I write obituaries for the gods

After a long silence, Jiang Zhengge spoke softly:

Why didn't you contact me?

“You didn’t look for me either.” tide Lena said, her head down.

“I’m worried you’ll get involved; it’s too dangerous,” Jiang Zhengge said.

tide Lena raised her head and glanced at him.

“Me too,” she said softly.

The two fell silent once again, standing like two statues amidst the passing crowd.

“You triggered the entity’s activity ahead of time, which opened the entrance to the ruins earlier, but also prevented it from appearing at its peak at midnight,” Jiang Zhengge said softly. “The Rom Hunters saved Rain City, and I hope you know that.”

“Is that so?” Xilena’s voice was hollow. “But I couldn’t save anyone.”

After tears streamed down her knees, Xileina realized she was crying.

She gently wiped away her tears and looked up at Jiang Zhengge.

"I couldn't save anyone," the girl choked out.

An impulse surged through Jiang Zhengge's mind, and he opened his arms and pulled tide Leina into his embrace.

He could feel Xileina tremble slightly a few times, then curl up slightly and sob in his arms.

"Boom!"

A flash of thunder illuminated the top of the tent in a stark white light.

When Wu Hao walked into the tent with his tablet, he saw tide Leina lying asleep in Jiang Zhengge's arms.

"Is there something wrong?" Jiang Zhengge asked in a low voice.

Wu Hao didn't say anything. He took two steps forward and handed the tablet to Jiang Zhengge.

Jiang Zhengge took the tablet and glanced at the screen: an analysis table was displayed on it.

“There seem to be remnants of several demigods in the shadows of the subspace at the scene,” Wu Hao said in a low voice. “The Foundation is very likely involved in this matter.”

"Keep an eye on it." Jiang Zhengge handed the tablet back to Wu Hao.

"Please accept my condolences, Lao Jiang." Wu Hao gently patted Jiang Zhengge's shoulder.

"Ah."

Wu Hao left the tent, leaving only Jiang Zhengge and tide Leina behind.

Outside the tent, a torrential downpour was in full swing.

......

Two hours later, in the interrogation room.

tide Leina sat behind the iron plate table, looking down at her wrist: Jiang Zhengge hadn't locked it for her.

According to him, a procedure needs to be followed, since Xileina is a civilian and experienced such a high-risk subspace erosion event.

But Xileina knew things wouldn't go so smoothly.

The feud between her and Katrina is far from over.

Once she reveals that she is the "holy child" chosen by Katrina, she will be dealt with by the investigation bureau.

tide Lena did indeed think about dying in her despair, so that at least she could be reunited with her brother.

But now, she doesn't think that way anymore.

She is dead, but there will be another holy child, and another catastrophe.

History repeats itself.

Since Katrina allowed her to survive, time and time again...

Then she would personally plunge the knife into God's heart...

End this cycle.

"Name?" Xiao Fang asked, looking at tide Leina behind the iron bars.

“tide Lena Boswell”.

"age?"

"19."

"Profession?"

Through the iron bars, tide Leina and Jiang Zhengge looked at each other.

“Rom Hunter,” she said in a hoarse voice.

Half an hour later, Jiang Zhengge walked out of the room, leaned against the door, and lit a cigarette.

The interrogation did not go very smoothly. Xileina said almost nothing, only that she was "seeking revenge," without revealing any further information.

Before the incident, Jiang Zhengge really didn't expect that tide Leina could find a physical body—she really did use those Gypsy tricks to surpass the Bureau of Investigation's technology and find a unique entrance.

"What a difficult girl." Jiang Zhengge lit a cigarette.

The situation is unfavorable for Xileina: The official principle of the Investigation Bureau for such civilian groups is either to submit or to eliminate them.

After all, the ability to hunt anomalous entities means that a large number of them are psychic awakeners.

Organized and disciplined Gnostic awakenings mean unrestrained violence.

tide Lena will probably be tortured and interrogated until she spills everything she knows, and then she'll be locked up in prison.

Jiang Zhengge did not want this to happen.

He recognized the girl's eyes: like Jiang Zhengge, she had lost everything tonight and was left all alone in the world.

"Section Chief, the results from Lingzhi Spectroscopy are in." Wu Hao walked over with a tablet.

Jiang Zhengge took the tablet and glanced at the results.

"Unknown?" he murmured softly.

"What should we do?" Wu Hao looked at Jiang Zhengge with some nervousness.

Jiang Zhengge handed the tablet to Wu Hao, looked up, and took a deep breath.

