Night's Nomenclature
Chapter 392: Accident

Qing Wen, a Shadow Candidate in the Ninth District, stood quietly on a sky bridge between two buildings. The suspended bridge was like a steel cable hanging between two buildings.

Every time Qing Wen stood in such a place, overlooking the most absurd part of the city, he always felt a unique sense of detachment. This place didn't belong to him, and he didn't belong here.

At 3 p.m., 72 agents from Intelligence Bureau Three had already entered the apartment building to his right, completely sealing off the building according to information provided by Qing Wen's subordinate, Kestrel.

Gunshots came from the building, but Qing Wen's expression didn't change. He just stood in the clouds, watching the scenery.

He didn't seem to take this arrest operation seriously. Although the agents were weak, his Kestrel was already hidden in the building and could strike at any time. The strength of those Kestrels was far beyond that of agents and assassins.

In less than half an hour, his agents brought five captured assassins to the sky bridge to report their success: "Supervisor, everyone is caught, but there are only five in this apartment building. During the battle in the building, your experts took timely action, and only three of us were slightly injured."

Qing Wen smiled warmly: "Five is pretty good. There's still plenty of time."

A detective then approached Qing Wen and whispered, "A friend of mine in Bureau Three said that Qing Yi hasn't come to work at Intelligence Bureau Three, Qing Wu left shortly after we left, Qing Shi is still chasing stars, and Qing Xing picked up some money."

Unexpectedly, Qing Wen not only incorporated Qing Yi's agents under his command, but also secretly bought over the agents of the missing Qing Yuan.

However, Qing Wen didn't bring Qing Yuan's people when he acted, but left them in Intelligence Bureau Three as informants, monitoring the movements of other Shadow Candidates.

Qing Wen glanced at the agent and said calmly, "Okay, thank you. I understand."

The agent seemed to be trying to get closer: "Qing Yi is still young and playful, so it's not a concern. But Qing Wu suddenly went out, will it have any impact?"

Qing Wen smiled and said, "It's okay. We just need to catch one more assassin."

The Shadow's requirement was to catch 6 or more assassins or the commander of this operation, Lin Haiping. There were 12 assassins. So, theoretically, at most three Shadow Candidates could get the advantage of the next mission.

Qing Wen could certainly catch everyone, cutting off the path of other Shadow Candidates, but he didn't think it was necessary. There was still plenty of time, he could play slowly.

Now, he was already ahead of other Shadow Candidates, so he didn't need to panic.

Qing Wen said with a smile, "When we get back to the PCA Federation Intelligence Bureau's underground parking lot, I'll have some small gifts for everyone."

The agents were stunned, and in an instant, they all became happy. They knew Qing Wen was generous. This was a reward for their efforts in this operation. This gift was worth looking forward to.

On the way back, the agents were in a rush. Everyone wanted to get into Qing Wen's car to get closer to the new boss, but in the end, three of the most senior agents squeezed into the car.

Qing Wen didn't care about this, just silently waiting for the agents to decide for themselves.

Back at the underground parking lot of Intelligence Bureau Three, Qing Wen's servants were already waiting.

The management here wasn't as strict as in Intelligence Bureau One. Qing Wen only needed to make a phone call, and all his private vehicles could enter the parking lot.

Qing Wen's servants opened two box trucks. The trunks were filled with 72 gifts: baskets of fresh beef, red and tempting.

The fresh meat was sealed in baskets with plastic wrap, rather like the fruit baskets that the Outer World sent to visit patients. The thick slices of meat were arranged in beautiful rose shapes.

In the Inner World, because real beef was extremely scarce, even the roast meat restaurants sold synthetic beef with similar flavors, which was nothing more than a more advanced synthetic protein.

Therefore, the most precious gift in the Inner World was fresh meat.

Only in the markets of Zone Three could you find real fresh meat, and a pound would cost several hundred dollars, with the best beef costing tens of thousands.

