Night's Nomenclature
Chapter 372: Taking Office as CIA Supervisor

Early morning.

Qing Yi sat at the dining table of his mansion, eating breakfast prepared by his servants: fried eggs, white porridge, pickles, scallion pancakes, and steamed buns. It wasn't particularly extravagant, just rather refined.

After breakfast, he wiped his mouth and headed out. Six bodyguards were already waiting in the elevator hall. He had specifically requested them from his mother; each one was a military elite.

In fact, Qing Yi had more than just these bodyguards. There were two more in the elevator, and before he even entered the elevator, the elevator shaft was checked with a life detector.

Downstairs, two more guarded the motorcade to prevent anyone from tampering with the vehicles.

The house Qing Yi bought in City 10's Third District wasn't just one; he bought two units on each floor, four units in total, upstairs and downstairs, totaling six units, for his security personnel and servants to live in.

This is how the core offspring of a Conglomerate travel; his security personnel alone constituted a whole combat team.

Qing Yi got into his executive-level car. Just then, his phone rang; it was Li Ke.

He slightly curved the corner of his mouth, then thought his reaction was a little inappropriate, so he waited for the ringtone to ring ten or so times before answering, then calmly asked, "Why are you calling me so early in the morning?"

In this executive-level car, there was a soundproof partition between the back seats and the driver, so the driver couldn't hear what the passengers in the back were saying.

To instruct the driver, one had to press the call button next to the seat.

Li Ke on the other end didn't mind his tone: "I heard you're going to undergo the third round of Shadow Succession, so I'm reminding you to be careful. You're going to report to Intelligence Bureau Three today, right? Intelligence Bureau Two is my family's; I've spoken to my father. If you need anything, you can tell me."

Qing Yi said, "I'm from the Qing Family, you're from the Li Clan. How could a Qing Family offspring ask the Li Clan for help? Who do you think you're looking down on?"

Li Ke said, "It's always better to be cautious. By the way, if you want to get along with the agents under Intelligence Bureau Three, remember to curb your bad temper, and don't show off your wealth to those agents. Be low-key and get along well with everyone; only then will they be willing to work for you."

Qing Yi was speechless, "Why are you acting so nagging? I'm not like the other Shadow Candidates, am I? I'm too young, so whatever I do will be difficult to gain acceptance. It's better to show off and act young, letting the other Shadow Candidates underestimate me. Everyone's strategy is different; I have my own. Not only will I show off, but I'll also go to work with bodyguards. After they all underestimate me, they'll have a lot to suffer."

For some reason, Qing Yi involuntarily told Li Ke all his plans.

This was actually wrong, because the Shadow Succession was such an important secret, he shouldn't tell anyone about his plans, especially Li Ke, who was from the Li Clan.

But Qing Yi didn't think anything was wrong. The relationship between these two had become somewhat subtle since some time ago.

They were like friends, but neither of them admitted to being friends.

Li Ke: "If you have your own ideas, I won't say anything. I'll send you the contact information of a Supervisor from Intelligence Bureau Two later. If you're in danger, remember to contact him; I've asked my father to specifically instruct the Secretariat to greet him."

Qing Yi impatiently said, "So many things! I told you I don't need the Li Clan's help!"

Li Ke: "I've already sent it."

Qing Yi: "... By the way, where is the master? Didn't he take you to travel? You're back, but where is he?"

Li Ke explained, "Master left the Li Clan alone; I don't know where he went. What? Do you need him for something? If you miss Master, you can call him. Don't you have his phone number?"

Qing Yi panicked, "I miss him? Impossible! I was just asking where he went."

Li Ke: "Okay."

Qing Yi was speechless; the other party clearly replied in a perfunctory manner, "Okay, I've reached the Federal Central Intelligence Bureau; I won't talk to you anymore."

Li Ke said, "Okay, let's talk on the phone tomorrow."

Qing Yi was originally quite depressed because he was going to the Federal Central Intelligence Bureau to pretend to be stupid, but after this phone call, his mood was obviously much lighter.

