"Ah." Lin Qiye's expression remained calm.
Warm Ink's expression turned puzzled. "Ah? That's it?"
"What else should there be?"
"No surge of excitement or fiery passion?"
"There is a bit, but only a bit," Lin Qiye replied lightly. "I'm not interested in promotions or anything like that."
Warm Ink glanced at him oddly. "I forgot, you're the 'heretic' who will defect from the Night Watch in ten years."
Lin Qiye remained noncommittal and continued, "According to you, are these four special teams the ceiling of Da Xia's power?"
"Of course not," Warm Ink responded. "They may be the ceiling of the Night Watch's team combat power, but definitely not of Da Xia's power."
"Are you suggesting that in Da Xia, there are organizations similar to the Night Watch?"
"No, there's only one Night Watch in Da Xia, but above the Night Watch, there are five human ceilings of power."
"Human ceilings?"
"Exactly as it sounds, they are the pinnacle of human combat power, approaching the ancient gods in strength, and hence are also called 'demigods.'"
"Humans rivaling gods in their mortal forms?"
"Although I know you're borrowing classic lines from movies, that's indeed the case," Warm Ink said, gazing up at the night sky, his eyes filled with admiration. "These five individuals are the pillars of humanity and the only hope humanity can see within this vast fog."
"Who are they?"
"I don't know. They are too distant from us, and very few people have seen their appearance or know their names. However, there are some interesting rumors."
"What rumors?"
"These five human ceilings are referred to as One Sword, One Rider, One Deity, One Void, and One Sage."
"Sword, Rider, Deity, Void, Sage... What kind of rumors are these? They seem to lack useful information."
"It is said that our highest Night Watch commander is one of these five human ceilings, 'One Deity'. However, it's been a long time since anyone has seen him in action."
"I have a question."
"Ask away."
"Have humans... ever killed a god? Not those strange mythical creatures, but the true ancient gods from myths!"
Warm Ink fell silent for a moment and shook his head. "I don't know, but I think not...
"In this era where the existence of gods has been confirmed, if humans were to kill a true god, it would surely cause panic among all other gods. In that case, they might unite to eliminate humanity first, making the situation even more dire!"
Lin Qiye nodded. "I understand."
"Anything else you want to ask?"
Lin Qiye pondered for a moment. "Do temporary members receive benefits?"
"Yes."
"Then I have no other questions."
"So, out of all those questions, the last one was the most important to you?"
"Of course," Lin Qiye nodded matter-of-factly. "Those things like special teams and human ceilings are too distant for me. I prefer to keep my feet on the ground."
"Alright..." Warm Ink turned his head and asked, "Are you tired?"
"Not really."
"Then let me take you somewhere."
"Is it proper to go out so late?"
"... Proper," Warm Ink's mouth twitched.
"Alright," Lin Qiye reminded, "Don't forget, I'm still a minor."
Warm Ink: ...
...
A few minutes later, the car slowly stopped in a deserted and silent wilderness.
Lin Qiye got out of the car and looked around, his eyes full of vigilance as he gazed at Warm Ink.
"Why did you bring me here?"
Warm Ink rolled his eyes silently and pointed to a cemetery not far away. "Over there."
Lin Qiye followed his gesture and fell into silence.
He could vaguely guess why Warm Ink had brought him here.
The two walked along the narrow path and soon arrived at the edge of the cemetery.
The cemetery wasn't large; compared to the one on the outskirts of the city, it was noticeably smaller, but both the craftsmanship of the tombstones and the spacing between them were far superior to an ordinary cemetery.
The tombstones here seemed more refined and orderly.
"What is this place..."
"This is the graveyard of the Night Watch stationed in Cangnan City," Warm Ink calmly explained. "Since 1936, when the Special Bioweapons Response Team officially transformed into the Night Watch and adopted the management format of one team per city, this place has been designated as the final resting place for the fallen Night Watch members in Cangnan City.
"Of course, this is just the default. When each person officially joins a Night Watch team, they can specify whether they want to be buried in the Night Watch cemetery after death, or cremated, or buried in their hometown, and so on...
"Back then, Zhao Kongcheng chose to be buried in the Night Watch cemetery. He said he had too much blood on his hands, and he was afraid of scaring the ancestors if he returned to the ancestral grave."
As Warm Ink spoke, a smile appeared on his lips, as if he could see the scene where Zhao Kongcheng casually said these words.
Lin Qiye looked around at the rows of tombstones, his brows slightly furrowed. "There are so many..."
In this cemetery, there were at least sixty or seventy different tombstones, and the vast majority of them were new.
