Chapter 114: Close Protection

In a daze, Lin QiYe slowly opened his eyes.

Staring at the familiar ceiling, he was stunned for a moment, then gradually sat up from the bed. His head was still somewhat heavy, but much better than before.

This was... Hong Ying's house?

Lin QiYe had been living here for over a month, so he immediately recognized the room. He rubbed his temples and turned to get out of bed.

Screech.

He opened the door, and saw a group of people sitting in the living room.

Chen Muye, Wu Xiangnan, Hong Ying, Wen Qimo, Si Xiaonan, Instructor Hong...

Hearing the door open, everyone looked up. Hong Ying's face darkened, and she slapped Wu Xiangnan on the back of his head!

"Didn't I tell you to keep your voice down? Now you've woken QiYe up, haven't you?"

Wu Xiangnan: ???

"QiYe, how are you feeling?"

"Yeah, I'm fine now…" Lin QiYe said as he walked down the stairs, puzzled. "But how did I end up here?"

"You overexerted yourself mentally and passed out," Chen Muye scooted to the right on the sofa, leaving a seat for Lin QiYe. "Hong Ying and Qimo arrived just in time and brought you back from the bus."

Lin QiYe sat next to Chen Muye and looked toward Instructor Hong with confusion.

"I sent the recruits to their destination, then went straight to Captain Chen," Instructor Hong said with a smile. "Since they were heading here, I came along too."

"QiYe, you saved everyone on that bus. I'll make sure to report it. If everything goes smoothly, you should get a medal for this."

"A medal?"

"The Night Watchers' merit system is different from the military's. You'll understand when the time comes."

"Ah…" Lin QiYe nodded, then furrowed his brows. "But why were we attacked with missiles? This should be under military control, right? Who would want to target us?"

Instructor Hong and Chen Muye exchanged a glance, and the latter sighed, "It wasn't an attack on all of you. They were targeting you, or maybe that little fatty."

"Ancient God Sect?" Lin QiYe wasn't dumb; he remembered what Wang Mian had warned him. As the agent of the Archangel, he was bound to draw the attention of the Ancient God Sect. And now, being the dual agent of both the Archangel and the Goddess of Night was unprecedented! It made perfect sense that the Ancient God Sect would take action against him.

"From the looks of it, they were involved," Instructor Hong nodded. "I just got word from the military—Missile Base 39 has fallen. However, most of the missiles require dual keys. In theory, even if the base is compromised, the missiles can't be launched without central approval. But five of the missiles were under maintenance, so they only had one key enabled. She took advantage of the loophole."

"Was it the Ancient God Sect?"

"When our people arrived, we found a lot of shattered stone statues and blood, along with a snake's eye painted in blood..."

"Stone statues and a snake's eye?" Lin QiYe thought for a moment. "Medusa?"

"Yes, it's probably the Medusa agent who recently joined the Ancient God Sect. Her codename is 'Snake Woman'."

Lin QiYe nodded thoughtfully. "So this holiday was really to..."

"To protect the recruits," Instructor Hong interjected. "Their target is you or Bai Li Tuming. By sending you out of the training camp under the guise of a holiday, it not only disperses the targets, preventing other recruits from being caught in the crossfire, but also hides you from them. It prevents them from using large-scale weapons against you."

"Plus," he continued, "the training camp is no longer a fortress."

Lin QiYe sighed deeply. "I see now. No wonder they wrapped up the physical training early and let us unlock our forbidden realms. They wanted us to break through quickly, and even allowed us to carry knives out of the camp..."

"Exactly. In the next few days, you need to be extra careful, and... try to go out as much as possible."

Lin QiYe blinked, taken aback.

Logically, as the prime targets, both he and Bai Li Tuming should have been hidden away. They should stay indoors unless absolutely necessary. Why would they suggest going out?

"You want to use me to lure them out?" Lin QiYe suddenly understood the key point.

"Exactly," Instructor Hong nodded. "Running away won't solve the problem. Since they've been patient for over five months, they can keep waiting, but we don't have the luxury of time. We must use these four days to eliminate them all!"

He added, "But don't worry too much. We've already placed trustworthy instructors throughout the city to protect you. And with Commander Yuan, a Sea-level expert, overseeing everything, they won't cause any major trouble."

Hong Ying leaned in and patted Lin QiYe's shoulder. "Don't worry, QiYe, with us in Cangnan, no one can harm you!"

"Right now, Leng Xuan is hiding somewhere nearby with a sniper rifle, keeping watch. No movement will escape his eyes," Wen Qimo added with a smile.

Lin QiYe's eyes lit up, and he smiled. "Actually, I can hold my own now."

"Then what about Bai Li Tuming? Where did he go?" Lin QiYe turned to look at Instructor Hong.

"He went straight to a five-star hotel in Cangnan after getting off the bus. His butler has already booked him a room... Oh, and he asked me to pass along the room number—9039. He said you should visit him when you have time."

"...Got it."

"Alright, since you're fine, I'll head back to the camp," Instructor Hong stood up and spoke to the group. "I'll see you back at the training camp."

Lin QiYe was surprised. "But the training camp was just bombed, wasn't it?"

"With Commander Yuan there, the camp is safe. But the traitor has to be caught quickly," Instructor Hong waved his hand at Lin QiYe. "See you at the camp."

"Mm."

After Instructor Hong left, Chen Muye slowly stood up, seemingly thinking of something. He turned to Lin QiYe and said:

"QiYe, tomorrow is New Year's Eve. Do you have any plans?"

Lin QiYe looked up, his eyes flickering, then slowly his expression dimmed again as if remembering something.

"No."

"Then come with Hong Ying and the others to buy groceries tomorrow morning, and tomorrow night, we'll have New Year's Eve dinner at the office," Chen Muye said, walking over to Lin QiYe's side, a faint smile on his lips. "I'll cook."

Lin QiYe froze for a moment, then smiled again, nodding.

"Captain, aren't you going to stay and protect QiYe?" Hong Ying pouted, slightly upset.

"With you, Xiaonan, and Leng Xuan here, what's there to worry about? Plus, the office isn't far from here. If anything happens, I'll be there in a flash. And besides..." Chen Muye shrugged. "Do I have a place to stay here?"

"People need to grow up, Hong Ying. You can't always protect QiYe," Wu Xiangnan stood up as well. "One day, he'll leave here and become a powerhouse on his own. Giving him too much protection now may not be the best thing."

"Hmph, you're just lazy!" Hong Ying made a face at Wu Xiangnan.

Wu Xiangnan ignored her teasing and walked straight over to Lin QiYe, gently patting his arm with a smile.

"Good job, kid. You've grown!"

With that, he waved at Lin QiYe and followed Chen Muye out of the house.

Suddenly, he turned back and looked at Wen Qimo, who was sitting motionless on the sofa.

"Why aren't you leaving?"

Wen Qimo raised his head, his tone serious. "I'll stay with Lin QiYe. I'll provide close protection."