# 1769
Chapter 1769: Minister Chen Han
Lin Qiye nodded slightly.
"You are now the Commander-in-Chief of the Night Watch, not the captain of [Nightfall]... You need to defend Great Xia. Isn't the situation in the Mist being handled by the two special squads, [Knights] and [Demons]?" Fate Monk果断果断 shook his head firmly.
"If absolutely necessary, let Wang Mian go with them. With his abilities, he can at least ensure they come back alive."
"I've already done that... but I still feel uneasy." Lin Qiye paused for a moment.
"Moreover, it's time we settled the score with Olympus..."
"You're planning to move against Olympus?"
"That's right."
Hearing Lin Qiye respond so readily, Fate Monk frowned slightly and didn't respond directly. Instead, he asked,
"Any leads on An Qingyu and those Cthulhu Faction gods?"
"No. My angel avatar has been monitoring the Mist above Earth this whole time, but I've never detected their movements... Over these four years, it's like they've vanished."
"They can't have vanished. They must be hiding somewhere we don't know about, secretly plotting something... Olympus isn't much of a threat to us, nor are those wandering Outer Gods in the Mist. What we truly fear are the Cthulhu deities lurking in the shadows.
If the Mist is a mountain, then Olympus and those Outer Gods are just snakes, insects, tigers, and leopards coiled around it. We have no idea if behind them lurks a hunter with a rifle, waiting for the right moment to strike."
"But to face the hunter head-on in battle, we must first clear out those obstructive creatures, don't we?" Lin Qiye's voice was deep. "If we don't eliminate those snakes and insects, we never know when they'll bite back. As long as they remain, we can never fully unleash our potential...
Furthermore, they have a [Black Goat] capable of corrupting gods. If we don't hunt the gods preemptively, they'll eventually become Cthulhu Faction cannon fodder."
Fate Monk lowered his head, staring at the chessboard as if calculating something.
Lin Qiye picked up a white piece and placed it at a certain intersection of the tangled battlefield. Instantly, it tore away a cluster of black pieces, leaving an empty zone on the board.
"In terms of computational power, I'm far inferior to you, but sometimes excessive caution leads to passivity.
The 'Divine Hunt' plan is my way of testing the Mist's chess game using Great Xia's strength. We've consecutively hunted nine deities, yet we haven't flushed out the opponent hidden deep in the board, which means our opponent is more patient than us...
Since that's the case, let's quickly clear away those obstructive snakes and insects. First, it permanently eliminates future troubles. Second, it prevents them from using these cannon fodder against us. And third, it might force the true chess player to reveal themselves."
"What you're proposing is indeed feasible, just somewhat radical..." Fate Monk meditated for a long time, hesitating as he spoke. "Perhaps we could take a compromise approach."
"What do you mean?"
"Since your 'Divine Hunt' plan is meant to beat the mountain to frighten the tiger, then before we enter the mountain, let's give it one more powerful shake."
"Shake it again? You mean hunt another deity?"
"That kind of shaking is too light... We need to let all the deities in the Mist know what we're doing. This will throw those snakes and insects on the mountain into chaos, and make the true opponent in the Mist reveal their tracks."
"In short, we need to make a big splash..."
Lin Qiye's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were contemplating something seriously. A moment later, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
"I know what to do."
Shangjing City.
Squad 006's garrison.
"So this is the Night Watch garrison in Shangjing City... it's actually a siheyuan?" Two recruits followed behind a Night Watch member, their eyes scanning the courtyard with excitement. "This location, this area—wouldn't it be worth at least a hundred million?
Senior Xu Liao, is our squad this rich?"
Xu Liao, walking ahead of the two recruits, smiled. "Where would we get that kind of money? This siheyuan was already Squad 006's garrison before real estate prices in Shangjing City skyrocketed. Back then, property was cheap. The headquarters allocated it directly to us... All things considered, it's been here for a hundred years.
The Night Watch members who've come and gone from this place might be more than you've seen in your entire lives."
The two recruits nodded as if understanding.
"You two are standouts from this term's training camp, but here at Squad 006, that reputation doesn't mean much. You still need to calm down and learn from the captain properly, understood?"
"Understood." One recruit nodded vigorously, then seemed to remember something. "Senior Xu Liao, where's our captain?"
"The captain is in his study reviewing documents." Xu Liao pointed toward a study at the deepest part of the siheyuan. "Our Captain Chen is not only the captain of Squad 006 stationed in Shangjing City, but also the Minister of the Night Watch's Comprehensive Personnel Department. Besides the special squads, he oversees all Night Watch teams within Great Xia. He's one of the seven high-ranking officials."
The two recruits' jaws dropped in shock. "That impressive?"
"Yeah, so he has a lot of work on his plate. Generally, try not to bother him unless necessary..."
Before Xu Liao could finish, the study door swung open, and a man in a military coat walked out.
He caught sight of the two recruits behind Xu Liao and raised an eyebrow:
"Mu Shengyuan, Mao Qingxia?"
"Good day, Captain!" The two recruits immediately stood at attention. "Captain, you know us?"
"No nonsense—I was the one who transferred you here." Chen Han laughed lightly, his gloved hands patting the two men's shoulders. "Xu Liao, take them on a tour first. I have a meeting at headquarters."
Xu Liao froze. "The high-level meeting wasn't just two days ago?"
"It's not a regular meeting. The Commander has an emergency meeting, and all seven ministers need to attend."
"Emergency meetings are rare... Go ahead then, I'll take care of them." Xu Liao nodded repeatedly.
Chen Han reached out and grabbed at empty air. A black horse wreathed in ghostly flames materialized beneath him. He stepped into the stirrups and mounted in one fluid motion.
He pulled the reins with a light flick. In the next instant, the man and horse vanished like phantoms from the courtyard.
"X-X-Xu Liao senior..." One of the recruits pointed in the direction of Chen Han's departure, stammering. "Captain Chen... he was..."
"Stay calm." Xu Liao shrugged nonchalantly.
"Isn't he just a Human Apex... The captain took that step last year."
Chen Han rode his Netherworld Black Horse silently through the streets of Shangjing. The people around seemed utterly oblivious to his presence. When he stopped again, he had already arrived beneath the headquarters building.
He dispersed the horse with a wave of his hand and quickly ascended the stairs. When he pushed open the conference room door, five figures were already seated neatly around a round table.