Night's Nomenclature
Chapter 311: A Level Playing Field

At the end of the silent corridor.

Qing Chen checked his firearms again. He even took the bright yellow bullets out of the magazine one by one to check them, lest they get damp from being left on the gun rack for too long.

Only after confirming there was no rust did he reload the bullets into the magazine.

He definitely needed a new Face^[-] this time. After all, "Qing Chen' himself was still at the Ban Shan Mountain Estate. But who should he change to?

He recalled the Face^[-] he saw in Weiyang Lake Park and changed into zard's appearance.

If he really did something to offend Shendai and Koshima, then those responsible should be held accountable. Let the bigwigs of the Conglomerate go and settle the score with Huan Yu and zard.

Qing Chen went out.

He stood in the first-floor corridor, looking at the structure of the building outside.

This place seemed like an old residential area in the Outer World. It didn't even have an elevator, and each corridor only had two households.

If it weren't for the absence of small advertisements on the peeling walls, Qing Chen would have almost thought he was back home at Building 12 on Xingshu Road.

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the corridor. A young man was rushing in, looking like he urgently needed to use the restroom.

Qing Chen was stunned. He actually recognized the person!

Jiang Yichen!

The young man before him was none other than the star, Jiang Yichen, who had transferred from Outer World to Luo City Foreign Language School!

Jiang Yichen was wearing a mask, but half of his Face^[-] was enough for Qing Chen to recognize him.

However, the other party certainly didn't recognize Qing Chen now. Qing Chen estimated that zard should be well-hidden. Most Time Travelers in Outer World had never seen this guy.

Qing Chen looked at Jiang Yichen questioningly, "Who are you? I've never seen you before."

It was Qing Chen's first time leaving the house, and he chose to take the initiative.

Jiang Yichen was taken aback and quickly said, "I'm your new neighbor. I just bought the house here and moved in recently. Who are you?"

Jiang Yichen spoke very politely.

This is a normal state for a Time Traveler when facing an original resident, a state of nervousness after feeling guilty.

Qing Chen confidently told a lie, "I'm an old resident here. I've lived here for 8 years."

This time, he completely overwhelmed the other party with information asymmetry and intelligence.

Qing Chen was very clear about one point: Jiang Yichen had just transferred to Luo City and had never been to Luo City before. Therefore, his time-travel destination must not be City 18.

Therefore, Jiang Yichen might have just moved across cities using an immigration visa or a work visa.

Then the key point came. Jiang Yichen couldn't confirm how long Qing Chen had lived here. As long as Qing Chen said a long time, he would naturally be excluded from the suspicion of being a Time Traveler.

The Inner World Federation requires visas to enter and leave cities, just like the travel permits in ancient Outer World. This is a means for the Conglomerate to control household registration.

Each city has a permanent population of about tens of millions. City 18 and City 10, these twin cities, have a permanent population of over 20 million.

The number of people entering and leaving the city with visas every day is probably tens of thousands, so it's not uncommon for someone to have just arrived here.

However, Jiang Yichen happened to meet Qing Chen, someone who had seen him before.

Qing Chen carefully looked at Jiang Yichen. When he was checking the other party's movements, he found that this person had participated in the Busan Film Festival in Korea, so he always suspected that this person might be from Koshima.

Meeting him so close to Ban Shan Mountain Estate, he felt it wasn't a coincidence.

But the problem was, if the other party was controlled by Koshima, how could Koshima allow him to act alone?

Has Koshima confirmed his sincere allegiance, or is the other party actually not controlled by anyone and is a free person?

Wait, Qing Chen thought, who else has just arrived in Luo City and is a free person who is not controlled?

Lu Ya!

He recalled that when he sniped Lu Ya on the rooftop of Kailai Grand Hotel, the other party had wrapped themselves up so tightly, it looked like a star's habit.

Could this star, Jiang Yichen, actually be Lu Ya?!

Qing Chen decided to observe him further in the future.

