NOVPUBAbove the firmament, the snow, like goose feathers, fluttered about.
It landed on Shadow and Qing Chen’s hair and shoulders.
Qing Chen felt very fortunate.
Even though life in the Outer World was hard, he still felt fortunate.
Uncle Li Dong, Li Xiurui, Shadow.
Although the three of them had different styles of doing things, they all tried in their own ways to help him understand the world.
And taught him how to coexist with it.
Someone gave him the Taboo and the farthest path of cultivation in the human world.
Someone stood on the precipice of a verdant mountain facing the sunrise, telling him what the most precious thing in life truly was.
Someone took practical actions to help him win people’s hearts, determined to elevate him to the most powerful position in the Federation.
Shadow walked to the lakeside, found a black stone to sit on, and while looking at the lake surface swept by heavy snow, said, "Qing Chen, one day you will have to face all this by yourself. Just like the path on the precipitous mountain, the first 599 meters are walked with the help of predecessors, but the last meter no one can help you with."
Qing Chen was momentarily stunned.
He suddenly looked towards Shadow, his pupils abruptly contracting.
How could he know all this if not a Knight?!
Actually, many people knew that heavenly path, but only those who had truly walked it once understood the hardest part of it.
They knew about that last meter.
Shadow smiled, "Don’t look at me like that, I am not a Knight because I didn’t leap during that last meter. The path of a Knight is about selecting companions. Those who walked the same path, regardless of their identity, origins, or personality, will come together if they make it, and that’s the fascinating aspect of the Knight’s Path. In earlier years, the organization of Knights was more relaxed. They would share this path with many, encouraging them to take it without worrying about leaking secrets. You and I are destined to be different people, perhaps that’s why I couldn’t make that leap. For the last meter, I used a grappling hook. I don’t want to gamble with life. I like to have everything under control."
Shadow continued, "That’s why, you are willing to give your sincere devotion to Qing Yi, hoping that he will never betray you, and I will use means to secure his loyalty."
Qing Chen was silent.
He knew how desperate everyone was facing that last meter, so he would say that Hu Xiaoniu was actually very impressive because this Daytime Member couldn’t even fully assimilate the fruit.
Everyone in Daytime has potential; one day, Daytime is sure to grow into a towering tree, and all Qing Chen needs to do is have enough patience to wait for that result.
Qing Chen hadn’t expected that Shadow had also almost become a Knight.
So, that deal with Uncle Li Dong was because Shadow had actually known Uncle Li Dong long ago.
It seemed that very few people knew about this.
At that moment, Shadow, smiling, said, "No need for guesses. You still lack far too much critical information, so blind analysis can also be wrong."
"Your situation is actually not very good, right?" Qing Chen sat on the black stone by the lakeshore, speaking in a low voice, "I watched a documentary called ’Animal World’ in the Outer World. When male lions are in their prime, hyenas dare not provoke them carelessly."
However, when the male lion grows old, or gets sick or injured, those hyenas, as if they smelled rotting flesh, slowly start to gather around.
At first, they test the waters, and once they find the lion truly cannot resist, they will pounce and tear at it.
For this event, Qing Chen initially thought Shadow was going to use him to fish for the power of the Jindai family.
But unexpectedly, Shadow was targeting the interior of Qing’s Family.
Qing Chen could see the current situation as a form of testing.
The hyenas had already surrounded Shadow, making Qing Chen sense a hint of danger.
If Shadow were still in his heyday, how could these people dare to test him?
Qing Chen continued, "So when this slight test just started, you immediately intervened with the force of thunder to extinguish the spark. It shows that you are also worried inside that if you let this spark spread, it might grow into a greater flame, giving the hyenas more to gloat about."
Qing Chen judged that Shadow’s situation was actually very bad, otherwise, why would he bother with these small fry?
Why would he need to come personally?
Shadow sat beside him and smiled, "You think too much, but not everything is correct."
Qing Chen asked, "I am curious, you are about to retire, why do they still go to great lengths to test you? They have already waited ten years, what difference would two more years make?"
Shadow smiled and waved his hand, "Alright, you don’t need to worry about these things."
Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "If this trade with Qing Mu succeeds, what will happen next?"
Shadow smilingly said, "It will bring about what those faction leaders least want to see, you will become the most suitable leader to take over Qing’s Spy Agency, and even if I retire, the leader of the Spy Bureau will still be my man. This way, they won’t be able to easily control me anymore. Remember, within Qing’s Family, you can trust no one but me."
Qing Chen paused, his ’trust no one’ apparently also including those Kite Falcons, Shadow Candidates, and the Family Head.
"But why can I trust you," Qing Chen suddenly asked.
Shadow pondered, "You actually stumped me with that question, maybe because... I have no need to deceive you."
After speaking, Shadow stood up, brushed the snow off his body, and walked toward the camp, "You are now quite the sought-after individual. I heard that many have come to Qing’s Family to propose marriage. I was actually thinking of arranging another marriage to give you some additional support, but now it seems you wouldn’t agree, so let’s forget it…"
Qing Chen: "???"
