"Ding dong—welcome!"
A crisp and melodious electronic sound rang out as Lin Qiye pushed open the door to the office and stepped inside.
As soon as he entered, he froze in place.
Seated on the sofa in the storefront of the office was an elderly lady in her fifties, one hand leaning on a cane, the other holding a pair of bifocals, gesticulating animatedly as she described something.
"...Let me tell you! My old man, he's been acting strange lately!
Before, whenever we went out together, he would hold my hand tightly, afraid that I might encounter any mishaps. But since last week, he's been acting like this!
He's definitely seeing someone else outside!"
Across from her, Hongying was propping up her cheek, listening intently and occasionally responding in surprise:
"Oh? Is he really behaving that badly?"
"Mmhm, I think you're right, Grandma!"
"He's being so unreasonable!"
"Don't worry, Grandma, our firm will handle this!"
...
Next to her, Wen Qimo sat solemnly, maintaining a serene smile:
"I believe you're right, Grandma..."
"I think you're right, Hongying..."
"Yes, I believe you're both right..."
Seeing Lin Qiye standing bewildered at the door, Wen Qimo gave him a meaningful glance, then stood up and followed Lin Qiye to the back of the storefront.
Hongying remained seated, chatting enthusiastically with the elderly lady.
"What... what's going on here?"
Entering the corridor leading to the basement, Lin Qiye finally couldn't help but ask.
"Hmm? Just regular work, isn't it?"
"I thought the storefront upstairs was just a front. Can't believe there's actually business going on?"
"Qiye, you still don't understand enough," Wen Qimo patted his shoulder. "Cangnan City, as big as it is, or as small as it is, does indeed have mysterious incidents happening, but only about five or six times a year.
When there's no mysterious cases to handle, what do you think we, this group of people, do besides training? We chat and gossip. It gets quite boring."
"So, you've expanded your business to investigating extramarital affairs for people?" Lin Qiye's expression was quite odd. "And with a woman in her fifties?"
"The old lady just turned sixty this year."
"...I see."
"You see, taking on some trivial commissions can give us something to do and earn some extra money, isn't it great?"
"So..." Lin Qiye pondered, "besides investigating extramarital affairs, do we have any other businesses?"
"We do, our business scope is very broad, extremely broad!" Wen Qimo's eyes lit up. "We rescue cats and dogs stuck in trees, provide tutoring for children below junior high, offer legal aid to those in need, casually rescue kidnapped children, and sometimes even confront bank robbers with masks..."
"Wait, isn't that a bit too broad?" Lin Qiye widened his eyes. "Rescues, education, law, relationships, you even take on police work?"
"It's routine."
"I suddenly feel curious, who among you knows about law?"
"Leng Xuan, before joining the Night Watch, he was a Ph.D. in law from a political and legal university."
Lin Qiye: ?(??? ?)?
The two walked into the underground activity space, and Wen Qimo patted his shoulder. "By the way, the captain said he's waiting for you, go find him in the training ground."
"Where is it?"
"Just keep going straight down the corridor."
"Okay."
Lin Qiye walked through the activity room and proceeded down the corridor.
He hadn't paid much attention the last time he came, but now, Lin Qiye realized just how vast this underground space was.
Rows of corridors, mysterious rooms, Lin Qiye roughly estimated the size of this space; it was definitely as wide as two streets.
Finally, Lin Qiye reached the end of the corridor, facing a large iron door.
Lin Qiye pushed open the door and stepped inside, revealing a vast and bright martial arts training ground, at least the size of three football fields!
"They... did they dig through the entire bottom of the canal?" Lin Qiye murmured to himself.
Seeing Lin Qiye arrive, Chen Muye, who was meditating in the center of the training ground, opened his eyes and waved at him.
"Captain."
"Yeah, how do you like it here?"
"It feels... quite contrasting," Lin Qiye said honestly. "Above, it's just a nondescript storefront, but down here, there's such a huge space. It feels like something out of a science fiction movie."
Chen Muye nodded slightly. "This place was built decades ago by the owner of a forbidden ruin with earth-based characteristics, so such a large project didn't attract attention on the surface."
"I see."
"Oh, by the way, some documents regarding your entry into the Night Watch have arrived and are stored in the archives. If you want to see them, go get them yourself," Chen Muye paused.
"But your dagger, cloak, and emblem will only be distributed uniformly after entering the training camp. During this time, you'll use this dagger."