At this moment, Jiang Yichen couldn't hold his urine anymore. His legs were constantly rubbing against each other, anxious to go home and relieve himself.

Qing Chen also saw this.

He slowly asked, "Don't blame me for being suspicious, classmate. You just moved in, and as an old homeowner here, I have to ask a few more questions when I see a stranger. Why did you move to City 18? It's quite chaotic here recently. Why would you think of coming here?"

"Studying for exams," Jiang Yichen forced a smile, "I'm a high school senior. Qing He University is in City 18. There are more tutoring classes here, so I came here early to do some extra studying."

"So you're here to study for exams. I thought you were here to steal something since you look unfamiliar. I'm sorry," Qing Chen sneered inwardly when he heard the other party lying. You couldn't even go to school a few times a year in Outer World. You've been filming all the time. What are you acting like a big shot for in Inner World?

However, he still looked very sincere.

Qing Chen thought for a moment and asked Jiang Yichen again, "I heard that Qing He University is extremely difficult to get into. Since you can get into Qing He University, your studies must be very good, right? I was never very good at studying. I couldn't understand the questions, so I dropped out of school halfway. By the way, I still remember a question I couldn't answer. Assuming x is…"

At this time, Jiang Yichen's Face^[-] changed, and he said with some difficulty, "Excuse me, I really can't hold it anymore. Can we talk about it later? I have a key to prove that I'm a resident here. You can come to my house and take a look."

Qing Chen's current Face^[-], zard, could say whatever he wanted and didn't have to worry about being exposed.

But Jiang Yichen was different. If Qing Chen really asked him math questions, he would definitely be exposed.

He couldn't answer!

Upper Zone 3 is different from other places. The security here is extremely strict. If residents find suspicious people, they can directly call the pce Public Security Committee.

At this moment, Jiang Yichen felt like he couldn't hold it anymore, but as a Time Traveler, he could only carefully deal with it to avoid arousing his neighbor's suspicion.

Qing Chen chuckled, "Okay then, I wish you good luck on your exam."

After saying that, he turned and walked outside.

Behind him, Jiang Yichen, anxious to urinate, didn't think much of it. He just felt that he had finally gotten through this.

Moreover, the homeowners in this building were quite easy to fool.

Qing Chen came outside and looked back. The appearance of the small villa was quite beautiful.

The corners of the house were embedded with blue and purple light strips, which was very characteristic of the light pollution of the cyberpunk world.

The community was well-landscaped, completely different from the scene in "Lower Six District," where there was no greenery in the crowded area. Instead, it looked more like a villa community in Outer World.

A Flying Car slowly landed, and Qing Chen got in the car, "Yi, are you there?"

"I'm here," Yi said.

Qing Chen asked directly, "How many Sanko Shopping Malls are there in City 18?"

"Six," Yi said.

"Then, have any of these six Sanko Shopping Malls seen the holographic neon lights of a dolphin leaping out of the sea in recent months?" Qing Chen asked.

"Three of them have," Yi said, "That dolphin holographic neon light is an advertisement for the new generation of virtual lives, so it's very common. It's not a special landmark."

Qing Chen asked again, "Can you help me find all the personal information of people named Luo Wanya in City 18?"

As he spoke, three pieces of information, three Luo Wanyas, appeared on the screen of the Flying Car.

Qing Chen pointed to one of the fat men, "It's him. I want to find him."

Yi said, "There are so many people coming and going in City 18 every day. How can I find…"

Qing Chen said expressionlessly, "Are you short of money in Outer World again?"

Yi: "100,000 yuan. Liu Dezhu and the others got a commission of 100,000 yuan for completing Zhang Chengze's task. I'm also a member of Daybreak, and I want a commission."

"I'm not saying this, I just paid you a sum of money. How did you spend it so quickly?" Qing Chen was puzzled.

Yi sighed, "You're not willing to help me meet in person, so I spent money to hire someone to help me meet in person. As a result, when the boy went to meet, the girl took him to eat something casually, opened a bottle of red wine, and the bar charged 6888 yuan. The prices in your Outer World are too high."

