Pamir Plateau.

Kongur Peak.

"Loki is coming?!"

In the temporary base at the top of the mountain, after listening to An Qingyu's description, Baili Pangpang widened his eyes in shock, "Fuck!"

Cao Yuan's expression was also extremely solemn. "Where's Qiye? Is he okay?"

An Qingyu sat cross-legged on the ground, clipping his savage-like nails while answering, "I didn't see him in Kunlun Xu, but now Commander Zuo and Mr. Lu are working together to hunt down Loki, so nothing should happen."

Hearing this, the other three people present breathed a sigh of relief.

There are only a few hours left before the last day for the recruits to cross the Pamir Plateau. The recruits who have not been eliminated have all entered the last section of the journey. As long as they trek through the last few kilometers, they will start climbing Kongur Peak.

Jiang Er and others who were responsible for the first few sections of the journey also returned to the temporary base on Kongur Peak. Only Shen Qingzhu remained on the top of the mountain, guarding the last checkpoint.

"But, several days have passed, why hasn't Qiye come back yet?" Baili Pangpang's face was still full of worry.

"The situation in Kunlun Xu is far more complicated than we imagined. Maybe he has some opportunities in there." An Qingyu recalled the Peach Festival where a group of immortals gathered in his mind and spoke calmly.

"The new recruits will soon finish their assessment. If Qiye doesn't come back to take charge, things will be a little difficult."

"By the way, what about the eliminated recruits?"

"I'm still a volunteer in the border defense company." Baili Pangpang peeled a slice of orange, put it in his mouth, and sighed.

"I don't know how many people will be enlightened after so many days..."

…

The western border of Daxia.

Kayushi Border Defense Company.

The biting cold wind howled from the end of the barren land, blowing up fine dust and mercilessly hitting Su Zhe's red cheeks.

He wore a thick military cap and carried a gun, his lips trembling slightly in the cold wind. In just a few days, his originally fair and delicate face had become rough and weathered.

His Adam's apple rolled and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. The feeling of hunger kept rising in his heart. He wanted to look down at the time, but his neck was stiff and painful.

Just then, a hand patted his shoulder.

"It's time to change shifts, little rookie, go eat."

Su Zhe felt as if he had been pardoned when he heard this voice. While stretching his muscles, he turned around and smiled at the border guard who was also wearing a military uniform, "Thank you for your hard work."

The soldier waved at him and smiled slightly with his cheeks that were slightly flushed from the high altitude.

Su Zhe, who was starving, rushed into the cafeteria quickly, took the plate from the metal rack, picked up some cold food, found a table to sit down alone, and started to wolf down the food.

"Eat slowly, you look like a starving ghost." Su Yuan walked over to sit opposite him with a plate in his arms, and silently rolled his eyes. "I didn't see you this hungry during the training camp."

"That's different. When I was in the training camp, I ate Instructor An's fish cakes and didn't feel hungry even after training for a whole day." Su Zhe pointed at the food on his plate, "The food here... has too little oil."

Su Yuan didn't say anything, he just picked up the chopsticks and started eating silently.

"By the way, tomorrow should be the last day of the assessment." Su Zhe said, wiping the corner of his mouth as if he had thought of something.

"Um."

"What are your plans after tomorrow?"

Su Yuan paused for a moment while holding the chopsticks. "I don't know."

"Do you think we will really be sent back home?" Su Zhe looked around and asked in confusion, "If we really have no hope of staying, why did Instructor Lin send us here? What does he want to do?"

"Instructor Lin said that the real teaching has just begun after the elimination." Su Yuan said calmly, "He must want to express something to us through this..."

Before the two finished speaking, a voice came from behind them.

"You two siblings have such a good relationship." A middle-aged man with high cheekbones and a round and honest figure smiled and sat down next to the two of them.

Su Zhe knew this man. His name was Ke Changlin. He slept on the upper bunk above him. He was a soldier guarding the border in this border defense company. After Su Zhe arrived here, it was he who personally took Su Zhe to introduce everything here.

Ke Changlin took out a piece of oil paper from his arms, opened it on the table, and a few pancakes were quietly spread on the table.

"My Ana just came to visit me and brought some homemade goat milk cakes for you to try."

"Ana?" Su Yuan was a little confused when he heard these two words.

"That's what my mother meant." Su Zhe explained, "Uncle Changlin's mother is from an ethnic minority, his father is Han, and he grew up on the plateau."

Su Yuan nodded, thanked him politely, then picked up the scone and tasted it.

"I say, how come you two young and delicate people come to our place to be volunteers?" Ke Changlin couldn't help laughing as he watched Su Yuan eat elegantly. "It's bitterly cold at the border, and the conditions are poor. Most people don't even have time to hide. This is the first time I've seen young people like you take the initiative to come up to me."

Su Yuan and Su Zhe looked at each other and tacitly did not answer this sensitive question, but asked back:

"We are all just volunteers. Uncle Changlin, you know the conditions are so bad, why did you come to guard the border?"

Ke Changlin smiled and said, "Me? My home is on this plateau, just over the hill behind. I'm close to them here, so it's convenient for Ana to come visit me.

And you know, this fog has been covering the border for so long, who knows what strange things will rush out of it?

I am here to watch over you, so Ana and my two brothers can live more peacefully."

"What will rush out of the fog?" Su Yuan asked pretending to be confused.

The border defense company is not a special organization like the Night Watch that deals with "mystery". It is just a military border checkpoint. As early as more than a hundred years ago, when the fog had not yet fallen, this border defense company was responsible for guarding the national border.

The soldiers stationed here are not super-powered people with forbidden powers, but ordinary people who have received military training. They don’t even know the existence of "mystery" and gods.

"Who knows?" Ke Changlin shrugged. "The news said that all the creatures in the fog died. But, looking at such a large fog every day, I always feel scared... It's that kind of fear of the unknown, as if some monster will suddenly jump out."

Su Zhe nodded and couldn't help but say: "However, a monster that can rush out of the fog must be very terrifying, right? Can we kill it with our firepower?"

"We have to do it even if we don't die." Ke Changlin slapped the table and pointed his other hand behind him.

“If the border is breached, what will happen to my family?”