The agents' eyes lit up when they saw this. They roughly estimated that there must be twenty pounds of beef in one basket, enough for a month's salary.

If they took this home, their wives would be overjoyed!

Qing Wen said with a smile, "This is just a small token of my appreciation for you all. There will be another generous gift before the Spring Festival. I hope you will continue to cooperate with my work in the near future."

The agents were very excited, each carrying a basket of beef and escorting five assassins upstairs.

When they entered the large office one by one, the other agents who stayed behind saw the baskets of beef and widened their eyes in disbelief.

In fact, Qing Wen chose to give out gifts at this time in order to make the agents of other Shadow Candidates envious. What he wanted to do was similar to what Qing Chen did in Team Seven, except that the level of gifts was slightly different...

However, at this moment, the door of Intelligence Bureau Three was pushed open again.

Qing Wen turned his head and saw Qing Hua, who had previously come to the PCA Federation Intelligence Bureau headquarters to arrest people, appearing at the door.

Qing Hua smiled and walked in with dozens of people, then circled the five handcuffed assassins twice: "These are the assassins who attacked Shendai Street, right?"

Qing Wen was about to go and greet Qing Hua, but suddenly saw a young man walking out from behind Qing Hua, looking at himself with a smile.

Qing Yi.

Qing Wen's pupils contracted. He didn't expect that Qing Yi, who hadn't come to work today, would suddenly appear, and with so many people from Intelligence Bureau One.

The veteran agents familiar with the rules and regulations of the PCA Federation Intelligence Bureau had already reacted. Qing Yi was going to use Intelligence Bureau One's priority to steal the fruit!

But Qing Yi didn't speak to Qing Wen, instead looking at the agents who were originally under his command.

"This is the beef that Qing Wen Gege sent you all. He's always so generous, but eating too much meat is not good for digestion," Qing Yi said with a smile.

I'm not pretending anymore, I'm showing my cards!

In fact, the young Qing Yi was at most a little precocious, and his scheming was not as deep as he imagined.

Therefore, at this moment, Qing Yi was already extremely happy in his heart, and Qing Xing himself had found a master who was protective and powerful!

With Mr. Qing Chen in Intelligence Bureau One, other Shadow Candidates were completely crushed in terms of official status!

Why do those in power establish social rules? Because they are the biggest beneficiaries of the rules.

A smart person killing someone sometimes doesn't need to use force, just rules.

In Qing Yi's eyes, his own master was an extremely intelligent person.

Qing Yi's agents were still carrying baskets of beef. When they discovered that Qing Yi had been pretending all along, they wanted to drop the baskets and switch sides, but it was too late.

Moreover, they also knew that Qing Yi, with Intelligence Bureau One backing him, didn't need them at all.

Qing Hua added, looking at the agents coldly: "A little beef bought you off, completely forgetting who your boss is. You're hopeless."

The agents lowered their heads even lower.

Qing Wen looked at Qing Yi expressionlessly: "What do you want to do?"

Qing Yi smiled: "Nothing, just taking away the assassins you just caught."

"Why?" Qing Wen said coldly, "I caught them."

Qing Yi turned to Qing Hua: "Can we take them away?"

Qing Hua said, "Article 3, Chapter 4 of the PCA regulations, Intelligence Bureau 1 has the priority of interrogation, and other intelligence bureaus need to cooperate with Intelligence Bureau One's work and hand over suspects. Supervisor Qing Wen, you wouldn't have missed the rules of the PCA, would you?"

If it were before, Qing Hua would certainly not want to offend a Shadow Candidate, but now it was different. His back was very straight.

Moreover, Qing Hua also knew that Shadow Succession was a life-or-death situation. Trying to be a fence-sitter would not end well. You can only bet on one side and hope they win.

Since Qing Chen's boss bet on Qing Yi, Qing Hua had no choice.

Qing Hua's self-positioning was very clear. Being a loyal deputy was his best path.