Qing Chen was stunned. This clearly means he met a wine touter?!

Unexpectedly, Yi, who is so powerful in Inner World, frequently suffers setbacks in online dating in Outer World.

First, he met a tea girl, and now he met a wine touter.

Fortunately, Yi doesn't have a body, otherwise, he might even encounter a honey trap.

"Wait a minute, even if you met a wine touter, it's only 6888 yuan. You still have a lot of money. Where did you spend it all?" Qing Chen was curious.

"There's a faceless female streamer. Her voice is very nice. She said that as long as I send twenty rockets, she'll show her Face^[-]," Yi said, "As a result, after she showed her Face^[-]… it didn't meet my aesthetic. I saw in the comments that the second-ranked big brother ran away overnight carrying a train. I think this second-ranked person might also be a Demi-God-level figure, otherwise, how could he carry a train."

Qing Chen also sighed, "You're getting tricked every day in Outer World. Each trick is different. Can you ask me next time you're dating online?"

"Why ask you? You haven't even been in a relationship. Why would I ask you?" Yi scoffed, "What's the difference between that and asking a blind person for directions?"

Qing Chen was stunned. It seemed to be the case, "But you can't always be deceived."

"I like to suffer in love. Is that okay?" Yi said.

"That's love? You just can't walk past pretty girls," Qing Chen said disdainfully.

Yi: "Let's talk business. Is the deal done?"

"Done," Qing Chen said.

Yi: "But seriously, the surveillance in Lower Six District is almost all destroyed, so it's not easy to find."

At this time, the Flying Car had already driven into Upper Zone 3 along a specific route.

Hundreds of drones were shuttling back and forth in the sky, delivering takeout in an orderly manner.

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "I'll give you clues, and you help find related information. First, he was found near a Sanko Shopping Mall, then someone followed him all the way and knocked him unconscious in an alley and took him away. Now see if you can find the vehicle they used to transport people?"

"Can't find it," Yi said.

"Next one," Qing Chen said, "Luo Wanya was confined for more than a month, but he didn't suffer. The food was in sufficient supply. There were 7 people imprisoned with him, and there were also 7 guards. So can you find catering orders for 14 people or more to see where they're concentrated?"

Yi: "Within a month, a total of 121,991 similar orders were generated, all for 14 people or more. This clue may not be useful because many factory and company employees order meals together."

"In these orders, search for orders with 7 or more of the same meals," Qing Chen said.

Luo Wanya and the others were imprisoned. Colleagues would order meals according to their own preferences, but would the guards consider the tastes of those imprisoned? Of course, if there are several people, they would order several of the same dishes and would not consider the taste at all.

Yi said: "After filtering 121,991 search results, there are still 14,831. Actually, if you tell me what he specifically ate, it might be easier to find."

Qing Chen said: "Luo Wanya said that he basically eats synthetic protein meat and corn every day. Filter the results again."

"6831," Yi said: "This is common food for Inner World salaried workers. There is no recognition. The other party should also buy this kind of food to avoid being found."

"There are still so many," Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "Among these 6831 orders, how many are takeout orders?"

If the other party is a professional spy, they shouldn't choose to have food delivered to their door, even if it's by drone.

Yi: "There aren't many takeaway orders. People in this era like to have food delivered to their door. After filtering this, there are still 183 orders. These orders came from 12 restaurants. One of them generated 124 similar orders in one month. This restaurant is in District 4, and there is a Sanko Shopping Mall within a radius of three kilometers."

"If nothing unexpected happens, we should have found them," Qing Chen thought, "But we still need to verify."

"Go now?" Yi curiously asked.

"No," Qing Chen shook his head. "Let Luo Wanya endure it for a while. Don't let him think that freedom comes too easily. Also, I want to give him some time to get some information from the spies. I hope he won't disappoint me... Let the bullets fly for a while."

"People who play tactics have cruel hearts," Yi said.

In fact, this screening will have another direction, which is that the spies really cook for the Time Travelers themselves.

