# 1377
Chapter 1378: Bai Ze Gives Birth
"Li Kengqiang?"
Tang Mingxuan frowned as he studied Lin Qiye before him. "Are you the captain of that... special squad that Commander Nie mentioned?"
Seeing that this line worked, Lin Qiye nodded repeatedly.
In this era, Lin Qiye and the others had no way to prove they were Night Watch, so the best approach was to disguise themselves as someone who should already exist in this time period...
Since this fabricated world originated from Li Kengqiang's memories, it meant he must have personally participated in this event. By invoking his name, it might have an unexpected effect.
Judging from Tang Mingxuan's reaction, it seemed he had guessed correctly.
From his tone, Li Kengqiang had also been a captain of a special squad?
"Do you have anything that can prove your identity?"
Lin Qiye thought for a moment, then summoned his Straight Blade in reverse, waving it at Tang Mingxuan. "Before going into the water, I left the Coat of Arms on the shore. Would this suffice?"
An Qingyu had told him that the Coat of Arms of this era was different from theirs, so naturally he couldn't produce the Coat of Arms.
However, the Queen Mother of the West had mentioned earlier that when the Night Watch was first established, Commander Nie Jinshan had gone to Kunlun to ask her to forge these standard blades. So the Straight Blades of this era should be the same as the ones they carried.
Upon seeing the Straight Blade in Lin Qiye's hand, the wariness in Tang Mingxuan's eyes eased somewhat.
Before Tang Mingxuan could speak, Lin Qiye sheathed the Straight Blade and said coolly, "My team members are on the shore, fighting members of the Church of the Ancient Gods. Captain Tang Mingxuan, I think you owe me an explanation."
Lin Qiye's words were the result of careful deliberation. He didn't ask what was going on with Bai Ze, nor why the Church of the Ancient Gods was here, because he wasn't sure how much someone of Li Kengqiang's position in this era should know. So he simply demanded an "explanation"...
As for what the explanation concerned, that would be up to Tang Mingxuan to fill in.
Tang Mingxuan fell silent for a moment, then spoke slowly, "Captain Li, concealing Bai Ze's existence from the higher-ups was my personal decision and has nothing to do with anyone else on my team... After this is over, I will go to Shangjing City to face judgment of my own accord."
When Lin Qiye heard this, a glimmer of relief flickered in his heart.
It appeared that from start to finish, not only Li Kengqiang but even the Night Watch higher-ups had been in the dark... That made things much easier.
Lin Qiye sighed. "Captain Tang, you may not fully understand the situation yet. This is no longer the time to discuss whose fault it is.
There are large numbers of Church of the Ancient Gods members right by the Huangpu River. What you need to do now is explain the entire situation to me, from beginning to end, without any omissions. If something goes wrong, neither of us can bear the responsibility."
Tang Mingxuan glanced back at the heavy-breathing Bai Ze at the river bottom, his expression complicated. After hesitating, he finally spoke:
"The story begins five years ago..."
...
"Ssssshhhhh..."
The sound of electromagnetic interference came from the two radios in front of Cao Yuan. Cao Yuan was stunned, then spoke up proactively:
"Jiang Er?"
"It's me, Qingyu." An Qingyu's grave voice came through the radio. "Can everyone hear me?"
"Got it." Baili Pangpang's voice rang out.
"I can hear you too." Cao Yuan paused. "But Seven Nights has gone down to the riverbed. The radios can't get wet, so they're here with me."
"He's already gone down?" An Qingyu murmured to herself. "We were too late..."
"What's going on?"
"I searched through the memories of the 007 squad members and found something." An Qingyu took a deep breath. "Since Seven Nights isn't here, listen carefully. You'll relay this to him when he comes back up."
"Got it."
"At the bottom of the Huangpu River, there's a Bai Ze about to give birth."
"Bai Ze?" Cao Yuan was taken aback.
"Five years ago, the 007 squad discovered a 'mystery' at the downstream of the Huangpu River that was pregnant and covered in wounds. After investigation and comparison, they confirmed that this 'mystery' was the legendary Bai Ze of Great Xia...
Bai Ze is sentient and can speak human language. According to its account, it was already pregnant before descending into this world. During pregnancy, Bai Ze's strength was greatly diminished and it was extremely fragile. The key issue was that its initial landing location wasn't within Great Xia's borders, but appeared within the mist.
It fought and struggled its way here, finally returning to Great Xia. When it was washed here along the Yangtze River, it was already at death's door. The 007 squad used every means at their disposal to barely save its life."
"So that Bai Ze is still at the bottom of the Huangpu River?" Cao Yuan asked, puzzled. "Its pregnancy has lasted this many years and it still hasn't given birth?"
"The battles in the mist caused Bai Ze to have a complicated delivery. Being a Divine Beast symbolizing auspiciousness and peace in Great Xia, abundant human activity and vitality can help repair the damage to the fetus. Fortunately, Haizhou City has a large population, and after several years of recuperation on the riverbed, its injuries have basically healed... According to the 007 squad's estimation, its due date is within these two days."
"Wouldn't Bai Ze giving birth be a good thing? What does it have to do with a great disaster?"
"It should indeed be a good thing, but there are two difficult problems during this process... First, when Bai Ze gives birth, it will churn the surrounding river water and create massive waves, which could frighten the residents on both sides of the river.
However, this problem is easy to solve, because Captain Tang Mingxuan of the 007 squad has an ability related to water. As long as he stays at the riverbed, he can stabilize the Huangpu River and prevent any major damage.
The second problem is that during childbirth, Bai Ze's true form becomes extremely fragile and highly susceptible to external influences, which could cause it to go berserk."
An Qingyu paused, then continued, "Just now, I analyzed the special liquid from the Church of the Ancient Gods member that Seven Nights sent to me. This liquid is an elixir refined from large quantities of human blood, drawn from some death row inmates who had killed people. It's extremely violent and malevolent in nature.
If this human blood elixir is poured into the Huangpu River while Bai Ze is giving birth, it will certainly affect Bai Ze. Not only will it harm the fetus in its womb, but Bai Ze itself will be vulnerable to attack, falling into a state of madness and berserk fury.
And once Bai Ze goes berserk in the Huangpu River... it would be a catastrophic disaster for all of Haizhou City."
"The Church of the Ancient Gods wants to pollute Bai Ze's fetus, then use Great Xia's Divine Beast to kill the people of Great Xia?" Cao Yuan's eyes turned ice cold. "These beasts!"
"Based on tracking from the 'fish seed,' apart from the three Church of the Ancient Gods members Seven Nights killed, the remaining five have already arrived at the Huangpu River. They're mixed among the crowd, quietly observing the water conditions.
They must have discovered that someone was hunting them, so they deliberately avoided being picked off one by one. They're waiting for Bai Ze to fully enter labor, then they'll strike simultaneously to interrupt the birth."
An Qingyu glanced at the time. "If this disaster is really caused by Bai Ze going berserk... then we have at most two minutes before Bai Ze gives birth."