Qing Chen smiled and said, "No."
Yangyang and Qin Yiyi sat on either side of him, each with half a dozen beers in their hands, raising their glasses across the distance.
The gentle spring evening breeze caressed the three of them, making them feel like carefree high school students with many unfulfilled dreams, yet full of hope.
Yangyang said, "You didn't want to have too much to do with the Qing family before, but you took the initiative to accept all of this for the sake of City 10. It's really difficult for you."
Qingchen shook his head: "There's nothing difficult about it. Sometimes I think about it, six million people are still struggling to make ends meet, so what does it matter if I sacrifice my own preferences? Besides, my brother probably also wanted me to come here and take a look."
Qin Yiyi said from the side, "I heard the Grand Elder say that the head of the Qing family is a very strange person. He once went to the Fire Pit for drinks and signed a cooperation agreement with the Fire Pit in person. The Grand Elder said that the head of the Qing family has the demeanor of a great ruler and has an amazing presence. However, later on, I don't know what happened, he started to live a secluded life, always hiding behind the scenes, and no longer trusts the Fire Pit."
Qing Chen pondered, "Perhaps it's not that he doesn't trust the hearth, but that he doesn't trust anyone."
Yangyang suddenly asked, "What are your plans next?"
Qing Chen replied, "After I leave City 5, I will try to reach the other side of the Forbidden Sea as soon as possible. There is bound to be a war between the East and the West. Now, more than half of the Federation's demigods have perished due to internal strife. If the demigods on the other side of the Forbidden Sea are still alive, it will be a very troublesome matter. Parents need time to grow, and the knight reserves also need time to grow. I want to buy them time."
“Keep going, I will lay a solid foundation in the wilderness,” Yangyang said. “Once the Federation falls, the wilderness will be your last resort. We can learn from our predecessors and fight guerrilla warfare there. Sooner or later we can make a comeback… but I hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Qin Yiyi also said, "I support you on behalf of Huotang!"
As they chatted, the two girls got drunk and started talking nonsense in a drunken stupor.
The two of them were swaying on the rooftop, and could fall off at any moment.
Helpless, Qingchen could only carry them back to the room, one on each side, throw them on the bed, and close the door.
The door had just closed when both girls opened their eyes in the darkness. After a long, calm stare at each other, they simultaneously took out their phones and began exchanging messages...
The two of them silently fiddled with their phones, whispering to each other.
Every now and then, they would glare at each other before continuing to look down at their phones.
The chat continued until four in the morning before the two put down their phones and snuggled into one blanket to fall into a deep sleep.
Countdown 16:00:00.
At eight o'clock in the morning, Qingchen finally got a good night's sleep.
He woke up but heard no sound from the room. On the coffee table next to him were two notes.
Neither girl said goodbye and left without a word.
Chapter 771, The Puppet Master!
The air still carried the scents of Yi Yi and Yang Yang, a pure fragrance like a mixture of milk and lilies.
Qingchen picked up the notes they left behind. The first one was from Yangyang: I'm going back to the wilderness settlement. The Chen Clan Army might find us there, and they still need me.
The second one is from Yi Yi: I'm going back to the fire pit. People will worry about me if I stay out for too long.
Both of their notes were exceptionally concise, without a single superfluous word.
Qing Chen shook his head helplessly and sent a message to Qing Ji: "What are the plans for today?"
Qing Ji replied, "I'll pick you up at Ginkgo Mountain tonight for a banquet."
"Can I not participate?" Qingchen asked.
Qing Ji called directly and calmly said, "We canceled all the subsequent blind dates because Chen Yangyang and Qin Yi came. But they came to Ginkgo Mountain this morning, met with the old man, and left. You're here to scam the forbidden object, aren't you? Just like a son in a conventional family brings a girl home to scam pocket money, right?"
Qing Chen: "???"
What the hell? So many things happened while I was asleep?
Yi Yi and Yang Yang actually went to see the head of the Qing family together?!
Qing Chen asked, "Is there anything else I should know but don't?"
Qing Ji said, "That's all."
"What did the patriarch say to them?" Qingchen asked.
"I don't know, but I had an extra bowl of congee for breakfast, which means I'm in a good mood," Qing Ji said calmly. "Don't forget to attend the banquet tonight."
Qing Chen remained silent for a long while before replying, "...Okay."
It was still early, so he planned to go out and see what other unique features the city of No. 5 had to offer him—little surprises his brother had prepared for him.
However, as soon as he stepped out, Qingchen bumped into the middle-aged woman across the street.
"Xiaoqing, I just made some mung bean porridge this morning, let me serve you a cup," the aunt said with a smile.
Qingchen followed the aunt into the house and closed the door behind him.
The aunt returned with a bowl of mung bean porridge. Seeing that Qingchen had closed the door, she didn't say anything, but continued to hand the mung bean porridge to Qingchen: "Here, drink it, it's very thirst-quenching."
Qingchen smiled and said, "Thank you, Aunt Zongcheng."
The older woman placed the mung bean porridge on the table, found a chair, sat down, and smiled, "Young man, what are you saying?"
Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "I'm very curious, why did all ten thousand-plus bionics underground die, but you were the only one who could crawl out of the glass container? Everyone else turned into a skeleton, but you were the only one who could continue to wreak havoc on the world? Now I'm very sure that you were the one who killed my sister-in-law, Zong Cheng."
