# 1666
Chapter 1666
In the endless darkness, the familiar sensation of falling once again enveloped Lin Qiye. His eyes were tightly shut, his face full of unease and anger, as if he was still drowning in some nightmare.
A patch of white, like spilled ink, spread through the darkness, and a little boy who appeared to be only six or seven years old slowly floated out from within it.
He didn't wake Lin Qiye. Instead, he studied him carefully, his gaze traveling up along his body to where a幽绿色的 progress bar floated in the black.
"Lin Qiye Treatment Progress: 49%"
"This time... it's been a bit faster than usual." The little boy pondered.
Just then, Lin Qiye, floating in the darkness, suddenly contorted his expression. His eyes flew open, his body tumbling from mid-air, doubling over on the empty ground as he gasped frantically.
"Cough cough cough cough cough..."
The little boy watched Lin Qiye gasp and cough violently, his eyebrows lifting slightly. "He actually woke up on his own..."
Lin Qiye coughed for half a minute on the ground before a hint of color returned to his pale face. He looked around, and upon seeing the little boy standing tall in the endless darkness, froze in place.
"Again... I died again?"
"Yes... I think I died..."
Lin Qiye seemed to recall something, his expression growing complicated. He slowly stood up and looked at the little boy who bore such a striking resemblance to himself, asking in confusion:
"Who exactly are you? What relation do you have to me? Why are you inside my body? Was the patient in the last ward of the asylum you?"
Ever since waking up last time, Lin Qiye had been pondering the little boy's identity. He had searched through the entire Night Watch headquarters but found no information about him. These questions had been weighing on his mind—he had even considered deliberately dying to come here and ask him...
Now that he had seen the boy again, he certainly couldn't let this opportunity slip. He asked all his doubts in one breath.
"You have too many questions." The little boy shook his head. "More than those, you should be concerned about yourself..."
"Me?"
"You're about to die."
"Don't I die every time I come here anyway?"
"You die, so how can you see me?" The little boy's expression remained unchanged. "Right now, you're in a state of 'lingering.' The first few times, I could help you return, but I told you last time—that was the last time I could help you...
So this time, you can only rely on yourself."
"Rely on myself? What should I do?"
"Retrieve what belongs to you. Only then will you have a fighting chance."
"What belongs to me?" Lin Qiye thought for a moment, as if something occurred to him. "You mean... my Forbidden Ruins?"
The little boy nodded slightly.
"But I can't feel it right now. It's never appeared... Even when I used 'Ghost God Guide,' it wasn't activated." Lin Qiye's face was full of confusion. "Does it... really exist?"
"Of course it exists. 'Ghost God Guide' can't activate it because it's too massive. Medicine can't possibly wake it, and the probability of natural awakening is close to zero."
Hearing this, Lin Qiye's expression shifted微妙ly.
No wonder he hadn't awakened his own Forbidden Ruins yet... It was because it was too strong? And both he and Ghost God Guide weren't qualified?
"In that case, how do I awaken it?"
"Ordinary methods won't work, naturally, but right now, you have a helper." The little boy stretched out his hand and pointed above Lin Qiye's head.
Lin Qiye looked up and saw the familiar progress bar. He froze in place.
The progress bar had actually come here with him? And it didn't seem to be flickering like it did outside—in this pitch-black space, the panel was exceptionally stable.
"You mean... the lottery?" Lin Qiye asked with some worry. "Is the Asylum of the Gods not here, can I still draw?"
"Yes."
"But the treatment progress is still 1% short..."
The little boy gazed at Lin Qiye, silence stretching for a long while. Then he beckoned to him.
"Come."
Lin Qiye was startled. Though somewhat confused, he still stepped toward the little boy. He crossed the boundless darkness around him, his feet stepping into that pure white realm, standing face to face with the little boy.
This was the first time Lin Qiye had observed the little boy at such close range. The boy's height only reached his waist. Looking down, every detail on the boy's face was clearly visible to him.
Looking at him, Lin Qiye felt as if he was looking into a mirror of his childhood. It wasn't simply a matter of looking alike... Lin Qiye was almost certain—this was what he looked like as a child.
"Sit down." The little boy spoke again.
Lin Qiye hummed in acknowledgment and sat cross-legged. The little boy sat down as well.
In this boundless darkness, two Lin Qiyes sat on a patch of bright white, facing each other.
"Tell me about your experiences."
"What?"
"Your story. I want to hear it."
"My story?" Lin Qiye thought about it. "Which part do you want to hear?"
"All of it."
"That's a very long story."
"It doesn't matter. Here, we have enough time."
Seeing that the little boy's expression wasn't joking, Lin Qiye didn't refuse. "From when should I start?"
"Start from when you went to your aunt's house at age seven."
"Okay." Lin Qiye nodded. "I don't remember much from my childhood, so I'll just pick a few things to briefly tell you... When I arrived at my aunt's house, A Jin was still an infant..."
Lin Qiye recalled the past earnestly, narrating unhurriedly. The little boy sat before him, chin propped on one hand, listening very attentively.
Here, time seemed meaningless, and no one disturbed them—only Lin Qiye's voice echoed continuously.
"...Later, I met that man. His name was Zhao Kongcheng. Our first meeting was on the way home, when there were two Faceless Men..."
"...Squad 136 was the place I missed most after becoming a Night Watcher. Our captain was called Chen Muye..."
"...Cangnan was fake. The people living here all existed because of me. After my aunt died, I went mad. I underwent treatment in the Purification Chamber for a long time. Later, they found me, and we planned our escape together... We were the only ones in nearly a century to successfully escape. Perhaps from the moment we stepped over the wall, our fates were bound together..."
"...Our name was [Nightfall]..."
A look of nostalgia appeared in Lin Qiye's eyes. From the point he became a Night Watcher, his narration grew more detailed. He told the little boy how they had broken through the Human Enclosure and Takamagahara, how they had escaped death from paradise and hell, how they had destroyed Asgard, how they had fought side by side at Chennan Pass...
The little boy listened quietly to his story. In those silent eyes, a rare flicker of emotion appeared. The corners of his lips lifted slightly, as if he had become immersed in it.
At the same time, neither of them noticed that in this deathly silent black world, the progress bar above Lin Qiye's head had silently moved forward one notch.
"Lin Qiye Treatment Progress: 50%"