"Yang Xuyang, hand over the prisoners!" Qing Hua said coldly.

Qing Wen wanted to say something else, but found that his agents were all lowering their heads, not daring to say a word.

This is the difference between complete loyalty and being a lackey. Qing Chen had already made the agents of Team Seven obedient, and they only had Qing Chen in their hearts, while Qing Wen only gave some small favors to buy them off.

The difference is clear.

If Qing Wen had completely subdued his agents like Qing Chen, even if the agents faced punishment, they would still fight against Qing Hua, but what Qing Wen had done was far from Qing Chen's.

Qing Wen's Face^[-] was livid, and he watched silently as Qing Hua took away the five assassins.

Qing Yi looked at Qing Wen with a smile: "Thank you, Qing Wen Gege."

At this moment, the door of Intelligence Bureau Three was suddenly kicked open.

Qing Wu stood silently at the door, carrying a person whose life or death was unknown.

Qing Wu had dark skin and a resolute expression, clearly the marks left by years of hard training and wind and sun. His body was covered in blood, and they couldn't tell whether it was Qing Wu's blood or someone else's.

Qing Wu didn't care about Qing Yi and the others, he just said coldly, "My agents, lock him up. This is Lin Haiping, the commander of the assassins."

Everyone was stunned. No one expected that this silent man who always lay on the table had single-handedly found Lin Haiping and brought him back.

Seeing how he carried an adult like a chicken, he must be at least a C-Class, or even possibly a B-Class!

However, the agents in the large office didn't move. Some gloated and thought, although Qing Wu had high martial arts skills, he was only making clothes for Qing Yi. It's perfect now, all the efforts of Qing Wu and Qing Wen will be given to Qing Yi.

However, to their surprise, when Qing Yi saw Qing Wu, he just politely smiled and greeted: "Qing Wu Gege, hello. My mother said the other day that she would definitely come to our house next time she goes back. She'll cook spareribs for you."

Qing Wu was stunned, then calmly said, "Okay, I understand."

Then, Qing Yi just took people away, without taking Lin Haiping from Qing Wu.

On the way, Qing Hua looked at Qing Yi: "Aren't you going to want Lin Haiping?"

Qing Yi smiled: "Qing Wu is very strong. Even if we add up, we can't beat him. If we really annoy him, we might be embarrassed. Don't worry, I won't let you take such a risk."

Qing Hua wondered, "What level is Qing Wu?"

Qing Yi thought for a while and said, "At least B-Class. He's a famous martial arts enthusiast among the Qing Family children, and his eyes only see cultivation. He is also the only Shadow Candidate who doesn't participate in Shadow Succession with a Guardian, because the highest level a Guardian can reach is C-Class, which is not as good as himself."

At this time, Qing Wu in the large office handed over the prisoner to the agents and went back to sleep on the table, not caring about the blood stains on his body at all. As if it was commonplace.

However, when the agents took over Lin Haiping, they discovered that the mastermind of the assassins had his hands and feet broken, all comminuted fractures.

Someone pulled up Lin Haiping's sleeve to take a look. The clear fingerprints showed that Qing Wu had twisted his bones!

Qing Wen looked at Qing Wu. He was even worried that Qing Wu would lose his temper and kill all the Shadow Candidates in the office.

This is also the most direct way of Shadow Succession.

The large office of Intelligence Bureau Three no longer had the lively atmosphere of the past. Everyone was quiet, as if shrouded in the center of a low-pressure vortex.

Everyone was thinking about one question: what did Qing Yi rely on to get Intelligence Bureau One to support him so much?

Intelligence Bureau One hasn't been busy arresting people lately. Why did they suddenly participate in Shadow Succession?

...

...

Qing Hua took all the agents back to the third floor of Intelligence Bureau One.

As soon as they entered, they found the large office empty, with only Qing Zhun sitting with his legs crossed on the table, listening to music with headphones.

