Chapter 318: 249, Black Box
In Qing Chen’s imagination, the cyberpunk world should always be imrsed in the gray and dark sky.
The aggravation of soil erosion and smog had plunged the world into natural disasters.
However, the reality was that when technological developnt reached the present, energy had been replaced by efficient nuclear power, and the sky had actually cleared up.
In the city, electric vehicles had replaced fuel cars, and with less severe exhaust emissions, people could even look up at the night sky and see the stars.
On the wastelands, soil erosion wasn’t that severe; dense vegetation in areas of Taboo Land had beco the human defense lines against sand and winds.
Sotis Qing Chen would wonder, if the world really beca a whole piece of Taboo Land one day, Ding Dongs like the giant would run wild in the green ocean, and phoenixes would perch on the vast canopies, wouldn’t that be beautiful?
And giants born in Taboo Land like Ding Dong would not be affected by rules.
Countdown 2:00:00.
Qing Chen, at his 132nd-floor ho in Luo Shen Building, took off the expensive suit provided by Li Family and chose to change into a set of white sportswear bought for him by his master.
He put on a cap and then looked at his sofa.
There were signs that soone had been sitting on the sofa, yet nobody had touched his door before he returned ho.
The only person Qing Chen could think of who could enter the house without touching the main door was Qing’s shadow.
This also strengthened Qing Chen’s judgnt: the Taboo capable of opening the Door of Shadow must be able to go places its host had been to or seen before.
The first ti Qing’s shadow had to enter through the main door, but it was unnecessary afterward.
Qing Chen suspected that when he was at Li’s Half Mountain Manor, Qing’s shadow took advantage of his absence and ca to his ho to rest every day.
The kettle in his ho had been used to boil water, and there were tea leaves beside the cup, indicating that the other party had also brewed tea.
Soone had used the bathroom and even taken a bath inside; the bathtub was also used.
It seed that Qing’s shadow didn’t consider himself an outsider at all…
With a sigh in his heart, Qing Chen felt troubled by this person who ca and went as he pleased.
But, what exactly did this person want? Could his involvent in the Shadow Conflict be part of their plan?
And what exactly was their end goal?
Qing Chen didn’t think further; he pressed down on the brim of his hat and walked out the door.
This ti, he specifically listened for noises outside the door to avoid scaring the silver-haired girl, Zheng Yi, again.
However, when Qing Chen waited for the elevator, as the doors gradually opened, the silver-haired girl scread again, reaching into her small bag as if it contained a weapon.
Like pepper spray, for instance.
Qing Chen wondered if the pepper spray in the Inner World was more ferocious than that in the Outer World.
Only when the silver-haired girl realized that the person outside the elevator was Qing Chen did she relax a little. She curiously asked, “Why haven’t you been going to school lately?”
Qing Chen thought about it and answered, “My family might not be able to afford the university tuition, so I plan to start working early to earn money.”
Zheng Yi was taken aback, “There will always be a way, but you must continue your education. The convenience store where I work is hiring a night cashier. How about I recomnd you for the job? You’ll definitely be able to save enough for your tuition.”
“Thank you, I’ll consider it,” Qing Chen said with a smile as he entered the elevator, “You should hurry ho and rest.”
“Yeah, yeah,” the silver-haired girl stepped out of the elevator and after a few steps turned back, “Make sure to think about it, it’s really not that hard of a job.”
“Hurry ho,” Qing Chen smiled and waved.
The elevator doors closed, and he turned to look out of the transparent glass windows.
In this city, girls like Zheng Yi had to fight with all their might for an uncertain future.
She attended school in the morning, took extra classes in the afternoon, and worked at night.
Struggling to get into a university.
But after university, the best outco was to continue working for the conglorates and then to suddenly die on the job.
This was a ticulously designed world where all the ga rules were in the hands of the conglorates.
Qing Chen thought that his master, Uncle Li Dong, and his friends must have seen too many such unfortunate souls and thus were determined to change the world.
He put on an earpiece, and in the earpiece, Yi asked, “You should return to the Outer World now. The data fortress I promised you during the second transaction is in your left pocket. Just plug it into the USB port on your computer when you get back. By the way, in 14 days, Li Changqing will watch you inject Genetic Potion 003. Have you thought about how to deal with it? Are you really planning to go through with the injection, or will you simply flee?”
Previously, Qing Chen’s reason for refusing the Genetic Potion injection was that he had just completed the injection of 004 and had to wait another 18 days for the next one.
Now four days had passed, and he couldn’t avoid this shot simply by hiding.
Qing Chen did not answer this question but asked another, “What exactly is the origin of the Knights?”
Yi replied, “It originated from extre sports.”
“Extre sports?” Qing Chen knew that every life-and-death challenge resembled a form of extre sport, but he had always thought it was a coincidence.
Yi said, “According to the Knight history that my father restored, my grandfather, the founder of the Knight Organization, initially just liked extre sports. Later, when he beca a leading figure in various extre sports areas and completed eight life-and-death challenges, his genetic lock suddenly opened. It was from that mont that the eight life-and-death challenge beca a path of cultivation.”
