Just as Lin Qiye and the others were pinching their noses and eating raw meat, a fragrant aroma suddenly appeared in the cafeteria, and everyone perked up and turned to look.
Old Sun was seen dragging a large tray laden with dishes as he quickly walked up to the members of the Masked Squad.
"Braised pork belly, chicken stew with mushrooms, ants climbing a tree, steamed sea bass... Wow! Is it really that good?!" Vortex swallowed hard when he saw the plate full of delicacies, his eyes shining.
"Hehe, it's rare for the little ones to come back, so of course I have to make something good for you." Old Sun rubbed his calloused hands on his apron and grinned.
"Thank you, Mr. Sun."
"Thank you, Mr. Sun!"
The other members thanked them, then picked up their chopsticks and began to eat heartily, chatting and laughing.
Gulp—!
In the quiet hall, the sound of swallowing saliva could be heard one after another. Even the new recruits who had just managed to eat a white steamed bun couldn't eat anymore after smelling this aroma.
These two hundred-odd pairs of eyes, like those of starving ghosts, were fixed on the large round table with the mask, as if they were about to rush up and snatch the food at any moment.
Wang glanced at them and silently placed the jade pendant from his waist onto the table...
Then he buried his head and continued eating.
"I'm not having it! Why can they eat and drink well while we can only eat steamed buns and raw meat!" a new recruit couldn't help but complain.
"Hmph." Old Sun's face fell, and he replied irritably, "When you little brats leave this camp and come back, I'll cook you a feast like this!"
Just then, Wang Mian seemed to remember something and waved to the twin.
"Qiye, Xiao Chen, let's eat something together."
Whoosh—!
All the new recruits turned around abruptly, staring at Lin Qiye, who was gnawing on raw meat and Lin Xi Chen who already stuff her cheeks like a hamsters with steamed buns.
Lin Qiye raised his eyebrows and glanced at Lin Xi Chen, who quickly swallowed the food in her mouth. They both hesitated for a moment, then both went to the round table of the Masked Squad and sat down.
"Come on, have some chicken." Wang Mian took a clean small bowl and began to serve food to Lin Qiye.
"Vortex, bring a few pieces of fish over there to Seven Nights."
"Okay."
"And some meat broth, please. It's quite delicious."
"I'll go get him a pair of chopsticks."
"Where's the rice? Is there enough rice? If not, I have more here." Rose stood up and served Lin Qiye rice. "Little sister, you look so frail! You need to eat more meat! Here, let Sister get some meat for you!"
"It's alright, Sister! I don't eat that much..." She kept piling meat into Lin Xi Chen's bowl; Lin Xi Chen waved her hands in protest, but couldn't stop Rose.
The Masked Squad treated the siblings with extreme politeness, so much so that Lin Qiye felt a little embarrassed and waved his hands repeatedly.
"No, no, you guys eat. I just came to ask some questions, I'll eat mine."
The Moon Demon was taken aback. "You're eating raw meat when there's good food available?"
"Um."
"Hey...look at your comrades behind you, their eyes are practically green with envy. Aren't you going to order some?"
"I'm a new recruit, I eat what new recruits are supposed to eat." Lin Qiye shook his head decisively.
Seeing that Lin Qiye had said so, the members of the Masked Squad had no choice but to sit down. Lin Xi Chen sat next to Rose, who kept piling food into her bowl; feeling that refusing to eat would be disrespectful, she reluctantly took a few token bites. She and Rose chatted animatedly—bonding as women—while leaving Wang Mian and Lin Qiye to discuss serious matters.
Wang Mian looked at Lin Qiye approvingly and said:
"Are you asking about the agent?"
"Right."
"Ask away, I'll tell you whatever I know."
Lin Qiye pondered for a moment, "What exactly is the relationship between the agent and God?"
"That's a very profound question..." Wang Mian pondered for a long time before slowly speaking, "Essentially, the relationship between an agent and God can be summed up in two words: 'contract.'"
"Contract?"
"For certain reasons, gods generally do not appear directly in human society. If they want to do something, they must find a suitable person to help them accomplish it. At this time, a mysterious contract is formed between humans and gods."
"The essence of a contract is an exchange. God gives a portion of his divine power to the agent, and in exchange, the agent needs to help God accomplish certain things."
"Of course, not just anyone can become an agent. Only when God Himself approves of you are you qualified to be an agent and thus fulfill this contract."
"Contract..." Lin Qiye murmured these two words, his brows furrowed with doubt.
If a contract was signed, there's no reason why he wouldn't know anything. The Seraphim gave him a portion of his divine power, but didn't mention what he was supposed to do at all...
Lin Qiye felt that this was more like a gift than a contract.
"So, what do you intend to do for the God of Time?" Lin Qiye looked at Wang Mian, then realized his question was somewhat impolite, adding, "If you can't answer, just pretend I didn't ask."
"There's nothing I can't say." Wang Mian shook his head. "About eight or nine years ago, when I was still an ordinary person, I was walking aimlessly down the street when a drunk truck came hurtling towards me."
"Before I could react, just as I was about to be knocked away, time around me suddenly stopped."
"Later, the God of Time emerged from the void, made a pact with me, and bestowed upon me his divine ruins. In exchange, I must one day enter Takamagahara and retrieve something for him from within."
"Takamagahara?" Lin Qiye was taken aback. "The land of the gods in Japanese mythology?"
"That's right."
"Does it really exist?"
"If the God of Time says it exists, then it must exist, but... I haven't found it yet." Wang Mian sighed helplessly.
Lin Qiye nodded. "So, joining the Night Watch was your own choice?"
"Yes, actually, before I joined the Night's Watch, the evil god's representative from the Church of the Ancient Gods approached me, trying to get me to join them," Wang Mian said calmly. "But I refused."
Lin Qiye seemed thoughtful. "Because the goal the God of Time gave you has nothing to do with which faction you belong to, they think they can recruit you?"
"That's right, even some people within the Church of the Ancient Gods have found clues about Takamagahara, but I really didn't want to associate with them, so I ultimately refused."
"And then they gave up?"
"It's not that simple. The people of the Ancient God Church are a bunch of lunatics. If they can't recruit you, they'll try every means to kill you."
"When I first joined the Night's Watch, they ambushed me three or four times. If I hadn't been lucky, I probably wouldn't be alive now." Wang Mian shrugged. "But now, they don't dare come after me anymore."
"Why?"
"Because they might not be able to beat me, and..." Wang Mian's gaze fell on the other team members on the table, a smile appearing on his lips, "I have a group of very reliable teammates. Whether it's a one-on-one fight or a group brawl, they wouldn't dare to touch me."
"Cough cough cough, Captain... It's best not to get sentimental during meals, it's easy to feel nauseous..." Vortex's expression was a little strange.
"But I'm stating the truth."
"Even so, you could have waited until no one was around to say it. Saying it now... how embarrassing!" Rose glared at Wang Mian, her cheeks puffed out in anger.
"Hmm... I'll be more careful next time."
Lin Qiye sat there in a daze, watching the seven people in front of him laughing and joking. After a long while, a faint smile appeared on his lips...