Someone still knew that he wasn't really stupid or naive, and Li Ke had actually gone to ask his father, who was now in charge of the Li Clan, to have the Secretariat inform Intelligence Bureau Two to secretly assist him.

Perhaps this was the significance of the second round of Shadow Succession, and it was also Qing Yi's advantage.

Getting out of the car, Qing Yi even specifically carried a schoolbag, making it look like he was going to school instead of work.

He said to his head of security, "Park all the vehicles in the most conspicuous place at the PCA entrance, so that everyone can see them when they enter and exit. If anyone asks whose car it is, tell them it's my parents' arrangement. You guys work a little harder, take turns standing by the cars. I'll give you extra allowance when we get back."

The head of security bowed and said, "Boss, you're too polite; we don't need extra allowance for doing such a small thing."

Qing Yi shook his head, "One thing at a time."

After he entered the PCA Federal Central Intelligence Bureau, he called everyone brother or sister, extremely enthusiastic.

Arriving at Intelligence Bureau Three, he saw the agents who had visited him yesterday, chattering around Qing Wen.

Qing Wen had changed into a PCA CIA uniform, looking humble. The watch on his hand, worth a house in the Upper Third District, had already been removed.

This time, Qing Wen was in Intelligence Bureau Three's Fourth Group, Qing Shi in the Fifth Group, Qing Wu in the Sixth Group, Qing Yuan in the Seventh Group, Qing Yi in the Eighth Group, and Qing Xing in the Ninth Group.

When the agents of Qing Yi's Eighth Group saw their official Boss coming, they hurriedly took their leave from Qing Wen and came to Qing Yi's side.

Although they felt that Qing Yi was unlikely to win in the Shadow Succession, they still had to give him Face^[-].

Otherwise, if Qing Yi's parents felt their child was wronged here at the PCA CIA, they wouldn't be able to bear it.

To the Conglomerate, they were just ants struggling to survive.

An agent came to Qing Yi and cautiously said, "We saw Qing Wen arrived early, so we went to say a few words."

Qing Yi smiled, "Brothers and sisters, don't worry."

Then, he walked straight to Qing Wen and, with his bowl-cut hairstyle, said obediently, "Brother Qing Wen, congratulations on your victory in City 18."

What he was referring to was Qing Wen killing Qing Zhong. Although Qing Zhong wasn't killed by Qing Wen's own hands, to the outside world, Qing Wen had indeed won.

Qing Wen looked at Qing Yi with a gentle expression, "I heard you went to Ban Shan Mountain Estate after arriving in City 18?"

Qing Yi nodded, "Yes, I went to visit Aunt Changqing. She was worried about me and said that since I was unwilling to participate in the Shadow Succession, I might as well stay at Ban Shan Mountain Estate."

It should be known that Qing Yi was the first to announce that he was unwilling to participate in the Shadow Succession. He even gave the Forbidden Artifact ACE-090 Immortal Brooch he had obtained in the first round to Qing Wen.

And his age was also an objective condition that was easily underestimated.

Then Qing Yi smiled and said, "Brother Qing Wen, I don't have the ability to complete the tasks assigned by the Shadow Master. How about this, if you need manpower, you can always dispatch people from me."

Speaking, Qing Yi looked at the agents of his Eighth Group, "Brothers and sisters, remember, if Brother Qing Wen needs help, you must assist him."

The agents were delighted. Although they didn't have a popular candidate like Qing Wen as their Supervisor, they had genuinely helped Qing Wen. In the future, if Qing Wen were to rise to power, he certainly wouldn't forget them.

However, did this Qing Yi really not intend to participate in the Shadow Succession?

Unknown to them, there was actually Qing Yi's Kestrel among the agents of the Eighth Group, and the conversation between the agents yesterday was also sent to Qing Yi by Kestrel.

Therefore, he couldn't wait for Qing Wen to take his Eighth Group out to work, so that his Kestrel could report Qing Wen's every move.

Just then, a confused voice asked outside the large office, "Whose wallet is this?"

Qing Yi knew without looking who it was, Qing Xing.

