Chapter 537
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Chapter 537: We Have Nothing
“Did you foresee the crisis of the Sword Saint?”
Yuan Gang, who was slightly drunk, frowned slightly upon hearing this.
“Mm.” Lin Qiye nodded, “We want to know how to walk freely in the mist.”
“Nonsense.”
Yuan Gang slammed the table, “You’re not even a special team, and you’re thinking of going into the mist to save people? Are you looking to throw your lives away?”
“We are indeed not a special team.” Lin Qiye said calmly, “But if we turn a blind eye to our teacher’s life just because we’re afraid of dying… what’s the point of being a special team?”
“Instructor Yuan, you also said that once mental strength reaches a certain level, the state of mind becomes the crucial factor for breaking through. If we do nothing, by the time we reach that level, we won’t be able to advance any further.”
Yuan Gang stared into his eyes, “Reaching that level? Do you know how high that level is? In the past hundred years of the Great Xia, only a few people have touched that threshold. For that elusive possibility, are you really willing to gamble your lives now?”
“Absolutely.”
Lin Qiye’s gaze showed no sign of retreat.
After a long stare between the two, Lin Qiye suddenly smiled.
“Instructor Yuan, perhaps you don’t know much about our team, so let me reintroduce us…”
Lin Qiye extended his hand, pointing to each member in order.
“Baili Pangpang, the designated heir of the Baili Group, a discarded child of the Baili family, died at the hands of his most trusted person, then was reborn;
Cao Yuan, who lost control in the Forbidden Ruins as a child, slaughtered his entire family, raised as a disaster, has been to prison, was a monk, and is now all alone;
Jialan, the immortal woman dug out from a coffin, all her relatives, friends, and past have been buried in the river of time;
An Qingyu, who experienced the Great Calamity of Cangnan, was hunted by the Night Watchmen, spent a year dissecting the ‘mysterious’ in the sewers, and has lived with corpses for years;
Shen Qingzhu, a former member of Team 006, was an undercover agent for the ‘Believers’ for two years, endured hardships, single-handedly destroyed the ‘Believers’, and now returns to the Night Watchmen;
Jiang Er, a former member of Team 008, witnessed the destruction of Team 008, and can only survive in this world relying on the magnetic field generated by his brain…”
He pointed to himself.
“I, Lin Qiye, a former member of Team 136 in Cangnan City, my hometown, relatives, and friends were all wiped out by the ‘Shiva’s Curse’, lived for ten years in a miracle, and then everything vanished into thin air…
Tell me, Instructor Yuan, what do you hear?”
Yuan Gang fell silent.
“We are all people who have experienced despair in this world. We have walked out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, we are all alone, we have no attachments…
Aside from each other, we have nothing.
Whether we become a special team, whether we have achievements, whether we have numbers, it doesn’t really matter to us. But if anyone dares to lay a hand on any one of us, they better be prepared to fight for their lives.
The Sword Saint is not only the Sword Saint of the Great Xia but also our teacher, our senior, our friend.
We will not stand by and watch him die.
Whether we can walk out of the mist, whether we can catch up to him, whether we can help him in any way… at the very least, we have to try.
I have regretted once,
This time, I will not let regret happen again.”
The other team members nodded in unison, their eyes filled with determination.
Lin Qiye was right; whether they succeeded or failed, they had to try… they could not just sit and wait for the Sword Saint to die.
Yuan Gang’s gaze swept over them, and his serious, rigid face showed a hint of emotion.
He did not expect that Lin Qiye and the others would be willing to gamble their futures and lives to venture outside the mist for the Sword Saint.
This courage and determination forced Yuan Gang to reevaluate these young people.
He sighed, “Even if you say that… some things just can’t be done.
The last team that could walk freely in the mist was the ‘Blue Rain’, but they have long been destroyed, and the forbidden items that protected them in the mist have been reclaimed by the higher-ups. Unless you can directly convince Commander Ye, it’s impossible for you to enter the mist.”
Upon hearing this, the light in Lin Qiye and the others’ eyes gradually dimmed.
Ye Fan would never give them those things.
Could it be… that there really was no way?
Seeing the group’s spirits so low, Yuan Gang shook his head helplessly, “You have this heart, which is already commendable. As you said, you’ve already tried, haven’t you?