At this moment, the woman smiled and frankly admitted, "Whether you're bluffing me or you really know my identity, the fact that you can describe the underground situation means you've really been there and found relevant clues. But I'm also curious, I've already torn off the nameplate, how did you verify my identity information? All the information related to me has been burned, and the hard drive has been sitting there for hundreds of years, so it's impossible to recover the information... It's truly amazing."
Qing Chen shook his head: "You don't need to know how I found you. You just need to know that I will find all your puppets one by one and kill them one by one."
The woman laughed and shook her head: "Can you do it? I have millions of puppets. How would you find my puppets?"
"What are you bragging about?" Qing Chen sneered. "If you had a million puppets, you would have unified the Federation long ago. Why are you wasting your breath talking to me here? I have already started to investigate you. I believe I will find all your puppets soon."
The woman laughed and said, "Then why don't you give it a try?"
"Didn't I already kill two of your A-level puppets?" Qing Chen replied with a smile.
What Qingchen finds strange now is that Zong Cheng's puppet clearly didn't need to be exposed, so why did the other party choose to expose it?
It's like the other party is deliberately trying to provoke him. What's their motive?
The older woman looked at Qing Chen and laughed, "So, you think I only have one puppet in this building? You think I only have this much preparation? Daring to come to this building was your biggest mistake."
At this moment, the woman took out a remote control and pressed a button gently.
The anticipated building explosion did not occur; there was no roar, no heat wave, nothing at all.
Qing Chen laughed and said, "Are you talking about the bombs you put on the load-bearing walls on the 11th and 24th floors? You don't even have the habit of checking the explosives you place every day, yet you try to play tricks like others?"
Chapter 772, Suffering the Bitterness of Love
Zong Cheng laughed and said, "You actually found both of the only two bombs in the building? That's impressive."
Qing Chen narrowed his eyes slightly. The puppeteer, controlling the old woman's body, didn't seem very surprised that the bomb had been defused.
Zong Cheng looked up at Qing Chen and smiled, "I'm sorry, I'm a bit slow-witted, and although the gene modification by the Fire Seed Company increased my lifespan, it sacrificed some of my intelligence. I've changed bodies several times, but no matter which one, I'm still affected by the initial state, so I have to think about many things slowly. Fortunately, my abilities give me the opportunity to keep trying and making mistakes. I've made many mistakes in the past, but as long as I'm alive, I can always figure them out."
At this moment, Zong Cheng's tone was unusually candid.
Qing Chen frowned. This Zong Cheng was not as arrogant as he had imagined. Even when facing defeat, he was still summarizing his gains and losses.
Moreover, the way the other party analyzed the problem resembled that of an artificial intelligence that had just begun learning.
If that's the case, the other party has been searching for and patching vulnerabilities for hundreds of years.
This enemy, who is constantly learning, growing, and reflecting, has made Qing Chen take him seriously again.
Then another question arises: why would such a cautious puppeteer, who has accumulated hundreds of years of experience, start to actively expose himself?
There's only one answer: the other party wanted to expose themselves, wanting Qingchen to target them.
Qing Chen became alert.
Qing Chen felt as if he were sitting across from a fledgling artificial intelligence, playing a game of chess.
This is an opponent he must re-examine and take seriously.
Zong Cheng looked at Qing Chen and smiled, "It seems we've talked a lot today. See you next time."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the woman opposite Qingchen died instantly, bleeding from all seven orifices.
Qing Chen got up and walked out decisively.
...
...
Return countdown: 14:00:00.
10:00 AM.
In the woods.
Chen Jiazhang sat by the campfire roasting a wild boar leg, while Zard sat beside him, chin in hand, waiting eagerly, asking every now and then if it was cooked yet.
Da Yu was sleeping nearby; he had become increasingly sleepy over the past two days.
Chen Jiazhang asked Zard, "Hey kid, do you brew wine in your wilderness settlement?"
Zard shook his head: "We're short of food there, so how could we brew wine? Usually, it's the Lian people from Xiuzhu Prefecture who bring a jug or two of their brewed green wine when they come out to trade. I wanted to drink it, but I was wearing the limited-edition sapling skin at the time, and trees can't drink alcohol."
Chen Jiazhang: "..."
Over this period of time, Chen Jiazhang has come to a general understanding of Zard's nature. If you only ignore the half of his crazy ramblings, you can still extract some key points.
“I know about Qingjiu. It’s delicious, but you can’t just drink it. I learned my lesson from this back then,” Chen Jiazhang said with a sigh. “The Lian tribe is a rather special tribe. Men have a very low status there. Only by eating something called Chixin Gu can you have an equal status with women in the village. But the problem is, once you eat that stuff, you lose your freedom. You can only love the woman who raises Chixin Gu for the rest of your life.”
Zard thought for a moment and asked, "Is it good?"
"Isn't there something wrong with what you're focusing on? Everyone avoids this, and you're asking if it tastes good?" Chen Jiazhang said irritably, "Anyway, I've never eaten it. I heard it's bitter."
Zard: "Mainly... I'm all grown up now, and I want to experience the bitterness of love."
However, as soon as he finished speaking, rustling footsteps came from around the campfire camp. Chen Jiazhang looked around in astonishment, but could only see giant trees and no one at all.
The bushes were swaying, the tall weeds were swaying, and sounds came from all directions, as if they were surrounded.
This location is far from Chen's army group, and there are no air forces in the sky, so it should not be someone from Chen's group.
So, in this desolate wilderness, who could be so untraceable that even Chen Jiazhang couldn't find them?
The next second, Zard pointed to the 7 o'clock position and said, "I saw a golden figure flash by."