For some reason, this Qing Xing had a mysterious buff from a young age. It seemed that from the age of 7, he would pick up money whenever he went out, and good things seemed to happen to him, as if he were chosen by fate.

This was a legend within the Qing Family, saying that he was inherently different from others, blessed by luck.

Qing Xing didn't use to be called Qing Xing, but Qing Chong. Later, he was so lucky that his father changed his name to Qing Xing.

At this time, an agent hurried over from outside the corridor and said to Qing Xing, "Excuse me, this is my wallet..."

Qing Xing calmly nodded, "Then here you go."

After saying that, the young man in his twenties left as if nothing had happened, going to his office to report.

It was as if he had long been accustomed to picking up money and wallets.

Slowly, all the Shadow Candidates arrived.

Unsurprisingly, all the Shadow Candidates dressed very plainly, completely putting aside their posture as core offspring of the Conglomerate, trying to get along well with their agents. At noon, they all ate in the cafeteria.

Only Qing Yi was an exception. He didn't have much interaction with his agents. During work hours, he would sit at his desk and daydream; at lunchtime, he would go to his executive-level car at the entrance to eat, the car filled with exquisite and rare food.

Qing Yi ate while sending a message to his Kestrel, "Why haven't I seen the office location of Intelligence Bureau One?"

Kestrel replied, "Intelligence Bureau One is an independent department, located one kilometer away."

Qing Yi found it strange, "Why is it independent?"

Kestrel, "Each Conglomerate faction has sent elite intelligence personnel there to compete for the orthodox intelligence power. Therefore, the higher-ups of the PCA CIA, to prevent those living demons from killing each other and affecting others, let Intelligence Bureau One work independently."

Qing Yi put down his phone and continued to eat. He felt he had to go to Intelligence Bureau One; it seemed that that was the true Federal Central Intelligence Bureau...

...

A kilometer away.

Qing Chen stood outside an old building, silently observing it. Compared to other tall buildings that soared into the clouds, this building was like an Outer World department store from the old era.

It was only nine stories high, and even the glass structure on the outside was old and uncleaned.

The only special thing was that there was a courtyard outside the building. The walls of the courtyard were three meters high, with neat fence-type electric nets, and surveillance cameras everywhere.

The main entrance of the courtyard was as strict as a prison, with a large iron gate and a small door below it.

Qing Chen stepped forward and pressed the doorbell. With a drip, a middle-aged man opened the small iron window and expressionlessly asked, "Who is it?"

Qing Chen glanced at the other party calmly and showed his reporting letter, "Newly appointed Supervisor."

The middle-aged man immediately changed his expression to a smile, "Oh my, why didn't you say so earlier? What a mess this is."

With a click, the small iron gate that could only accommodate one person opened, and the middle-aged man led Qing Chen inside.

The middle-aged man smiled, "The Seventh Group you'll be in charge of is on the third floor, the whole floor is yours, and your agents are all there; nobody is out on cases today."

"Mm," Qing Chen nodded.

Arriving on the third floor, the middle-aged man shouted, "The new Supervisor is here."

The atmosphere was a bit strange, because none of the ninety-odd agents in their seats got up, all expressionlessly busy with their own tasks.

The middle-aged man immediately slipped away when he saw the wrong atmosphere. Qing Chen suddenly realized a problem: the agents taken over by the other Shadow Candidates were all waiting to flatter them, while the agents he was going to take over, along with Kestrel, were all waiting to inspect him...

This was because Intelligence Bureau One couldn't tolerate gilded people coming to idle away their time. If the leader was weak, the whole group would suffer.

At this time, a middle-aged man came to Qing Chen and extended his hand, "Supervisor, hello. I'm the acting head of the Seventh Group before you came, called Qing Hua, Apprentice Supervisor."

Another young man in his thirties stood up and smiled, "Supervisor, hello. I'm the Apprentice Supervisor of the Seventh Group, called Qing Zhun."

Qing Zhun was someone the Shadow Master had mentioned; the other party said that he could be trusted.

Qing Chen looked over and found that the other party was handsome, with a well-proportioned figure, looking very competent.

