Return

"Baby, shouldn't you come back?" Li Yinuo asked Nan Gengchen in a low voice.

When no one was looking, Nan Gengchen secretly glanced at the time on his arm; there was still half an hour left. "Okay, soon."

"Remember to get some rest when you get back. You haven't been sleeping well these past few days. It'll be easier when you get back to the Outer World," Li Yinuo carefully instructed. "We don't know how long we'll be stuck here. Before you come back, remember to empty your bladder completely, we're out of resealable bags..."

Nan Gengchen was speechless for a moment, thinking to himself that the explanation was too detailed. Fortunately, no one heard it.

Ever since Qing Huai triggered the rules and escaped, the Autumn Hunting Team, the two Kamishiro Family, and the soldiers of the seventh rank all stayed in place, afraid to move.

They lit a huge bonfire, and everyone gathered around it. No one dared to go out alone at night, for fear of being swallowed up by the darkness of the Forbidden Zone.

Everyone was frightened by the series of strange changes and fell silent.

Just then, a series of rapid footsteps came from the north, chaotic yet powerful.

Everyone looked over and were surprised to find a cluster of flashlights shining towards them.

The light was so bright that everyone instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes.

In this dangerous Forbidden Zone, the Autumn Hunting Team was so tense that when they saw something unusual, several of them instinctively wanted to run away.

But when they turned their heads, they found that soldiers had already silently moved behind them and set up a blockade line with expressionless faces.

Dozens of mechanical dogs

The people around the campfire stood up one after another, each with a bewildered expression.

Hundreds of federal soldiers arrived and surrounded the group. A middle-aged man slowly stepped out from the crowd.

He ignored Li Yinuo and Kamishiro Seisho, instead looking at the seventh platoon of soldiers. "Why are you here? Where is Qing Huai?!"

This Federation Group Army was already patrolling nearby, conducting field training, and preparing to receive Qing Huai at a designated time.

Upon receiving Li Yinuo's request for help, they rushed over immediately.

After all, the Autumn Hunting Team is full of Tuanzi. If they get wiped out by the Wilderness People, who knows what kind of trouble the reporters from Hope Media and the Federal Daily will cause.

But to his utter surprise, the field company, which was supposed to leave the heartland and embark on its return journey a few days later, appeared on the edge of the Forbidden Zone ahead of time!

This means that something unexpected happened during Qing Huai's mission!

Wang Bingxu took a step forward, wanting to ask the federal troops to escort Li Yinuo out first, so as not to cause any further trouble.

As a result, Li Yinuo stopped him because she also wanted to know what Qing Huai and the others had experienced in the Forbidden Zone.

Or to be more precise: how exactly did Qing Chen single-handedly annihilate Qing Huai's entire army?

"Where is Qing Huai?" the middle-aged man asked again when he saw five soldiers from the seventh platoon speaking.

"A few hours ago, Commander Qing Huai triggered the rules of the Forbidden Zone. He didn't say anything and rushed directly north, probably trying to escape before the rules killed him," Seventh Platoon Leader Ning Shun replied.

The middle-aged man didn't waste any more words. He turned to his adjutant and said, "Search northwards like a carpet, find them alive or dead!"

At this moment, the middle-aged man felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't know how to explain things to Qing Huai's mother when he returned to the Federation!

This is the hope of the younger generation of the Qing Clan Fourth Branch!

He looked at the Seventh Platoon Leader; this matter needed an answer.

"You just said that Qing Huai triggered the rules?" The middle-aged man felt something was wrong. Qing Huai clearly knew more about the rules than the soldiers, so how come the soldiers were fine, but Qing Huai got into trouble?

Ning Shun explained, "One soldier seemed to be possessed by a ghost and suddenly tried to kill Commander Qing Huai. Commander Qing Huai intended to use his dagger to force him back, but the soldier insisted on running into the dagger as if he were courting death, causing the commander to trigger the rules."

At this point, everyone present shuddered as they recalled that scene.