Qing Chen knew that before the invention of the Breathing Technique, knights had to complete eight life-and-death challenges to beco true knights and unlock their genetic locks.
Before completing the eighth one, they were still just ordinary people.
Ren He, Yi’s grandfather, had also never known that this was a path of cultivation before completing the eight challenges.
Suddenly, Yi said, “Uncle Li Dong empathizes so much with your predecessors from the Outer World because the Knight Organization has always known that before the founder embarked on this path, he knew nothing about the era he was going to create. He didn’t even know if he could beco a Transcendent.”
“Why did the founder have to complete these eight challenges?” Qing Chen asked curiously.
“Out of a deep love and belief in life,” Yi answered. “Actually, Uncle Li Dong taking you as his apprentice was very hasty. According to the normal knight apprenticeship process, you should have tried all the extre sports first, but he was too eager, and you were too smart, so he skipped that process.”
Yi continued, “In the lives of Uncle Li Dong and his peers, the path of the knight was a process of cultivating the mind and body, a process of challenging oneself again and again. But for you, it is more of a path of cultivation, which is why you don’t truly understand what the Knight Organization really is.”
Qing Chen pondered thoughtfully; driven more by pragmatism, he thus failed to fully appreciate the true aning of this journey.
Yet, he had once been moved by the dazzling sunrise over the green mountains and cliffs, and deep inside, he felt an urge to walk the sa path his master and his peers had walked through.
Extre sports.
This was sothing to which Qing Chen had previously been a stranger but which he must now beco familiar with.
He had already figured out how to deal with Li Changqing.
But within 14 days, he had to complete the next life-and-death challenge.
Last ti, it was his master who led him on the knight’s path; now he must embark on his own journey.
Snow began to fall in the 18th City, piling up to a thickness of thirty centiters on the ground, with hardly any pedestrians left on the streets.
…
…
Return countdown 00:30:00.
In a shabby apartnt in the Sixth District, Liu Dezhu sat anxiously waiting. He wasn’t alone; Hu Xiaoniu and Zhang Tianzhen, who had just arrived in the 18th City, were there as well.
Compared to Liu Dezhu, who constantly jigged his leg, Hu Xiaoniu seed much more composed.
Liu Dezhu, however, was seen cradling a long black case in his arms, ceaselessly caressing it.
The black case was about one ter sixty in length, extrely heavy.
It was so heavy that when Liu Dezhu held it while sitting on the sofa, his body would sink into the couch.
The decrepit apartnt contained all the essentials for living, including a hot water supply available 24 hours a day.
But none of the three inside had any interest in other matters, simply biding their ti.
Zhang Tianzhen asked curiously, “The boss isn’t coming yet?”
Liu Dezhu occasionally glanced at the ti on his mobile phone, “The boss said he would arrive before the return. He will co.”
“Okay,” Zhang Tianzhen then looked at the black case in Liu Dezhu’s arms, “What is this exactly? Ever since I t up with you in the 18th City, I’ve seen you holding onto it.”
“This belongs to the boss,” Liu Dezhu beca vigilant, “We do our job, and don’t ask about things that are not our business. I haven’t opened it since I got it; I don’t know what’s inside.”
“Brother Liu, I’ve noticed you’ve changed a lot, losing so of your slickness. I never saw you talk so much about the boss before,” Hu Xiaoniu said curiously, “By the way, has the boss agreed to et us?”
“Of course, could I let you co if he hadn’t spoken?” Liu Dezhu replied, “Just wait patiently; he definitely has sothing to tell you.”
“What does the boss look like?” Zhang Tianzhen asked curiously.
Liu Dezhu’s expression darkened a little, “Haven’t I told you not to ask about things that you shouldn’t?”
“Oh,” Zhang Tianzhen said, deflated.
Hu Xiaoniu also looked seriously at Zhang Tianzhen, “As Ti Travelers, the first thing we have to be aware of is confidentiality. There’s no such thing as the boss being too cautious. We just need to do our jobs well.”
“Yeah, I get it,” Zhang Tianzhen nodded.
In a sense, the three in the room could be considered reliable people who had been tested by ti and had appeared around Qing Chen.
After much deliberation, Qing Chen decided to et with Hu Xiaoniu and Zhang Tianzhen.
Just then, sounds of a password lock being pressed ca from outside the door.
The three n inside looked up to see a mysterious Cat Mask co into view.
Qing Chen’s deep voice asked, “Everyone has arrived.”
He then turned his gaze toward the black case in Liu Dezhu’s arms.
Liu Dezhu, as if presenting a treasure, offered the black case with both hands, his eyes brimming with tears, “Boss, without you, I probably would have had to spend my life in prison. I brought the item for you, and I swear, I’ve never opened it to look inside.”
Qing Chen thought for a mont and then said, “You did well.”
…
Let’s eat, and there will be another chapter tonight
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