What you need to do next is to not think about anything, go back and get a good night’s sleep, and come back tomorrow morning to compete against our team. If you win, you will officially become the fifth special team.
Since you are all my students, I’ll give you a little hint about tomorrow’s competition.”
Yuan Gang saw that the group was still enthusiastic, his mouth twitched slightly, but since he had already said this much, he could only continue:
“Tomorrow’s competition is a flag-snatching battle, held in a large trial ground in the suburbs of Shangjing City. Once the pieces are placed in the designated locations, scoring will automatically begin. If the flags are pulled down by the opposing force, the scoring will stop. There are a total of six flag-placing points on the field, and the team that first fills their score by placing flags will win.
But I must remind you that due to the vastness of the venue, the flag-snatching battle will take a long time and will be very exhausting. This is a test of strength, intelligence, and endurance, with a duration of 48 hours. During this time, members of both teams are allowed to attack each other, and any means can be used as long as it does not endanger life…”
In the bustling food street, Yuan Gang patiently explained the rules of tomorrow’s competition to Lin Qiye and the others, while they merely lowered their heads, lost in thought.
…
Shangjing City, Team 006’s base.
Captain’s office.
Shao Pingge, lying on a recliner, slowly sat up, yawned, and muttered:
“That old Yuan, says he won’t give them any leeway, yet he’s secretly giving them hints… Hmph, caught him red-handed again, huh?”
He rubbed his temples, stood up, and walked to the desk piled high with documents, casually flipping through a few.
His position among the Night Watchmen was not only as the captain of the Shangjing City team but also as the head of the Night Watchmen’s Human Resources Department, overseeing the personnel allocation of all Night Watchmen teams stationed in the Great Xia, making him one of the higher-ups.
He casually signed a few documents, tossed the pen aside, and looked out at the night sky.
After a long sigh, he said:
“These little guys… are quite interesting.”
After drinking with Yuan Gang, Lin Qiye and the others returned to the hotel and went to their respective rooms to rest.
Even though Yuan Gang repeatedly tried to persuade them during the drinking session, how much they actually absorbed was known only to them.
After taking a shower, Lin Qiye turned off all the lights, lay on the bed, and stared blankly at the letter and chopsticks on the bedside.
That night, Lin Qiye couldn’t sleep at all.
The next morning,
Lin Qiye got up from bed, washed up, and then boarded the vehicle heading to the Shangjing City team’s base with the others.
Although Yuan Gang had secretly informed them of the competition method and location yesterday, they still needed to visit Team 006’s base, partly out of courtesy and partly for fairness, as both teams had to travel together to the competition venue.
The Night Watchmen team in Shangjing City had much stricter rules and regulations compared to other teams.
The morning traffic in Shangjing City was extremely congested, and since the hotel where Lin Qiye and the others were staying was quite far from the base, it would take a long time to get there. Fortunately, An Qingyu had anticipated this situation and set off half an hour early.
In the calm and quiet vehicle, Lin Qiye slowly closed his eyes.
…
The Asylum of the Gods.
“Good morning, esteemed director.”
In the yard, Heitong, dressed in caregiver attire, wearing a coat and a top hat, was diligently sweeping the ground. Upon seeing Lin Qiye, he respectfully bowed.
Lin Qiye looked at him and nodded.
It seemed that Heitong was getting along well with the other caregivers in the hospital, at least from the outside.
Lin Qiye took a couple of steps forward, as if remembering something, then stepped back.
“Heitong, can you see anything about my belongings that can predict the future?”
Heitong was taken aback and smiled helplessly, “Director, have you forgotten? I can only foresee the future of objects. Your presence in the hospital is not even a physical entity, and these things on you do not belong to the material realm, so I cannot see your future.
Unless you let me out, I can help you foresee the future of objects.”
Lin Qiye sighed, “Forget it, you can continue your work.”
Heitong’s current realm was “Limitless,” and he could not summon it into the real world. To use his foresight, Lin Qiye would have to break through to “Limitless” himself.
“Dana Dusi, are you staying for lunch today?”
Lin Qiye took a few steps when Nikes approached with a smile from the opposite side and asked.
