Atop a signal tower in Cangnan City.
A woman casually rested her hand on the railing, a gentle breeze ruffling her long, black, curly hair, revealing a bewitching and alluring face. Her eerie vertical pupils silently watched the gradually awakening city, a half-smile playing on her lips.
Buzz buzz buzz...
The phone vibrated.
She took out her phone, answered the call, and spoke lazily:
"Hello...?"
"The people we planted in the training camp have been exposed. Yuan Gang has already left the camp. You don't have much time left." A deep male voice sounded on the other end of the phone.
"Oh dear~" The woman rested her chin on her other hand and said leisurely, "Is it already time to wrap things up? I haven't had enough fun yet..."
"[Snake Woman], I feel I need to remind you, you didn't come to Cangnan for fun." The man's voice gradually became serious.
"Lin Qiye and Lin Xi Chen are the first agents of two gods in history. If we really cannot recruit them into our Ancient God Church, we must not let them continue to live in this world. Otherwise, we will have an even more troublesome opponent than Wang Mian in the future."
"Wang Mian... Last time he almost cut me in half at the waist. How can there be such an unromantic man in this world?" The snake woman sighed.
"You are still a newcomer to the Ancient God Church, and your cultivation level is not high. When you make contact with Lin Qiye this time, you must focus on recruiting him. If you really can't recruit him, then have Han Shaoyun take action and make sure to kill him on the spot!"
"With Han Shaoyun's combat strength, only Yuan Gang in this Cangnan City can defeat him head-on. However, someone will help you hold off Yuan Gang."
"Besides Han Shaoyun and Yuan Gang, is there another 'Sea' Realm hidden in the city...?" The snake woman's eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's right, but he can't hold Yuan Gang off for long. You don't have much time left."
"Understood~" The snake woman slowly straightened up from the railing, stretched, and stared at a small shop in the distance with her vertical snake eyes. She seemed to have thought of something interesting, and a strange smile appeared on her lips.
"The Dual Gods' Agents... sounds like interesting toys."
...
After shoveling the snow, Lin Qiye turned and walked into the office. He picked up two black boxes from the corner, hesitated for a moment, and then grabbed some New Year's goods from the table and put them in his pocket.
"Are you heading out?" Chen Muye asked as he came out of the kitchen.
"Can I go with you too?" Lin Xi Chen peeked out from behind the wall. "My wound has healed, so I can help you."
"Alright." Lin Qiye nodded. "I guess you could say I'm going to offer New Year's greetings."
The explosion at the love hotel was still ringing in Lin Qiye's ears. Although he didn't think anything would happen to the chubby boy, he figured it would be better to go and check on him.
If nothing has happened, then as he just said, we should go and pay our respects for the New Year.Of course, there's an even more important point: since tomorrow is the last day of the holiday, those people lurking in the shadows must be itching to get out. Going out for a stroll will also allow me to test their limits.
If a truly powerful enemy were to appear, Lin Qiye wouldn't be afraid. He could simply release Nyx and use Nightfall to escape. However, Nyx's divine power could easily cause a disturbance among the Night Watchers, so he didn't want to use Nyx unless absolutely necessary.
Chen Muye didn't stop Lin Qiye, but nodded gently, "Okay, go ahead."
Lin Qiye carried the black box and Lin Xi Chen carried the New Year's goods, quietly walked through the restaurant filled with snoring, and pushed open the door to go out.
After he left, Wu Xiangnan, who had been lying on the sofa like a dead dog, slowly opened his eyes, sat up, exchanged a glance with Chen Muye, and then slapped Wen Qimo awake beside him.
"Let's go, time to work."
...
After leaving the Peace Agency, Lin Qiye and Lin Xi Chen walked straight towards the direction of the lover's hotel.
The once bustling street has now become deserted. All the shops around it are closed, with brand-new "Fu" characters pasted on the door. The people inside have already packed up and gone home for the New Year.
Every now and then a few cars would drive by, shaking off clumps of snow from the roadside. Lin Qiye, wrapped in a scarf, turned into another secluded alley, and the world became completely quiet.
This is an old road with a long history. The houses on both sides are low and dimly lit, and the walls covered with moss are marked with the traces of time. The bare tree trunks along the roadside are like dark brown thorns, frantically piercing the sky.
The love hotel where Baili Pangpang and his friends stayed was not far from the Peace Bridge. It was only a ten-minute walk away. However, as they walked further down the road, Lin Qiye felt increasingly uneasy for some reason.
But Lin Qiye couldn't pinpoint the source of this unease.
"Weird.... Do you feel that?" In the end, Lin Xi Chen stopped first as she muttered.
On the quiet sidewalk, Lin Xi Chen frowned, her eyes glow as if sensing something. After a while, she turned to look at the abandoned low building on her right and slowly reached out to touch the wall of the building.
With her hands wet with snow water, she gently wiped the dusty and moss-covered wall. After a moment, a strange crack appeared on the surface of the wall.
The crack appears to have formed naturally, closing into a narrow semicircle. Within this semicircle, several other cracks intersect. At first glance, it seems insignificant, but upon closer inspection…
This pattern looks like an eye?
A long, narrow, sinister, and alluring snake eye.
"This is..." Lin Qiye's brows furrowed more and more. He squatted down and used the black box to sweep away the snow under his feet. On the sidewalk where he was standing, there were also these strange snake eyes everywhere!
These snake eyes are made up of black lines, like charcoal or natural stains. The snake eyes vary in size, from as small as a thumb to as large as a manhole cover. They are densely packed and everywhere.
Lin Qiye fully unleashed his spiritual power, his expression growing increasingly solemn.
The branches of the roadside trees intertwine and stretch out; from a certain angle, they resemble the eyes of snakes.
The snow swept off the sidewalk by sanitation workers has mostly melted, and the remaining snow remains on the ground, also in the shape of a snake's eye.
On the surface of the surrounding low, old houses, snake eyes gradually appeared in an inconceivable way;
Even the winter sun hanging in the sky, without anyone noticing, had transformed into the shape of a snake's eye...
This street has been transformed into a world of snake eyes!Lin Qiye finally realized where his unease came from.
"This is... a Forbidden Ruin?" A faint golden hue appeared in his eyes. He pulled Lin Xi Chen back so he could shield himself from her, clutched the two black boxes tightly in his hands, and cautiously observed everything around him.
Suddenly, a figure slowly walked across the sidewalk from the opposite side of them.
It was a woman with long, black, curly hair that fell naturally over her shoulders, swaying eerily in the breeze like twisting black snakes. Her sinister snake eyes stared silently at Lin Qiye.
The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, as if she were smiling.
"Go. Find the trio and protect them. I will handle this." Lin Qiye waved his hand to signal Lin Xichen; without a single question, she ran ahead. With her "God Ruin" ability, she could certainly escape this place with ease, so he had no need to worry.