Chapter 511
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Chapter 511: Return to the Team
The pale golden morning sun streamed through the glass window, casting a golden halo over the pristine white tiles of the hospital room.
On the bed in the center of the room, the Ninth Seat’s eyelashes fluttered slightly as he slowly opened his eyes.
He stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before turning his head to the side. There, by the window, a figure was silently gazing outside, their shadow stretching long on the floor.
The Ninth Seat sighed deeply, “Why are you still here?”
By the window, Shen Qingzhu turned his head, thought for a moment, and replied, “Oh, I came back to reimburse you for the medical expenses.”
“……” The Ninth Seat glanced at the exquisite fruit basket on the bedside. “Do you need to bring a gift to reimburse medical expenses?”
“The supermarket downstairs is having a sale, so I picked up a few things.”
“How much of a discount?”
“Ninety-nine percent.”
The corner of the Ninth Seat’s mouth twitched slightly.
“Yiyi is dead, and the [Believers] are gone. You’ve regained your freedom. Why are you still here with me instead of catching up with your brothers?” The Ninth Seat spoke helplessly.
Shen Qingzhu glanced at him, “I’m afraid you might die.”
“……” The Ninth Seat couldn’t help but say, “If I could move right now, I would definitely go down and beat you up.”
“I’m serious.” Shen Qingzhu turned to look at the sunlight outside the window, speaking calmly, “What I hate the most is seeing important people sacrifice themselves…”
He seemed to recall something, and his eyes dimmed a bit.
The Ninth Seat was taken aback. “So, am I an important person to you?”
Shen Qingzhu’s mouth twitched, and he silently turned away. “I never said that.”
The Ninth Seat stared at him for a moment, then smiled. “You, on the surface, seem like a tough character, but inside, you’re softer than anyone else… That night when you came back from the nightclub, you hesitated for a long time but still didn’t kill me. I could tell back then…
You can’t be a villain.”
Shen Qingzhu looked at him in surprise. “You weren’t drunk then?”
“As an undercover agent, how could I easily lose consciousness?”
“……” Shen Qingzhu turned his head and scoffed.
“Zhuai Ge!!!!!!”
A familiar voice shouted from downstairs in the hospital.
Shen Qingzhu was taken aback and looked down.
He saw five people carrying a coffin, standing in the pale golden morning sun outside the inpatient department, smiling as they looked up at him.
Baili Pangpang took a deep breath and shouted loudly again, “Let’s go!!!”
Shen Qingzhu froze in place.
On the hospital bed, the Ninth Seat chuckled, “Your brothers have come to find you.”
Shen Qingzhu turned back to look at the Ninth Seat, opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately said nothing.
“What are you looking at me for? They’re not calling for me.” The Ninth Seat spoke helplessly.
“Zhuai Ge!!!!!!”
Baili Pangpang’s voice rang out again.
Soon, the noise downstairs became chaotic.
“No… Security, we really didn’t mean to disturb the hospital environment… Five hundred, is five hundred enough? A thousand! I’ll give you a thousand each!” Baili Pangpang spoke weakly.
“Yeah, security, we just want one person to come down…” This was Cao Yuan.
“We won’t shout anymore, we really won’t shout. We’ll just wait here, okay… No, don’t take action!” This was Lin Qiye.
“?! I’ll see who dares to touch him!” Jialan started rolling up his sleeves.
“Please do not touch this coffin; we are not here to cause trouble.” An Qingyu’s voice was very serious.
“……”
Shen Qingzhu watched as Lin Qiye and the others were being driven out by a group of security guards downstairs, and the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but rise.
“Your mission is complete; it’s time to return to the sunlight…” The Ninth Seat smiled and said, “If fate allows, we’ll meet again.”
Shen Qingzhu looked into his eyes, and after a long while, he slowly spoke:
“……Take care.”
He pushed the door open and walked out quickly.
“Hey!” The Ninth Seat seemed to remember something. “I haven’t reimbursed you yet!”
“I forgot to bring the receipt this time; let’s do it next time.”
Shen Qingzhu smiled.
……
Lin Qiye and the others stood outside the hospital entrance, feeling dejected as they glanced at the time.
In the end, they were still driven out by the hospital security.
“Qiye, Zhuai Ge won’t not come, right?” Baili Pangpang asked with some concern.
“He shouldn’t.” Lin Qiye pondered, “The [Believers] have been wiped out; he has no reason not to meet us.”
“What if he doesn’t want to be a Night Watchman anymore?” Cao Yuan frowned slightly.
Upon hearing this, Lin Qiye and the others fell silent.
Formally speaking, Shen Qingzhu had already died two years ago, not only in the Night Watchman’s records but also in the memories of others in this world, which forever remained in the cave beneath Jinnan Mountain.
If his goal was merely revenge, then after killing all the [Believers], he had already achieved it…
It seemed he had no reason to return to the Night Watchman’s life and death struggle.
Finding a quiet little city, getting married and having children, living out the rest of his life without the need to live in fear… This was the ending many Night Watchmen dreamed of.
“Let’s wait ten more minutes.” Lin Qiye glanced at the time. “If he hasn’t come down in ten minutes, we should leave.”
The atmosphere suddenly fell silent.
Time passed second by second, and Baili Pangpang and Cao Yuan kept checking the time, their gazes scanning the dense crowd at the hospital entrance, hoping to find that figure.
However, that figure still did not appear.
When the second hand passed a certain mark, Lin Qiye sighed deeply and shook his head.
“He’s not coming… Let’s go.”
Cao Yuan and Baili Pangpang exchanged glances, seeing the disappointment in each other’s eyes. After pausing for a moment, they stepped forward, following Lin Qiye down the road.
Everyone has their own choices; since Shen Qingzhu chose this path, they could only wish him well…
However, just after taking two steps, Lin Qiye, who was at the front, suddenly stopped.
Baili Pangpang looked up in confusion, about to say something, when his gaze caught sight of a figure by the street and he froze in place.
Outside a convenience store, a young man was leaning against the wall, holding a cigarette, gently exhaling a puff of smoke…
His peripheral vision caught sight of a few people not far away, and he raised an eyebrow.
“Why are you so slow?”
“Zhuai, Zhuai Ge…” Baili Pangpang’s mouth dropped open. “What are you doing here?”
“Weren’t you the ones who told me to come down?”
“But… why is it so crowded at the entrance…”
“Oh, the main entrance was too crowded, so I took the side door.” Shen Qingzhu pointed to the convenience store behind him. “And I was afraid I wouldn’t have a place to buy cigarettes later, so I came to buy a pack first.”
“……”
The corner of Lin Qiye’s mouth couldn’t help but rise.
Shen Qingzhu lightly flicked his fingers, extinguished the burning cigarette butt, and tossed it into a nearby trash can before leisurely walking up to Lin Qiye.
“Lin Qiye… no, now I should call you Captain Lin.”
Shen Qingzhu smiled and said,
“Night Watchman Shen Qingzhu, applying to return to the team.”
