Outside the Corridor."I'm sorry, Qiye, I'm really sorry!" Li Yifei stood there, his head bowed, repeatedly apologizing. "I was just so scared at the time... I didn't think about anything; I just ran...I left you and Jiang Qian behind, and because of me, she...I don't expect you to forgive me, but since we're classmates, I still wanted to apologize to you!I'm sorry!"After he finished, Lin Qiye slowly spoke, "Running to save your own life when faced with danger is human nature. There's nothing wrong with that." Lin Qiye patted him on the shoulder. "Besides, if it had been me, I probably would have run even faster."Li Yifei: ...Li Yifei scratched his head, as if something had come to mind. "By the way, did you also sign that confidentiality agreement?"Lin Qiye froze for a moment. After hesitating, he nodded.It seemed Zhao Kongcheng hadn't lied to him. They really wouldn't harm the witnesses. It made sense that after Li Yifei escaped from the monster that night, he'd be found by them and made to sign a confidentiality agreement.If Lin Qiye guessed correctly, Liu Yuan had probably signed the same agreement.Although he himself hadn't signed yet, it was only a matter of time. Telling Li Yifei now that he hadn't signed would only make things harder to explain."Actually, even if they didn't make me sign it, I wouldn't tell anyone about this," Li Yifei sighed. "That scene... I never want to remember it again in my life. And besides, if I break the agreement, I'll end up rotting in prison. I have no intention of digging my own grave."Li Yifei rested his hands on the railing of the corridor, looking down at the bustling campus below with a wistful expression."Actually, I'd rather hope to join them."Lin Qiye was surprised. "You want to join them?""Yeah, I told them I was willing to give up my studies and join when I signed the agreement. But unfortunately... they didn't want me.""Why do you want to join? Your grades might not be great, but aren't you about to be admitted to a sports academy on a special recommendation?""Being a sports student is so dull. No—what I mean is... being an ordinary person is so dull." Li Yifei's eyes began to light up. "Joining a mysterious and powerful organization, secretly battling enemies hidden in human society, earning countless accolades... and when the truth is finally revealed to the world, everyone will remember my name!"Li Yifei clenched his fists, speaking passionately. "Isn't that every man's dream? Now that's a meaningful life!""You're romanticizing it too much," Lin Qiye said bluntly, shattering his fantasy. "You'd probably die on your first mission, torn apart by a monster into eight pieces, buried anonymously in the mountains. Your parents might not even know how you died. You'd just vanish from this world, all alone."Li Yifei: ..."Qiye, that's way too grim!""That's not grim," Lin Qiye shook his head. "What you just described? That's the fantasy."Li Yifei sighed helplessly. "Whatever. Anyway, they didn't want me, so there's no point in thinking about it. I'll just keep this secret to myself for the rest of my life.""Yeah," Lin Qiye glanced at the time. "We should head back; class is about to start."As the two walked back to the classroom, Lin Qiye could sense that Li Yifei was noticeably more relaxed than before. It seemed that his guilt over abandoning Lin Qiye and Jiang Qian had been weighing on him heavily.Still, when it came to escaping, Li Yifei and Liu Yuan had made completely different choices.Lin Qiye had no intention of going out of his way to bother Liu Yuan, but if the opportunity ever arose, he wouldn't mind teaching him a lesson.After finishing the day's classes, Lin Qiye slung his backpack over his shoulder and started heading home.The deaths of Wang Shao and Jiang Qian over the past two days had caused a lot of trouble for the school. Under pressure, the administration had decided to cancel evening self-study sessions, letting students head home early.What surprised Lin Qiye, however, was the high level of authority the Night Watchers seemed to possess. Normally, when two students died, people like Lin Qiye and Li Yifei—who had been with the victims—would surely be questioned by the police.But it had already been two days since the incident, and no one had come to question them.It seemed the Night Watchers had completely taken over the case. Their authority was high enough to silence the local police force entirely.As he walked, the sky gradually darkened, and a light drizzle began to fall.It was only a little after six, but the sky was already pitch black.Lin Qiye frowned. He hadn't brought an umbrella, so he quickened his pace toward home.The rain grew heavier. By the time Lin Qiye finally reached home, he was soaked to the bone. But the moment he opened the door, the rich aroma of food filled the air, washing away all his negative emotions."Ah, Qiye! Look at you, coming home like this!" His aunt, busy in the kitchen, hurried over when she saw him."It started pouring out there, and I didn't have an umbrella," Lin Qiye said sheepishly, smiling."If you didn't have an umbrella, you should've found a place to wait or called me to come get you! What if you catch a cold?" His aunt scolded, pretending to be angry.Lin Qiye scratched his head with a grin, saying nothing."Hurry and dry off. Oh, by the way, your teacher came by just now. I let him wait in your room," his aunt said, as if suddenly remembering something."Teacher?" Lin Qiye was puzzled."Yes, your PE teacher. He said he needed to talk to you. Go see him—don't keep him waiting."Grabbing a towel, Lin Qiye absentmindedly dried his hair.What the heck? The PE teacher? He'd only just transferred schools a few days ago and hadn't even attended a PE class yet. What could he want?Unless...A thought flashed through Lin Qiye's mind. Tossing the towel aside, he rushed to his room and opened the door.Inside, a familiar middle-aged man sat comfortably in a chair, holding a cup of tea and smiling at him.Lin Qiye frowned. "It's you? How did you find my house?"Zhao Kongcheng smiled faintly and held up the emblem from the table, giving it a little wave. "After you ditched me that night, I learned my lesson. I slipped this into your pocket last night. It's a tracker."Lin Qiye locked the door behind him and walked straight to the bed, sitting down. "I told you, I'm not joining your group.""I know. That's not why I'm here this time.""Then you're here to make me sign the confidentiality agreement?""Not that, either." Zhao Kongcheng shook his head. "I reported to the others that you'd disappeared. If I'm going to let you go, I can't have you sign the agreement. Otherwise, they'd know you're still around and would send someone else to persuade you. They... wouldn't be as easy to deal with as I am."Lin Qiye was taken aback. "Then why are you here?"Zhao Kongcheng pulled a roll of brown paper from his pocket, placing it on Lin Qiye's desk and slowly unrolling it."The Night Watchers' benefits are better than you think. After working for so many years, I've saved up quite a bit," Zhao Kongcheng said as he opened the paper.When the brown paper was fully unrolled, Lin Qiye's gaze sharpened.Inside was a thick stack of cash.