"From 1936 to the present, it's been 85 years," Warm Ink said with emotion. "At first, our casualties were indeed few, after all, there were only a few mythical creatures appearing in each city every year, and even if they did, their strength was not high.
"But as time passed, the speed of the appearance of mythical creatures became faster and the strength became more terrifying, and our casualties... became more and more numerous.
"Nearly half of the tombstones you see here are from the past twenty years.
"Before Captain Chen Muye came to guard Cangnan City, it was said that two team members died here every year, but after the captain arrived, the mortality rate decreased significantly."
In Lin Qiye's mind, the silent figure in black, who spoke little, appeared, and he couldn't help but feel admiration.
"But Zhao Kongcheng only sacrificed tonight. Has his tombstone already been prepared?" Lin Qiye suddenly thought of something and asked in confusion.
"No."
"Then why did we come here?"
Warm Ink lifted his hand and pointed into the distance. "Look there."
Lin Qiye followed his gaze and saw a faint light shining in the dark cemetery.
Under the dim light, Hong Ying sat beside an empty space, holding a blank tombstone in her hands. With her right hand holding a carving knife, she meticulously carved, tear stains running down her cheeks, hastily wiped away.
At this moment, she had lost all her previous vitality.
"She... She said she was going to practice shooting, didn't she?" Lin Qiye stared blankly at the scene.
"She lied," Warm Ink shook his head. "It's an unwritten rule that the tombstone of a Night Watch member is carved by their teammates. Originally, I should have been the one to carve it.
"Although she didn't say it, I actually knew very well that she was the one who wanted to help Zhao Kongcheng carve the tombstone the most.
"Their relationship was very good, really good.
"So even though she lied so blatantly, I turned a blind eye and let her secretly carve the tombstone."
Lin Qiye and Warm Ink stood quietly, watching Hong Ying focus on carving the tombstone, without speaking for a long time.
Under the hazy moonlight,
In the silent cemetery,
Only the carving knife in Hong Ying's hand emitted a faint, mournful cry.
"Don't we go say hello?" After a while, Lin Qiye asked Warm Ink.
"Going to say hello now would only make her feel embarrassed. Her face is too thin."
"But by doing this... it feels like we're being voyeuristic, peeking into someone else's secret." Lin Qiye felt a bit uncomfortable.
Warm Ink turned to look at him, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Do you think... we're the only 'voyeurs' peeking from the sidelines?"
"Ah." Lin Qiye's expression remained calm.
Warm Ink's expression turned puzzled. "Ah? That's it?"
"What else should there be?"
"No surge of excitement or fiery passion?"
"There is a bit, but only a bit," Lin Qiye replied lightly. "I'm not interested in promotions or anything like that."
Warm Ink glanced at him oddly. "I forgot, you're the 'heretic' who will defect from the Night Watch in ten years."
Lin Qiye remained noncommittal and continued, "According to you, are these four special teams the ceiling of Da Xia's power?"
"Of course not," Warm Ink responded. "They may be the ceiling of the Night Watch's team combat power, but definitely not of Da Xia's power."
"Are you suggesting that in Da Xia, there are organizations similar to the Night Watch?"
"No, there's only one Night Watch in Da Xia, but above the Night Watch, there are five human ceilings of power."
"Human ceilings?"
"Exactly as it sounds, they are the pinnacle of human combat power, approaching the ancient gods in strength, and hence are also called 'demigods.'"
"Humans rivaling gods in their mortal forms?"
"Although I know you're borrowing classic lines from movies, that's indeed the case," Warm Ink said, gazing up at the night sky, his eyes filled with admiration. "These five individuals are the pillars of humanity and the only hope humanity can see within this vast fog."
"Who are they?"
"I don't know. They are too distant from us, and very few people have seen their appearance or know their names. However, there are some interesting rumors."
"What rumors?"
"These five human ceilings are referred to as One Sword, One Rider, One Deity, One Void, and One Sage."
"Sword, Rider, Deity, Void, Sage... What kind of rumors are these? They seem to lack useful information."
"It is said that our highest Night Watch commander is one of these five human ceilings, 'One Deity'. However, it's been a long time since anyone has seen him in action."
"I have a question."
"Ask away."
"Have humans... ever killed a god? Not those strange mythical creatures, but the true ancient gods from myths!"
Warm Ink fell silent for a moment and shook his head. "I don't know, but I think not...
"In this era where the existence of gods has been confirmed, if humans were to kill a true god, it would surely cause panic among all other gods. In that case, they might unite to eliminate humanity first, making the situation even more dire!"
Lin Qiye nodded. "I understand."
"Anything else you want to ask?"
Lin Qiye pondered for a moment. "Do temporary members receive benefits?"
"Yes."
