"A mouse?"
Lin Qiye frowned slightly. Just as he was about to make a move, the rat darted into a small crevice in the corner.
So even big houses like this attract rats...
Lin Qiye shook his head slightly, didn't think much of it, and pushed open the door to go out.
"Up so early?" Wen Qimo, who was still lying on the sofa, was woken up by the sound of him opening the door and yawned lazily.
"I've gotten used to staying in the camp."
Lin Qiye walked down the stairs and noticed
Lin Xi Chen's door was slightly ajar, but judging by the sound of breathing, he was certain it could only be Lin Xi Chen. He asked in surprise:
"Where is Sister Hongying?"
"She got up even earlier than you and is practicing her spear in the backyard now." Wen Qimo rolled over and covered his head with the blanket. "You guys are all up earlier than each other, don't you let anyone get any sleep... It's only a little past five o'clock!"
Lin Qiye:...
It wasn't that Lin Qiye liked getting up early; the past six months in the camp had really made it a habit for him. Every day, he was woken up by the whistle before dawn, and there were even times when he was pulled up at two or three in the morning for training... He was already grateful to be able to sleep until five o'clock in the morning.
Lin Qiye tiptoed into the backyard.
A young girl in a white training uniform, holding a long spear and with her hair tied in a high black ponytail, moved swiftly in the open courtyard, graceful as a startled swan. The crimson spear tassel left long streaks in the air, and the wind from the spear whistled through the air.
Seemingly sensing Lin Qiye's arrival, Hongying's figure gently landed on the ground, swiftly sheathed her spear, and walked towards him with a smile.
"You awake?"
"Mm."
"Is the pig on the sofa awake yet?"
"It seems not..."
"Never mind him, come on, I'll make you some breakfast, then we'll go to the market to buy groceries." Hongying seemed to have thought of something, and licked her lips.
"It's been a long time since you've tasted the captain's cooking since you went to training camp. You're in for a treat tonight, hehehe..."
"Sister Hongying, do you get up this early every day to practice shooting?" Lin Qiye asked in confusion.
"Yes," Hongying nodded. "My master said that if you don't practice martial arts for a day, you'll regress a hundred days in your cultivation. I've been practicing every morning since I started learning the spear, and I've persisted for twelve years."
"Twelve years?" Lin Qiye raised his eyebrows. "So... how old are you, Sister Hongying?"
Hongying's age has always been a mystery. Judging from her appearance, she should be about the same age as Lin Qiye, or at most two or three years older than him. That means she probably started practicing spear when she was eight years old.
Hongying stuck out her tongue and said irritably, "How can you just ask a girl's age like that? I'm not telling you!"
Helpless, Lin Qiye and Hongying went into the house. The latter immediately woke Wen Qimo up from the sofa with a whip kick, then turned around and went into the kitchen to get busy.
About ten minutes later, a sumptuous breakfast was laid out on the table. Si Xiaonan, who had been sleeping in the house, was dragged out of bed by Hongying and reluctantly sat down at the table, eating breakfast in a half-asleep state.
The same went for Lin Xi Chen; Hongying later helped her change the bandage on her neck. Although the wound had already healed, Lin Xi Chen still had to keep it bandaged to prevent infection.
After dinner, Hongying, Lin Qiye, Lin Xi Chen and Si Xiaonan went out to buy groceries, leaving Wen Qimo at home washing dishes and pots with a bitter face, completely reduced to a tool.
Unbeknownst to them, in a corner of the house's ceiling, a small gray mouse was silently watching everything...
Cangnan City.
In the intricate sewer system, swarms of rats surged like a tide, like a well-trained army, silently and swiftly traversing the passages to a vast, dark underground cavern.
Faint sunlight filtered through the rusty wire mesh at the top of the hollow space, and a huge, heavy fan swayed gently, casting swaying shadows in the dim space. A faint smell of fish and medicine filled the air.
In the center of this underground cavern stands a blood-stained operating table. Next to the table are several scalpels, axes, and even chainsaws, all neatly arranged. Beside them are two barrels of formalin specimens containing bizarrely dismembered limbs.
A giant snake head with its eyes wide open in death, and a lizard with only half its body remaining.
On the other side of the stone platform, a boy wearing a black cloak and a hood sat quietly. In front of him was a chessboard with black and white pieces interspersed, but there was no one on the other side.
Rustling...
A large number of rats poured in from the narrow passage and surrounded the stone platform, forming a dark mass. They lay there quietly, as if they were worshipping their king.
The boy held a black game piece in his hand, his gaze fixed on the rats around him, muttering to himself:
"The fourth-generation artificial snake demon's neurons are much more compatible with my mental energy than the third generation. It can be considered a preliminary creation of a visual sharing system similar to that between the Nanda snake demon and snake species. However, to achieve the extremely strong infectivity of a snake demon, more experiments and improvements are needed..."
He slowly put down the black piece in his hand, stood up from the stone platform, walked to an iron cage full of rats, and reached out to grab one.
A faint light appeared at his fingertips, darting into the rat's head. The rat instantly fainted, but after a few seconds, it shuddered and woke up again.
Immediately afterwards, the mouse scrambled down from his palm and landed in the vast army of mice, respectfully prostrating itself on the ground.
"This ability comes from the 'snake species' of the Nanda snake demon, which can use artificial snake demon neurons to link the consciousness of other creatures, control their actions, and achieve vision sharing... Unfortunately, I can only implant artificial snake demon neurons in rats now."
"Let's tentatively name this fourth-generation artificial snake demon neuron 'Fish Seed'..."
"With these four hundred-plus rats carrying the 'fish seed,' I can completely control every little thing happening in Cangnan City. If any mysterious thing appears again, I'll definitely be able to find it before the Night Watchmen do..."
The boy slowly took off his hood, revealing an ordinary face, but if Lin Qiye were here, he would recognize him immediately.
His name is An Qingyu.
After joining forces with Lin Qiye to defeat the Nanduo snake demon and being refused entry into the Night Watch, An Qingyu disappeared without a trace.
An Qingyu turned around, his gaze falling once again on the chessboard on the stone platform, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"From the perspective of 'fish species sharing,' the current situation in Cangnan City is quite delicate..."
He sat back down at the chessboard, gazing at the clearly defined black and white pieces, their intricate arrangement, and pondered:
"Hidden powerhouses from all over the Great Xia, a dozen or so 'Chuan' realm experts, former Night Watchmen who escaped from the fasting place, the Mad Scorpion mercenary who disappeared without a trace three years ago, a woman suspected to be from the Ancient God Church, and even two extremely well-hidden 'Hai' realm experts..."
"The waters of Cangnan are getting deeper and deeper."
He picked up a white piece with his fingertips, looked at the corner of the chessboard, and seemed somewhat hesitant.
"These pieces are in too dangerous positions. Should we remind the Lin twin...?"
After a long pause, he seemed to have made up his mind and slowly placed the white piece in his hand in a corner of the chessboard.
"After all, we've been through thick and thin together, so this time... I'll lend you guys a hand."