Chapter 1416
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
Chapter 1416 Questioning in the Forest
In the midst of countless buzzing sounds, Left Qing’s voice came through intermittently. Despite everyone’s efforts to distinguish his words, they could barely make out “Vishnu” and “King Face.”
With an earth-shattering explosion, the phone call was instantly cut off, leaving only static noise echoing in their ears.
Everyone stood frozen around the coffin.
“Just now… that was Commander Left’s voice, right?”
“Yes, but what were those background noises? Where is Commander Left?”
“Did you hear? He seemed to shout ‘Vishnu’…”
They exchanged glances, their expressions immediately becoming extremely grave.
Although the phone connection lasted only five or six seconds in total, judging from the sounds transmitted from the other end, Left Qing was definitely in trouble!
“I’ll go find Brother Gun!” Lin Qiye said without hesitation, standing up and rushing toward the depths of the island.
Baili Pangpang watched Lin Qiye’s departing figure and let out a long sigh…
…
Deep forest.
“Brother Gun?” Lin Qiye called out for Li Kengqiang repeatedly as he moved through the towering dense forest.
“Tsk, young man, don’t be so impatient. Whatever it is, take your time explaining.”
After Lin Qiye had called several times, a voice came from behind a boulder. He turned to look and saw Li Kengqiang wearing a floral shirt, somehow already lying on the rock, lazily sunbathing.
“Brother Gun, something seems to have happened to Commander Left,” Lin Qiye said solemnly.
“Oh?” Li Kengqiang raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
Lin Qiye quickly recounted what had happened during the phone call. Li Kengqiang pushed up his toad-style sunglasses and pondered for a moment.
“You’re saying that after connecting the call, you heard some explosions and beast roars, and you heard Left Qing mention ‘Vishnu’?”
“That’s right.”
“So what?” Li Kengqiang countered.
Lin Qiye was taken aback. “So…”
“Left Qing is the pinnacle of humanity, naturally he has to fulfill his responsibilities as such, personally engaging in some battles. Isn’t that normal? As for ‘Vishnu’… he only mentioned the name, why are you so nervous about it?
Even in the worst-case scenario, if Vishnu really did come, this is Great Xia territory. The Heavenly Venerable would naturally intervene.”
Lin Qiye stood frozen in place at Li Kengqiang’s dismissive tone.
He shook his head and quickly said, “No… this situation can’t be that simple.
Commander Left is indeed at the pinnacle of humanity, but he’s also the Commander-in-Chief of Great Xia’s Night Watchers. Unless the situation was so dire that he had no choice but to act personally, why would he leave the Beijing headquarters and put himself in danger?
His presence on the battlefield, along with King Face being there, indicates that something catastrophic must have happened in Great Xia!”
Lin Qiye took a deep breath and said solemnly, “Brother Gun, we really can’t continue wasting time here. We need to leave the island!”
“If Left Qing and King Face are both taking action, why must it mean Great Xia is in crisis? Perhaps they’re in the Mist, or maybe even in India,” Li Kengqiang continued to deny. “Besides, the signals around here are already interfered with by the national fate, making communication with the outside world impossible. When you forcibly connected, you might have connected to the wrong signal.”
Lin Qiye frowned deeply, about to continue arguing when he suddenly realized something and closed his mouth, his expression more serious than ever before.
“Brother Gun… why don’t you want us to leave?”
“I told you, you can’t leave until I’m satisfied with your ‘Heart Gate’ training,” Li Kengqiang said flatly as he lay back down on the boulder.
Lin Qiye stared at him for a long time before speaking deliberately:
“Are we being detained here?”
“…This isn’t detention, it’s training.”
“No, this is definitely not just training,” Lin Qiye shook his head firmly. “When Commander Left sent us here, I found it strange. Although the situation in the Mist has improved somewhat for Great Xia, it’s still not absolutely safe. All major war checkpoints and ordinary squads stationed within Great Xia are short-staffed. At such a critical time, how could they so easily dispatch a special team to an isolated island for training?
Over the past half month, our strength has indeed increased, and we’ve learned some things… but most of our time has been spent on various odd forms of entertainment.
You said it yourself, Brother Gun, the ‘Heart Gate’ is inherently intangible. If that’s the case, how can there be a training method? And where do the standards for passing come from?
Ultimately, this is just an excuse to keep us on the island at any time…”
Lin Qiye stared intently at Li Kengqiang, his fists tightly clenched.
“But I don’t understand… what did we do wrong?
Why are we being detained here?”
Feeling Lin Qiye’s gaze, Li Kengqiang sighed and slowly sat up from the boulder.
“You haven’t done anything wrong… it’s just that staying on this island is better for you and for Great Xia.”
Lin Qiye was silent for a moment. “Then what if we insist on leaving?”
“You can try,” Li Kengqiang said calmly.
Lin Qiye’s gaze intensified. He opened his mouth as if wanting to say something more, but ultimately turned and walked toward the edge of the forest.
After taking just a few steps, Li Kengqiang’s voice came from behind him:
“Lin Qiye, do you really think that all these things I’ve had you doing during this time… were just a waste of time?”
Lin Qiye’s footsteps halted.
Behind the dark lenses, Li Kengqiang’s gaze was incredibly complex.
“I was once a special squad captain too. Some things I understand even more deeply than you do.”
“I’ve never lied to you. The opportunity of the ‘Heart Gate’ cannot be artificially created, but there is one thing we can prepare for in advance… and that is pain.
The more beautiful something is, the more intense the pain when it shatters. We cannot predict whether pain will come, but we can deliberately accumulate ‘beauty’ in advance. If this preparation ultimately proves unnecessary, then all is well. But if it becomes necessary… it can increase your chances of breakthrough.”
“I cannot tell you why you cannot leave this island. All I can warn you is that if you don’t want to break through that ‘Heart Gate’ through extreme pain and sorrow, if you truly care about this team… don’t try to leave this island.”
“This may be a cage, but it’s also a cage that keeps your entire team safe!”
Li Kengqiang’s words resounded firmly in Lin Qiye’s ears. He stood frozen like a statue for a long while before finally moving forward, leaving the dense forest without another word.
After his figure had completely disappeared, several silhouettes slowly materialized from the void.
Wang Qing looked in the direction Lin Qiye had gone and sighed deeply. “As expected, they’ve discovered it.”
“They’re smart. This day was bound to come sooner or later,” Nie Jinshan withdrew his gaze and patted Li Kengqiang’s shoulder, calmly saying, “Kengqiang, don’t blame yourself. You said what needed to be said.”
“I’ve said everything that should be said,” Li Kengqiang paused. “What answer he ultimately gives… that’s up to him.”