Chen Muye handed Lin Qiye a straight dagger from behind. Lin Qiye took it and examined it, noticing three small characters under the hilt.
—Zhao Kongcheng.
"What is this..." Lin Qiye looked up in astonishment.
"Old Zhao's dagger," Chen Muye said calmly. "You are his chosen successor, and since he died in battle, his dagger is now in your care."
Lin Qiye fell silent for a moment, then silently tightened his grip on the hilt of the dagger. "Okay."
Then, he asked with some confusion, "But I thought I was just a temporary member for now? Why do I need a dagger?"
"There's still over a month until the start of training. We can't waste this time; we need to teach you some things," Chen Muye stood up slowly, looking at Lin Qiye, and continued:
"After all, you're going to be a member of our 136th squad. If you don't perform well during training, it will be embarrassing for us."
Lin Qiye:...
For some reason, Lin Qiye suddenly felt like he was being sent to a cram school by his elders because of poor grades...
"Well, what should I practice then?" Lin Qiye didn't hesitate. Even if Chen Muye hadn't mentioned it, he would have taken the initiative to ask him to teach him how to fight.
Fate was in his hands.
Slacking off at this time would be akin to slow death.
"In the morning, practice with me. In the afternoon, learn how to use forbidden ruins with Wen Qimo, and in the evening, learn how to use guns with Leng Xuan," Chen Muye took two bamboo swords from a nearby weapon rack and held them in his hands.
"Pick up the sword, we're starting."
Lin Qiye looked at the straight sword beside him, and opened his mouth in surprise: "Captain, mine is a real sword!"
"It doesn't matter." Chen Muye, expressionless, approached Lin Qiye, carrying the two swords. "In the end, the result will be the same."
For some reason, Lin Qi
ye's heart tightened, with a vague sense of foreboding.
He picked up the straight sword from the ground, unsheathed it, and took a deep breath.
"Captain, I'm ready."
Chen Muye nodded. "Alright, come at me."
Lin Qiye's gaze sharpened, gripping the sword handle tightly, he rushed towards Chen Muye at lightning speed!
Three seconds later, his scream echoed throughout the entire basement...
"Ding dong—welcome!"
A crisp and melodious electronic sound rang out as Lin Qiye pushed open the door to the office and stepped inside.
As soon as he entered, he froze in place.
Seated on the sofa in the storefront of the office was an elderly lady in her fifties, one hand leaning on a cane, the other holding a pair of bifocals, gesticulating animatedly as she described something.
"...Let me tell you! My old man, he's been acting strange lately!
Before, whenever we went out together, he would hold my hand tightly, afraid that I might encounter any mishaps. But since last week, he's been acting like this!
He's definitely seeing someone else outside!"
Across from her, Hongying was propping up her cheek, listening intently and occasionally responding in surprise:
"Oh? Is he really behaving that badly?"
"Mmhm, I think you're right, Grandma!"
"He's being so unreasonable!"
"Don't worry, Grandma, our firm will handle this!"
...
Next to her, Wen Qimo sat solemnly, maintaining a serene smile:
"I believe you're right, Grandma..."
"I think you're right, Hongying..."
"Yes, I believe you're both right..."
Seeing Lin Qiye standing bewildered at the door, Wen Qimo gave him a meaningful glance, then stood up and followed Lin Qiye to the back of the storefront.
Hongying remained seated, chatting enthusiastically with the elderly lady.
"What... what's going on here?"
Entering the corridor leading to the basement, Lin Qiye finally couldn't help but ask.
"Hmm? Just regular work, isn't it?"
"I thought the storefront upstairs was just a front. Can't believe there's actually business going on?"
"Qiye, you still don't understand enough," Wen Qimo patted his shoulder. "Cangnan City, as big as it is, or as small as it is, does indeed have mysterious incidents happening, but only about five or six times a year.
When there's no mysterious cases to handle, what do you think we, this group of people, do besides training? We chat and gossip. It gets quite boring."
"So, you've expanded your business to investigating extramarital affairs for people?" Lin Qiye's expression was quite odd. "And with a woman in her fifties?"
"The old lady just turned sixty this year."
"...I see."
"You see, taking on some trivial commissions can give us something to do and earn some extra money, isn't it great?"
"So..." Lin Qiye pondered, "besides investigating extramarital affairs, do we have any other businesses?"