They didn't know the effects of the Forbidden Item ACE-019, so when they recalled Wang Qiang's strange behavior and the eerie smile he gave before he died, they all felt that "possession by a ghost" was a very apt description.

The middle-aged man surveyed everyone's reactions and said coldly, "What kind of possession is this? Clearly, someone knows the rules and has either controlled or bribed this soldier!"

"Why did you return early? Why are you here? Tell me everything you know about what happened!" the middle-aged man said.

Ning Shun hesitated for a moment before saying, "Sir, if we say it here, what if we say something wrong and trigger the rules..."

The middle-aged man sneered, "If you don't tell me, you'll die right now."

Ning Shun steeled his resolve and replied, "Because we couldn't find the Wilderness People, Commander Qing Huai led us to capture a farmer's family at Production Base 981 and brought them here to experiment with the rules of the Forbidden Zone. Then a boy appeared and used a certain rule to kill two platoons of soldiers in one go. So Commander Qing Huai decided to lead us to hunt him down first. But later we were almost completely wiped out and had to abandon the mission and retreat."

Ning Shun was afraid of triggering the rules, so he did not explain the process in detail.

At this moment, a shocked company-level officer standing next to the middle-aged man frowned and cursed, "What the hell are you talking about? One person can chase down more than a hundred of you?"

Officer, died.

Rule: No swearing.

The officer's face gradually turned ashen, clearly indicating that he had been stung to death by some unknown poisonous insect.

The middle-aged man looked at the officer's corpse. "I already gave the orders... drag this piece of trash's body away!"

Seventh Platoon Leader Ning Shun said with a mournful face, "Sir, our comrades were also killed by the rules! That kid managed to trick us without us even realizing it!"

"Hey, where's Cao Wei?" The middle-aged man seemed to suddenly remember something and asked specifically, "Why haven't I seen Cao Wei?"

Ning Shun, "Later, after Commander Cao Wei went to chase after that boy alone, he never came back. Commander Qing Huai said... he must be dead."

The middle-aged man said in a deep voice, "What nonsense are you talking about? Cao Wei is a C-Class expert, and he enhanced his senses with gene serum. You're saying he went to hunt down an ordinary person and died himself?!"

The middle-aged man knew Cao Wei all too well, because his current position as the field battalion commander originally belonged to Cao Wei!

He was once one of the most prominent figures in the military!

He had originally wanted to ask Cao Wei what was going on, but the other man was already dead?!

Ning Shun said, "Sir, you can isolate and interrogate us all. If anything I've said is a lie, you can send us to a military court."

In fact, when Li Yinuo heard this, she was already certain that the boy was Qing Chen.

Nan Gengchen, who was standing next to her, remained expressionless, seemingly lost in thought, but inwardly he was thinking: With Brother Chen's IQ, it's no wonder he played you guys to death.

The Autumn Hunting Team and the Kamishiro Family, who had been kept in the dark all along, were hearing the truth for the first time.

Prior to this, Qing Huai stated that they had completed their mission and returned home ahead of schedule.

Although everyone had doubts, no one could have imagined that he was chased back by a teenager.

Moreover, the numerical contrast is astonishing; on one side is an entire field company, while on the other is a single teenager.

This truth came too suddenly!

The crowd looked at each other in bewilderment; none of them had ever heard of such a person appearing before!

The middle-aged man's eyebrows were almost furrowed. "Tell me the specific process!"

"He led us to a strange thicket; he could wade through it without a hitch, but our men were smashed to pieces when they tried..."

"We forced him into the minefield, but he seemed to have activated a metal scanner, precisely avoiding all the anti-personnel booby traps..."

"That boy sang a song and wiped us out, leaving only one platoon..." Ning Shun said.

"Sang a song? And killed dozens of your people?" The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment.

"Yes," Ning Shun nodded, speaking sparingly about the rules, as if afraid of triggering any of them.

The middle-aged man frowned, having never heard of a rule that singing could kill. "What song was he singing? Can I say that?"

Ning Shun hurriedly said, "Sir, you can say that it's not that singing itself can kill, but rather..."

"Then sing it for me once," the middle-aged man said.

