“Mouse?”

Lin Qiye frowned slightly. He was about to take action when the mouse suddenly darted into a small crevice in the corner.

So even a big mansion like this can attract mice…

Lin Qiye shook his head slightly and left the room.

“Up so early?” Wen Qimo, who was still lying on the sofa, was awakened by the sound of the door opening, and lazily yawned.

“I’m used to it in the camp.”

Lin Qiye walked down the stairs and noticed that Hong Ying’s door was already open. He asked in surprise, “Where’s Sister Hong Ying?”

“She got up even earlier than you. She’s practicing with the spear in the backyard,” Wen Qimo turned over, covering his head with a blanket. “You guys keep getting up earlier and earlier, not letting people sleep… It’s only a little after five o’clock.”

Lin Qiye:…

It’s not that Lin Qiye likes getting up early, but after half a year in the camp, he has really gotten used to it. Every day, he was woken up before dawn by the sound of the bugle, and sometimes even had to get up at two or three in the morning for training… Being able to sleep until after five o’clock was already a relief.

Lin Qiye walked quietly into the backyard.

A girl in a white practice suit, with a high black ponytail, was swiftly dancing with a long spear in the spacious courtyard, leaving long marks in the air with the crimson tassel of the spear, the spear wind whistling.

Seemingly aware of Lin Qiye’s arrival, Hong Ying gracefully landed on the ground, swiftly put away her spear, and walked towards him with a smile.

“Awake?”

“Yeah.”

“Did that pig on the sofa wake up?”

“It seems not…”

“Never mind him. Let’s go. I’ll make you breakfast, and then we’ll go buy groceries,” Hong Ying seemed to think of something and licked her lips. “It’s been a long time since you went for training. You’re in for a treat tonight, hehe…”

“Sister Hong Ying, do you practice with the spear in the backyard every morning?” Lin Qiye asked in confusion.

“Yes,” Hong Ying nodded. “Master said that if you don’t practice martial arts for a day, you’ll regress a hundred days. I’ve been practicing with the spear every morning since I started learning, and it’s been twelve years.”

“Twelve years?” Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow. “So… Sister Hong Ying, how old are you?”

Hong Ying’s age had always been a mystery. From her appearance, she should be about the same age as Lin Qiye, at most two or three years older. In other words, she probably started practicing with the spear at the age of eight?

Hong Ying stuck out her tongue and said impatiently, “You can’t just ask a girl’s age! I’m not telling you!”

Helplessly, Lin Qiye followed Hong Ying into the house, and she kicked Wen Qimo on the sofa with a whip kick, then turned and busied herself in the kitchen.

After about fifteen minutes, a sumptuous breakfast was served on the table. Si Xiaonan, who had been sleeping in the house, was also dragged out by Hong Ying and reluctantly sat at the table, half asleep, and finished breakfast.

After breakfast, Hong Ying, Lin Qiye, and Si Xiaonan went out to buy groceries, leaving Wen Qimo at home with a sullen face, washing dishes and pots, completely reduced to a handyman.

What they didn’t notice was that in the corner of the ceiling of the house, a gray mouse was silently watching everything…

…

Cangnan City.

In the complex sewer system, a dense mass of mice surged like a tide, moving silently and quickly through the passages to an empty and dark underground cavern.

Dim sunlight filtered through the rusty mesh at the top of the cavern, and a huge, heavy fan swayed gently, casting swaying shadows in the dim space, with a faint smell of blood and chemicals in the air.

In the center of this underground cavern, there was a blood-stained operating table, with several surgical knives, axes, and even a chainsaw neatly arranged next to it, and two barrels containing eerie and dismembered body parts soaked in formalin.

The head of a giant snake, still with its eyes open, and the half body of a lizard.

On the other side of the stone platform, a young man in a black cloak with a hood sat quietly, with a chessboard in front of him, black and white pieces interspersed, but no one across from him.

Squeak, squeak…

A large number of mice poured in from the narrow passages, surrounding the stone platform, a silent and respectful mass, as if worshipping their king.

The young man held a black piece, his gaze falling on the mice around him, murmuring to himself:

“The fourth-generation artificial snake demon neurons have a much better compatibility with my psychic power than the third generation, creating a preliminary visual sharing system similar to that between the Nandu Snake Demon and the snake species. But to have the strong infectiousness of the snake demon, more experiments and improvements are needed…”

He slowly placed the black piece on the board, stood up from the stone platform, and walked to a cage filled with mice, reaching in and grabbing one.

A faint glow appeared at his fingertips, entering the mouse’s head. The mouse instantly fainted, and after a few seconds, it shook and woke up again.

Then, the mouse quickly crawled out of his palm and into the mass of mice, prostrating itself respectfully on the ground.

“This ability comes from the ‘snake species’ of the Nandu Snake Demon, using artificial snake demon neurons to link the consciousness of other creatures, control their actions, and achieve visual sharing… Unfortunately, for now, I can only implant the artificial snake demon neurons in the bodies of mice.

This fourth-generation artificial snake demon neuron will be temporarily named ‘fish species’…””With these four hundred plus ‘Fish Seed’ mice, I can completely control any movement in Cangnan City. If any mystery arises, I will surely find it before the Night Watchman…”

The youth slowly removed his hood, revealing an ordinary face, but if Lin Qiye were here, he would recognize him immediately.

His name is An Qingyu.

An Qingyu, who had vanished without a trace after teaming up with Lin Qiye to deal with the Nandu Snake Demon and failing to join the Night Watchman.

An Qingyu turned around, his gaze falling back on the chessboard on the stone platform, his eyes narrowing slightly.

“From the shared vision of the ‘Fish Seed,’ the situation in Cangnan City is very delicate…”

He sat back down beside the chessboard, gazing at the black and white pieces intertwined in complexity, and began to ponder:

“Hidden experts from all over The Great Xia, more than a dozen ‘River’ realm, former Night Watchmen who escaped from Fasting, the Mad Scorpion mercenary who disappeared three years ago, a woman suspected to be from the Ancient God Church, and even two ‘Sea’ realm powerhouses with extremely deep concealment…

The waters of Cangnan are getting deeper.”

He pinched a white piece between his fingers, looking towards a corner of the chessboard, his expression seemingly hesitant.

“These few pieces are in too dangerous a position, should I warn Lin Qiye…”

After a long moment, he seemed to have made up his mind, slowly placing the white piece in a corner of the chessboard.

“After all, we’ve shared hardships. This time… I’ll give you a hand.”