"Then I have no other questions."
"So, out of all those questions, the last one was the most important to you?"
"Of course," Lin Qiye nodded matter-of-factly. "Those things like special teams and human ceilings are too distant for me. I prefer to keep my feet on the ground."
"Alright..." Warm Ink turned his head and asked, "Are you tired?"
"Not really."
"Then let me take you somewhere."
"Is it proper to go out so late?"
"... Proper," Warm Ink's mouth twitched.
"Alright," Lin Qiye reminded, "Don't forget, I'm still a minor."
Warm Ink: ...
...
A few minutes later, the car slowly stopped in a deserted and silent wilderness.
Lin Qiye got out of the car and looked around, his eyes full of vigilance as he gazed at Warm Ink.
"Why did you bring me here?"
Warm Ink rolled his eyes silently and pointed to a cemetery not far away. "Over there."
Lin Qiye followed his gesture and fell into silence.
He could vaguely guess why Warm Ink had brought him here.
The two walked along the narrow path and soon arrived at the edge of the cemetery.
The cemetery wasn't large; compared to the one on the outskirts of the city, it was noticeably smaller, but both the craftsmanship of the tombstones and the spacing between them were far superior to an ordinary cemetery.
The tombstones here seemed more refined and orderly.
"What is this place..."
"This is the graveyard of the Night Watch stationed in Cangnan City," Warm Ink calmly explained. "Since 1936, when the Special Bioweapons Response Team officially transformed into the Night Watch and adopted the management format of one team per city, this place has been designated as the final resting place for the fallen Night Watch members in Cangnan City.
"Of course, this is just the default. When each person officially joins a Night Watch team, they can specify whether they want to be buried in the Night Watch cemetery after death, or cremated, or buried in their hometown, and so on...
"Back then, Zhao Kongcheng chose to be buried in the Night Watch cemetery. He said he had too much blood on his hands, and he was afraid of scaring the ancestors if he returned to the ancestral grave."
As Warm Ink spoke, a smile appeared on his lips, as if he could see the scene where Zhao Kongcheng casually said these words.
Lin Qiye looked around at the rows of tombstones, his brows slightly furrowed. "There are so many..."
In this cemetery, there were at least sixty or seventy different tombstones, and the vast majority of them were new.
"From 1936 to the present, it's been 85 years," Warm Ink said with emotion. "At first, our casualties were indeed few, after all, there were only a few mythical creatures appearing in each city every year, and even if they did, their strength was not high.
"But as time passed, the speed of the appearance of mythical creatures became faster and the strength became more terrifying, and our casualties... became more and more numerous.
"Nearly half of the tombstones you see here are from the past twenty years.
"Before Captain Chen Muye came to guard Cangnan City, it was said that two team members died here every year, but after the captain arrived, the mortality rate decreased significantly."
In Lin Qiye's mind, the silent figure in black, who spoke little, appeared, and he couldn't help but feel admiration.
"But Zhao Kongcheng only sacrificed tonight. Has his tombstone already been prepared?" Lin Qiye suddenly thought of something and asked in confusion.
"No."
"Then why did we come here?"
Warm Ink lifted his hand and pointed into the distance. "Look there."
Lin Qiye followed his gaze and saw a faint light shining in the dark cemetery.
Under the dim light, Hong Ying sat beside an empty space, holding a blank tombstone in her hands. With her right hand holding a carving knife, she meticulously carved, tear stains running down her cheeks, hastily wiped away.
At this moment, she had lost all her previous vitality.
"She... She said she was going to practice shooting, didn't she?" Lin Qiye stared blankly at the scene.
"She lied," Warm Ink shook his head. "It's an unwritten rule that the tombstone of a Night Watch member is carved by their teammates. Originally, I should have been the one to carve it.
"Although she didn't say it, I actually knew very well that she was the one who wanted to help Zhao Kongcheng carve the tombstone the most.
"Their relationship was very good, really good.
"So even though she lied so blatantly, I turned a blind eye and let her secretly carve the tombstone."
Lin Qiye and Warm Ink stood quietly, watching Hong Ying focus on carving the tombstone, without speaking for a long time.
Under the hazy moonlight,
In the silent cemetery,
Only the carving knife in Hong Ying's hand emitted a faint, mournful cry.
"Don't we go say hello?" After a while, Lin Qiye asked Warm Ink.
"Going to say hello now would only make her feel embarrassed. Her face is too thin."
"But by doing this... it feels like we're being voyeuristic, peeking into someone else's secret." Lin Qiye felt a bit uncomfortable.
Warm Ink turned to look at him, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"Do you think... we're the only 'voyeurs' peeking from the sidelines?"
