# 1760
Chapter 1753: The Seventh Commander-in-Chief
Shangjing City.
Lu Wuwei, wearing a space helmet, rode his electric scooter slowly down into the mountain wilderness of the suburbs.
"Haah... that battle was exhausting." Lu Wuwei took off his helmet and took a few deep breaths of Earth's fresh air, his whole body relaxing. "I'll rest for a day before going back to delivering food. First, let me find somewhere for a foot massage."
As Lu Wuwei rode his electric scooter out of the mountain gully, his phone suddenly rang.
"Hello?"
"..."
"Oh, Secretary Min? What do you need from me?"
"..."
"I understand. I'll be right there."
Lu Wuwei sighed, turned the scooter around toward the foot massage parlor, and headed straight for Night Watch headquarters.
When he arrived, Min Junliang had been waiting for quite some time.
"Thank you for the trouble, Mr. Lu."
Min Junliang apologized with a smile.
"Don't mention it. Get on, I'll take you to see him."
Lu Wuwei took out a new helmet from under the seat and put it on Min Junliang. The propellers of two little yellow ducks began spinning simultaneously as they flew toward the horizon...
The clouds slowly receded beneath the two of them. Min Junliang peered downward and couldn't help but speak up:
"Mr. Lu, can we go faster?"
"This is full speed already."
"..." Min Junliang's mouth twitched. "Mr. Lu, I've always had a question."
"What?"
"With your speed being this slow, how did you ride your scooter to space?"
"Master Chen's carriage tied me to it and pulled me up there."
Min Junliang: ヽー_ーノ6
The two rode their electric scooter, swaying gently through the air for a long while before slowly descending. By now, they had reached the northern border of Great Xia.
They passed through mountains and forests, heading all the way toward Fengdu. After driving past the empty Ghost Street, they finally stopped in front of a grand hall.
Lu Wuwei took off his helmet and gestured toward the hall with his chin:
"He's inside."
Min Junliang frowned in confusion. He walked to the heavy palace door, pressed both hands against it, and pushed hard!
Creeeak--!!
The ancient gate of the netherworld slowly opened. Inside the dim, cold hall, a figure dressed in a bright red Zhuangyuan official robe stood in a daze before two coffins, motionless as a sculpture.
Seeing that person, Min Junliang's eyes lit up. He hurried inside.
"Bureau Chief?"
"Bureau Chief Lin Qiye?!"
Min Junliang walked up to him and called out twice before those hollow eyes finally came back to focus.
Lin Qiye rubbed his reddened eyes. He looked utterly haggard.
He spoke hoarsely: "I know you. You're Commander Zuo's secretary... Why are you here?"
Min Junliang's expression immediately grew serious. "I've come to invite you back. To take command of Night Watch."
Lin Qiye was stunned for a moment, then spoke in disbelief:
"Take command of Night Watch? Me?"
"That's right. Commander Zuo has fallen on the Moon. Night Watch needs a new leader. Before he left, he left behind an交接 document. If anything happened to him, you would become Night Watch's seventh Commander-in-Chief."
"Why me? I remember him saying before that my position on the list of commander candidates wasn't very high."
"That was before." Min Junliang took a document from his chest and handed it to Lin Qiye. "You've served as Chief of the Special Operations Department, giving you some high-level management experience. More importantly, Commander Zuo read an ancient scroll from the Western Han period...
He said that although he doesn't know what the 【Covenant】 is, he's heard of the existence of the chess game. And you... you might be the person behind that chess game.
Commander Zuo left Night Watch to you, hoping that you can maximize Night Watch's resources and manpower to help you complete this chess game... Night Watch needs you, and you also need Night Watch."
Lin Qiye stared at the succession list in his hands, frozen in place.
His name, which had originally been fifth, had been highlighted in red and moved directly to first place... From the moment Zuo Qing died on the Moon, he was Night Watch's seventh Commander-in-Chief.
"Please return to the capital, Commander Lin, to lead Night Watch." Min Junliang spoke with the utmost solemnity.
Lin Qiye gazed at the document for a long while, his hands clenching tightly... In those dim, dejected eyes, a determined light gradually flickered to life.
"Alright." Lin Qiye spoke calmly. "I accept this appointment."
Min Junliang's eyes brightened. "Excellent! I'll prepare the Commander's inauguration ceremony right away!"
"Wait."
Min Junliang疑惑地回过头来。
"Where is the inauguration ceremony usually held?"
"Shangjing, of course."
"This time, let's change the location..."
"Where to?"
Lin Qiye raised his head, looking into the distance, and spoke word by word:
"Mount Jiuhua."
...
Two days later.
Mount Jiuhua.
The cold, desolate autumn wind swept across the stone steps. Crimson maple leaves raged through the mountains.
Beneath the heavy clouds, the summit of Mount Jiuhua was already filled with people. Distant thunder rumbled, muffling their whispered conversations. Occasional flashes of lightning streaked across the sky.
"Never thought this day would actually come."
Fang Mo draped in a dark red cloak, a Straight Blade hanging at his waist, with a Night Watch Coat of Arms neatly pinned on his left chest, gleaming in the lightning.
"Yeah... Instructor Lin became Commander-in-Chief, so we're basically his personal troops now, right?" Su Zhe couldn't help but sigh. "Instructor Lin... Oh, I mean, Commander Lin will probably look out for us. At least getting leave will be easier?"
"You're thinking too much. The line of people wanting leave isn't just ours." Li Zhenzhen glanced meaningfully at a higher platform nearby, where eight golden cloaks rippled in the wind, and whispered quietly.
"By the way, it's my first time seeing this many Night Watch members."
"That's normal. After all, it's the inauguration ceremony for the new Commander-in-Chief. Every Night Watch squad from every city in Great Xia had to send someone. Add all the special squads and reserve teams, plus the Night Watch high command... even the Human Apexes came to observe. This is truly a grand occasion!"
"Too bad we're just reserve members... If we could get promoted to a special squad, we'd be able to get even closer."
"We're only one step away from promotion. Work hard, everyone. The sooner we become a real special squad, the sooner we can help Lord Qiye." Fang Mo spoke seriously.
"Got it, got it... Oh, here he comes."
As if sensing something, everyone turned their gazes toward the mountain path.
Creeeak--
Thunder rolled, red leaves swirled wildly.
In the biting cold wind, a deep red cloak was slowly making its way up the stone steps.
At the sight of that figure, every Night Watch member simultaneously straightened their backs, gazing solemnly ahead. The entire summit of Mount Jiuhua fell so silent that only the wind and thunder remained.