# 1500
Chapter 1501: On the Hospital Bed
"Is it over?" Lin Qiye stood at the border of the mist, watching the black shadow disappear at the edge of his vision, and raised an eyebrow in astonishment. "Faster than I expected..."
"Maybe the Ancestral God's aura scared it off." Wang Mian let out a long breath, his silver-white hair drifting in the air. "During this period, Great Xia has suffered successive battles. Whether it's the Gods of Great Xia or the Night Watch, we've all been severely depleted... It will take a long time to recover."
Bang—!
Before Wang Mian's words finished, a burst of blood mist exploded from his back. His lips twitched slightly from the pain as he rewound time to one second prior.
"Does it hurt?" Lin Qiye couldn't help but ask upon seeing this.
"It hurts." Wang Mian paused. "But I'm almost used to it."
Lin Qiye gazed at that aged face, his expression complicated beyond words. He softly said, "You... have worked hard."
"Not at all. If I hadn't come this far, I wouldn't have been able to save my teammates." Wang Mian seemed to think of something, and a smile appeared on his pained face. "With the Law of Time and sufficient lifespan, I'll be able to bring the Mask Squad back soon."
This was the first time since Wang Mian had stepped into the Human Apex that Lin Qiye had seen such a smile on him—as if this was the motivation that had supported Wang Mian to persist until now.
Several streaks of light crossed the sky, flying directly toward the war fortress. They were the Human Apexes returning from the front lines.
"Wang Mian." Zuo Qing's figure halted mid-flight, noticing the two below. He descended slowly and said to Wang Mian, "Lingbao Tianzun is waiting for you at Heavenly Court."
"Waiting for me?" Wang Mian was slightly stunned. "Alright, I understand."
"Commander Zuo, where are you heading?" Lin Qiye asked.
"The battle here has come to an end. I need to return to Chennan Pass for a while. Shao Pingge and the others are still there." Zuo Qing pointed to the aircraft inside the fortress. "Want to come along?"
After a moment of thought, Lin Qiye nodded and followed behind Zuo Qing. Barring any unexpected circumstances, An Qingyu, Jiang Er, and Cao Yuan should all be at Chennan Pass. He hadn't returned for so long; they must be anxious with worry. Since Commander Zuo was going back anyway, he might as well hitch a ride.
...
Chennan Pass.
Command Center.
"Phew..." Shao Pingge lay in the office chair, letting out a long breath as his entire body relaxed lazily. "They're finally back... If they'd taken any longer, I would've died from exhaustion. Being the acting commander is no joke. Even the chair is so hard—it's not comfortable to lie on at all."
Sitting across from him, Yuan Gang silently rolled his eyes. "You? Exhausted? My ass! Who do you think handled all the documents these past few days?! I'm the one who's been acting as temporary commander! You've been sleeping here the whole time!"
"Ah yes yes, what Commander Yuan says is correct." Shao Pingge replied with extreme perfunctoriness, smiling.
Upon hearing that Zuo Qing and the others had returned, everyone at Chennan Pass relaxed. The consecutive battles had worn them all down both physically and mentally. At this moment, the return of the Gods of Great Xia and numerous Human Apexes undoubtedly gave them a great sense of security.
"By the way, Commander Zuo just sent word that we can pull the people from Chennan Pass back. Let them return to their respective posts for a proper rest."
"Pull them all back? Won't that cause problems? What if the Olympian Gods or the Cthulhu Faction attacks?"
"Who knows? Maybe the Gods of Great Xia have their own plans." Shao Pingge shrugged. "But I think there won't be any attacks for a while. The Black Goat's army was scared off by the return of the Gods of Great Xia—they'll need time to regroup. As for Olympus... Heh, they should be figuring out how to hide from us, not attack us. We haven't even settled the score for exiling our gods yet."
Yuan Gang nodded slightly. "So, we can go back too?"
"We can't. I have to stay at the front to maintain the Dream Net, in case any vultures try to sneak into Great Xia."
"???" Yuan Gang's eyes went wide. "You're staying, so what does that have to do with 'us'?"
"If I'm staying, how could you possibly feel okay leaving alone for vacation?"
"Huh?"
Just as the two were bickering, a familiar figure walked in from outside, smiling as they watched the scene.
Catching a glimpse of that person in his peripheral vision, Shao Pingge immediately cleared his throat. "Commander Zuo."
"Commander Zuo." Yuan Gang quietly put away his sandbag-sized fist and stood behind Shao Pingge.
Lin Qiye followed behind Zuo Qing, also smiling as he watched these two. On his way here, his spiritual power had already taken in the entire previous scene.
"How's it feel being acting commander?" Zuo Qing asked with a smile.
"Don't even mention it. There's a mountain of troublesome matters, and the pressure is enormous—I can't even get a peaceful night's sleep..." Shao Pingge grumbled and complained for quite a while. Behind him, Yuan Gang's eyes were about to burst from瞪着.
Troublesome?! You didn't even look at a single document, you bastard?!
"...Sigh, I've been used to a leisurely life. This commander position is truly unbearable." Shao Pingge shook his head. "Lucky you're back."
Shao Pingge immediately stood up from the chair, yielding it to Zuo Qing, as though it were something scalding hot that he didn't want to remain on for even a second longer.
Zuo Qing didn't seem surprised by this. He smiled. "By the way, how's the matter I just notified you about coming along?"
"It's already been distributed. They should be packing up and preparing to return to their respective posts."
"And the remains of the fallen heroes?"
"Those have all been sent back as well. By my estimation, they should arrive before the others."
Zuo Qing nodded slightly. "During this time, you've both worked hard."
"Captain Shao, where are my teammates?" Seeing that the two had finished their handover of official business, Lin Qiye finally spoke up.
At these words, Shao Pingge's footsteps faltered. He opened his mouth, his expression seemingly bitter.
"They..."
"Did something happen to them?" Seeing his expression, Lin Qiye's heart sank.
"...It's not exactly something happened... Come with me."
Shao Pingge sighed and walked toward the adjacent building. Lin Qiye followed closely behind.
A few minutes later, Shao Pingge arrived at the door of a medical room and gently knocked.
Knock knock knock—
Rustling sounds came from behind the door. A moment later, the door opened, revealing a haggard figure standing there. It was Cao Yuan.
"Captain Shao, you..." Cao Yuan's words trailed off as he caught a glimpse of someone behind Shao Pingge in his peripheral vision. Then, light blazed in his eyes.
"Qiye?! You're back?!"
Lin Qiye stood at the door of the medical room, his unease growing stronger. "Who got hurt?"
Cao Yuan opened his mouth but said nothing. He simply stepped back quietly. Lin Qiye quickened his pace and entered.
In the center of the room, on a bed in the middle of the white sheets, a figure lay quietly. Various instruments were connected to the body, emitting the rhythmic beeping sounds...