By the time You Shuo stepped onto the teleportation device, he'd already composed his expression — even splashed water on his face. But the exhaustion beneath his eyes couldn't be hidden. He hadn't slept in forty-eight hours.
He drew a deep breath and swiped his card on the device. Blue light flashed, and in an instant, he appeared at the center of a floating platform. Arc-shaped tables curved around him, and seated at each was a figure wearing the face of a Nightwatch mask.
Above stretched an endless canopy of stars. There were no lights in this space, yet it was bright all the same.
"【Yanmo】, you committed serious dereliction of duty in the Jiao Tu case. Do you plead guilty?"
The question came from the Nightwatch seated at the highest position — his voice aged and deep, heavy with authority.
You Shuo bowed his head. He was the only one here without a mask.
"I plead guilty."
【Jiao Tu】 was his teammate Yiluoqi. That meant for years, Yiluoqi had been using his ability to serve a criminal organization — had even killed ability users — all while he, the captain, had known nothing.
This was the responsibility he bore as captain. Failing to fulfill it was his dereliction of duty.
"The follow-up investigation into 【Jiao Tu】 and the organization behind him, the 【Tianli Sect】, is hereby transferred to Chiyu City Nightwatch district captain 【Fuhuajin】. Headquarters is revoking your Jinli City district captain clearance card. You are sentenced to three months of suspended duties for self-reflection, with one year's salary deducted. Do you have any objections?"
"None," You Shuo said.
He didn't raise his head. Headquarters calling a meeting at this hour — it couldn't be about his punishment alone.
Sure enough, this time it was a masked figure on the left who spoke. "【Yanmo】, how much do you know about the Demon God?"
You Shuo shook his head. It was the first time he'd heard the title.
"I've heard the name before, but only in my mom's bedtime stories." A masked figure crossed one leg over the other. "She said there were beings in the ability world beyond SS-rank — monsters that eat children."
"My mom told me the same thing." Another masked figure lay half-sprawled across the table. "Except hers was about a Demon God who lured little ability users away with lollipops. Nobody could beat Him, and once He snatched you, no one could save you."
"Sounds like a horror story made up to scare children." A masked figure raised his hand in the gesture of pushing up glasses, adjusted empty air, then lowered it.
"But Bi Xi is real," said the figure at the highest seat.
The conference table fell silent for a beat. The masked figure sprawled on the table spoke up — her clear, girlish voice cutting through the quiet. "We've all been using euphemisms, and you actually dare say the name?"
The figure at the highest seat didn't respond. It wasn't an easy remark to answer.
The one who broke the silence was 【Zhi Tianming】. He and You Shuo had arrived one after the other, but while You Shuo was here to be disciplined, Zhi Tianming was here to watch him get disciplined.
"The Demon God is beyond anything the Nightwatch can handle. Will headquarters be contacting the four SS-rank users?" 【Zhi Tianming】 sat in his chair without a mask, looking remarkably composed. "I'm quite afraid of being devoured one day out of the blue. Doesn't the Nightwatch have a solution?"
The voice of the figure at the highest seat grew heavier. "Headquarters has reached out."
The masked figure at the lower right pushed up invisible glasses again. "【Red Moon】 has withdrawn from worldly affairs for a long time — no response. 【Yun Qianzhang】 is absorbed in building his commercial empire and has no interest in Hidden World matters. His reply was that if the chance ever came, he'd love to invite the legendary Demon God to dinner, snap a photo, and put it on his bedroom nightstand for good luck. 【Eros】 has always despised ability users — she killed our liaison and told us to get lost. As for the fourth, their trail has gone cold for years. If not for records confirming four SS-rank users exist, no one would even know where to begin looking, and we have no way to make contact."
"So the Nightwatch is powerless, then." 【Zhi Tianming】 offered a polite smile.
"That might be true, but it sounds awful when you actually say it out loud," said the leg-crossing masked figure.
The figure at the highest seat put a hand to his mouth and gave a heavy cough.
"At this stage, Bi Xi has a strong interest in 【Yanmo】. 【Yanmo】 — if you find yourself bored during your suspension, headquarters has a formidable task for you. You are our only avenue for learning about Bi Xi — His real name, where He comes from, what His purpose is. During your suspension, engage with Him more often."
"Basically, they want you to cozy up to Him." The table-sprawling masked figure snapped her fingers.
You Shuo looked up, disbelief bleeding into his voice. "I don't even know what I am anymore!" What was he, after trading away his soul? Could they really trust him with a task like this?
"What's the big deal? People die every day. Everyone's killing everyone else. Worst case, you just die." The table-sprawling masked figure yawned behind her hand.
The atmosphere stiffened. The glasses-pushing masked figure spoke up. "This is about ensuring the survival of all ability users. Who knows whether the Demon God might suddenly grow bored and go on a killing spree? Getting close to Him, keeping Him placated — it's absolutely necessary."
"Don't let personal emotions bleed into your work, 【Yanmo】," said the figure at the highest seat. "You've already made one mistake. Don't repeat it."
The words struck where it hurt. It was precisely because he'd trusted Yiluoqi too much that tonight's events had unfolded the way they did.
"...Understood." You Shuo lowered his head.
He more or less understood the meeting's true purpose now. His punishment was secondary — what they really wanted was to plant him at Bi Xi's side as the Nightwatch's spy.
Things were more or less settled. It was time to let him go — he was truly exhausted. There was so much left to deal with. Everything that had happened tonight had been too overwhelming, too chaotic, and he needed time to process what he'd been suppressing.
But the meeting wasn't over yet.
"One more thing. Your sister," said the figure at the highest seat.
You Shuo's weary heart clenched tight once more.
"Your sister was resurrected by Bi Xi. Have you noticed anything abnormal about her?"
