Zhao Kongcheng was stunned.
He truly hadn't expected that the ordinary high school student in front of him would express such mature thoughts. Lin Qiye had surprising depth in his words.
It was at this moment that Zhao Kongcheng realized how laughable his attempts to appeal to the typical teenage mindset of fantasy and passion had been.
Lin Qiye stood up, walked straight to the door, hesitated for a moment, and then stopped.
"Thank you for telling me so much. I'll sign the confidentiality agreement."
After saying this, he pushed the door open and left.
This time, Zhao Kongcheng just sat silently on the bed. He made a slight move to stand up, as if wanting to stop Lin Qiye, but after a brief pause, he helplessly sat back down.
He knew what this young man meant, and he also knew that he had the mission to bring this young man back. However...
He couldn't do it.
...
"Little Qi, you're finally back! Why aren't you wearing your school uniform today?"
"Aunt, I woke up in a hurry this morning and forgot to put it on."
"You silly child... Without your school uniform, won't the teachers scold you?"
"I only got scolded a bit, it's okay."
"Ah, Little Qi, you just transferred to the new school. You can't leave a bad impression on the teachers. Be more careful in what you do."
"I understand, Aunt."
"How are you getting along with your classmates at school? They haven't excluded you, have they?"
"No, we get along well. They even escorted me home, and I also walked them part of the way."
"That's good, that's good."
"I'm going to my room, Aunt."
"Alright, go to bed early."
Thud!
Lin Qiye closed the door, lay back on the bed, looked at the night outside the window, and sighed deeply.
This world was much more complicated than he had imagined...
But it didn't have much to do with him.
After resting for a while, Lin Qiye sat up. As he began to undress, a hard object fell out of his pocket with a clatter.
Clang!
Lin Qiye lowered his head, picked up the object, and looked at it with a puzzled expression.
It was a metallic ornament, like a badge, slightly larger than a one-yuan coin. It was made of an unknown material, and when held, it emitted a faint coolness.
On the front of the badge, two straight knives crossed each other. The blades emitted a faint blue light, and the background behind the knives was a night sky adorned with stars, crafted with exquisite detail.
Below the pattern were the three characters "Zhao Kongcheng" engraved.
"What is this..." Lin Qiye squinted his eyes.
Lin Qiye recalled that when Zhao Kongcheng was dragging him to the hotel, it seemed like he touched his pocket.
Did he accidentally drop this?
After playing with the badge for a while, Lin Qiye placed it on the table. He changed into clean clothes and climbed onto the bed.
Tonight, he had something important to do.
He closed his eyes and entered the mental hospital in his mind.
In the courtyard of the mental hospital, Nyx was sitting on a rocking chair, holding a bunch of bottles and jars. She seemed to be murmuring something, and a smile occasionally appeared on her face.
Ignoring the haze in her eyes and the strange things in her arms, her noble demeanor emitted a beautiful aura.
Soon after, Lin Qiye, dressed in a white coat, walked slowly towards her.
To better play the role of a mental hospital doctor, Lin Qiye specifically found a white coat in the director's office. He even clipped a pair of reading glasses to the collar.
At first glance, it indeed looked like the real deal.
Lin Qiye approached the rocking chair, silently observing Nyx's cloudy and vacant eyes. He sighed softly.
Based on the mythological texts he had read, Nyx was indeed one of the oldest and most powerful gods in Greek mythology. Her status and power were top-notch.
But compared to other gods, she had a major characteristic...
She liked having children!
According to Lin Qiye's calculations, Nyx had at least twenty children, including the famous god of death, Thanatos, the god of sleep, Hypnos, and even cosmic gods, fate goddesses, gods of doom, and so on.
Except for a very small number, the majority of Nyx's children were malevolent gods who caused trouble for humanity after their birth. Many of them met tragic ends.
From the bits and pieces of the mythological stories, Lin Qiye couldn't obtain more detailed information about this goddess of the night. However, he speculated that Nyx's current condition might be related to her offspring.
The doctor at the Sunshine Mental Hospital mentioned that a male patient, due to missing his wife too much, imagined her presence. Could Nyx's illness be similar?
Because of missing her children so much, did she perceive those bottles and jars as her offspring?
But what exactly happened to her children to cause such a drastic reaction from Nyx?
Moreover, as an ancient divine being, would she really have such strong emotions? Or was it possible that before her illness, her divine body was taken away, and her divine status was deprived?
Lin Qiye couldn't know for sure.
"Hypnos, don't worry, your brother will be back soon. He just played around for a while...
That child, Thanatos, always loved causing trouble from a young age. When he comes back, he must be properly disciplined!"
Nyx caressed the vase in her hands, gazing into the distance with a hopeful expression. Then, her eyes clouded again.
After a pause, her hoarse voice trembled slightly:
"But...
It's been three thousand years. Why hasn't he come back yet..."
Lin Qiye watched this scene, and for some reason, a bitter feeling arose in his heart.
Who would have thought that the once lofty goddess of the night would now be so helpless and humble?
She was the goddess of the night, but also a mother waiting for her children to return.
"To cure her illness, I must start from the root..." Lin Qiye recalled the doctor's words echoing in his mind. He lowered his head, pondering deeply.
The root... Nyx's illness stemmed from the loss of her children.
To cure her, he could only start with her children. But how could he find out about all of Nyx's children? It wasn't possible for him to individually search for and bring back each one of these Greek gods to Nyx, right?
Even if he found them, would these malevolent gods obediently come over?
Lin Qiye frowned, contemplating. Just then, a flash of inspiration crossed his mind!
Maybe... this could work?
Lin Qiye stood up, gazing at Nyx with inner conflict. After a moment of hesitation, he finally made up his mind and took a step forward.
Approaching Nyx,
Bending down gently,
Extending his arms to embrace her,
He whispered in her ear:
"Mother, I'm back."
At that moment, Nyx's eyes suddenly radiated an unprecedented brilliance!!
She trembled as she reached out with both hands, tightly embracing Lin Qiye. After a long time, she finally quivered out a complete sentence:
"Welcome back, Thanatos, my child
..."