What a bizarre situation.
Someone came to Qing’s Family to propose marriage to him?! Who?!
After the crisis, the campsite was a mess.
All the production staff stood disheveled, gazing around blankly, resembling survivors of a catastrophe or people dazed from a recent disaster.
The film ’Virtual Life’ was definitely off, the director had died, and several filming machines had been damaged by stray bullets.
He came out to shoot a movie, and ended up losing the director in the process—who could handle that?
At this time, Qing Chen reverted to his original appearance, walked into the camp, and looked at Chu Ci asking, "Are you alright, any injuries?"
Chu Ci shook her head, "No."
Qing Chen then looked at Qing Yi, "Next, you should head directly to the town outside of Taboo Land 065, all teams will probably stop there for a bit."
Qing Yi nodded, "Okay, sir… What about you, where will you go?"
Qing Chen smiled, "I plan to act alone, continuing to stay in the team might compromise your safety."
Shadow stood in the middle of the camp, smiling and said, "Hello everyone, I’m Qing’s Shadow, please cooperate by lying down on the ground and keeping quiet, we are going to evacuate now."
His seven subordinates stood stoically around him, silent like statues in a temple, while Director Zhou’s people were all captured, their hands bound with special black handcuffs.
The crew members looked a bit lost.
Is this... the legendary Shadow?
They actually saw the mysterious Shadow?!
But why do they have to lie on the ground when Shadow is escaping?
Yan Chunmi was the first to comply, she had just used her abilities, and no one knew her real identity.
When there’s one in the camp doing it, others followed suit.
Qing Chen pondered, this Yan Chunmi must have faced life and death with Shadow many times, otherwise Shadow would not have brought her along on this mission.
And certainly wouldn’t have arranged for her to assist him.
After everyone had laid down, Shadow, smiling warmly, silently signaled with his eyes for Qing Chen to lie down too.
Qing Chen was a bit puzzled, what was this for?
The next moment, Zhou Cang silently got up from the ground and stood next to Shadow.
Standing in the Great Snow, he removed his coat and handed it to Qing Chen.
Qing Chen understood, the other party must have known that he intended to continue infiltrating the town outside Taboo Land 065, so he fashioned for him the best possible identity:
This film crew had already been severely hit, who would notice a disheveled, nearly-murdered crew member?
However, Qing Chen was slightly puzzled, how could Shadow’s informant be everywhere, was there still someone else from that side in the crew?
Moreover, Zhou Cang had clearly known his identity before, so this Shadow informant had just quietly watched him act all along.
Qing Chen looked at Zhou Cang, only to see him giving him a simple-hearted smile…
Qing Chen: "…"
Zhou Cang’s physique was similar to his own, with the same height, indicating that Shadow had already arranged everything for him in advance.
All of this was in the other party’s plan.
But now, the crew should no longer continue north to the town, right? After this incident, their first choice must be to simply drive back to City 10.
Qing Chen didn’t understand, but he chose to trust Shadow.
He silently put on Zhou Cang’s clothes, then lay down in the snow, changing his appearance to that of Zhou Cang.
At that moment, Shadow said to everyone with a smile, "Ladies and gentlemen, fortunate to have met you here, I hope all who survive will cherish their lives more and stay safe."
After that, he opened the Door of Shadow and, along with his subordinates, escorted all the assassins including Director Zhou into it one by one.
Shadow intended to interrogate these people to find out who was trying to test him.
Qing Chen was stunned for a moment, what was all this about?!
If you’re going to leave, at least speak some final, beautiful words like a host; he almost thought that after finishing, unforgettable music would start playing in the background.
But Qing Chen knew, in reality, all those words Shadow said were ultimately intended to convey those four words to him, "stay safe."
Perhaps this trip was indeed too dangerous, many people did not want him to successfully transport Qing Mu, so even Shadow was somewhat worried about his safety.
The crew members all lay in the snow, melting the thin layer on the ground, not daring to stand up.
A person’s name, a tree’s shadow.
Shadow’s enormous reputation in the Federation was not just about holding power, but also involved many tales about his disregard for human life.
Of course, the key point was that Shadow had left through the Door of Shadow, which meant that the sound of his footsteps had never really faded away…
From an ordinary person’s perspective, it seemed like Shadow and his people had only walked a few steps before stopping and watching them.
This inexplicable oppressive feeling forced everyone to scarcely even breathe.
Eventually, Qing Yi was the first to stand up.
Then others followed and stood up too.
After standing up, they were even more bewildered, where was Shadow? They hadn’t heard any distant footsteps, so why was there no one around?
At that moment, finally, someone snapped out of their confusion, and they frantically ran toward where they had parked their cars.
It seemed they were ready to drive straight back to City 10.
However, just as one of them had begun to open a car door, a massive flame blasted him more than ten meters away.
After Director Zhou and the others entered the camp, to ensure that there were no survivors who might escape by car amidst the chaos, they had installed mines on every vehicle belonging to Zhang director’s crew that would explode as soon as a car door was opened.
Following one explosion, the sensor mines on the other vehicles also detonated in succession.
