NOVPUBThe high-ranking officials of the Mechanicus were kidnapped again.
The incident quickly became the hot topic of discussion in the 10th city, and during these discussions, people couldn’t help but wonder, "Why do we have to say ’again’?"
That’s when everyone realized there was a problem: for the past month, news about the Mechanicus was either about one of its branches being tricked away, or about Red-robed Bishops and Red clergy being kidnapped, and now even the Judge of the Third Court of Judgment had been taken.
Before long, even the Pope might get kidnapped, ah!
Some were even curious whether the Pope dared to come to the Central Plains or whether he himself worried about being kidnapped...
Moreover, tonight’s battle seemed too much like a farce; the Judge was like a toy in the enemy’s hands, with no power to fight back.
At this moment, Qing Chen and Yan Yan were walking on the street. He had already dismantled the Energy core of the Judge and handed him over to Luo Wanya, and as for how Luo Wanya intended to utilize him, Qing Chen couldn’t be bothered to care.
When Luo Wanya saw the Judge, he was completely dumbfounded.
Just a day ago, his boss had warned him that the Mechanicus would send a B-Class Expert, which had Luo Wanya extremely nervous.
A day later, the B-Class Expert really did come, but it was the boss who brought him...
So Boss, when you reminded me yesterday, was it just to prepare me to receive him? 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝘣.𝘤𝘰𝑚
That certainly was inconsiderate of you...
"Now, if the Mechanicus sends someone to the Central Plains again, they will be much more cautious," Yan Yan asked, "After all, they have to consider the possibility of being kidnapped again."
"Mhm," Qing Chen nodded, "The roots of the Mechanicus are deep, and their numbers are dozens of times greater than the Parents’ Meeting. What worries me most is that they swarm over and crush the Parents’ Meeting. As long as they hesitate, it will give the Parents’ Meeting room to grow. In another two months, if they want to take back city number 18, it will be as hard as reaching the sky."
Yan Yan tilted her head to look at Qing Chen: "Aren’t we going back to camp now? You need to be back before dawn, right?"
"Yes, but this time, dealing with the Mechanicus went too smoothly. There’s still a long time before dawn, and I can go do something else."
"After I drop you back at the camp, I have to return to the 10th city. The student marches are starting, and as an organizer, I can’t leave," Yan Yan said.
"Mhm, I know, go do what you need to."
Yan Yan said with a smile, "Let’s go, hurry up and get the next thing done. Song Niannian is waiting for you to come back."
Qing Chen: "Don’t talk nonsense, she and I have nothing to do with each other."
"Really?"
...
...
Three o’clock in the morning.
Qing Xing indulged himself online with some gossip about Qing Wen and, through the help of Kite Falcon, felt very content and satisfied before going to sleep.
He didn’t care at all about what happened to the Mechanicus; he only cared about how unlucky Qing Wen was.
Ever since their days together at the Qing Family School, Qing Xing had taken pleasure in Qing Wen’s misfortunes: strutting around the school with an ever-so-perfect posture, always being the first to raise his hand to answer the teachers’ questions, in the eyes of all parents, Qing Wen was always "someone else’s child."
So.
Even though Qing Xing, as a Shadow Candidate, wished that all the other candidates would die, his resentment towards Qing Wen was always a bit stronger than towards the others.
Seeing Qing Wen unlucky tonight brought him great joy.
Qing Xing planned to read the news again in the morning, using it to accompany his meal.
Of course, if Qing Yi could also have some bad luck, that would be great. That precociously mature kid always pretended to be innocent, yet somehow managed to charm the favorite of the Insider from Intelligence Department One and got public support.
Qing Xing had studied Intelligence Department One; he knew how much trouble Group Seven had caused for the other intelligence systems recently.
He pondered that if he could gain the support of such a character, his odds in the Shadow struggle would increase by at least twenty percent.
Oh, right, there was also Qing Wu; how perfect it would be if he didn’t overcome his mental barrier when breaking through to A-Class.
And so, Qing Xing slept drowsily, wrapped snugly in his thick down comforter.
Without knowing how long he had slept, Qing Xing suddenly woke from his dream.
He sat up abruptly and looked towards the bedside, where a Shadow stood coldly.
In an instant, a cold sweat soaked Qing Xing’s back: "Who?!"
In this luxury house of Blossom Community, the doors were all armored and only supported iris recognition.
Normally, only an old servant he had brought from home could come and go freely; even in the most urgent situations, no one else could enter.
The servant was his childhood nanny, who had been with Qing’s Family for decades, trustworthy.
"I remember the last time I warned you, if you use your abilities on me again, I will give you some unforgettable lessons," the Shadow spoke calmly, but there was a hint of anger in that calm.
Qing Xing was startled for a moment; he knew who it was.
It was Qing Wen.
Qing Xing slowly calmed down: "How did you come in?"
’Qing Wen’ sneered, "The security here is as effective as chickens and dogs in my eyes. You installed what you thought was a secure Armored Door, but it’s easy for me to open."
Who could have imagined that there would be Taboo items specifically designed to open doors in the Forbidden Sea Coast...
Qing Xing had a strong psychological constitution; he was calming down more and more: "It appears I have an Insider around me. However, you might be misunderstanding something, I didn’t arrange any accident for you."
Qing Wen sneered, "Do you dare to say that the near-murderous conflict between me and the Mechanicus tonight wasn’t orchestrated by you?"
Qing Xing: "???"
He was just enjoying the gossip, how could it suddenly turn back on himself?
Turns out, Qing Wen thought the mishap was his doing!
Incredible!
Qing Xing spoke earnestly, "Whatever happened tonight with the Mechanicus wasn’t my doing, I can assure you that. We’ve been classmates at the school for many years; I wouldn’t go as far as to set you up to die."
