Role Reversal (Bonus Chapter for Penguin's Golden Alliance)
Below the cliff.
Cao Wei watched as the boy climbed over the cliff and disappeared.
He doesn't actually hate Qing Chen at all now, even though the other party planted landmines and blew him up.
However, since they are inherently adversaries, any means they use are reasonable and justified.
He now hates Qing Huai even more because the other party had the opportunity to support him, but suddenly cut off the communication channel.
People who betray their comrades and subordinates are even more hateful.
Moreover, Cao Wei felt that anyone who witnessed the boy's climbing journey would surely feel admiration.
Even his enemy could only admire him.
Without further ado, Cao Wei turned and ran into the woods. He didn't intend to meet up with Qing Huai, but instead planned to escape this Forbidden Zone No. 002.
If we're too slow to escape, we'll all probably die together.
Cao Wei knew that he could no longer return to the Federation, regardless of whether Qing Huai was dead or alive.
Even being a savage in the wilderness is better than being a dead man.
But... on his escape, he suddenly couldn't help but think back to what had just happened.
He watched the boy climb into the darkness, climb into the sky.
Later, even with his vision improved by gene therapy, he still couldn't see clearly.
Cao Wei waited for the other person to fall, but when the sun rose, he saw the other person hanging on the cliff top with one hand.
Even though Cao Wei knew perfectly well that the young man might not be his match even if he succeeded in the challenge, he still lost the courage to fight him.
That was the other side of his dream that he could never reach, but someone has achieved it right before his eyes.
On the cliff top of the Green Mountain Cliff, Qing Chen quietly looked at what was in front of him.
He had imagined that the scenery on the mountaintop would be beautiful and breathtaking, but he never expected that the most awe-inspiring thing would be the words carved there.
Every sentence is "Only faith and the sun and moon are eternal."
Each of these sentences is followed by a different name.
Zhang Qingxi, Li Yingyun, Ren Xiaosu, Yang Xiaojin, Zhao Yongyi, Li Shutong, Chen Jiazhang, Wang Xiaojiu...
Qing Chen counted 81 names on the cliff top, each one of whom was his senior.
However, he saw 123 names on the cliff.
Does this mean that 42 people have died while challenging this cliff, or that some predecessors who didn't have time to leave their names also fell at this Life and Death Trial?
Qing Chen remained silent.
Hundreds of people have come here over thousands of years, one after another, just to pursue a dream and give their lives.
Whether it was Qin Sheng, who created his own Breathing Technique, or those predecessors who left magnesium powder "footprints" on the cliff, they all pave this path to heaven for their successors.
Qing Chen looked forward, word by word, and discovered that at the top of all these words, someone had carved four large characters but no signature.
"Forever Young."
These four words are completely different from others, yet they seem to possess a unique and wondrous magic.
Forever Young.
Forever sincere.
Forever young, forever eager to embark on new journeys.
These four words represent a unique expectation: that every successor to the knight can forever maintain a rich and intense life, never looking back.
A young person's life doesn't need to look back; it only needs the courage to make a decision without regret.
Qing Chen took a deep breath, finally drew the dagger from his waist, and carved his words at the very end of the cliff. "Only faith and the sun and moon are eternal... Qing Chen."
Perhaps only at this moment did he truly become a member of the Knights.
It's not that having martial prowess makes you a knight; rather, you must walk a certain path, find a group of like-minded friends, and share an unwavering faith and steadfast will before you can be called a knight.
Qing Chen felt the reborn power in his body, and then his body, bones, blood, and genes all changed.
Moreover, he suddenly discovered something: after unlocking his Gene Lock, the energy within his body had more than doubled in strength.
Previously, the energy was not very noticeable as it surged with power, but as the surging power gradually subsided, the energy settled into the muscles of the arms.
In the mountain breeze, fallen leaves in the distant woods were blown toward the cliff, dozens of leaves brushing past Qingchen as the Qing Chen.
The boy reached into the air and took one in his hand. As if by instinct, he infused the energy into the fallen leaf.
The energy flowed along his fingers, filling every corner of the leaf through its veins.
Suddenly, the irregularly curled fallen leaves straightened as if they were knives.
Qing Chen quietly looked at the fallen leaves in his hand. Is this what it means to live a life that transcends the mundane?
He finally got it.
What should I do now? Qing Chen pondered.
Yes, it's time to go kill someone.
If we don't kill them soon, the enemy will escape.
With that thought in mind, the boy turned and walked toward the woods behind the cliff.
Countdown: 36:00:00.
In the Forbidden Zone, Cao Wei raced wildly northward.
He followed the route in his mind meticulously, checking his location every ten minutes.
However, according to Cao Wei's plan, he should have crossed the edge of the Forbidden Zone within 5 hours and returned to the wilderness outside the Forbidden Zone.
More than six hours have passed, but he still hasn't been able to see the edge of the Forbidden Zone!
He's trapped here.
He was trapped here in the Forbidden Zone.
Cao Wei was absolutely certain that his method of judging the direction was correct, so the mistake must lie in this Forbidden Zone.
To be precise, it wasn't that the Forbidden Zone was wrong, but rather that this seemingly living Forbidden Zone didn't want him to leave.
This terrifying and enormous being wanted to leave itself to that boy.
At one point, Cao Wei even suspected that the boy was slowly following behind him, but no matter how he turned around to look and listen, he could not find any trace of him.
Because he was running forward, it was difficult for him to smell the scents behind him.
Cao Wei suddenly stopped and turned around to look behind him with a serious expression.
There were no footsteps, nor was there any sign of the boy.
But he clearly felt someone was following him. Could it be a ghost?!
At that moment, a familiar smell of blood wafted in on the wind, and Cao Wei was startled. The boy had indeed caught up!
The other party was hiding upwind, concealed in some shadow.
The roles of prey and hunter have been reversed.
Cao Wei turned around and continued to run for his life, but he could not shake off the feeling of being chased.
He stopped again.
"Didn't you come here to kill me?" Cao Wei said breathlessly, "Now that you've become a knight and have the strength, why are you still so timid? Is this the way of a knight?"
He was eager for war.
The explosive force of the anti-personnel mine had already damaged Cao Wei's internal organs. If he received timely rest, he would naturally be fine thanks to his strong physique as a C-Class expert.
But now he's constantly running around, and his injuries will not only not improve, but will continue to worsen, which is exactly the result the boy wanted.
What was unexpected was...
Prior to this, Cao Wei had been using wolf-pack hunting tactics to wear down the boy.
Unexpectedly, after their identities were switched, the tactics used by the other side were the same ones that Cao Wei had used before.
As he himself once said, wolves are very cautious animals. They are unwilling to get injured easily in the process of hunting, and even less willing to give their prey any chance to fight to the death.
Chapter Nine, thank you to Tencent for once again donating 10 million Qidian coins!