"We do, our business scope is very broad, extremely broad!" Wen Qimo's eyes lit up. "We rescue cats and dogs stuck in trees, provide tutoring for children below junior high, offer legal aid to those in need, casually rescue kidnapped children, and sometimes even confront bank robbers with masks..."
"Wait, isn't that a bit too broad?" Lin Qiye widened his eyes. "Rescues, education, law, relationships, you even take on police work?"
"It's routine."
"I suddenly feel curious, who among you knows about law?"
"Leng Xuan, before joining the Night Watch, he was a Ph.D. in law from a political and legal university."
Lin Qiye: ?(??? ?)?
The two walked into the underground activity space, and Wen Qimo patted his shoulder. "By the way, the captain said he's waiting for you, go find him in the training ground."
"Where is it?"
"Just keep going straight down the corridor."
"Okay."
Lin Qiye walked through the activity room and proceeded down the corridor.
He hadn't paid much attention the last time he came, but now, Lin Qiye realized just how vast this underground space was.
Rows of corridors, mysterious rooms, Lin Qiye roughly estimated the size of this space; it was definitely as wide as two streets.
Finally, Lin Qiye reached the end of the corridor, facing a large iron door.
Lin Qiye pushed open the door and stepped inside, revealing a vast and bright martial arts training ground, at least the size of three football fields!
"They... did they dig through the entire bottom of the canal?" Lin Qiye murmured to himself.
Seeing Lin Qiye arrive, Chen Muye, who was meditating in the center of the training ground, opened his eyes and waved at him.
"Captain."
"Yeah, how do you like it here?"
"It feels... quite contrasting," Lin Qiye said honestly. "Above, it's just a nondescript storefront, but down here, there's such a huge space. It feels like something out of a science fiction movie."
Chen Muye nodded slightly. "This place was built decades ago by the owner of a forbidden ruin with earth-based characteristics, so such a large project didn't attract attention on the surface."
"I see."
"Oh, by the way, some documents regarding your entry into the Night Watch have arrived and are stored in the archives. If you want to see them, go get them yourself," Chen Muye paused.
"But your dagger, cloak, and emblem will only be distributed uniformly after entering the training camp. During this time, you'll use this dagger."
Chen Muye handed Lin Qiye a straight dagger from behind. Lin Qiye took it and examined it, noticing three small characters under the hilt.
—Zhao Kongcheng.
"What is this..." Lin Qiye looked up in astonishment.
"Old Zhao's dagger," Chen Muye said calmly. "You are his chosen successor, and since he died in battle, his dagger is now in your care."
Lin Qiye fell silent for a moment, then silently tightened his grip on the hilt of the dagger. "Okay."
Then, he asked with some confusion, "But I thought I was just a temporary member for now? Why do I need a dagger?"
"There's still over a month until the start of training. We can't waste this time; we need to teach you some things," Chen Muye stood up slowly, looking at Lin Qiye, and continued:
"After all, you're going to be a member of our 136th squad. If you don't perform well during training, it will be embarrassing for us."
Lin Qiye:...
For some reason, Lin Qiye suddenly felt like he was being sent to a cram school by his elders because of poor grades...
"Well, what should I practice then?" Lin Qiye didn't hesitate. Even if Chen Muye hadn't mentioned it, he would have taken the initiative to ask him to teach him how to fight.
Fate was in his hands.
Slacking off at this time would be akin to slow death.
"In the morning, practice with me. In the afternoon, learn how to use forbidden ruins with Wen Qimo, and in the evening, learn how to use guns with Leng Xuan," Chen Muye took two bamboo swords from a nearby weapon rack and held them in his hands.
"Pick up the sword, we're starting."
Lin Qiye looked at the straight sword beside him, and opened his mouth in surprise: "Captain, mine is a real sword!"
"It doesn't matter." Chen Muye, expressionless, approached Lin Qiye, carrying the two swords. "In the end, the result will be the same."
For some reason, Lin Qi
ye's heart tightened, with a vague sense of foreboding.
He picked up the straight sword from the ground, unsheathed it, and took a deep breath.
"Captain, I'm ready."
Chen Muye nodded. "Alright, come at me."
Lin Qiye's gaze sharpened, gripping the sword handle tightly, he rushed towards Chen Muye at lightning speed!
Three seconds later, his scream echoed throughout the entire basement...