Qing Wen sneered, "Save those words to deceive the Ghost. Don’t bother explaining to me; I don’t want others to think I’m bloodthirsty. That’s why I won’t kill you now. But once we get to the 065 Taboo Land, you’d better watch out."
The struggle for Qing’s shadow was about selecting the Shadow, and a Shadow was someone who had the hope to become the Family Head.
No faction leader truly wanted to see a Shadow who was extremely furious and liked killing, and nobody wanted to be friends with such a person. That was why Qing Wen initially explained he didn’t intend to kill Qing Zhong.
A Shadow Candidate who liked killing and ignored strategy would have a hard time becoming the Family Head, even if they became the Shadow.
The real smart ones knew that the struggle for Family Head started with the selection of a Shadow; it’s about filtering for suitable successors.
Qing Wen looked deeply at Qing Xing once more, "Watch yourself."
After speaking, he turned and walked towards the door.
Qing Xing heard the sound of the door closing; he hastily put on his clothes and went out to check.
To his dismay, he found all the security personnel outside his door had collapsed, without even managing to issue a warning.
Enraged, Qing Xing yelled as he kicked one of the guards, "Someone got all the way to my bed, and not one of you issued a warning in time? Where’s Zhou Sheng? Call him over!"
Zhou Sheng was the Protector his father had chosen for him, a C-Class Expert.
Such individuals would not stay outside Qing Xing’s door 24 hours a day. They had their own living space in this building.
Normally, he would need to receive an alert first and then come to protect Qing Xing.
But this time, the guards had not managed to alert him at all.
Of course, Zhou Sheng might well be grateful that he hadn’t been summoned now that he knew what had occurred.
A high-level expert invading meant calling him would just add another person to take beatings...
Zhou Sheng asked seriously, "What exactly happened? Why was there no alert?"
The security personnel replied blankly, "We detected an intrusion in advance, but when the intruder came, we felt as if a great weight was upon us, and we couldn’t make any move at all."
Zhou Sheng frowned, "There was no alert from the surveillance room either. What were you all doing?"
"The surveillance footage froze..."
They had arranged two surveillance rooms that cross-monitored each other. To invade without notice, the intruder would have to attack both surveillance rooms at the same time.
But this time, the intruder hacked straight into the surveillance network.
Zhou Sheng mumbled, "That’s odd. Even if the intruders were thoroughly prepared, how could this Armored Door have been opened without a sound?!"
Too many strange things had happened tonight.
Qing Xing thought calmly; if the intruder really decided to use a high-level expert to kill him, he probably wouldn’t be able to fend them off.
Nevertheless, the most crucial thing was the threat from Qing Wen. The intruder would likely act against him in the 065 Taboo Land.
Remembering how the intruder had silently approached him just a while ago sent a sudden chill through his heart.
He needed to change his strategy.
Qing Xing told Zhou Sheng, "Call your brother; he needs to come by my side ahead of schedule. This time Qing Wen must have used a B-Class Expert. The intensity of the Shadow struggle has escalated; I can’t just sit here and wait for death."
However, just at that moment, Qing Xing’s phone in his pocket rang. Seeing that it was Qing Wen calling, he angrily answered, "Are we not done yet? Huh? You really think I’m scared of you? Let me tell you, I’ve disliked you since we were kids; just you wait, we’ll settle this in the 065 Taboo Land!"
After speaking, Qing Xing hung up the phone.
A little while later, Qing Wen sent a photo. In the photo was a dead body, unmistakably the Insider Qing Xing had placed with Qing Wen.
Below the photo was a line of text: This is the price for your lack of manners.
Qing Xing sneered.
It was the third round; it was time to kill some people.
...
...
"Hey, why didn’t you just kill him? Or turn him into a Puppet?" asked Yan Yan curiously.
Qing Chen replied, "If I’d killed him, then I’d have a hard time finding that Taboo item he has. If I turned him into a Puppet, I’d probably be made the public enemy of the entire Qing family. Qing Xing’s status is not ordinary; if he disappeared without a trace, his parents would surely use all their power to search for him. I might not be able to withstand it and don’t want to take the risk."
"Moreover, Qing Xing just now seemed too composed, as if he wasn’t very worried about dealing with Qing Wen himself. I suspect he might be hiding his strength. I might not be able to control him."
At this moment, Qing Chen had already reverted from Qing Wen’s appearance back to his own, flying through the night sky with Yan Yan.
Yan Yan then asked, "What was the purpose of everything you did just now? Was it just to provoke infighting between him and Qing Wen?"
"Not only that," Qing Chen shook his head, "Actually, I’m not very interested in Qing Wen and Qing Xing fighting each other. What I want is that Taboo item."
"What we did tonight will definitely leave some psychological shadows on him. Ordinary people facing death threats instinctively think about escaping, while such corporate big shots will first think about how to eliminate hidden threats," Qing Chen explained. "So, what would he do to eliminate hidden threats? Naturally, he’d first use his most adept tactics to make Qing Wen tired and anxious. So, from today, Qing Wen will have to keep facing the unexpected. And that’s the outcome I want. As long as he uses it often enough, I will be able to work out a pattern."
At this time, Qing Chen’s Kite Falcon had canceled all other tasks and was solely responsible for keeping a close watch on Qing Xing after leaving City 10.
Yan Yan asked, "Do you have a purpose for following the film crew into the wilderness?"
"No, leaving the contentious City 10 to recuperate," replied Qing Chen.
Because he might have to face the most intense battle since his arrival in the 065 Taboo Land.
Tonight, no one could have expected that someone who had already left City 10 would suddenly come back and stir up so much trouble.
And after all that, he even managed to pose as the victim.
...
Another chapter at 11 o’clock tonight