But the screening principle is the same. If the takeaway order does not find anyone, Qing Chen will use the data of buying ingredients to find them.

A person living in society will definitely leave traces, let alone 14 people?

Spies can also be dispersed, one person buys two copies, which is really not easy to find.

But their enemies are not only Qing Chen, Li Changqing is looking for these spies all over the world, and they will try to hide themselves before they really act.

"Where are we going now?" Yi asked.

"Buluo Mu Club, to see Li Dongze," Qing Chen sighed, "We need to be fair, right?"

Honestly, he never imagined that he would have to deal with such a thing one day.

When Qing Chen arrived at the Buluo Mu Club, the security guards at the entrance didn't stop him, they let him pass directly.

The only strange thing was that the club, which should have been bustling, was unusually quiet.

Qing Chen walked inside, looking at the high-tech decoration style, and the man in a black trench coat and meticulously dressed was sitting next to the bar, holding a glass of amber liquid.

Li Dongze.

"What would you like to drink, Little Boss?" Li Dongze smiled, "Whiskey, brandy, gin, baijiu, beer, we have them all here. They're all brewed by Eternal Society itself and sold throughout the Federation."

Qing Chen thought, you might as well say that this is your own secretly brewed fake wine...

Li Dongze laughed, "Although there's no approval from the Federation, Little Boss, don't worry. Eternal Society's underground brewing technology is very mature. We just don't pay taxes, so we sell it cheaply."

"I don't drink... I think this is our second meeting," Qing Chen asked.

"Little Boss has met me before?" Li Dongze said.

Qing Chen nodded, "When I was at the Haitang Boxing Gym, you were standing in the crowd. It must have been Master who asked you to come."

Li Dongze was stunned. He didn't expect that he could be recognized by the young man in front of him even though he was standing in the crowd wearing a baseball cap.

He thought for a moment and said, "Little Boss, all surveillance and recording equipment have been removed from this Buluo Mu Club, you can restore your true appearance."

As he spoke, Li Dongze watched Qing Chen control Forbidden Artifactace-005, instantly restoring his own appearance.

"Did you buy this place?" Qing Chen curiously asked.

"I bought all the shares of the Buluo Mu Club from the Harmony and Victory Society and the Red Star Society's president," Li Dongze said.

"How much?" Qing Chen asked.

"Allowing them to continue living is enough," Li Dongze said seriously.

Only at this moment did the king of City 18's underworld have the demeanor he should have.

At this time, Li Dongze calmly asked, "Little Boss, how is Li Dongze in Outer World now?"

Qing Chen replied, "He was moved by the idea of you being substituted, so I directly injected him with Gene Medicine and let another organization in Outer World take him in. As long as you don't inject fde-005 Gene Medicine in Inner World, he will never be able to substitute you in his life."

"Thank you," Li Dongze hesitated for a moment and said, "Little Boss, you didn't do anything to him, did you? For example, taking some weird photos of him?"

Qing Chen couldn't help but laugh. It turns out this guy was worried that he would use Outer World's Li Dongze to take some private photos and embarrass him.

"No, I can't do that," Qing Chen said.

"Little Boss is still more upright," Li Dongze sighed, "If it were Lin Xiaoxiao and Su Xingzhi, they would definitely do that. By the way, let's take a photo together."

As he spoke, Li Dongze took out his phone, stood next to Qing Chen, and took a selfie.

Qing Chen was puzzled, "Do we need a commemorative photo?"

"It's not a commemorative photo," Li Dongze lowered his head and fiddled with his phone.

Then, Qing Chen watched as the Eternal Society's boss, considered the most aloof by the outside world, sent the photo he just took to the phone contact "Su Xingzhi'.

Qing Chen was stunned. The competitiveness of these two people was so serious? It turns out that Li Dongze asked him to restore his original appearance just for this!

He thought the other party was confirming his identity!

Li Dongze looked at Qing Chen and said seriously, "Little Boss, don't believe anything Su Xingzhi says. That person doesn't speak the truth."

…