I work as a security guard at a cemetery, and I overhear the dead chatting about getting rich quick.

When Lin Ye and Xiao Man were brought inside, the old drainage culvert entrance had been completely cleared out.

The cool white light was lowered very low.

Supports were erected outside the hole, the gas detector screen flickered, and a miniature robot stood by the edge of the black hole, like an insect waiting to burrow into the soil.

Several tomb raiders were organizing ropes and equipment.

Xing Shanhe stood in front of the makeshift table, looking at the blueprints.

Luo Xiaohu squatted down to the side, checking the lights, and occasionally stealing a glance at Lin Ye.

His eyes held curiosity, but also a hint of sympathy.

Lin Ye felt even more annoyed when he saw that look in Lin Ye's eyes.

He hates it most when people look at him with a "you're finished" look.

Because they are usually quite accurate.

Xiaoman was being watched by two people.

One male and one female.

It was her fellow disciples, Chen Jin and Bai Yuan.

They positioned themselves perfectly, blocking Xiaoman's path as she rushed towards the forest.

Xiaoman's shoulder hadn't fully recovered, and her face was colder than usual.

She didn't move.

But Lin Ye could tell that she had been looking for an opportunity.

Bai Yuan glanced at her.

"It's best not to try it."

Xiaoman said, "You can't stop me."

"Enough is enough."

Both of them spoke very little.

It was like two knives clashing together.

No sparks, but sharp.

Just as Lin Ye was about to speak, Master Lai placed his hand on his shoulder again.

Before the numbness had completely dissipated, Lin Ye immediately shut up.

Master Lai held his thermos and spoke slowly.

"Don't rush. You'll have your turn to speak later."

Lin Ye gritted his back teeth.

"Master Lai, your professionalism is quite impressive; you even manage the process of kidnapping."

Master Lai smiled.

"I'm getting old, and I like to do things in an organized manner."

"I can see that." Lin Ye glanced at his shoulder. "Clear logic, but brutal technique."

Master Lai didn't engage in banter with him.

He raised his chin.

"Miss Su has arrived."

Lin Ye followed his gaze.

The door of the temporary command vehicle opened.

Su Tinglan got out of the car.

She was wearing a dark coat, her hair was tied back, and she was holding a floor plan in her hand.

There are no light-colored knitwear.

There was no folk custom commemorative booklet on the high-speed train.

There was none of that gentle smile he had when he was peeling chestnuts for him at the entrance of Nanqiao Street.

She now stands under the cold white light, looking clean, quiet, yet unfamiliar.

It's like it's changed into a new shell.

Lin Ye looked at her.

For a moment, I wasn't as angry as I had imagined.

It was mostly empty for a while.

He had long suspected her.

It all started when we met on the high-speed train, when she mentioned that her cousin ran an antique shop in Nanqiao, and when her appearances seemed to happen at the most coincidental times.

He is not a fool.

He just never exposed it.

Suspicion is one thing, but seeing her standing at the tomb raiding site with your own eyes is another.

It feels like knowing there might be something wrong with the candy in your hand.

But if you actually see "highly poisonous" written on the back of the packaging, you'll still get pricked.

Su Tinglan walked up to him.

She first glanced at Master Lai's hand on Lin Ye's shoulder.

"Master Lai".

Master Lai withdrew his hand.

The numbness on half of Lin Ye's body finally began to dissipate.

He flexed his fingers and looked up at Su Tinglan.

"Miss Su."

He smiled.

"Your cousin's antique shop also offers a complete tomb raiding service?"

Luo Xiaohu lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly.

Xing Shanhe looked over coldly.

Luo Xiaohu immediately coughed and pretended to inspect the cable.

Su Tinglan did not laugh.

She looked at Lin Ye, her voice very soft.

"I really didn't want you to know this way."

Lin Ye nodded.

"Then how do you want me to know?"

He glanced at the old drainage culvert entrance.

"Are you going to dig up my workplace and then post it on social media to let me know?"

Su Tinglan's fingertips tightened slightly.

She pinched the edge of the paper, creating a slight crease.

"Linye."

"Um."

"This matter is not as simple as you think."

Lin Ye smiled.

"Is this what all people like to say?"

He took a step forward.

Chen Jin moved slightly.

Xiaoman also moved along with it.

Bai Yuan immediately turned to the side.

The atmosphere immediately became tense.

Master Lai raised his hand.

"Don't get angry, we haven't gone down yet."

Lin Ye ignored him.

He only looked at Su Tinglan.

"I know it's not simple. Your first appearance on the high-speed train is not simple. Your cousin happens to run an antique shop in Nanqiao, that's not simple. And you found a job at a folklore data center, that's not simple either."

He paused for a moment.

"But I still want to ask one question."

Su Tinglan looked up.

Lin Ye lowered his voice.

Which statement is true?

Su Tinglan did not answer immediately.

The night wind blew in through the gaps in the fence, carrying the smell of damp mud and metal equipment.

She looked at Lin Ye.

Suddenly, I remembered a training room from a long time ago.

White walls.

Cold light.