"She's fine. The same as before." You Shuo's voice was dry.
"Would you like headquarters' research institute to run an examination — "
"No." You Shuo cut him off, his tone firm. "She's fine. She's just an ordinary person. Hidden World matters have nothing to do with her."
Sensing his resistance, the figure at the highest seat paused. "Very well. We won't force the issue. But she was brought back from the dead, and if Bi Xi grants wishes in twisted ways, then confirming whether she's still herself is critical. We'll give you a choice: wear a camera device during your interactions with her, with a live feed to headquarters. We'll make the determination ourselves. If we confirm she's truly unaware of things, headquarters will subsequently arrange a medical checkup for her and station round-the-clock protection at her side to ensure she's never again harmed by your enemies."
Headquarters had conceded. You Shuo's tone relaxed slightly. "I don't want her appearing in the manga."
On the way here, 【Zhi Tianming】 had already briefed him on the manga situation. His own identity being exposed didn't matter — but he was genuinely terrified of You Ling's identity being revealed. Any contact with him carried a chance of appearing in that manga.
Appearing in the manga meant information disclosure. You Ling was an ordinary person. Her life would be disrupted.
"She won't," said the figure at the highest seat. "The manga has been serializing for this long, and not even her name has appeared once — clearly she isn't an important character. Based on headquarters' analysis of the existing chapters, the artist doesn't give panel time to insignificant characters. You needn't worry about her identity being exposed."
You Shuo agreed. "I accept. But I need to see the protection detail's daily reports as well."
The figure at the highest seat nodded in approval, and the meeting concluded. Blue light flashed — the table-sprawling masked figure vanished first, followed by the leg-crossing one. They disappeared one after another from the floating conference room.
Until at last, only You Shuo and the figure at the highest seat remained.
"You Shuo." The figure's voice softened. "Don't blame headquarters for being cold. Everything we do is for the sake of rules and justice — for the peace we strive to uphold in the Hidden World."
"I understand," You Shuo said, repeating the words the old captain had spoken when she entrusted Jinli City to him. "We are the last line of defense for human rights."
The figure at the highest seat smiled with satisfaction, then coughed. "Regarding what 【Jiao Tu】 told you — I must also provide an explanation on headquarters' behalf."
He placed a sealed document envelope on the table. Blue light flickered, and in an instant it appeared in You Shuo's hands.
"The identities of Nightwatch members are classified at the highest level. After your parents died, their files were immediately sealed. Headquarters had no way of knowing they'd left behind a pair of children."
You Shuo's grip tightened around the envelope, crumpling the kraft paper. He opened it and locked his gaze onto the original identification documents inside.
Two Nightwatch member profiles — real names, code names, and a list of every mission completed across their lifetimes. Two brief pages, summarizing the entirety of two lives.
ID photos were affixed at the top. The two faces bore a striking resemblance to his parents as he remembered them, though the years had placed a blurring filter over those memories.
Looking closely, Lingling has Mom's eyes. The thought crossed his mind.
"Headquarters deeply regrets the years you spent adrift," the masked figure said. "These are SSS-classified documents. Your parents were killed in the line of duty. The notorious ability criminal they were investigating has never been apprehended."
You Shuo's gaze fell on the identical line at the bottom of both files —
Died during the investigation of S-rank ability criminal 【Spider Lady】. 【Spider Lady】 remains at large.
"But the hero's children ultimately became heroes themselves. Your parents would surely be proud, looking down from above," the masked figure said.
...
You Shuo emerged from the teleportation array clutching the kraft envelope and looked up. 【Zhi Tianming】 stood at the entrance with his eyes closed, waiting for him.
"Done?" 【Zhi Tianming】 said. "You got off easy, you know. They didn't dare go too hard on you."
"This was my failing," You Shuo replied, his mind elsewhere.
【Zhi Tianming】 glanced at him — his closed eyelids shifting almost imperceptibly.
"Fine, fine. Think what you want, You Shuo — but there's one thing you need to hold onto." 【Zhi Tianming】 sighed. "Consider it friendly advice. They went easy on you not because they're afraid of manga exposure — high-tier ability users who can alter ordinary people's perceptions aren't worried about that. They're afraid that if they push you too far, Bi Xi will intervene on your behalf."
You Shuo glanced at him. His thoughts returned a fraction, and the idea struck him as absurd. "I don't think so. Bi Xi doesn't care about me at all."
If Bi Xi truly cared, why had he ignored his cries for help? If he truly cared, why had he always treated him like a toy?
A devil's attention was no blessing. Handing your life over entirely, leaving it at a devil's whim to decide if you lived or died — that feeling was the worst there was.
【Zhi Tianming】 opened his eyes. He looked at You Shuo. "But they think so."
His eyes were a hazy moon-white, nearly indistinguishable from the whites surrounding them.
After that single sentence, he closed them again. "So hold onto Him, You Shuo. He's the only one who can save you."
...
The ability user 【Paper Cutter】 finished reading the group chat messages, then opened the manga app with a knot of unease and tapped into the latest chapter.
The information in the chat had been too alarming. He needed to see for himself what had actually happened.
What greeted him was the latest chapter's title page. This time, the artist had used a sprawling horizontal splash illustration.
Black-and-white figures walked to the left, their blurred silhouettes corresponding to various characters who had appeared throughout the story.
The clearest was Yiluoqi's profile — but even he was rendered in black and white, gazing toward the center.
At the center was a burst of vivid color: You Shuo, eyes blindfolded, facing right. And behind him, draped in brilliant hues, the devil — hands covering his eyes.
The emerald in the devil's gaze was the richest color of all. He was the most intensely painted presence in this entire world, and he saw only You Shuo. At the corner of his lips hung a sinister smile.
He had blocked out the black and white in You Shuo's eyes — and with it, his entire world.