Ning Shun sang. "Under the bridge in front of the gate, a flock of ducks swam by..."

One of the Tuanzi was suddenly amused. "I know this song too! Come on, let's count them: two, four, six, seven, eight..."

The Tuanzi, died.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, almost all of them having guessed the truth behind the rules. They wanted to say something, but dared not.

Li Yinuo suddenly felt a toothache; this interrogation was quite exhausting!

She said to the middle-aged man, "Let everyone else disperse. We just need to understand the situation."

The middle-aged man nodded. "Miss Yinuo and Mr. Kamishiro Seisho, please stay. Everyone else, please step aside! Lieutenant Wang, you stay too! Ning Shun, you continue!"

Nan Gengchen was about to leave when Li Yinuo stopped him, saying to the middle-aged man, "This is my person, you don't need to leave."

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay."

Ning Shun said, "Sir, that boy is very strange. He's unusually familiar with the rules of Forbidden Zone No. 002, and he's also incredibly familiar with the terrain, as if he were in his own home. We've tried to hunt him down, but he always manages to find a way to escape. He runs through the mountains and fields as if it were flat ground..."

"Wilderness People?" the middle-aged man asked.

Only those Wilderness People can traverse mountains and fields with ease, because they have lived in such an environment since childhood.

Ning Shun thought for a moment and answered honestly, "Sir, we can't be sure if he's Wilderness People, but his clothing... doesn't look like that of a Federation person."

At that time, Qing Chen had changed into the clothes Qin Tong usually wore when hunting, and he certainly didn't look like a Federation person.

"Wait, does he have mechanical limbs?" the middle-aged man asked.

"No," Ning Shun replied, "Our seventh platoon has never encountered him, but if he has mechanical limbs, any soldiers who have encountered him will report it immediately, because that is important intelligence."

Now, the middle-aged man felt that the other person was more in line with the characteristics of Wilderness People.

Just then, Li Yinuo casually remarked, "Hearing him talk about the Wilderness People reminded me of something. Before entering the Forbidden Zone, we were constantly being hunted by Wilderness People, but these Wilderness People are not simple, because there are people from the fire pit mixed in among them."

"A fire pit!?" The middle-aged man paused for a moment. The Federation Group Army didn't need to fear the fire pit; the enemy would have to hide and evade just like a regular army.

The key point is, the other party shouldn't be here.

He looked at Kamishiro Ori Kamishiro Seisho, who nodded in confirmation.

Li Yinuo continued, "The fire pit wiped out the Kamishiro Family in the wilderness and forced us into the Forbidden Zone. Before that, I suspected that they had an elder leading the team, otherwise it wouldn't have been so easy for them to wipe out the Kamishiro Family."

Kamishiro Seisho's face darkened.

Li Yinuo ignored him. "You must have come here after receiving our distress signal. I told you about the attack by the Wilderness People. But strangely, after those people by the fire pit chased us in, they suddenly stopped and disappeared without a trace. I now suspect they've entered the heart of the Forbidden Zone!"

The middle-aged man was stunned. He knew that the First Branch of the Qing family had a secret connection with the hearth...

Some things can't be resisted by association; once you start thinking about them, you'll think about a lot of things!

The Shadow Struggle, the First Branch was filled with fire pits, and the young people seemed like natives from the wilderness!

The middle-aged man felt he was close to the truth!

At this point, Li Yinuo stopped saying anything.

After all, being an inside agent requires knowing when to stop; it's not good to stir up trouble and get caught!

Besides, the inside man has done enough, hasn't he...?

At this moment, the middle-aged man asked in confusion, "I remember your distress message, but so many people came to the fire pit, why was only one boy involved?"

At that moment, Kamishiro Seisho suddenly asked, "Do you know about the Horn Cutting Ceremony at the fire pit?"

Li Yinuo was secretly startled. For a moment, she even felt that Kamishiro Seisho was her inside accomplice. This blow came at just the right time.

The so-called "hearth -Horn Cutting Ceremony" is a custom in which the most outstanding young men in the snow-capped mountains must hunt fierce yaks alone upon reaching adulthood.

