Lin Qiye looked at Wen Qimo's increasingly peculiar expression.
Wen Qimo chuckled, "I was just kidding. I could see that you were feeling quite oppressed in there, so I wanted to help you relax."
His gaze softened as he looked into Lin Qiye's eyes. "After all, witnessing such a brutal battle, anyone would find it difficult to recover, especially someone as young as you."
Lin Qiye was taken aback.
He pursed his lips, remaining silent.
Wen Qimo was right. Even Lin Qiye himself hadn't realized how bad his mental state was.
Witnessing Zhao Kongcheng's death, fighting desperately against the Ghost-Faced King alone, leaving behind the small harbor where he had lived for over a decade, and joining the unfamiliar and dangerous Night Watchmen...
Although he was relatively mature, fundamentally, he was still just a teenager.
Under such huge changes, the pressure on his shoulders had nearly suffocated him.
"When you were sitting there just now, I noticed that you were in a bad state. It wasn't just me; even Hongying noticed it. That's why she invited you to stay at her place temporarily. She's holding back her own grief, laughing and bantering with the captain and vice-captain.
You've just arrived, so you're not familiar with her yet, but when you get to know her..."
"She's too kind."
Lin Qiye was taken aback. He still remembered the scene of Hongying crying her heart out in the rain as she held Zhao Kongcheng. Now, recalling her shallow smile earlier, it seemed to be hiding deep sadness.
But if she was so sad, why would she care about my feelings and come to take care of me?
"It's not just me and Hongying who noticed it. Everyone else here did too, except for Wu Xiangnan, who's a bit dense, and Leng Xuan, who's as cold as ice. The captain is a bit aloof, so he uses Hongying to lighten the mood a bit, and Wu Xiangnan is too shy to speak up."
Wen Qimo turned around and continued climbing the stairs, speaking leisurely:
"Perhaps before coming here, you thought that the Night Watchmen were a group of cold, mechanical killing machines, stationed in desolate military zones, where planes and tanks were parked, and military exercises were conducted regularly."
As they reached the ground floor and stepped out into the quiet night, Lin Qiye looked at the deserted Peace Bridge street scene and spoke slowly.
Wen Qimo was momentarily stunned, turning to look at Lin Qiye and couldn't help but chuckle. "Funny, I used to think the same before joining the Night Watchmen. Blame it on those sci-fi movies for portraying it that way."
He looked up at the faint moonlight in the sky. "Although there are no military zones, planes, or tanks, the Night Watchmen is indeed a large organization."
"Why are there only six of you here?"
"The Night Watchmen are different from military forces." Wen Qimo shook his head. "The centralized management you mentioned, although efficient, has a fatal flaw... lack of mobility.
For example, if a mythical creature appears in our city today, it would take at least two days for the local police to confirm it, inform the base in Shangjing City, get approval, send people for investigation, and start the operation.
And during these two days, many people might die.
So, the best solution is to station a Night Watchmen team in each city. When a suspected mythical creature is found in the city, the stationed team can directly investigate and solve the problem.
And we are the Night Watchmen team stationed in Cangnan City."
Lin Qiye pondered. "No wonder you guys have such clear division of roles, each with their own expertise."
"Exactly. From frontline combat, to combat support, to long-range support, to overall command... each person has their strengths and can cooperate with each other. This is the standard mode for each stationed team."
"What if a mythical creature appears in a city that the local Night Watchmen team can't handle?"
"Then they request support from the upper levels. In Daxia, besides the Night Watchmen teams stationed in each city, there are four special teams. They don't station in any city but go to where there are difficulties.
They don't have team numbers, only 'code names' exclusive to special teams."
"Special teams..." Lin Qiye asked curiously, "Have you seen them?"
"I haven't seen them in person, but two years ago, there were three mythical creatures of the 'Sea' level appearing simultaneously in the neighboring Huaihai City, almost causing a catastrophe.
