# 846
Chapter 847: Unsavory Fish Cake
Lu Baoyou was stunned.
Watching Lin Qiye's retreating figure, he suddenly realized that between himself and the other man, whether in strength, insight, or depth of thinking, they were simply not on the same level.
Lin Qiye wasn't even that much older than him, but for some reason, standing before him, Lu Baoyou felt like a child.
Immature, superficial, completely led by the nose.
"...Alright." After a long silence, Lu Baoyou finally spoke the word.
As Lin Qiye had said, he couldn't abandon his soul for the sake of these intangible things. He was also a living, breathing human being, with the right to pursue life.
And the three chances Lin Qiye had given him allowed him to achieve a stable equilibrium between the survival of Great Xia and his own life and death.
He could do what he wanted to do, and also had the opportunity to pursue the qualification to survive.
"Over there is the dormitory building. Find yourself a room, get settled, then come to the cafeteria. I'll handle the other instructors." With these words, Lin Qiye vanished on the spot.
Lu Baoyou stood alone before the empty dormitory building, staring at the spot where Lin Qiye had disappeared. After an unknown length of time, he murmured to himself.
"Someday, I'll catch up to you..."
...
"You're personally vouching for Lu Baoyou?"
On the phone, Yuan Gang's surprise was evident. "Is he really worth that much?"
"It's not for him, it's for Night Watch." Lin Qiye replied. "That boy's eyes hold something that other Night Watch members don't... Give him some more time. I think he'll grow to a level that surprises everyone."
"If that's the case, I can apply directly to the higher-ups to restore his recruit status. After all, he's a God's Proxy, and with you vouching for him, I think the leadership will agree..."
"No, that won't be necessary." Lin Qiye果断拒绝，"To forge a good blade, countless rounds of hammering are needed. Growing up too smoothly wouldn't be a good thing for him."
On the other end of the phone, Yuan Gang fell silent.
"Hello? Instructor Yuan, can you hear me?"
"I can hear you. I was just thinking about something." Yuan Gang laughed. "Seven Nights, have you noticed that you're becoming more and more like a certain someone..."
"Who?"
"Ye Fan."
Lin Qiye froze.
"Your vision, your perspective, your methods, the way you mentor the younger generation... You're a lot like Ye Fan in his younger days." Yuan Gang couldn't help but sigh. "Our Great Xia Night Watch is going to have another pillar of strength."
"You're too kind." Lin Qiye smiled helplessly. "I'm at the cafeteria now. Gotta go."
Lin Qiye hung up and looked up at the already packed cafeteria. After straightening his clothes, he walked inside.
...
Inside the cafeteria, new recruits filled every space.
After the escape training ended, the recruits who'd been locked in the dark rooms were also released. One by one, they stood like soulless corpses who'd lost all dreams, their eyes vacant, standing before the empty tables.
"Hey, what did you all go through in those dark rooms?" Su Zhe poked the comrade beside him, unable to resist asking.
"They... they..." The comrade's face went pale, as if recalling some terrible memory. He covered his face with both hands and answered in agony, "They used tentacles to tickle us..."
"What?!" Su Zhe blinked, thinking he'd misheard. "Tentacles? Tickling?"
"In that warehouse, there was a group of tentacle monsters. I don't know what kind of 'Mystery' they were exactly, but they had some strange kind of electricity on their bodies that could amplify a person's senses dozens of times. Do you have any idea how terrifying it is when the sensation of itching is amplified dozens of times?" Despair flickered in his comrade's eyes. "Countless times, I felt like my soul had already left my body..."
"That does sound pretty bad." Su Zhe felt a chill run through the soles of his feet. "But if it's just that, it doesn't seem all that terrifying, right?"
"No, of course that's not all." The comrade said seriously. "Tickling was only the first step. In that warehouse, there was a complete massage assembly line... After your senses were amplified dozens of times, every acupoint press, every needle puncture, every strike was torture!
After this round of 'massage,' almost everyone passed out two or three times. It was pure hellish torment!
I'd rather die in training... than go back in there."
In his comrade's eyes was a fear that came from the depths of his soul.
"What are those 'Mysteries' anyway? Do they even do massage?" Su Zhe complained.
"From what those 'Mysteries' were saying to each other, they seemed to come from some... Ministry of Internal Affairs? Leading them was a silver Rubik's cube, and those tentacle monsters were its subordinates."
"Ministry of Internal Affairs? What a weird name."
"..."
Just as they were talking, an elderly man with a dark complexion led several instructors in, pushing several carts of food, and began distributing dinner to the new recruits.
A stainless steel basin contained a piece of raw meat and a clump of something that looked like chocolate but also like bread—a black, semi-solid substance that emitted a faint sickly-green glow under the cafeteria's stark white lights, accompanied by a pungent, sour, foul smell.
"What's that thing?"
"I don't know... It smells terrible."
"Is this stuff edible?"
"No, edible things have a fresher smell than this, and generally wouldn't be this viscous unless..."
"Blech! Stop talking! Shut up!"
"..."
The new recruits皱眉看着面前的不锈钢盆，以及那两个根本算不上是食物的东西, unable to help exchanging glances, their faces full of confusion.
"Quiet."
An Qingyu stood at the entrance of the cafeteria, her gaze sweeping across the recruits. She spoke calmly.
The noisy cafeteria immediately fell silent.
"Eat."
Two simple, easy-to-understand words, but this time, the recruits' faces were full of confusion.
"Report!"
"Speak."
"Instructor An, where's... our food?"
"Food?" An Qingyu raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it right in front of you?"
"?"
The recruits looked at the stainless steel basins again. Several voices rang out simultaneously, "But there's nothing here that's actually edible!"
"Yeah, the meat is still raw, with blood on it..."
"What's this black mess? Why does it smell so weird?"
"Instructor An, did something get mixed up?"
Before An Qingyu could speak, Cao Yuan behind her raised his right hand and slammed it hard onto a nearby table.
Boom--!!
A dull roar echoed through the entire cafeteria. Cao Yuan's sharp gaze swept viciously over the surroundings, and the recruits immediately quieted down.
"Nothing was mixed up." An Qingyu adjusted her glasses and spoke calmly. "The raw meat in front of you, and the cement-flavored 'unsavory fish cake,' is tonight's dinner."