# 1607
Chapter 1607: Director Lin, This is a Token of Our Appreciation…
"Snow Storage Plan?"
Hearing this unfamiliar name, both Xia Simeng and Wu "Old Dog" froze.
"Depriving special squads of their designation, authority, all rights including transportation and salary subsidies—only preserving the original special squad's personnel composition and archives, freezing them in storage until the Snow Storage Plan concludes." Lin Qiye explained the meaning of the "Snow Storage" plan. Everyone present seemed lost in thought.
"…What does that mean? I don't understand?" Su Zhe scratched his head, asking quietly.
"It means both the Night Squad and Mask Squad will only retain their names and members. All other benefits will be reclaimed. You can think of it as dissolving the team, but not disbanding it." Li Zhenzhen grew up in Squad 006 and was very familiar with these matters.
"Every special squad's existence consumes massive resources from the Night Watch. Commander Lin is directly contributing their two squads' resources, leaving them for new special squads… This method is also the first I've heard of. It should be Commander Lin using his director's authority to establish a brand new plan."
"He's not giving up the designation and resources. Even if we complete all the conditions, we still can't become true special squads…" Fang Mo sighed. "He's doing all this for us."
"I see… It's actually a good approach." Wu "Old Dog" nodded slightly.
Lin Qiye and Shen Qingzhu exchanged glances, a hint of a smile appearing at the corners of their mouths.
This plan was indeed proposed by Lin Qiye. Now that he was the director of the Special Operations Division, he did have the authority to formulate and modify certain things. Zuo Qing's decision to put him in charge of the Special Operations Division carried this deeper meaning.
This plan was the best possible choice for both the Night Squad and Mask Squad.
"Then next, I'll briefly assign the authority changes and work distribution for each special squad over the coming period…" Lin Qiye proceeded according to procedure, distributing documents to the two special squads and one reserve team present.
All special squads should be uniformly deployed by the director of the Special Operations Division. Back when Lin Qiye and the others were active, their missions were all issued by Zuo Qing.
And now, Lin Qiye had become the one issuing missions to other squads.
"Wait!" After flipping through the materials, Xia Simeng abruptly looked up. "Lin… Director Lin! This isn't fair! Why does our squad have the heaviest workload?"
Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow and said helplessly, "This can't be helped. The Medium Squad has already reached the apex and needs to simultaneously handle confronting foreign deities and defending the war passes. The reserve team's strength is still insufficient… Only your Phoenix Squad has enough personnel and time to conduct sweeps of 'Mysteries' within Great Xia."
"This, this…" Xia Simeng's face had already twisted into a bitter expression. She had gone to such lengths to come here, just to curry favor with Lin Qiye, to see if she could arrange some lighter work for them… Instead, she had directly become the model worker.
"Director Lin, we can actually share more tasks. Even more dangerous ones are fine."
On the other side, Fang Mo spoke seriously.
"These tasks are already dangerous enough for you. One must take things one step at a time." Lin Qiye shook his head. "This matter is settled for now. Shen Qingzhu and I will help share some of the pressure for the Phoenix Squad. You don't need to worry too much."
Xia Simeng's face was downcast as she sighed heavily.
"The meeting today ends here… If there are no issues, let's adjourn." Lin Qiye paused. "The Phoenix Squad stays behind."
Hearing the latter part of that sentence, Xia Simeng's heart suddenly lurched. She felt like she was back in school, being singled out by a teacher to stay after class…
She was nervous.
As the Medium Squad and Sixth Reserve Team departed, the only ones left in the conference room were Lin Qiye, Shen Qingzhu, and the Phoenix Squad cloaked in golden mantles.
"Director Lin, I know smoking in the conference room is wrong. In the future, I will definitely…"
Before Lin Qiye could speak, Xia Simeng had already started acknowledging her mistakes with her head bowed, sincere in attitude, fluent in speech, steady in rhythm—a clear indication of extensive experience in admitting faults.
Lin Qiye stared blankly for a long while, then said with a mixture of laughter and helplessness:
"Squad Leader Xia, you're overthinking it. I'm keeping you here because I have something specific to ask."
He pulled out a file and handed it to the Phoenix Squad. Xia Simeng finally relaxed, curious as she flipped through it.
"Six years ago, a girl named Chloe and a man shrouded entirely in smoke met with Commander Ye Fan before entering Great Xia… This file records that the Phoenix Squad was the one escorting them in and out."
"Oh, them." Xia Simeng nodded. "That's right, but I wasn't the squad leader back then. Sister Feng was."
"How much do you know about them?"
After racking her brains for a moment, Xia Simeng said, "That man was very strong—at least Chief God level. He was like a ghost. If he suppressed his presence, none of us could detect him… His gaze was piercing, like a hunter's. It was chilling.
As for the girl… well… she was beautiful, with fiery red hair, very fair skin, and a stunning figure—at least a C, maybe even a D…"
"Wait, that's not what I was asking." Lin Qiye interrupted Xia Simeng in time. "What about other aspects?"
"As for other aspects, I'm not sure… I couldn't sense her realm. She didn't talk much with us either, just smiled occasionally."
"What did they do while in Great Xia?"
"They just wandered around Great Xia, like they were looking for something. When the seven-day limit was up, they left."
"Looking for something?"
Lin Qiye fell into deep thought.
It could now be basically confirmed that the ones who visited Great Xia were Number 27 and the red-haired girl Chloe he had been searching for all along. However, what had happened after they returned to the mist? How had Chloe disappeared?
Originally, Lin Qiye had thought Chloe might be Number 27's old flame from this era… But based on the clues gathered over the past two days, this matter might not be so simple.
The legendary Sequence 001, Yerunde's proxy, had acted together with ancient ancestral gods. There were even records in Han Dynasty scrolls.
This girl was shrouded in layers of unknown mysteries, and Lin Qiye always had a feeling that she might also be connected to the little boy inside himself… The fact that they both appeared in Han Dynasty scrolls couldn't possibly be a mere coincidence.
"Alright, I understand." Lin Qiye nodded. "You may go back first."
Xia Simeng grinned and was about to turn to leave when, as if suddenly remembering something, she pulled out from behind her a soft-pack Chung Hwa cigarette wrapped in a big red plastic bag and mysteriously presented it to Lin Qiye:
"Director Lin, this is a token of our appreciation… Please accept it!"