Later, a six-member special team with the code name 'Mask' suddenly appeared. They cleared all of them in just one night!"
Wen Qimo's eyes lit up with admiration. "It is said that when the sun rose the next day, the blood of mythical creatures dyed the bay red. And the 'Mask' team had already quietly moved on to the next city."
"That sounds pretty cool."
"Isn't it?"
"Do they have any requirements for recruiting people?"
"Of course, and they're quite strict." Wen Qimo sighed. "Firstly, members of the special teams must be at the pinnacle of the 'River' level.
"The pinnacle of the 'River' level... What's the highest level among you six?"
"It's the captain; he's also at the 'River' level, but still far from the pinnacle." Wen Qimo continued, "And to join a special team, having the level isn't enough; you also need 'uniqueness'."
"What kind of uniqueness?"
"It's something different from other Night Watchmen, such as having an extremely dangerous Forbidden Domain sequence, ranking within the top 80; or reaching the peak in a certain field, like being a grandmaster in knife techniques or swordsmanship; or... being an agent of a deity."
"An agent of a deity? That counts as uniqueness?"
"What kind of nonsense is that?" Wen Qimo gave Lin Qiye a disdainful look, his eyes full of envy. "You, as an agent of the Celestial Angel, think that agents of deities are as common as cabbages?"
"Isn't it?" Lin Qiye asked in confusion.
"Of course not!" Wen Qimo had never seen anyone shameless like this. "Agents of deities who stand on the side of humanity are extremely rare species. In the entire Night Watchmen, there are only eight or nine of them, mostly distributed among the special teams or serving as captains of Night Watchmen in major cities. They are extremely important figures!
Damn it, I envy you, kid."
Wen Qimo rarely cursed, sighing helplessly. "You have immense potential. When you grow up, Cangnan City won't be able to contain you...
Perhaps in the future, you'll become the captain of the Night Watchmen stationed in Shangjing City, or join a special team and travel the world, maybe even become the captain of a special team.
In any case, your future is limitless."
Lin Qiye looked at Wen Qimo's increasingly peculiar expression.
Wen Qimo chuckled, "I was just kidding. I could see that you were feeling quite oppressed in there, so I wanted to help you relax."
His gaze softened as he looked into Lin Qiye's eyes. "After all, witnessing such a brutal battle, anyone would find it difficult to recover, especially someone as young as you."
Lin Qiye was taken aback.
He pursed his lips, remaining silent.
Wen Qimo was right. Even Lin Qiye himself hadn't realized how bad his mental state was.
Witnessing Zhao Kongcheng's death, fighting desperately against the Ghost-Faced King alone, leaving behind the small harbor where he had lived for over a decade, and joining the unfamiliar and dangerous Night Watchmen...
Although he was relatively mature, fundamentally, he was still just a teenager.
Under such huge changes, the pressure on his shoulders had nearly suffocated him.
"When you were sitting there just now, I noticed that you were in a bad state. It wasn't just me; even Hongying noticed it. That's why she invited you to stay at her place temporarily. She's holding back her own grief, laughing and bantering with the captain and vice-captain.
You've just arrived, so you're not familiar with her yet, but when you get to know her..."
"She's too kind."
Lin Qiye was taken aback. He still remembered the scene of Hongying crying her heart out in the rain as she held Zhao Kongcheng. Now, recalling her shallow smile earlier, it seemed to be hiding deep sadness.
But if she was so sad, why would she care about my feelings and come to take care of me?
"It's not just me and Hongying who noticed it. Everyone else here did too, except for Wu Xiangnan, who's a bit dense, and Leng Xuan, who's as cold as ice. The captain is a bit aloof, so he uses Hongying to lighten the mood a bit, and Wu Xiangnan is too shy to speak up."
Wen Qimo turned around and continued climbing the stairs, speaking leisurely:
"Perhaps before coming here, you thought that the Night Watchmen were a group of cold, mechanical killing machines, stationed in desolate military zones, where planes and tanks were parked, and military exercises were conducted regularly."
