STG 33
Chapter 33: Carving the Tombstone
“Oh.” Lin Qiye’s expression remained calm.
Wen Qimo looked at him in surprise. “Oh? That’s it?”
“What else should there be?”
“Don’t you feel even a little excited or fired up?”
“A little, but just a little,” Lin Qiye replied indifferently. “I’m not interested in promotions or anything like that.”
Wen Qimo gave him a strange look. “Right, I forgot you’re the ‘heretic’ who plans to leave the Night Watch in ten years.”
Lin Qiye didn’t argue and continued, “So, according to you, these four special squads are the pinnacle of combat strength in Daxia?”
“Of course not. They might be the peak of team combat strength within the Night Watch, but they’re definitely not the pinnacle of Daxia’s overall power.”
“You mean there are other organizations like the Night Watch in Daxia?”
“No, Daxia only has one Night Watch. But above the Night Watch, there are five Human Ceilings.”
“Human Ceilings?”
“Exactly what it sounds like—the peak of human combat strength. Because their power approaches that of the ancient gods in myths, they’re also called ‘Demi-Gods.'”
“Mortals who rival gods?”
“Even though I know you’re quoting a movie line, that’s pretty much it.” Wen Qimo gazed up at the night sky, his eyes filled with admiration.
“These five individuals are the pillars of humanity, the only hope we can see in this vast mist.”
“Who are they?”
“No idea. They’re too far removed from us. Very few have seen their faces or know their names. But… there are some interesting rumors.”
“What rumors?”
“These five Human Ceilings are known as One Sword, One Rider, One Sovereign, One Void, and One Sage.”
“Sword, Rider, Sovereign, Void, Sage… What kind of rumor is that? There’s barely any useful information.”
“Supposedly, the highest commander of the Night Watch is the ‘One Sovereign’ among these five. But… no one has seen him take action in a very, very long time.”
“I have a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“Has humanity… ever killed a god?” Lin Qiye pointed to the sky. “Not those weird mythical creatures, but the true ancient deities from myths!”
Wen Qimo fell silent for a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t know. But I don’t think so…”
“In this vast mist, humanity is like a blindfolded lamb. We don’t know what’s happening to this world or when the apocalypse will come.”
“In an era where the existence of gods has been confirmed, if humans actually killed a deity, it would panic all the other gods. They might band together to wipe out humanity first, making our situation even more dire!”
Lin Qiye nodded. “I see.”
“Any other questions?”
After a moment of thought, Lin Qiye asked, “Do provisional members get benefits or subsidies?”
“…Yes.”
“Then I’m out of questions.”
“Out of all those questions, that’s the one you care about most?”
“Of course.” Lin Qiye nodded matter-of-factly. “Special squads, Human Ceilings… that stuff is too far away for me. I prefer to keep my feet on the ground.”
“Alright then…” Wen Qimo turned his head. “Are you tired?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll take you somewhere.”
“In the middle of the night… is it respectable?”
“…It’s respectable.” Wen Qimo’s lips twitched.
“Fine.” Lin Qiye added, “Don’t forget, I’m still a minor.”
Wen Qimo: “…”
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A few minutes later, the car slowly pulled to a stop in a quiet, deserted wilderness.
Lin Qiye got out and glanced around, his eyes full of suspicion as he looked at Wen Qimo.
“Why did you bring me here?”
Wen Qimo rolled his eyes silently and pointed into the distance. “Over there.”
Lin Qiye followed his finger and fell silent.
He could vaguely guess why Wen Qimo had brought him here.
The two walked along a narrow path until they reached the edge of a cemetery.
This graveyard wasn’t large—much smaller than the public cemetery on the outskirts of the city. But the craftsmanship of the tombstones and the spacing between them were far beyond what an ordinary cemetery could offer.
These tombstones seemed more refined, more orderly.
“This is…”
“The graveyard for Cangnan’s Night Watch.” Wen Qimo spoke calmly. “Since 1936, when Daxia’s Special Biological Response Unit officially became the ‘Night Watch’ and adopted the one-city-one-team system, this place has been designated as the final resting place for fallen Cangnan agents.”
“Of course, this is just the default. When someone officially joins a Night Watch team, they can choose whether to be buried here, cremated, or sent back to their hometown…”
“Back then, Zhao Kongcheng chose to be buried in the Night Watch graveyard. He said his body was stained with too much blood—if he went back to his ancestral graves, he was afraid he’d scare the ancestors.”
As he spoke, Wen Qimo’s lips curled into a smile, as if he could still see Zhao Kongcheng saying those words carefreely.
Lin Qiye silently observed the rows of tombstones, his brow furrowing slightly. “There are so many…”
In this cemetery, there were at least sixty or seventy tombstones—most of them relatively new.
“From 1936 to now, it’s been 85 years.” Wen Qimo sighed. “At first, our casualties were low. After all, only a few mythical creatures appeared in each city every year, and even when they did, their realms weren’t high.”
“But as time passed, the frequency of mythical creatures appearing increased, their strength grew more terrifying, and our casualties… skyrocketed.”
“Nearly half of these tombstones are from the last twenty years.”
“Before Captain Chen Muye came to guard Cangnan, it’s said two team members died here every year. It wasn’t until he arrived that the mortality rate dropped significantly.”
The image of that taciturn figure in black flashed through Lin Qiye’s mind, filling him with respect.
“But Zhao Kongcheng just died tonight. Has his tombstone already been prepared?” Lin Qiye suddenly thought of something and asked in confusion.
“No.”
“Then why are we here…?”
Wen Qimo raised his hand and pointed into the distance. “Look there.”
Lin Qiye followed his finger and saw a faint glow in the darkness of the graveyard.
Under the dim light, Hong Ying sat beside an empty plot, her eyes red-rimmed as she cradled a blank tombstone in her arms. A carving tool in her right hand slowly etched into the stone.
Tears slid down her cheeks onto the tombstone, only to be hastily wiped away.
Where was the lively girl from earlier?
“She… didn’t she say she was going to practice shooting?” Lin Qiye stared blankly at the scene.
“She lied.” Wen Qimo shook his head. “It’s an unwritten rule that a fallen Night Watch member’s tombstone is carved by their teammates. Originally, I was supposed to carve this one.”
“She never said it, but I knew—she was the one who wanted to carve Zhao Kongcheng’s tombstone the most.”
“Their relationship was really close. Really close.”
“So even though her lie was flimsy, I turned a blind eye and let her sneak here to carve it.”
Lin Qiye and Wen Qimo stood quietly, watching Hong Ying focus on her task, neither speaking for a long time.
Under the hazy moonlight,
in the silent graveyard,
only the soft scrape of Hong Ying’s carving tool echoed like a quiet lament.
“Aren’t we going to say hello?” Lin Qiye finally asked Wen Qimo.
“Greeting her now would just make her uncomfortable. She’s too shy.”
“But standing here like this… it feels like we’re peeping at her secret. Like perverts.” Lin Qiye felt awkward.
Wen Qimo turned to him, a faint smile in his eyes.
“Do you really think… we’re the only ‘perverts’ lurking around?”
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