The fact that Yan Chunmi was able to intercept and kill Qing Wen amidst such chaos shows that Yan Chunmi herself is extremely powerful!
Qing Chen asked, "Does Qing Wen have any protectors by his side?"
“Yes, Rank B,” Yan Chunmi said seriously. “We killed them all together. Of course, it wasn’t just me who killed them; it was all twelve of your Hawks who killed them together. Boss, from today onwards, we’re embarking on a path of no return. Please don’t abandon us again.”
Qingchen nodded.
By publicly revealing their plot to assassinate Qingwen in front of other members of the Secret Service, Yan Chunmi had already made an irreconcilable feud with another faction.
A pledge of allegiance means leaving oneself no way out.
Qing Chen asked, "Weren't you one of the people who sold me out on the snowfield back then?"
Yan Chunmi fell silent.
Qing Chen: "Is this the patriarch's decision?"
“Yes,” Yan Chunmi admitted.
Qing Chen frowned, but what was that family head doing at this moment? The shadow was gone, and now it should be the family head's turn to take charge, but the other party remained silent.
"Everyone, is there anything else I should know?" Qing Chen asked in return.
Another spy nearby said, "Actually, we also wanted to kill Qingyuan, but we found that we couldn't find him at all. We had found a clue, but after the rat plague started, we sneaked over to intercept him, only to find that he was just a puppet."
Qing Chen pondered, then saw Qing Yuan's puppet again. But was this Qing Yuan's ability or Qing Yuan's father's ability?
If it's the father of Keihara's ability, then he should focus his investigation on Keihara and his son in the matter of revenge.
An hour later, Qing Chen opened his eyes and stood up. The Knight's Breathing Technique had restored most of his energy, and the large amount of endorphins in his body quickly balanced all his bodily functions—this was the magic of the Knight's Breathing Technique.
It makes the knights seem like tireless superheroes.
Qingyi asked, "Sir, won't you rest a little longer?"
“No more rest,” Qingchen said with a smile, patting his head. “Your hair is a bit prickly now.”
"Then I might as well keep my watermelon head hairstyle, no matter what Li Ke says!"
"No need, it's fine as it is now," Qingchen said with a smile. "Qingyi has grown up."
After saying that, he looked at the spies and said, "Gentlemen, I'm counting on you now."
The members of the Secret Service remained silent, their expressions resolute.
"Let's go! We're still seven hours away from the Transportation Bureau, with a 10-minute break every hour!"
This time, Qing Chen did not choose to avoid the rat swarm, but instead ran straight over it without encountering the main force of the rat swarm.
This is the fastest way!
Chapter 688, A Fortunate Encounter
Everyone in City 7 knows that Lanting Courtyard is Chen Yu's residence, where he spends all his time painting.
Everyone knows that Chen Yu's lineage, thanks to the Purple Orchid Star, has consistently produced generations of demigods, and their status has always been above that of the family head.
For Chen Yu, the head of the Chen family was more like his head steward.
The Chen family painters needed to focus solely on their work, so they needed someone to handle miscellaneous tasks.
At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed in white linen clothes walked out from a shadowy door and calmly looked at the pair of stone lions at the entrance of the Orchid Pavilion courtyard.
In the courtyard, Chen Yu, who was drawing a Gandharva, suddenly paused. The demigod looked up at the outside under the influence of the energy.
Chen Yu put down his brush and went into the courtyard. He looked through the open courtyard at the middle-aged man outside the gate.
The demigod Chen smiled gently and said, "So Brother Shadow's Shadow Gate has come into your hands. Brother Qingji, since you're here, please come in and have a seat."
Qing Ji stepped over the threshold, and Chen Yu laughed, "Brother Qing Ji, how many years have passed since we parted ways in the wilderness? I still admire your spirit of defeating tigers and strangling bears."
The great demon Qing Ji, a martial arts fanatic renowned in the Qing clan for a long time, is said to have been born with superhuman strength. Even as a young boy, before he had any training, he could pounce on a tiger with his bare hands.
However, Qing Ji, dressed in white linen, did not intend to be polite with Chen Yu. He simply asked in a calm tone, "We have detected unusual movements from Chen's Rocket Force. Where are you planning to attack?"
Chen Yu laughed and asked, "Brother Qingji, where do you think I'll hit?"
During the Commonwealth Civil War, many people overlooked the Chen family, and the Chen family indeed had no intention of participating in the war.
But is it really in Chen Yu's best interest to remain indifferent at this time? Of course not.
Only two demigods remain in the entire Federation: Li Shutong and Chen Yu.
Since Li Shutong had no allegiance, only Chen Yu remained within the conglomerate.
Now that the veteran demigod, Shindai Chika, wants to use the lives of a city to turn his fortunes around, how could Chen Yu possibly agree?
He had no grudges against Chika Kamishiro; in fact, they were collaborators under some kind of private agreement.
But Chen Yu will not allow Kamishiro Senka to rise again.
Therefore, Chen's Rocket Force is targeting City 10.
“If you’re going to attack City 10, I advise you to save your breath,” Qing Ji said coldly.
"Oh? Who is Brother Qing Ji representing when he says this? Is it the head of the Qing clan?" Chen Yu asked curiously. "Now everyone knows that City 10 has fallen, and it might become Shen Dai Qian Chi's private territory one day. Why not just bomb it? Is it because Qing Chen is inside?"
