# 519
**Chapter 519: The Secret Watcher**
“Vice-captain, it changed direction again!”
Mid-air, Qi Xiaoyu, who had been speeding in a certain direction, opened her eyes, her expression odd.
“It changed again?!” Han Qing exclaimed. “It’s shifted routes twice in less than half an hour. Where the hell is it trying to go?”
“No idea…”
“Vice-captain, I kinda feel like… it’s toying with us?” Yang Letong said uncertainly. “Every time we’re about to catch up, it suddenly veers off in another direction. Does it know we can sense its location?”
Han Qing frowned in thought.
“Any word from Zhao Kun’s side?”
“Not yet. They’re still pulling up the files, but it should be soon,” Yang Letong replied.
Han Qing sighed. “No choice. Keep chasing. With our speed, no matter how many times it changes direction, it won’t escape under our noses. It’s only a matter of time before we catch up.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
…
007 Squad Base.
Zhao Kun’s eyes were locked on the computer screen, where a progress bar crawled forward.
The Night Watch database stored records of every “mystery” that had appeared in Great Xia over the past century, categorized and managed by AI. Keyword searches could be run via the internal network—the vaguer the keywords, the slower the search.
And if the “mystery” had never appeared in the past hundred years, even a full sweep might return nothing but a blank file.
This time, all 007 Squad had to go on was the creature’s appearance, so the search was taking a while.
“Found it!” Chen Linlin suddenly stood up from another computer.
Zhao Kun rushed over, and they read the pulled file together.
“Secret Watcher… appeared once twelve years ago in Cangnan City…” Zhao Kun scanned the file, his gaze finally freezing on its Forbidden Ruins. His pupils narrowed.
“This ability…”
He looked up, met Chen Linlin’s equally shocked eyes, and the two strode outside.
As he stepped out the door, Zhao Kun pulled out his phone and dialed Han Qing.
The call rang twice before it was picked up.
“Hey, Vice-captain Han, I found the file on this ‘mystery’. It—”
*Snap—!!*
Before he could finish, a crisp finger-snap sounded beside him.
In the next instant, the surrounding air was sucked away.
In the vacuum, Zhao Kun’s voice cut off. He and Chen Linlin’s pupils shrank as they whipped their hands to the Straight Blades at their waists.
Enemy attack!
“Cosmic Chaos.”
Outside the vacuum zone, a figure wearing a Zhu Bajie mask slowly pressed a hand to the void. A black-and-white Taiji Bagua diagram unfurled.
The two Straight Blades suddenly shook violently, tore free, and flew straight toward the masked figure at the center of the diagram.
The two stood frozen.
Before they could react, twin high-pressure air hammers slammed into the backs of their heads. Their vision went black, and they lost consciousness…
Air flowed again. Baili Pangpang stepped up to them, expression complicated.
“Bro, isn’t this a bit much?”
Beside him, Shen Qingzhu strolled over, cigarette between his lips. “What’s wrong with it? This is still a contest. We’re just sharing intel, not hurting anyone.”
“What if they wake up and refuse to tell us?”
“Who said we’re waiting for them to tell us?”
Baili Pangpang blinked. “If they don’t tell us, how do we get the info?”
Shen Qingzhu clapped his shoulder, walked over, and picked up the phone on the ground. He exhaled a long stream of smoke that drifted in the air.
“Watch and learn.”
…
Groggy, Zhao Kun opened his eyes.
“Ugh…” He rubbed the back of his head; it still throbbed. He was still at the building’s entrance, and judging by the light, he’d been out for less than ten minutes.
“Linlin, wake up.”
He shook Chen Linlin, who lay beside him.
She groaned and slowly opened her eyes, looking around in confusion, brows knitted.
“Did we just… get ambushed?”
“Yeah.” Zhao Kun hesitated. “But the attacker wore a mask—no ID. Probably Fifth Reserve Squad.”
“Why’d they sneak-attack us?!” Chen Linlin pouted indignantly.
“Strange thing is, after knocking us out, they didn’t do anything.” Zhao Kun picked up his Straight Blade and phone, expression odd. “What were they after…”
“Let’s report to the vice-captain… including the ambush.”
“Mm.”
Zhao Kun dialed; the other end picked up instantly.
“Crackle… hello?” Han Qing’s voice came through.
“Vice-captain Han, we found the file on that ‘mystery’,” Zhao Kun said gravely. “Black silhouette, red eyes, humanoid, highly intelligent, can possess ordinary people… it’s the [Secret Watcher].”
“[Secret Watcher]?” Surprise colored Han Qing’s voice.
“Yes. Its Forbidden Ruins is Sequence 043—[Eye of Secret Sight]. That red eye can see the past, present, and future of any non-living object.
It glanced at a stage-side surveillance camera and already saw the camera’s future—saw us pulling the footage and spotting it.
It’s a ‘mystery’ that can, to a degree, predict the future!”
“No wonder…”
“In the past century, only one [Secret Watcher] has appeared in Great Xia—twelve years ago in Cangnan City. The local 136 Squad chased it for half a month and never caught it. Then it vanished on its own.
The one we’re seeing now is very likely that same creature. It didn’t arrive today—it’s been hiding somewhere all this time, only now releasing its aura because it wants us to find it!”
“Mm, anything else?”
Zhao Kun hesitated. “One more thing in the file bothers me… When it appeared twelve years ago, it claimed to be a servant of some supreme being, saying it came on that being’s orders.”
“Supreme being…” The voice on the line paused. “Got it. Anything else?”
“No.” Zhao Kun suddenly remembered. “Oh, Vice-captain, we were ambushed by Fifth Reserve Squad.”
“Really?”
“They knocked us out but did nothing… I can’t figure it out.”
“Exactly. You’re not supposed to figure it out.”
“…?” Zhao Kun asked, confused, “Vice-captain, what do you mean?”
A faint crackle came over the line, and Han Qing’s voice shifted into a cool, melodious girl’s voice.
“I said—thanks for the intel. I’ll treat you to late-night snacks later~”