Intelligence Bureau One's establishment was a bit different from the other bureaus. In Intelligence Bureau Three, an Apprentice Supervisor could independently manage 36 agents.

In Intelligence Bureau One, one group had 96 agents, and was also equipped with one full-time Supervisor and two Apprentice Supervisors.

The specifications were much higher.

Qing Chen looked at Qing Hua, "What do I need to do now?"

Qing Hua seemed to be well-prepared. He took Qing Chen to the Supervisor's office and said, "Your identity code is your account password. You can log into the electronic archives to check all the PCA files. Only you, I, and Qing Zhun have this permission. Have a look at the past files first to understand the cases we've handled before so that you can start working."

Qing Chen asked, "What cases are you investigating now?"

Qing Hua smiled, "You should check the database first."

Qing Chen nodded and sat down decisively.

He opened the vast database and suddenly realized this was the first Show of Power from his subordinates.

It would take a normal person until the millennium to finish reading those past materials.

During this period, if he wanted to interfere with the affairs of the Seventh Group, the other party could use "You don't understand the situation" to evade him.

This was probably a common means of internal strife in office politics. There was no conspiracy, but it was very useful.

Qing Chen was also patient; he sat there for seven hours.

Outside the Supervisor's office, someone whispered to Qing Hua, "This should be someone arranged by the Shadow Master. Showing him this Show of Power, will there be any problems?"

Qing Hua calmly scanned all the agents, "We are all Qing Family's pawns in the PCA. If the leader is incompetent, none of us will have good days. If he can't even handle this small matter, I'll ask the family to replace him. But if he's competent, I, Qing Hua, can kneel down and apologize to him, it has nothing to do with you."

After saying this, the agents had no objections.

Qing Hua had one thing right; more than ten years ago, the Seventh Group had a very self-willed Supervisor who led the agents into a trap dug by Koshima, and 90% of the group died.

No one wanted this to happen again.

In the evening, after receiving a message, Qing Chen got up from his office and walked straight out.

After he left, the agents looked at each other, "He's probably going off work, without saying a word. Maybe he's angry because of that Show of Power."

"If I had to look at so many files, I'd be angry too."

Qing Hua thought for a moment, "Let's wait and see."

But unknown to them, Qing Chen didn't leave the building of Intelligence Bureau One after leaving the large office, but went to an interrogation room on the seventh floor.

The video recording equipment in the interrogation room had been turned off, and a middle-aged man was waiting quietly.

Qing Chen pushed the door open, and the middle-aged man politely stood up, "Sir, hello. Commander Li Yunshou asked me to greet you on his behalf."

Qing Chen calmly said, "Does he have any news for me?"

The middle-aged man politely said, "There is no special news. He only asked me to get acquainted with you. My name is Li Yunqu. In the future, if you have any assistance needed, you can tell me, and I will do my best to cooperate."

Qing Chen nodded, "Thank you for your kind intentions, but I don't need any help for now. By the way, where are the people from Shendai, Koshima, and the Chen Family?"

Li Yunqu said, "Shendai is on the fourth floor, Koshima is on the fifth floor, the Chen Family is on the second floor, and our Li Clan is on the sixth floor. Currently, Shendai and Koshima are probably fully investigating a missing person case in the first half of this year. That matter may be related to the Qing Family Shadow, and they might be trying to use this to find clues related to the Qing Family Shadow."

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I understand. What is the Li Clan investigating?"

Li Yunqu said, "Investigating the Mechanical God Sect. We suspect that the backer behind the Mechanical God Sect is related to Shendai."

"Okay, thank you," Qing Chen nodded. "If you need any help, you can also tell me."

After saying that, Qing Chen turned back to the third floor.

Li Yunqu stood respectfully in the interrogation room, watching Qing Chen leave. For people like him from the Li Clan faction, Qing Chen was one of the few people in the entire Conglomerate who could sit at the conference table.

This is a real big shot, an existence as unattainable as the clouds in the sky.

Many people thought that Qing Chen came to Intelligence Bureau One alone, maybe even the Qing Family Shadow Master thought so.

But it wasn't so.

...