"The Zone of No Fear?"
"A forbidden area that can isolate the domain from the outside world, preventing our battles with enemies from affecting ordinary people. Every city's Night Watchman is equipped with three signs that can cast The Zone of No Fear, with one person in charge of them. Since we generally don't participate in direct combat, we are also called Watchers."
Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow. "So, you're just a lookout."
"...If you don't know how to speak, then don't speak," Zhao Kongcheng rolled his eyes.
"You just said there are three ways to obtain a forbidden area. What about the last one?"
"The last one is bestowed by the gods, which is your situation," Zhao Kongcheng's face grew serious. "Some gods give part of their power to chosen humans, making them their agents in the human world. These forbidden areas, given by the gods, are called Divine Areas.
However, with the power comes the gods' instructions. Some are to destroy human society, some are to protect it, some are to help the gods find something... In general, there is usually only one agent per god, and they represent the will of the god.
Most of the gods' agents who have come into the world so far are evil gods, trying to destroy the new human order and return the world to chaos. They've created an organization called the Ancient Gods' Church.
There are agents of good gods, but they are very few, and we don't even know how many agents of neutral gods there are."
Zhao Kongcheng stood up and walked over to Lin Qiye, staring into his eyes. He spoke slowly, word by word.
"Lin Qiye, what instructions did Michael give you? Which side do you belong to?"
Lin Qiye looked confused. "I don't know. He didn't say anything."
Lin Qiye spoke the truth. When Michael had looked at him from the moon, he had only glanced at him from afar, then he fainted. Michael hadn't said a single word.
Zhao Kongcheng furrowed his brow. "He didn't say anything? Didn't you hear His voice in your mind?"
"No, really! Nothing!"
Zhao Kongcheng eyed Lin Qiye with suspicion, as if trying to detect a lie. After a long pause, he finally looked away and slowly sat down.
"According to our assumptions, Michael should belong to the neutral or good camp. Otherwise, we would have already killed you. But… since He gave you the Divine Area, why didn't He say anything? What exactly does He want to do?"
Lin Qiye furrowed his brow slightly. "I don't know what He wants, but even if He gave me orders, I wouldn't follow them. I don't want to get involved in this mess. If it comes down to it, I'll just return these eyes to Him."
Saying that, he stood up. "If there's nothing else, I'll leave."
Before Zhao Kongcheng could speak, Lin Qiye turned and headed for the door.
"Wait! You're leaving after asking your questions?" Zhao Kongcheng suddenly stood up, blocking the door, staring at Lin Qiye's eyes. "What about me?"
"You? You can stay here and be passionate," Lin Qiye answered seriously.
"No, what I mean is… aren't you curious about me? Who I am?" Zhao Kongcheng felt talking to this kid was really exhausting.
"What does who you are have to do with me?" Lin Qiye continued to open the door.
Zhao Kongcheng grabbed the doorknob. "Why do I know so much? What kind of organization am I behind? What are we doing… Don't you want to know any of that?"
"Nope."
"Why?"
"According to the logic in TV shows and novels, once I learn about your existence, I have two choices left." Lin Qiye held up two fingers. "Either join you, or be forced to keep the secret forever, like being killed, locked up, or brainwashed…"
"...You really watch too much TV!" Zhao Kongcheng was speechless. "Besides, you don't know anything about us, how do you know joining us isn't a good choice?"
Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow. "So, you're saying that even if I know about you and choose not to join, I won't be in danger?"
"Of course not! We're like soldiers. At most, we'll make you sign a non-disclosure agreement. What you said is complete nonsense!"
"Well, in that case, I'll listen." Lin Qiye sat back down.
Zhao Kongcheng sighed. Talking to this kid for a few minutes felt more exhausting than staying on guard outside for a whole day!
"In 1922, when our exploration team discovered the first mythological creature, the Chaos Dragon Leviathan, the upper echelons of Great Xia urgently established a military organization to deal with the invasion of mythological creatures, called the 139 Special Biological Response Unit.
At that time, our technology was quite backward, and we knew nothing about the world around us, so the so-called Special Biological Response Unit was just a formality and didn't really serve any purpose.
As time went on, we observed more and more mythological creatures, attempted to establish contact with some of them, and also uncovered the secret of the forbidden areas. We began training specialized combat personnel.
As we discovered more and more forbidden area holders, we realized that because the appearance of forbidden area holders was random, we couldn't bring everyone under the military's umbrella. So, the 139 Special Biological Response Unit gradually transformed into a semi-military, semi-civilian special organization.
Now, we call this special organization… the Night Watchers."
Lin Qiye pondered. "So, your existence is to protect Great Xia from the invasion of those evil gods?"
"To be precise, it's to protect from all mythological creatures."
"Is there a difference?"
"Of course. As I've said before, the appearance of mythological creatures is random and unrelated to their power level. So, the mythological creatures that descend are not just the powerful gods people are familiar with; there are also some that only exist in rural legends or minor tales. The Ghost-faced Man you encountered last night is one such rural horror legend.
These creatures don't have world-ending power, but they still affect human society. We call them the Mystics."
"I see." Lin Qiye nodded. No wonder the creature he encountered last night felt somewhat familiar. It was born from rural stories.
"So, we are soldiers. Soldiers who protect our homeland! Our existence is to prevent the people of Great Xia from suffering. Doesn't that sound noble? Doesn't that sound heroic?!" Zhao Kongcheng began passionately trying to convince him.
"Very noble, very heroic. I really admire you all." Lin Qiye's expression turned serious, and he wasn't joking. From his gaze, one could see deep respect.
A smile gradually appeared on Zhao Kongcheng's face. "So…?"
"I'm not going."
"…"
Zhao Kongcheng's smile immediately froze. "Why?!"
"I can't leave." Lin Qiye's expression was dead serious. "I still have many things to do…"
"What could be more important than protecting the country?!"
"I have an aunt and a cousin." Lin Qiye looked out the window, his expression calm. "My aunt is young, but for the past ten years, she's worked tirelessly in a factory for me and my cousin, a day in and day out. Now, her health is failing…
She's a stubborn person. Even when she's rubbing her neck on the couch in the living room and tears are coming out, she still insists she's doing yoga to stay healthy…
I sit across from her, and she thinks I don't see it.
She lives so carefully, so tired.
My cousin is smart, filial, but unfortunately… he's still too young to carry the weight of this family.
I still have a lot to do.
I need to make money to support my family. I need to buy my aunt and cousin a big house. I want my aunt to never have to return to that grim factory again.
I want to send my cousin to college. I want him and my aunt to live a good life.
For the past ten years, they've never given up on me. Now that I'm finally better, how could I abandon them?
You're noble, you're great. If circumstances allowed, maybe I would join you…
But right now, all I want is to stay by their side…
To protect this home."