Chapter 15 Codenamed 003

Zhao Kongcheng felt like he was about to explode.

"Me! You still have the nerve to ask who I am? I'm the innocent victim you stood up last night, freezing in the cold all night!"

He gripped Lin Qiye's arm tightly, like a possessive uncle afraid someone would snatch away his dear friend. "I'm telling you, don't even think about acting dumb with me. You're not getting away today!"

Lin Qiye glanced at his firmly trapped arm and gave up any thought of resisting, resigning himself to Zhao's grip.

"Fine, where are we going to talk?"

"Come with me."

With that, Zhao Kongcheng linked arms with Lin Qiye and led him down a dimly lit street to a rather questionable destination...

When Lin Qiye saw they were approaching a couples' hotel, his face changed. He tried to pull away, panic flaring.

But Zhao Kongcheng didn't give him the chance, locking his arm tighter and dragging him toward the entrance.

"What… what are you planning? I'm warning you, I've got issues—hemorrhoids! You'd better back off..."

"What's with you high school kids and your imagination? We're just going to talk."

"Do we really need a couples' hotel to talk? Haven't you noticed the looks people are giving us? I'm dying of embarrassment here!"

"You don't get it. This place is a safe house; that's all. And besides, do I look like that type of person?!"

With a roll of his eyes, Zhao Kongcheng pulled the reluctant Lin Qiye to the front desk, where the receptionist, wide-eyed, gave them a long look.

"One dynamic passion-themed suite, please."

Lin Qiye: …

The receptionist, snapping out of her daze, seemed almost giddy.

"Certainly, sir! I'll need both of your IDs."

Reluctantly handing over his ID, Lin Qiye watched the receptionist's mind clearly wander to... creative scenarios. 

But who could blame her? A middle-aged man dragging a high schooler into a couples' hotel at midnight, claiming they were just going to "talk"—who'd buy that?

"Here's your room key! Room 3966. Enjoy your stay, gentlemen!" She winked, eyes almost disappearing into sly crescents as she looked at Lin Qiye.

Lin Qiye clenched his fists.

"What are you standing there for? Come on," Zhao Kongcheng said, leading the way to the elevator.

Once inside the room, surrounded by a bizarre assortment of "luxury" amenities, Lin Qiye's face turned red. Only now did he realize how elaborate this place was... definitely "dynamic."

Locking the door, Zhao Kongcheng finally let go, stretching as he sat down on the vibrating bed, his tense posture finally relaxing.

"Don't look so nervous; it's just a talk," Zhao said with a smirk, noticing Lin Qiye's wary stance.

Lin Qiye sighed and sank into the chair by the door. "Fine. So, what do you want to talk about?"

"You."

"Lin Qiye, seventeen, single, height 175 cm, weight—"

"You know that's not what I meant." Zhao Kongcheng rubbed his forehead, then gestured at Lin Qiye's eyes. "I'm talking about your eyes."

Lin Qiye fell silent.

"You've met Michael, haven't you?"

Hearing this, Lin Qiye's body tensed. After a long pause, he nodded slightly.

This man in front of him knew more than he let on, and whoever was backing him had to be no small force.

In that one statement, he also learned something important: the blazing angel he'd seen a decade ago was none other than Michael, the famed Archangel.

Seeing Lin Qiye's nod, Zhao Kongcheng's eyes lit up with excitement.

"What did he want with you? What did he say? How far can you go with your forbidden domain?"

The questions flew at him one after another. Lin Qiye's brow furrowed as he shook his head.

"You're asking too many questions."

Realizing he'd gotten carried away, Zhao Kongcheng laughed awkwardly. "Right, my bad. You probably have plenty of questions too. Go ahead, ask me anything."

Lin Qiye thought for a moment, staring into Zhao Kongcheng's eyes as he asked his first question. "Do mythological gods really exist?"

"They do." Zhao Kongcheng nodded without hesitation. "But not all gods exist."

"What do you mean?"

Zhao Kongcheng paused, choosing his words carefully. "What do you think mythology is?"

"Isn't it just ancient people's spiritual beliefs? A way to explain the mysteries of nature?"

"You're not wrong." Zhao Kongcheng nodded. "That's what everyone thought. At least, until a hundred years ago."

"A hundred years ago?"

"Yes, before the Mist appeared, no one had ever seen a real god." Zhao's eyes narrowed. "But after that mist shrouded the Earth, everything changed.

In September 1922, a year after the Mist's appearance, an exploration team from Daxia observed a massive dragon flying slowly over the Mariana Trench. That was humanity's first recorded sighting of a mythological creature.

After research, it was identified as Leviathan, the Chaos Dragon from the Bible, said to be one of God's creations. Its discovery shattered the understanding of the Daxian government—they realized that the world had fundamentally changed since the Mist's appearance.

To prevent public panic, the authorities concealed the findings.

Leviathan, as the first confirmed mythological creature, was assigned the codename 001. Subsequent discoveries were numbered in order.

The Archangel Michael you encountered was humanity's third recorded mythological entity, codenamed 003."

"1928?" Lin Qiye asked, surprised. "But we didn't even have lunar landing technology back then. How did they find an archangel on the moon?"

"It wasn't us who found him." Zhao Kongcheng shook his head. "In March of 1928, a golden sword beam shot out from the moon, crossed space, and obliterated an entire volcano in North America. Only then did we realize a divine being was on the moon."

"North America? What was there?"

"It took our exploration team a year to reach the volcano. Amid the ruins, they found another god, sealed in a forbidden domain…"

Zhao Kongcheng paused, looking at Lin Qiye. "The Fallen Angel, Lucifer."