# 32
Chapter 32 – Night Watch
Lin Qiye’s expression toward Wen Qimo grew stranger and stranger.
Wen Qimo chuckled. “Just kidding. You looked so tense in there, I wanted to help you relax.”
He met Lin Qiye’s eyes, his gaze softening. “After witnessing a battle that brutal, no one walks away unscathed—let alone a high-school kid.”
Lin Qiye froze.
He pressed his lips together and said nothing.
Wen Qimo was right. Even Lin Qiye himself hadn’t realized how terrible his mental state had become.
Watching Zhao Kongcheng die, then fighting the Ghost-Face King alone, leaving the shabby harbor he’d called home for over a decade to join the unfamiliar, dangerous Night Watch…
He was mature for his age, but still a teenager.
The weight on his shoulders was crushing him.
“When you were sitting there, I could see how bad off you were. And it wasn’t just me—Hongying noticed too. Otherwise she wouldn’t have invited you to stay at her place, or swallowed her own grief to joke with the captain and vice-captain.
You don’t know her yet, but once you do you’ll realize…
She’s too kind.”
Lin Qiye stilled. He remembered Hongying sobbing in the rain as he carried Zhao Kongcheng out. Now, thinking of her faint smile, he sensed the sorrow hidden beneath.
Why, when she was hurting so much, had she bothered to care about his feelings?
“It’s not just Hongying and me. Aside from the blockhead Xiangnan and human iceberg Leng Xuan, everyone noticed. The captain’s too proud, so he used Hongying to lighten the mood; Xiaonan’s too shy to speak up.”
Wen Qimo turned and started up the stairs.
“Maybe you thought Night Watch would be cold killing machines, but stay awhile and you’ll see it’s not like that…”
Lin Qiye followed him to the first floor, through the fake office lobby, and out the door.
It was deep night.
The bustling Heping Bridge lay silent; rain-slick pavement gleamed. Only the Peace Firm still showed lights.
“Before I came, I pictured Night Watch as some huge base in a restricted military zone, with planes and tanks and constant drills,” Lin Qiye said, gazing at the empty street.
Wen Qimo laughed. “Same here—blame the sci-fi movies.”
He looked up at the hazy moon. “But while we don’t have tanks, Night Watch really is enormous.”
“Why only six people here?”
“Night Watch isn’t the army.” Wen Qimo shook his head. “Centralized bases run smoothly, but they’re slow. Say a myth creature appears in Cangnan City. Police confirm, message HQ in Shangjing City, HQ approves, dispatches investigators—takes two days minimum.
In two days, a lot of people can die.
So we station a team in every city. Spot a myth, local team handles it.
We’re Night Watch’s Cangnan City team.”
Lin Qiye nodded. “That explains the clear roles—each of you has a specialty.”
“Right. Frontline fighter, support, ranged, command… standard setup for any city team.”
“What if the local team can’t handle it?”
“We request a special squad.” Wen Qimo held up four fingers. “Besides city teams, Great Xia has four special squads. They don’t garrison anywhere, but when a city’s overwhelmed, they go.
No numbers, only names—honor unique to them.”
“Special squads…” Lin Qiye asked, “Ever seen one?”
“Not in person. Two years ago three Sea-realm creatures appeared in Huaihai City, nearly a catastrophe.
The six-man Mask Squad arrived and wiped them out overnight.
Next morning, myth blood stained the bay, and Mask Squad had already slipped away to the next city.”
Wen Qimo’s eyes shone. “Sounds cool, right?”
“Very.”
“Recruitment requirements?”
“Strict.” Wen Qimo sighed. “Minimum: River-realm peak.”
“River-realm peak… What’s the highest here?”
“Captain. River-realm, but nowhere near peak.”
“And?”
“You need ‘specialness’—top-80 Forbidden Ruins sequence, grandmaster in blade or sword, or… be a god’s agent.”
“God’s agent counts?”
“Listen to yourself.” Wen Qimo shot him a jealous glance. “You’re the Seraph’s agent, so you think agents grow on trees?
They’re rare. Barely eight or nine in all Night Watch, mostly in special squads or leading big-city teams—vital assets.
Damn, I envy you.”
He rarely swore. “Your potential’s sky-high. Once you grow, little Cangnan won’t hold you.
Maybe you’ll captain Shangjing City’s team, or join a special squad, even lead one.
Your future’s limitless.”