Lin Qiye smiled wryly, “Mother, unfortunately, I have a competition today…”
“Oh, that’s truly unfortunate news.”
A trace of barely perceptible disappointment flashed in Nikes’ eyes before quickly disappearing. She smiled at Lin Qiye and continued walking into the yard.
Lin Qiye took another bottle of rice wine from the kitchen, two wine bowls, hesitated for a moment, then put them back.
He walked to the door of Room 4 on the second floor, gently knocked twice, and pushed the door open.
As usual, Lin Qiye sat down in front of the ancient ape, who showed no reaction to his arrival.
Lin Qiye stared at the ancient ape for a long time before slowly speaking: “Brother Monkey, today, I might not have time to tell you a story…
I’ll say a few words and then I’ll have to go.”
The ancient ape sat cross-legged, hands together, eyes lowered, motionless.
Lin Qiye was not surprised by this. After a moment of silence, he said, “Brother Monkey, have you ever experienced the feeling of an important person about to die before your eyes, yet you are powerless to help?”
The moment the words fell, the Buddhist light surrounding the ancient ape trembled, as if a stone had dropped into a silent pond, creating ripples…
Lin Qiye froze in place.
In that brief moment, he felt a fierce aura rush toward him. Although it was only for an instant, the resentment and overwhelming killing intent contained within made his body tremble uncontrollably.
But then, that aura completely vanished.
Lin Qiye stared in shock at the motionless ancient ape, the gentle and sacred Buddhist light enveloping his body, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.
Lin Qiye shook his head and continued speaking to himself: “I have had this experience…
I watched him die in my arms, his breath fading little by little, his body growing cold, rainwater mixing with his blood and tears flowing into the soil… until the last moment, he was still smiling and asking me… if he was handsome.
You say, isn’t he strange?”
The Buddhist light surrounding the ancient ape stirred violently again.
The body beneath the kasaya began to tremble slightly, and the ancient ape’s eyes, hidden beneath the lowered eyelids, slightly contracted, as if recalling something.
“Although I didn’t have much contact with him, I could feel that he was usually a very unreliable person, liked to smoke, liked to show off, and despite being weak, still liked to act like a hero…
But,
When he was reliable,
He was truly handsome.”
The Buddhist light surrounding the ancient ape grew increasingly brilliant, as if he was desperately suppressing something. The edges of his kasaya fluttered gently, and the backs of his clasped hands burst with veins.
His brows furrowed tightly.
“Back then, I was too weak to save him… that guilt, sadness, and anger, I can still feel clearly now.
I thought two years had passed, and I had grown, that I could stand on my own and have the strength to protect those I cherish…
But why,
Does it seem like nothing has changed?
I am still so weak, unable to save those I cherish, and this time, I can’t even see his face…
Old Zhao, Auntie, and now the Sword Saint…
Am I destined to watch the people I cherish leave me one after another?
Is this truly fate?”
Boom—-!!
A powerful pressure erupted from the ancient ape, and Lin Qiye, sitting opposite him, was instantly thrown back, staggering several steps before barely stabilizing himself.
The furious wind, carrying shattered Buddhist light, swept through the entire ward, surging out, causing the entire hospital to tremble slightly.
“What’s going on?!!” Li Yifei rushed out of his room in panic.
“It’s that crazy monkey in Room 4!” Nikes frowned.
Two figures, one black and one blue, quickly soared into the air, rushing toward the second floor, followed closely by a figure holding a harp.
Just as they were about to burst into the room, Lin Qiye reached out to stop them.
“Don’t…” Lin Qiye stared at that figure, shaking his head at them.
In the midst of the raging wind, the ancient ape’s kasaya fluttered without wind, making a rustling sound, and dark golden light burst from his eyes, like two blazing flames burning fiercely in their sockets!
He released his clasped hands and tightly clenched them.
Cracks exploded on the kasaya covering his body!
Amidst the swaying Buddhist light, the figure draped in the tattered kasaya stood up, dark golden fur radiating a faint glow, stepping forward, slowly approaching Lin Qiye…
Those brilliant eyes were fixed intently on Lin Qiye,
He opened his mouth and hoarsely said, “To hell with fate!!
