun' among these five Human Pinnacles, but... it's been a very, very long time since anyone has seen him take action."
"I have a question."
"Go ahead and ask."
"Up until now... have humans ever killed a God?" Lin Qiye pointed to the sky. "Not some weird mythological creatures, but the truly ancient Gods that exist in myths!"
Wen Qimo was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know, but I think probably not..."
"In the vast Mist, humans are like lambs with their eyes covered. We don't know what's happening in this world, nor do we know when the apocalypse will arrive.In this era where the existence of Gods has been confirmed, if humans were to truly kill a God, it would inevitably cause panic among all other Gods. In that case, they would likely join forces to eradicate humanity first, and the situation humanity would face would be even more severe!"
Lin Qiye nodded. "I understand."
"Anything else you want to ask?"
Lin Qiye pondered for a moment. "Do temporary Team members get welfare subsidies?"
"...Yes."
"Then I have no other questions."
"So out of all those questions, only the last one is what you care about most?"
"Of course." Lin Qiye nodded as if it were obvious. "Special Team, Human Pinnacle... those things are too far away from me. I prefer to keep my feet on the ground."
"Alright..." Wen Qimo turned his head and asked, "Are you sleepy?"
"Not sleepy."
"Then I'll take you somewhere."
"In the middle of the night... Is it something proper?"
"...Proper." Wen Qimo's mouth twitched.
"Alright then." Lin Qiye added a reminder, "Don't forget, I'm still a minor."
Wen Qimo:...
...A few minutes later, the car slowly stopped in a quiet, deserted wilderness.
Lin Qiye opened the door and got out. He looked around and then at Wen Qimo, his eyes full of caution."Why did you bring me here?"
Wen Qimo silently rolled his eyes and pointed towards a cemetery not far away. "Over there."Lin Qiye looked in the direction he was pointing and fell silent.
He could vaguely guess why Wen Qimo had brought him here.
The two of them followed the narrow path forward and soon reached the edge of the cemetery.
This cemetery wasn't large. Compared to the public cemetery on the outskirts of the city, this place was clearly much smaller, but both the craftsmanship of the tombstones and the spacing between them were far beyond what a regular public cemetery could offer.
The tombstones here seemed more exquisite and more orderly.
"This is..."
"The cemetery for the Night Watchers stationed in Cangnan City." Wen Qimo said calmly. "Since 1936, when the Great Xia Special Biological Response Group officially transformed into the 'Night Watcher' and adopted the management form of one Team per city, this place has been designated as the final resting place for the Night Watchers of Cangnan City who died in battle."
"Of course, this is just the default resting place. When each person officially joins a Night Watcher Team, they can specify whether they want to be buried in the Night Watcher cemetery after death, cremated, or buried back in their hometown, etc..."
"Back then, Zhao Kongcheng chose to be buried in the Night Watcher cemetery. He said he had too much blood on his hands, and if he went back to his ancestors' graves, he was afraid he would scare the Old Ancestors."
As he spoke, a smile appeared on Wen Qimo's lips, as if he could see the scene of Zhao Kongcheng saying those words so carelessly again.
Lin Qiye silently looked at the tombstones standing all around, his brows slightly furrowed. "So many..."
In this cemetery, there were at least sixty or seventy different tombstones, and the vast majority were new ones.
"From 1936 until now, it's been 85 years." Wen Qimo said with emotion. "In the beginning, our sacrifices weren't many. After all, not many mythological creatures would appear in each city every year, and even if they did, their Realm wasn't high."
"But as time passed, the speed at which mythological creatures descended became faster and faster, and their strength became more and more terrifying. Our casualties... also increased."
"Nearly half of the tombstones you see were for those who sacrificed themselves in the last twenty years."
"Before Captain Chen Muye came to guard Cangnan City, it is said that two Team members would die here every year. Only after the Captain arrived did the death rate significantly decrease."
The image of that silent, black-clothed figure appeared in Lin Qiye's mind, and he couldn't help but feel admiration.
"But Zhao Kongcheng just sacrificed himself tonight, and his tombstone is already ready?" Lin Qiye suddenly thought of something and asked doubtfully.
"No."
"Then why are we here..."
Wen Qimo raised his hand and pointed into the distance. "Look over there."
Lin Qiye looked in the direction of his hand and saw a faint light gradually appearing in the vast, dark cemetery.
Under the weak light, Hong Ying sat beside an empty spot, her eyes red-rimmed. In her hands, she held a blank tablet, and with her right hand holding a carving pen, she was carving it little by little.
Tears streamed down her cheeks onto the tablet, only to be hastily wiped away by her.
At this moment, where was even half of her previous vitality?
"She... Didn't she say she was going to practice shooting?" Lin Qiye stared blankly at this scene.
"She lied." Wen Qimo shook his head. "It's an unwritten rule that the tombstone of a deceased Night Watcher is carved by their Team members. Originally, this tablet should have been carved by me.Although she didn't say it, I actually knew very well in my heart that she was the one who most wanted to carve the tablet for Zhao Kongcheng."
"Their relationship was very good, truly very good."
"So even though her lie was so ridiculous, I still turned a blind eye and let her secretly carve the tablet."
Lin Qiye and Wen Qimo stood there quietly, watching Hong Ying who was focused on carving the tablet, remaining silent for a long time.
Under the hazy moonlight,
In the dead silent cemetery,
Only the carving knife in Hong Ying's hand let out a faint mournful sound.
"Aren't we going up to say hello?" After a long while, Lin Qiye asked Wen Qimo."Going to say hello now would only make her embarrassed. She's too thin-skinned."
"But like this... it feels like we're perverts peeping at someone's secret." Lin Qiye felt a bit awkward.
Wen Qimo turned his head to look at him, a smile appearing in his eyes."Do you think... we're the only two 'perverts' peeping from the side?"