# 1904
Chapter 1897: The Meeting
Night Watch Headquarters.
Knock knock knock—!
"Come in."
The door to the Commander's office opened, and Min Junliang stood at the entrance with a girl wearing a baseball cap beside him.
"Commander, Miss Chloe has arrived."
Inside the office, the Seraph Lin Qiye and the Fate Monk both turned their heads. Two identical faces looked toward Chloe, who instinctively took a step back, her eyes filled with confusion.
Just as she was about to say something, a familiar voice came from behind her.
"Long time no see. I thought it would be a few more days before you arrived."
Chloe turned around to find another face identical to Lin Qiye's. Beside him stood a silver-haired girl in a cape, eyeing her curiously.
Chloe glanced at Lin Qiye, then at the Seraph Lin Qiye in the office, and at the expressionless Fate Monk... She rubbed her temples and murmured to herself:
"Oh no... It seems the Second Covenant took too much out of me. I'm seeing double."
Lin Qiye: ...
"Wait, you carry my Covenant, so you're Lin Qiye... Then who are the other two?" Chloe asked, bewildered, looking into the office.
"The one on the left is my分身 (incarnation), and the one on the right is Fate... that is, the【既定之果 (Fated Fruit)】." Lin Qiye explained.
"【Fated Fruit】?" Chloe studied the Fate Monk and spoke in surprise, "He's that clay statue Buddha from back then?"
"That is me."
The Fate Monk spoke calmly.
"Tsk tsk... I have to say, the three of you standing together is quite a sight." Jinian couldn't help but comment. "So, who's going to be on the receiving end of my bombardment? Taking turns, or should I blast one person five times?"
Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow and pointed at the Fate Monk without hesitation:
"Just him alone."
Fate Monk: ???
"This is Oath Society's President Jinian, and this is the missionary of the Western Holy Church, Chloe." Lin Qiye then introduced the two to each other. Jinian took the initiative to extend his hand, shaking with Chloe.
"President Jinian, I've actually known about you for a long time." Chloe said with a smile.
Jinian froze. "We've met? When?"
"Many years ago, when you were just a little tyke. Back then, you walked into the Mist all alone from Great Xia, and you weren't even as tall as my knee." A trace of nostalgia flashed in Chloe's eyes.
"After I found you, I was worried something might happen to you, so I secretly followed you for a while. Later, when I saw you alone causing chaos in an entire 'Human Enclosure,' I realized you were no ordinary person and left on my own."
Chloe, like Lin Qiye, was someone who had survived two thousand years. The difference was that Lin Qiye had spent most of those two millennia within Great Xia, while Chloe had traveled between various countries—she could be considered an old relic of the Mist.
Upon hearing Chloe's words, Jinian's jaw dropped in shock.
"Well, let's go inside and talk."
The group entered the office. The Seraph incarnation casually moved to a corner, closing its eyes like a statue.
Lin Qiye, the Fate Monk, Jinian, and Chloe gathered around the desk. A massive map of Great Xia was spread across it, covered in密密麻麻 (countless) marks and notations that made one's head spin.
"When I came here, I saw quite a bit of news along the way." Chloe seemed to have thought of something. "I assumed that after the Mist cleared, you would immediately come forward and inform the general public about the existence of gods and the Night Watch... But from what I see, they still don't seem to know you exist? Is that part of your plan?"
Lin Qiye nodded. "From the activation of the Second Covenant, to the Mist clearing, and the subsequent public response—over these past few years, we've already run through many simulations. So far, everything is proceeding according to plan."
"Why don't you just announce your existence directly and tell them the truth?" Jinian asked, puzzled. "With such a large population in Great Xia, shouldn't informing them of the truth help you gain quite a bit of faith power?"
"It's not that simple." The Fate Monk shook his head. "Faith isn't something that appears the moment you grab someone and tell them they need to believe in a certain being... Chloe should understand this better than anyone."
Chloe spoke thoughtfully.
"That's right. To be honest, back in the day, the Western Holy Church had an enormous number of believers. But in reality, only a very small portion of them could actually generate faith... The emergence of faith requires pure and sincere prayer. And people can only achieve that when they are in distress or confusion, needing some kind of entity to anchor their spirit.
Actually, in a way, your【Utopia】is also a source of faith. A large portion of the residents living there were personally rescued by you from despair. You gave them freedom, gave them hope, protected them and allowed them to survive in the dangerous Mist—for them, you are their faith.
But for Great Xia, people have never had the concept of faith to begin with. If you were to suddenly announce the existence of gods and the Night Watch, it might only spark their curiosity. If you were to excessively promote how great you are, it might actually cause resentment..."
Jinian thought carefully about this, and it seemed to make sense.
It was like randomly grabbing someone on the street and telling them, "Actually, I've been your protector for a hundred years. You're only alive because of me. You need to have faith in me."... That person would have to be crazy to believe it.
Coupled with how advanced internet technology was nowadays, with all sorts of people online, Jinian could already imagine several kinds of bizarre comments:
【What Night Watch is this (#disgusted)? Never heard of them...】
【No way anyone actually believes this, right? (#sweat)(#sweat)(#sweat) 'Transcending gods with mortal flesh'? Honestly, I don't believe there's anything a nuclear bomb can't solve.】
【You just making stuff up, huh? If they can cut down a god right in front of me, I'll livestream myself washing my hair upside down! My stream ID is 39666...】
【I served in the military before, spent two years climbing to garrison commander, commanding several elite special forces units. Honestly, I've never heard of any Night Watch. Don't let people feed you propaganda.】
【The scriptwriting is this obvious? (#awkward) Must be some capital-facilitated concept hype. I bet they'll start livestreaming product sales tomorrow...】
"So what are you planning to do?" Jinian couldn't help but ask.
"Do what we need to prepare, and then... let things unfold naturally."
Lin Qiye turned to look out the window. "We don't need to forcefully promote ourselves, nor do we need to pursue faith... Since this world will eventually have to face the truth anyway, we just need to do our part. The rest will come naturally."