In the cemetery, in the woods on the other side.
"Xiangnan."
"!!!"
Wu Xiangnan, lying flat on the ground, tensed up at the sound of his name. He quickly turned his head and relaxed when he saw who it was.
"Captain, don't sneak around in the cemetery like that at this hour. You almost scared me to death!" Wu Xiangnan placed a hand over his rapidly beating heart and took a deep breath.
Chen Muye quietly sat next to him, his gaze lingering on Hong Ying, who was carving the tombstone not far away. He spoke softly:
"I thought your thick head was only full of tactics. I didn't expect you to come too."
Wu Xiangnan rolled his eyes. "It's the middle of the night, who would believe she'd be out here practicing with a gun? Am I really that slow?"
"You are."
Wu Xiangnan: ... "What about Qi Mo? He should be here by now, right?"
"He's lying low on the opposite hill with Lin QiYe."
"What about Leng Xuan and Xiao Nan?"
"Leng Xuan has no idea where he went, and Xiao Nan's afraid of the dark, so she didn't come."
"Oh."
The two men fell silent.
After a long while, Chen Muye finally spoke again.
"I'm glad you came."
"...Is that so?"
"Yes." Chen Muye nodded seriously. "It means you're no longer the Wu Xiangnan who crawled out of a pile of dead bodies. No matter how much you deny it, you... you're changing."
"Why would I deny it?" Wu Xiangnan replied calmly. "From the fall of Blue Rain Squad to now, it's been almost six years. As a useless person, I had to move on. It's good luck to run into you guys."
Chen Muye sighed deeply. "To them, you're the rigid guy who only sees rules and regulations. Last time I overheard Hong Ying and Xiao Nan talking in the corner, they said you'd never find a wife."
"..."
"If they knew you were once a member of the famous Blue Rain Special Squad, they'd probably drop their jaws."
"I'm just a survivor, not worthy of that name anymore," Wu Xiangnan said calmly. "Now, I just want to be an ordinary member of the 136 Squad."
Chen Muye patted Wu Xiangnan on the shoulder, saying nothing.
"What do you think?" Wu Xiangnan suddenly asked.
"What?"
"That newcomer, Lin QiYe."
"He's a good kid."
"I'm not talking about his potential, I mean his personality."
"I was talking about his personality."
Wu Xiangnan paused, then continued, "He killed Ghost Face King. If I'm not wrong, Zhao Kongcheng only injured it severely, but didn't kill it."
"Does it matter?"
"Doesn't it?"
Chen Muye stared into Wu Xiangnan's eyes and spoke slowly: "That kid chose to give credit to Zhao Kongcheng. That's his choice. Why are you so obsessed with it?
You've been with Old Zhao for so long. Don't you know what his dream is?"
"To kill a mysterious being from the Sichuan Realm. That's a big achievement! It'll help that kid's future!"
"Do you think he cares about that?"
Wu Xiangnan fell silent.
Chen Muye shifted his gaze from Hong Ying and looked into the valley in the distance. He spoke quietly:
"I've said it before, this kid is good."
...
At that moment, far from the cemetery.
Dozens of miles away, Leng Xuan, crouching on the mountaintop, lowered his binoculars and grinned.
"Everyone's hiding with no skills. Caught it again..."
Click click!
The sound of a camera shutter came as several high-definition photos fell out of Leng Xuan's binoculars. Some were of Hong Ying carving the tombstone alone, others of Lin QiYe and Wen QiMo chatting, and a few of the two big men in the woods doing... questionable things...
He carefully collected the photos, placing them into a locked box.
The box was filled with photos.
Photos that belonged solely to the 136 Squad. Funny, awkward, yet warm moments.
...
Two hours later.
Lin QiYe stood in front of a luxurious villa, dumbfounded.
He looked down and double-checked the address on the note, then glanced up at the villa, gasping.
"She's a rich woman?!"
If Lin QiYe wasn't mistaken, the villa in front of him was Hong Ying's home.
He vaguely recalled her saying: "My house is pretty big..."
Pretty big? It's more than that!
Lin QiYe hesitated in front of the door for a long time before finally steeling himself and knocking.
Earlier, he and Wen QiMo had silently watched Hong Ying carve the tombstone in the cemetery, and stayed until she finished. To avoid raising her suspicions, he had deliberately arrived half an hour late, leaving a time gap.
He knocked twice, then quickly pulled his hand back.
The faint sound of slippers shuffling came from behind the door, and soon after, the villa's main door opened.
There stood Hong Ying, dressed in a fluffy nightgown, her eyes slightly red. When she saw Lin QiYe, a smile appeared on her face.
"QiYe, come in. Why are you so late?"
"Wen QiMo kept me talking," Lin QiYe lied smoothly.
Walking inside, Lin QiYe lowered his head and noticed that Hong Ying had already prepared a pair of slippers for him.
"Uh... the house isn't cleaned up today, so it might be a little messy. Don't mind it!" Hong Ying nervously played with a strand of hair, wrapping it around her finger. "Sorry about that."
"It's already very clean." Lin QiYe looked around and helplessly said, "And honestly, as long as there's a place to stay, I'm happy."
It had to be said that everything in Hong Ying's house, from the decor to the furnishings, exuded an elegant and grand atmosphere. For someone like Lin QiYe, who had never stayed in a villa, it felt a bit out of place.
Plus... he had never stayed overnight at a girl's house before.
"Is QiYe here?"
A soft voice came from upstairs. Lin QiYe looked up and saw Xiao Nan, groggy from sleep, leaning on the banister, looking down and asking quietly.
"Yeah." Hong Ying nodded.
Lin QiYe was momentarily stunned and turned to look at Hong Ying.
Hong Ying smiled at him. "I don't stay in the dorms, and I'm not comfortable leaving Xiao Nan alone, so she stays here with me most of the time."
Lin QiYe understood now.
Just then, he seemed to recall something and asked, "What about your parents? Will it be a problem for me to stay here?"
"They're fine." Hong Ying shook her head. "Five years ago, they disappeared in the mist. Before Xiao Nan came, I lived here alone."
"They were members of the reconnaissance team?"
"Yes."
Lin QiYe opened his mouth, but he immediately realized he had asked the wrong question and didn't know what to say to comfort her.
At that moment, Hong Ying pointed toward a room on the second floor.
"That room is for you. I've already cleaned it up. The blue towels and toiletries in the bathroom are yours, don't mix them up!" Hong Ying walked up the stairs in her slippers.
As she reached the top, she suddenly turned around and looked at Lin QiYe.
"By the way, if you want to go into my or Xiao Nan's room, you have to knock first! If I catch you with any bad intentions..." She gave a mischievous smile and raised her arm, showing off her fair skin.
"Don't forget, I'm the main combat force in the squad. No one can beat me, except the Captain!"
Hong Ying playfully flipped her hair and walked into her room with confident strides.
Lin QiYe: ...
Xiao Nan, who was lazily leaning on the railing, yawned and waved at Lin QiYe. "Good night."
Thud!
The two doors closed, and the corridor fell silent again.
Lin QiYe suddenly had an idea. He quickly walked to Hong Ying's door and knocked a few times.
Screech...
The door slowly opened, and there stood Hong Ying with a long gun in hand, her face unamused as she raised her chin.
"What do you want to do?"