Rows of documents were placed on the table.

She was sixteen years old that year and was praised for having "a good memory and quick reflexes, making her suitable for contact tasks".

The person praising her spoke in a very gentle tone.

But she knew that he didn't really like her.

It's just an evaluation of a tool that can be used.

Over the years, she learned how to laugh, how to listen, and how to show a little vulnerability at the right time.

She can remember the preferences of every target.

It can make the other person feel understood.

They can also cleanly extricate themselves after the mission is over.

Nobody asked her what she liked.

Nobody cares whether she's tired or not.

She's gotten used to it.

Until on the high-speed train.

Lin Ye stood in the aisle, dragging his limping suitcase, stuffing luggage into it as he said the old suitcase was hard to handle.

She had only ever been close to him.

I just sat down next to him.

We were just chatting as planned.

But then the topic veered off course.

I ran to the grilled squid shop, ran to the seaweed shop at the train station, and ran to the fake bottle I bought for 18,000.

This was the first time she had smiled so happily during a mission.

That feeling was very unfamiliar.

It's like standing in a windowless room, and suddenly someone pushes open the door, letting the wind blow in.

It's not some earth-shattering freedom.

It's just ordinary people eating, watching movies, buying milk tea, and peeling chestnuts.

But she just happens to like that kind of ordinary life.

I liked it so much that I started replying to messages a little faster than planned every time.

Su Tinglan lowered her eyes.

"My initial approach to you was a mission."

Upon hearing this, the smile on Lin Ye's face vanished completely.

Xiaoman looked at Su Tinglan.

Bai Yuan also glanced at her.

No one around them spoke.

Su Tinglan continued, "The arrangements on the high-speed train were all made. The Mancang Antique Shop was also arranged. The work at the data center was to allow me to stay in Qingcheng."

Lin Ye nodded.

"Quite honest."

His voice was indifferent.

"continue."

Su Tinglan looked up at him.

"But later, some things weren't entirely acted out."

Lin Ye looked at her.

"What things?"

Su Tinglan paused for a moment.

Lin Ye added a sentence forward.

"chestnut?"

Su Tinglan remained silent.

"Movie?"

Her fingers tightened a little more.

"Or do you want me to buy you milk tea?"

Su Tinglan opened her mouth.

He didn't utter a single word.

Lin Ye smiled.

That smile is uglier than not smiling.

"Can't answer?"

Su Tinglan said softly, "It's not that I can't answer."

"What is that?"

"No matter what I say, you won't believe me now."

These words actually calmed Lin Ye down.

He looked at her.

Su Tinglan was also looking at him.

Separated by the cold white light and a pile of tomb raiding equipment, neither of them went any further.

Some things could have been said in a hot pot restaurant, at the entrance of a movie theater, or while peeling chestnuts at the intersection of Nanqiao Street.

But it just had to drag on until here.

They dragged her to stand in the grave, while he stood in the controlled position.

Anything else I say will sound like it's been mixed with sand.

Lin Ye lowered his head and chuckled.

"You seem to know quite a lot."

Su Tinglan's eyes flickered.

"Lin Ye, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"So what are you doing now?"

"We need you to go down."

"Because I can hear dead people talking?"

Su Tinglan remained silent.

Seeing her expression, Lin Ye's last shred of hope vanished.

"So you already knew."

Master Lai, holding a thermos, spoke up from the side.

"Otherwise, how could a cemetery security guard like you be worthy of Miss Su's help?"

Lin Ye: "..."

He really wanted to stuff the old man's thermos into the hole.

Su Tinglan took a step forward.

"Don't worry, they won't kill you."

"Them?" Lin Ye seized on this word. "And what about you?"

Su Tinglan stopped.

Lin Ye stared at her.

"Su Tinglan, are you them, or yourself?"

That sentence felt like it had struck a nerve.

The calm on Su Tinglan's face finally cracked a little.

Bai Yuan said in a low voice, "Miss Su."

She was giving a reminder.

Su Tinglan did not turn around.

She just looked at Lin Ye, and after a few seconds, she said, "This question is meaningless right now."

Lin Ye nodded.

"The meaningful question is, can I get out of here alive?"

"able."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Lin Ye smiled.

"You just said it yourself, it started as a mission."

Su Tinglan's face turned slightly pale.

Lin Ye didn't continue.

Because he knew that saying anything more would be useless.

He was genuinely disappointed.

It's true that she couldn't bring herself to say it.

But right now, the most real thing is that dark, old drainage culvert.

And the sounds that were gradually coming out of the cave.

Master Lai yawned.

"Alright."

He patted the thermos.

"You young people can settle your romantic entanglements outside. Now, go downstairs."

Lin Ye looked at him.

"Master Lai, you know how annoying you are?"

Master Lai nodded.

"Know."

"You knew that, yet you still did this?"

"I'm too old to change."

Lin Ye: "..."

Xing Shanhe walked over.

"The equipment is ready."

He handed the two safety buckles to his subordinate.

"Put them on."

Xiaoman immediately stepped aside, blocking Lin Ye's path.

"I'll do it myself."

