Zhao Kongcheng had steam coming out of his ears.
"Me! And you seriously ask who I am? I'm the poor, innocent victim you conned last night — left to freeze for half the night because of you!"
He gripped Lin Qiye's hand tightly, as if he were some lovesick uncle afraid his boyfriend might get stolen. "Listen here, don't play dumb with me — there's no way you're getting away today!"
Lin Qiye glanced at his arm, which was trapped in Zhao Kongcheng's grip, and gave up the futile struggle, letting himself be led without resistance.
"Fine, you win. Where do you want to talk?"
"Just come with me."
Zhao Kongcheng kept a firm hold on Lin Qiye's arm and strode off in a direction only he seemed to know…
But when Lin Qiye realized they were getting closer to a couples' hotel, his face changed instantly and turned to flee the scene!
However, Zhao Kongcheng didn't give him the chance; with a quick twist, he locked Lin Qiye's arm even tighter and dragged him straight into the hotel.
"You… what are you planning? I'm warning you, I've got hemorrhoids, so don't get any funny ideas…!"
"…What is it with you high school boys? What's going on in those heads of yours? We're just here to talk."
"Who chats in a couples' hotel? Didn't you see the way everyone looked at us on the way in? I swear, this is so embarrassing!"
"You don't get it — this place is a safehouse. There's no hidden agenda. Do I look like… like that sort of person to you?!"
Zhao Kongcheng rolled his eyes, dragged the still-struggling Lin Qiye up to the front desk, and shot an extremely greasy flirtatious wink at the dumbfounded female clerk.
"One Dynamic Passion Theme King Room, please."
Lin Qiye: …
The female clerk was completely stunned. After a moment of mental meltdown, she suddenly got strangely excited!
"Alright, sir, I'll need your ID—and you too, young… gentleman, please show yours as well."
Forced to hand over his ID, Lin Qiye shot a weird look at the female clerk, who was practically bouncing with excitement — who knew what wild scenarios she was imagining?
But honestly, who could blame her? In the middle of the night, a middle-aged man dragging a teenage boy into a couples' hotel to book a 'Dynamic Passion' suite — all while claiming they just needed to talk… Who'd believe that?!
"Here's your room card — room 3966. Wishing you two… a pleasant stay!" The clerk beamed at Lin Qiye, giving him a look so sly her eyes were nearly slits.
Lin Qiye clenched his fists.
"What are you standing around for? Come on, let's go up." Zhao Kongcheng yanked Lin Qiye toward the elevator.
Once they'd swiped in and actually entered the room, Lin Qiye — innocent soul that he was —finally understood just how extravagant rich people's tastes could be.
It was definitely… passionate.
Zhao Kongcheng locked the door behind them, then finally let go of Lin Qiye, heading straight for the electric bed and flopping down. After a whole day spent tense, he could finally relax.
"Don't be so on edge — we really are just here to talk." Seeing Lin Qiye's battle-ready stance, Zhao Kongcheng let out a hearty, teasing laugh, half-scolding him in amusement.
Lin Qiye let out a sigh and sat on the couch by the door. "So, what do you want to talk about?"
"About you, of course."
"Lin Qiye, male, 17, single, height 175, weight—"
"You know that's not what I meant." Zhao Kongcheng rubbed his forehead, then pointed at Lin Qiye's eyes. "I mean your eyes."
Lin Qiye fell silent.
"You've met Michael, haven't you?"
At those words, Lin Qiye's body tensed ever so slightly. After a long pause, he gave a subtle nod.
Clearly, this man knew a lot more than he let on — and whatever powers backed him were anything but ordinary.
That single sentence also revealed something vital to Lin Qiye: the Seraph he'd seen a decade ago was none other than the famed King of Angels — Michael.
Once Lin Qiye nodded, Zhao Kongcheng finally relaxed, though his gaze quickly turned intense.
"Why did He choose you? What did He say to you? How well can you use the Forbidden Ruin now?"
Zhao Kongcheng's questions rattled out like machine-gun fire, making Lin Qiye frown and shake his head.
"You're asking too much at once."
Realizing he was getting carried away, Zhao Kongcheng gave an awkward laugh. "Fair enough. You've probably got plenty of questions yourself. Let me answer what I can — ask me anything you want to know."
Lin Qiye thought for a moment, then looked Zhao Kongcheng straight in the eye and asked his first question: "In this world… do gods from myths really exist?"
"They do." Zhao Kongcheng answered without hesitation. "But not all gods exist."
"What do you mean?"
Zhao Kongcheng paused, clearly deciding where to start. "Tell me — what do you think a myth is?"
Lin Qiye considered for a moment. "It's the spiritual support of ancient people? Or maybe their fear and fantasies about the unknown powers of nature?"
"You're not wrong." Zhao Kongcheng nodded. "That's what everyone believed — until about a hundred years ago."
"A hundred years ago?"
"Exactly. Before the mist appeared, gods had never shown themselves in this world." Zhao Kongcheng's eyes narrowed. "But ever since that fog blanketed the earth… everything seems to have changed.
In September 1922 — just a year after the mist appeared — a Daxia mist research team witnessed an enormous dragon slowly soaring through the skies above the Mariana Trench. That was the first time in human history anyone had ever observed a mythical creature.
After careful study, it turned out the dragon matched the description of Leviathan, the dragon of chaos, from the Bible — said to be created by God Himself. This revelation rocked Daxia's leadership. They suddenly realized that, ever since the mist rolled in, the world had become utterly different.
At that time, the mist was still new, and all of Daxia was in a state of panic. For the sake of national stability, the authorities kept the findings from that expedition a secret.
And since Leviathan — the dragon of chaos — was the very first mythical creature ever observed by humans, Daxia's leadership assigned it the code name 001. As new discoveries were made, each additional creature received the next number in sequence.
The Seraph you saw, Michael, was the third legendary being ever documented by humanity, officially given the code name 003 in 1928."
"1928?" Lin Qiye was taken aback. "Back then, we hadn't even developed lunar landing technology. How did anyone find a Seraph on the Moon?"
"It wasn't us who found Him." Zhao Kongcheng shook his head. "In March 1928, a golden sword-light shot out from the Moon, crossed through space, and flattened a large volcano in North America. Only then did we realize that there was a divine being residing on the Moon."
"North America? What was there?"
"Our scientists spent a year reaching the volcano, and amid the ruins, they discovered another entity sealed within a Divine Ruin — Mythical Being 004…"
Zhao Kongcheng paused, then continued, "The Fallen Angel—Lucifer."