Qing Ji sneered, "The Qing Clan's Seventh Rocket Force has not yet been deployed to the northern battlefield, but they have already locked onto four cities of the Chen Clan with 27 cruise missiles. If your Chen Clan Rocket Force dares to launch them, they will launch them immediately."
Chen Yu narrowed his eyes slightly: "Playing the 'mutual destruction' game? The Qing Clan intends to violate the convention and use city-destroying missiles against human cities? The Chen Clan's Rocket Force has more than one unit; I can also target City 5. As far as I know, that old man on Ginkgo Mountain is an ordinary person; he can't have gone far."
Qing Ji said, "It's alright. The patriarch said that if anyone dares to launch a missile at City 10, they'll be buried with them."
At the negotiating table, everyone usually talks about the price first. If they can't reach an agreement, they exchange harsh words. There are at least six or seven layers of buffer and room for reconciliation in between.
Qing Ji's words were particularly fierce, like a child pretending to come over to negotiate with you, and then suddenly flipping the table and saying, "I'm not playing with you anymore!"
But this seemingly naive method was surprisingly effective.
Because Chen Yu understood that the Qing family, those lunatics, were truly capable of doing such a thing.
Of all the methods in this world, only the one that is most useful is the optimal solution; there is no room for anything fancy.
"Do you know what the consequences would be if Kamishiro Chika were to control the rat swarm in City 10?" Chen Yu asked softly.
“I know,” Qing Ji said, turning and walking away.
"You knew and still let it go?"
“It’s not our responsibility. I’m not going to talk anymore. I have to go somewhere else,” Qing Ji said, opening the Shadow Gate. The next second, a terrifying chill blew out of the Shadow Gate, accompanied by large snowflakes.
City No. 7 is located in the south and was not affected by the late spring cold snap. All the white apricot blossoms in the courtyard were in full bloom and looked very beautiful. However, this cold air blew all the apricot blossoms in Chen Yu's courtyard down.
Chen Yu raised an eyebrow. Qing Ji had just taken two steps, apparently looking for an angle to aim the Shadow Gate at his apricot tree!
Is he crazy? How could the mighty demon Qing Ji, harboring resentment, lash out at a tree of apricot blossoms?
However, after Qing Ji left, Chen Yu pondered for a moment and dialed a number: "Let the Rocket Force come back and observe the situation."
Right now.
Within City 10.
A mouse with grayish-white eyes was slowly following the group back into the sewer.
No rats noticed its unusual behavior, and the rat swarm carried its food towards the location of the rat king.
...
...
Return countdown: 01:20:12.
There's just over an hour until the return.
“Keep going, the Transportation Bureau building is in sight,” Qingchen said. “I can already hear the rat swarm; it’s surrounded.”
As they were talking, gunshots rang out from inside the building, sounding particularly clear in the midnight air.
The gunfire was not frequent, but sporadic.
Qingchen's heart tightened. Just as he had thought, Kunlun came to the Transportation Bureau building after leaving the PCE headquarters. Iodine was willing to risk his life to find new clues for him!
As they turned a corner, Qingchen and the others suddenly saw dozens of white skeletons lying on the street.
Guns, bullets, and spent cartridges were scattered around the skeleton.
Strangely, there were two more skeletons on the other side, also carrying guns. Their black combat uniforms had been torn to shreds by the rats, and only their outlines could be vaguely seen.
These are not people from Kunlun, but people who have fought against Kunlun.
Judging from the location of the remains, it appears that two men in black were running ahead, with Kunlun members chasing behind.
These two men in black combat uniforms must be highly skilled; it took them dozens of lives to take them down.
Qingchen stood on the long street, silently watching this scene.
In that instant, he felt as if he had been transported back in time, watching Iodine quickly pass by him: "They're being held back by the rat swarm, we must kill them, don't give them a chance to destroy the hard drive!"
In the fierce firefight, Kunlun members fell one by one.
However, the battle also enraged the rats, and the Kunlun members fought and retreated, eventually becoming trapped in the Transportation Bureau building.
“I see,” Qing Chen said. “The Kunlun members discovered that the hard drive had just been destroyed when they arrived at the PCE headquarters, so they judged that the person who destroyed the hard drive had not gone far and there was still a chance. Therefore, they wanted to come to the Transportation Bureau to gamble on whether they could catch up with the person who destroyed the hard drive in time.”
They had no brilliant plans, no powerful firepower support; all they could gamble with was their lives.
Qingchen looked at the skeletons on the ground, their finger bones still gripping the guns tightly. These Kunlun members wanted to fight even in death.
"Keep moving forward. The Transportation Bureau's firepower is weak. I guess they don't have many survivors left, and they're almost out of ammunition and supplies," Qingchen said, not optimistic about the situation of the Kunlun members.
The group quickened their pace.
Even though Qing Chen was mentally prepared, he was still shocked when he saw the scene at the Transportation Bureau building.
It was a towering building that reached into the clouds.
Outside the building, swarms of rats were gathered, trying to rush up the upper floors. Countless rats had piled up into a mountain outside the staircase, reaching halfway up the stairs and making terrifying squeaking noises.
The swarm of rats resembled a black sea, densely packed and wriggling upwards.
It was as if a giant from hell had opened its huge black mouth, about to stuff the entire building into its mouth.
"No wonder the rat swarm on the lower three defense lines was different from the number I calculated," Qing Chen said in a daze. "It turns out that Iodine and the others dragged a portion of the rat swarm here!"