Chen Jin stood to her side.

"Don't do it."

Xiaoman looked at him coldly.

"Don't touch him yet."

Chen Jin remained silent.

Bai Yuan handed the seatbelt and lighting device to Xiao Man.

"You do it for him yourself."

Xiaoman took it and quickly checked it over.

Buckle.

rope.

Small lighting.

Intercom device.

She opened the walkie-talkie and glanced at it, her brows furrowing slightly.

"One-way monitoring?"

Bai Yuan did not deny it.

"The signal is unstable below, switch channels."

Xiaoman packed the things back.

"I can dismantle it."

Bai Yuan said calmly, "You can give it a try."

The two of them faced off again.

Lin Ye sighed.

"Why don't you two have a fight first? I'll log off after you're done."

Xiaoman looked at him.

"Shut up."

Bai Yuan also looked at him.

"Stop talking nonsense."

Lin Ye raised his hand.

"Okay, I'll mute myself."

Xiaoman fastened his seatbelt.

She moved a little more gently than before.

She lowered her voice as she fastened the shoulder strap.

"After you go down, don't stray too far from me."

Lin Ye hummed in agreement.

How's your shoulder?

"It works."

"That sounds very ominous."

"That's enough to protect you."

Lin Ye paused.

Xiaoman didn't look at him, but just lowered her head to fasten the safety buckle.

"Can you really hear dead people talking?"

Lin Ye said in a low voice, "This is not something I can control."

"Then listen to what I have to say and tell me."

"You believe me?"

Xiaoman looked up.

"Protecting you doesn't mean I have to know everything."

Lin Ye looked at her and suddenly smiled.

"You can be quite loyal sometimes."

Xiaoman fastened the last button.

"It's not about loyalty, it's about duty."

Lin Ye: "..."

Row.

The familiar recipe.

However, it sounds much better than Su Tinglan's use of the word "mission".

Su Tinglan stood to the side, watching Xiaoman tidy up Lin Ye's equipment.

She did not speak.

She just curled her fingertips slightly.

This kind of closeness is quite ordinary.

It wasn't even close to being ambiguous.

But as she looked at it, her heart still felt a slight tightness.

Xiaoman was assigned to protect the forest.

But she seemed more like someone standing on the other side of the forest than she did.

And what about her?

She clearly didn't want to hurt him.

But fate, by a twist of fate, pushed him to the entrance of the old drainage culvert.

Su Tinglan looked away.

Master Lai happened to see her doing this.

He whispered, "Regret it?"

Su Tinglan didn't look at him.

"no."

Master Lai smiled.

"Stubborn to the end."

"Master Lai".

"Um?"

"You'd better really make sure he gets out alive."

Master Lai, holding his thermos, glanced at the cave entrance.

"That's natural; he's more useful than others."

Su Tinglan looked at him coldly.

Master Lai added a sentence.

"Useful people usually die later."

Su Tinglan didn't say anything more.

This kind of comfort is worse than no comfort at all.

Lin Ye put on his lighting equipment and was led to the entrance of the old drainage culvert.

The sealing layer at the entrance has been partially opened.

It wasn't the concrete pipes I had imagined.

Instead, it was a downward-sloping black passage.

On both sides, you can see very old bricks and soil layers, with white mold growing in the cracks between the bricks.

A damp, cold draft emanated from inside.

It has an earthy smell.

It also carried a slightly indescribable flavor.

Like a box that hasn't been opened for many years.

It's like rotten wood that's been soaked in water.

Luo Xiaohu, holding the gas detector, said in a low voice, "The reading is normal."

Xing Shanhe nodded.

"The first group goes first."

Master Lai said, "Lin Ye and I."

Lin Ye looked at him.

"I don't think this arrangement is very democratic."

Master Lai smiled broadly.

"You can offer your opinions."

"I won't go down."

"Opinion rejected."

Lin Ye: "..."

He turned and glanced at Su Tinglan.

Su Tinglan stood under the lamp, her face even paler than before.

She whispered, "Lin Ye."

Lin Ye looked at her.

"What's wrong?"

Su Tinglan seemed to have a lot to say.

Finally, only one sentence remains:

Don't be reckless.

Lin Ye smiled.

"Don't worry, I'm always very timid and stable."

After he finished speaking, he turned around.

But the smile vanished the moment he turned around.

A sound came from inside the cave.

It's very light.

It was so clear, like it was right next to my ear.

That's someone talking to Lin Ye.

It was more like the door being opened, and some lingering old sounds from underground being disturbed again.

They didn't know who Lin Ye was.

I don't know if he can hear me.

They only rang intermittently in the darkness.

The door opened.

"A living person... has come down again."

"The jade tablet must not be lost."

Lin Ye paused.

Master Lai looked at him.

"Did you hear that?"

Lin Ye did not answer.

He looked down into the depths of the old drainage culvert.

The light shone in for a short distance, then was swallowed up by the darkness.

The passageway resembled a half-open mouth.

Wait for them to walk in on their own.

Master Lai, holding his thermos, slowly took a step forward.

"Let's go."