As they reached the ground floor and stepped out into the quiet night, Lin Qiye looked at the deserted Peace Bridge street scene and spoke slowly.
Wen Qimo was momentarily stunned, turning to look at Lin Qiye and couldn't help but chuckle. "Funny, I used to think the same before joining the Night Watchmen. Blame it on those sci-fi movies for portraying it that way."
He looked up at the faint moonlight in the sky. "Although there are no military zones, planes, or tanks, the Night Watchmen is indeed a large organization."
"Why are there only six of you here?"
"The Night Watchmen are different from military forces." Wen Qimo shook his head. "The centralized management you mentioned, although efficient, has a fatal flaw... lack of mobility.
For example, if a mythical creature appears in our city today, it would take at least two days for the local police to confirm it, inform the base in Shangjing City, get approval, send people for investigation, and start the operation.
And during these two days, many people might die.
So, the best solution is to station a Night Watchmen team in each city. When a suspected mythical creature is found in the city, the stationed team can directly investigate and solve the problem.
And we are the Night Watchmen team stationed in Cangnan City."
Lin Qiye pondered. "No wonder you guys have such clear division of roles, each with their own expertise."
"Exactly. From frontline combat, to combat support, to long-range support, to overall command... each person has their strengths and can cooperate with each other. This is the standard mode for each stationed team."
"What if a mythical creature appears in a city that the local Night Watchmen team can't handle?"
"Then they request support from the upper levels. In Daxia, besides the Night Watchmen teams stationed in each city, there are four special teams. They don't station in any city but go to where there are difficulties.
They don't have team numbers, only 'code names' exclusive to special teams."
"Special teams..." Lin Qiye asked curiously, "Have you seen them?"
"I haven't seen them in person, but two years ago, there were three mythical creatures of the 'Sea' level appearing simultaneously in the neighboring Huaihai City, almost causing a catastrophe.
Later, a six-member special team with the code name 'Mask' suddenly appeared. They cleared all of them in just one night!"
Wen Qimo's eyes lit up with admiration. "It is said that when the sun rose the next day, the blood of mythical creatures dyed the bay red. And the 'Mask' team had already quietly moved on to the next city."
"That sounds pretty cool."
"Isn't it?"
"Do they have any requirements for recruiting people?"
"Of course, and they're quite strict." Wen Qimo sighed. "Firstly, members of the special teams must be at the pinnacle of the 'River' level.
"The pinnacle of the 'River' level... What's the highest level among you six?"
"It's the captain; he's also at the 'River' level, but still far from the pinnacle." Wen Qimo continued, "And to join a special team, having the level isn't enough; you also need 'uniqueness'."
"What kind of uniqueness?"
"It's something different from other Night Watchmen, such as having an extremely dangerous Forbidden Domain sequence, ranking within the top 80; or reaching the peak in a certain field, like being a grandmaster in knife techniques or swordsmanship; or... being an agent of a deity."
"An agent of a deity? That counts as uniqueness?"
"What kind of nonsense is that?" Wen Qimo gave Lin Qiye a disdainful look, his eyes full of envy. "You, as an agent of the Celestial Angel, think that agents of deities are as common as cabbages?"
"Isn't it?" Lin Qiye asked in confusion.
"Of course not!" Wen Qimo had never seen anyone shameless like this. "Agents of deities who stand on the side of humanity are extremely rare species. In the entire Night Watchmen, there are only eight or nine of them, mostly distributed among the special teams or serving as captains of Night Watchmen in major cities. They are extremely important figures!
Damn it, I envy you, kid."
Wen Qimo rarely cursed, sighing helplessly. "You have immense potential. When you grow up, Cangnan City won't be able to contain you...
Perhaps in the future, you'll become the captain of the Night Watchmen stationed in Shangjing City, or join a special team and travel the world, maybe even become the captain of a special team.
In any case, your future is limitless."