"I'm going to talk to Sister Hua." He casually threw his cigarette butt on the ground and stomped on it.

"..."

Half an hour later, Jiang Zhengge entered the interrogation room.

He placed a contract directly in front of Xileina and whispered it in her ear.

“I’ve secured an opportunity for you,” Jiang Zhengge said softly. “Join the Rapid Response Division, be incorporated into the Investigation Bureau, and you can continue to investigate whatever you want, but you will be under official protection.”

tide Leina was slightly taken aback upon hearing Jiang Zhengge's words.

She looked up at Jiang Zhengge with some disbelief.

"Really?" she whispered.

“Listen, the Investigation Bureau cannot tolerate uncontrolled Awakened Spirits roaming freely. I’ve been the one protecting you all this time,” Jiang Zhengge lowered his voice slightly. “I understand, you must have some reason for not telling me your secrets…”

"But I believe you, okay?"

Believe.

Looking at Jiang Zhengge's tall figure, which seemed to block out half of her, tide Leina felt as if she were seeing her brother again.

She looked down at the contract and said softly.

“I have only one request,” she said.

"Please speak."

"Don't treat my people as warp waste."

The girl looked up.

"Give them a dignified funeral, okay?"

"Boom!"

Silver lightning ripped through the leaden-gray sky, and a sudden downpour began.

On the green lawn, Xileina stood in front of the grave, looking dazed.

At this moment, she had changed into the Investigation Bureau's uniform: a black trench coat, vest, white shirt with a tie, and a black long skirt.

She looked completely like a modern person; only through the few rom ornaments she wore on her head could one glimpse the edges of her identity.

Jiang Zhengge was standing next to tide Leina, holding an umbrella for her.

The two walked together past the graves of the Rom hunters: they were buried together in a long row.

Whenever she passes a grave, Xilena stops and offers a bouquet of flowers.

Jiang Zhengge kept looking at tide Leina: her face was expressionless, but she would stop for a long time at each grave, gazing at the name on the tombstone, bidding a final farewell with her eyes.

She lingered longest at her brother's tombstone, for as long as the clouds drifted by and the sunlight shone through the rain.

Finally, Xileina walked to the last tombstone.

The grave beneath the tombstone was empty, with an open coffin inside.

Rainwater flows over the tombstone, outlining the name of the deceased:

Xilena Boswell.

"..."

tide Lena knelt down in front of the tombstone and took out the little yellow duck that her brother had given her from her bag.

After staring at the cute, even somewhat comical, little yellow duck for a while, Xileina gently kissed its forehead.

"Goodbye, Xileina," the girl said softly.

She knew that Rombarlo, who had fought for his family, was dead.

All that remained was a ghost.

A vengeful ghost.

The purpose of her remaining life was to plunge a dagger into Katrina's heart and avenge her people.

"..."

tide Leina placed the little yellow duck into the coffin, then stood up and looked at Jiang Zhengge.

"Let's go." The girl's expression was calm, and raindrops streamed down her cheeks like tear tracks.

Jiang Zhengge nodded, and with a gentle wave of his hand, two investigators went up to begin filling the grave.

The two walked together toward the car parked by the roadside. In the distance, the horizon was obscured by gray clouds, and the gray tone made everything between heaven and earth appear blurry.

......

Chapter 21: Let's keep frying fish! (Second update)

"tide Lena's brother died in that warp erosion disaster, but returned several years later."

“We found traces left by the Foundation’s demigods at the scene. Only later did we realize that the Foundation had started its planning back then.”

"tide Lena's bloodline seems to be that of a suitable candidate for the Alpha-class entity 'Katrina.' The Foundation appears to have taken advantage of this, stealing tide Lena's brother's corpse, conducting some kind of experiment on him, and then creating a twisted demigod."

"That demigod is the Triton you see now."

At the conference table, Jiang Zhengge rubbed the bridge of his nose, looking increasingly tired.

After telling this story, he looked several years older; only at times like this did the marks of time quietly creep onto his face.

“After that, Xilena and I became partners,” he said. “The multi-eyed sirens killed my parents and her people. We were in perfect sync, searching for the creature every day, wishing we could tear it to pieces.”

"Was it found later?" Lin Chen asked.

“Found it,” Jiang Zhengge nodded. “The Investigation Bureau immediately organized an operation, after all, that thing could invade reality again at any time, and you have all seen how troublesome it is.”

"What was the result of that operation?" Li Zhanyi asked.

Jiang Zhengge remained silent.