Chapter 1062
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Chapter 1062 Original Intention
Kayushi Border Defense Company.
Su Zhe sat alone on the top of the dormitory building, wrapped in a heavy military coat, staring blankly at the distant mountain ranges.
“I was wondering where you were. Looked all over the dormitory but couldn’t find you. So you came up here by yourself.”
Ko Changlin’s voice came from behind. He walked to Su Zhe’s side, patted him on the shoulder, and sat down, “Usually at this time, you should be sound asleep in bed, right? Something on your mind today?”
Su Zhe smiled helplessly, “I guess so… I just miss my mom a bit.”
Ko Changlin looked at him quietly, waiting for him to continue. At times like this, being a listener was far more appropriate than being an advisor.
“Back then, my mom was amazing. She was the best police officer in our city. Beautiful, tough in a fight—two or three male officers together couldn’t beat her. Most importantly, she was an incredible cook.
Let me tell you, the pancakes my mom made were just as good as your Ana’s, really.”
Su Zhe seemed to recall something, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.
“Back then, there was a rumor in our city’s police station and several neighboring ones that she was the ‘culinary goddess police beauty.’ The thing my sister and I looked forward to most was parent-teacher conferences. You have no idea how glorious it was when my mom walked into the classroom in her police uniform, looking so valiant.
Even though my grades were always at the bottom and I’d inevitably get a beating when I got home, it was worth it. After all, for me, parent-teacher conferences were just opportunities to show off my mom.”
Su Zhe’s smile grew increasingly radiant. He sat there grinning foolishly for a long time, then fell silent.
“And then?” Ko Changlin couldn’t help but ask.
“Then, she died. Shot in the heart by a drug dealer during a firefight. She didn’t even make it to the emergency room.”
Ko Changlin froze.
Su Zhe gazed into the distance, took a deep breath, bitterness appearing in his eyes. “After my mom’s accident, my sister and I relied on each other to survive. With government subsidies and a series of preferential policies, we lived fairly well.
During that time, I became increasingly depressed. I stopped going to school and just stayed at home all day eating and drinking, like a waste of space. But my sister seemed to become a different person.
When she was little, my sister loved drawing and Latin dance the most. She was very obedient, very well-behaved, and spoke gently. But after that incident, she started getting into extreme sports. She went free climbing, crossed deserts, skydiving…
We had several big arguments about it. You know, she never used to argue with me before.
Now that stubbornness of hers, that look in her eyes, is becoming more and more like my mom back then. This time when she received the Night Wa—ahem, received the military orders, she didn’t hesitate at all. Just packed her bags, ready to shoulder greater responsibilities like mom did, to protect more people.”
Su Zhe paused, letting out a long sigh. “But I don’t want her to be like that.”
“My mom already sacrificed herself for her duty to protect others. I don’t want my sister to follow in her footsteps. I know this thinking is weak and selfish.
But now, my sister is my whole world. I don’t have that selfless desire to protect others like they do. I just want to protect my sister, and that’s enough.
Uncle Changlin, someone like me, even if I became a guardian of a region, I’d just be a selfish anomaly. I don’t have that noble, selfless belief in defending the country… Perhaps I don’t belong here at all.”
Su Zhe said all this in one breath, and Ko Changlin didn’t interrupt once. He just quietly waited for him to finish, then gave Su Zhe a complex look.
He reached out and tapped Su Zhe’s forehead.
“Silly boy, do you know why in the phrase ‘protect family and defend country,’ ‘protect family’ comes first?” Ko Changlin gave him a meaningful look. “You’re just overthinking things…
To be honest, my education level isn’t that high, and my ideological awareness isn’t as noble as you might think. I only know that if this border line breaks, my Ana and two younger brothers would be in danger. The reason I stand here is to protect their safety. But aren’t thousands of small families together what makes our country?
Without families, where would the country be? Without the country, where would families be?
If you want to protect your sister, then do it. No matter what you face in the future, stay by her side. For you, she is the family you want to protect, isn’t she?
Besides, who says that people who come to guard the frontline must have noble and selfless initial intentions?
Old Li in the next dormitory, when he joined the army, his original intention was just to secure a stable job so he could find a wife back home. Old Yang on bed number two across from us joined the army simply because he thought being a soldier was cool. In their generation, every boy wanted to be a soldier—tall and mighty, how great!
Were their purposes noble? Not really. But do you think they would hesitate for even a moment if they had to sacrifice themselves on the battlefield?”
Su Zhe was stunned.
Ko Changlin patted him on the back and pointed toward the vast territory of Da Xia behind the border defense company.
“People grow. Perhaps everyone gathered here for different reasons, but when you look at the myriad lights of homes behind the border every day, you’ll understand that since we stand here, there are certain responsibilities and duties we must shoulder.”
Su Zhe stood still like a statue for a long time. The confusion in his eyes gradually faded, and the knot that had been troubling him untied, bringing sudden clarity.
He had indeed been overthinking.
He wanted to join the Night Watchers just to protect his sister. So what? Who said you couldn’t join the Night Watchers for your sister?
As for the responsibilities and duties after joining the Night Watchers, he would bear them. Having chosen this path, he would never regret it, regardless of the outcome.
Joining the Night Watchers for his sister and being a good Night Watcher were not mutually exclusive.
He took a deep breath, stood up from the rooftop, and solemnly said to Ko Changlin: “Thank you, Uncle Changlin. I understand now.”
Boom—!!
Before his words faded, a thunderous sound came from the distance. The boundary of the time silhouette instantly covered the border defense company and spread toward the misty border to the west.
Under the cover of the time silhouette, the mist returned to its appearance from a hundred years ago, retreating dozens of miles from the Da Xia border. Its density increased tenfold, the pitch-black fog approaching the border defense like a beast, emitting a terrifying aura that made it hard to breathe.
“The mist retreated?! What’s happening?”
Seeing this, Ko Changlin jumped to his feet, his eyes filled with shock.
Just as he was about to rush downstairs, a stream of light flashed past from the south along the misty border. A fat-faced monk riding on an auspicious cloud stared gravely at the approaching mist.
“The mist has an extremely strong restraining effect on gods… Does that mean abandoning divine power and falling back to being a demon could avoid its killing effect?” The monk muttered to himself for a moment, then turned to look east.
“I wonder when Monkey Brother will arrive…”