Qing Chen was also gone.

Qing Hua asked Qing Zhun, "Where's the boss?"

Qing Zhun smiled and took off his headphones to answer, "The boss went out alone, saying he had something to do."

Qing Hua was stunned. He went to Qing Zhun and picked up the headphones to listen. There was indeed very loud singing: "You can read lips? I didn't notice before."

"There are many things you haven't noticed," Qing Zhun said meaningfully, "Did you bring the people back?"

"Yes," Qing Hua nodded. "They've been imprisoned in the secret prison."

At this time, Qing Hua suddenly thought, did the boss just tell them that all the agents should go to help Qing Yi arrest people, in order to separate them so that he would have a chance to go out alone?

What is he doing, it's so mysterious.

Also, the new boss probably still doesn't quite trust the agents of Team Seven.

Qing Hua separated the other agents and whispered to Qing Zhun, "The boss hasn't publicly assigned you any work lately. Has he given you a secret mission?"

"You guess?" Qing Zhun replied with a smile.

"I guess the boss wants you to catch the insider in Team Seven," Qing Hua whispered, "Right?"

Qing Zhun laughed, "Confidential."

Qing Hua sighed. The internal situation of Intelligence Bureau One was very complicated, and each intelligence group would often place spies in other intelligence groups.

At this moment, Qing Chen had put on a white sports suit at some point and somewhere.

He walked silently in the street, personally surveying and scouting the most suitable trading location.

According to his agreement with the Shadow, he would inform the Shadow of the trading location tonight.

The setting sun was just right.

In the deep winter, the sun penetrated the towering buildings and fell on his body, warm and comfortable.

However, the red setting sun shone on the glass of the opposite building, reflecting into Qing Chen's eyes, making him unable to open his eyes.

A homeless guitarist was gently plucking the strings at the side of the street. His shoes were already torn, and his cheeks were covered with unshaven stubble.

The song was very beautiful, a cover of Song Niao Niao's work. Song Niao Niao's original clean tone, replaced by the homeless guitarist's hoarse, smoky voice, had a different flavor.

In the distance, a car slowly drove past the intersection ahead. Under the reflection of the setting sun, the vehicle seemed to be hidden in the brilliance.

Qing Chen stood there listening, seemingly enjoying the peace, as if he hadn't noticed anything.

At this moment, a pedestrian passed by the homeless guitarist and dropped a coin.

But the one-dollar coin that fell to the ground didn't lie quietly on the ground, but bounced up and rolled towards the street, standing upright.

The homeless guitarist saw this and quickly chased the coin while hugging his guitar. This one dollar was very important to him, because it meant that he could eat synthetic protein to satisfy his hunger tonight.

The homeless guitarist didn't notice that as he rushed onto the street, the car was already close at hand.

The driver in the car didn't expect anyone to rush out from the roadside, and when he quickly turned the steering wheel, the vehicle suddenly rushed onto the sidewalk, heading straight for Qing Chen.

Qing Chen, who was standing still, the out-of-control vehicle, and the homeless guitarist who was bending down to pick up money, all seemed unrelated, yet were miraculously connected together.

With a bang, the Mercedes-Benz car crashed into the roadside lamppost.

And the young man who should have been in the car's path had left his original position at some point and was thoughtfully watching the scene.

The driver in the car looked at his wrecked car and yelled at the homeless guitarist: "You're blind, aren't you? Why did you run into the middle of the road?"

The homeless guitarist quickly ran away.

Qing Chen suddenly looked towards the direction of the PCA Federation Intelligence Bureau headquarters. If Qing Xing was lighting the Forbidden Artifact ACE-054 match, he must be looking at him from this angle, right?

He smiled and said, "Interesting."

According to the speed of the car, if it hit Qing Chen, he would most likely have his legs broken, but he wouldn't die.

It seems that Qing Xing has already targeted him, but he can only create a "harmful incident", not a "murder incident".

...