After killing the yak, the head is cut off and carried back to the hearth, while the huge horns are hung in the home as a symbol of courage.

However, that was a rule from hundreds of years ago. Later, after the Forbidden Zone appeared and the Wilderness and the Federation became enemies, the Horn Cutting Ceremony could also be performed by hunting other ferocious beasts or Federation experts.

Only by completing the Horn Cutting Ceremony can one be qualified to become a true warrior in the hearth, leading a team to hunt alone.

Those who did not complete the Horn Cutting Ceremony could only become the followers of these people.

So, could it be that Qing Huai was intercepted and killed because the son of some elder was undergoing Horn Cutting Ceremony?

Unbeknownst to them, the focus had shifted to the hearth and the internal Shadow Struggle within the Qing family.

It might even incite infighting between the First Branch and fourth wives...

The middle-aged man pondered for a long time, then suspiciously glanced at Li Yinuo and Kamishiro Seisho out of the corner of his eye.

Everyone within the conglomerate knows that Li Yinuo is a typical pro-war advocate and would never side with the Kamishiro Family.

So, my guess must be the truth now!

Just then, a voice came through the communication channel. "Sir, we've found Qing Huai's body!"

The middle-aged man's expression turned solemn; his last glimmer of hope had been extinguished.

He said to the soldier leading the mechanical hunting dogs not far away, "Release all the dogs and follow the scent to find the murderer!"

At this moment, the person who is most emotional is actually Li Yinuo.

Of everyone present, she was the one who knew Qing Chen's strength best.

Because she grew up around her Uncle Qi, Li Shutong, and aspired to become a knight, she was also the most knowledgeable about some of the basic rules of knighthood.

Before becoming a knight, Qing Chen must first be an ordinary person.

The knight who completes the first Life and Death Trial challenge should be at the top level among F-Class knights.

The path to becoming a knight has always been different from other lineages.

Most of the advancement methods in the inheritance are smooth and stable, but each knight experiences a leap in strength after completing the Life and Death Trial.

I heard that in the early years of the new human era, before the existence of Breathing Technique, even if a knight completed eight Life and Death Trial, he would only be at the top-tier A-level.

Back then, the knights had the advantage of numbers and a stable lineage. As long as they completed the eight Life and Death Trial, they would definitely be A-rank, so it was common for ten or so A-ranks to fight against one opponent.

They all rushed up and started fighting as soon as they were called upon.

Later, when the sea route was cut off, Qin Sheng created the Breathing Technique. He never expected that the individual strength of the knights would rise like the sky. Li Shutong has not even passed the eighth Life and Death Trial yet, but he is already a demigod of this era.

I wonder what level I'll reach after completing the eighth item?

Unfortunately, the Forbidden Sea remains a forbidden zone for all humankind, Li Shutong may never be able to reach that highest threshold in his lifetime.

Now, a knight who has just been promoted to the top F-Class has killed almost an entire squad in the Forbidden Zone, and in the end, he even induced Qing Huai to trigger the rules, forcing him to flee.

This relies not on brute force, but on wisdom.

At this moment, Qing Huai should be dead too.

To be honest, Li Yinuo actually admired Qing Chen a little; she could never have done what he did.

She wondered, since Uncle Qi had hinted that they could trust each other, could she perhaps team up with this newly appointed knight in the future?

There are many things she wants to do.

At this moment, Li Yinuo suddenly felt a strange sense of excitement, as if she were the only one who was sober in a world of drunks, but she still had to pretend that she knew nothing.

Therefore, his expression looked a little strange.

However, Li Yinuo didn't notice the baby beside her, whose expression was even stranger than hers...

At this very moment, deep within the Forbidden Zone No. 002.

Dozens of Wilderness People sat around a burning campfire. A middle-aged man with a braid was resting with his eyes closed. His braid was adorned with agate and turquoise, and he wore a necklace of finger bones around his neck.

The necklace was made up of the last segment of a human's little finger, and the number of segments represented how many Federation people he had killed.

These Wilderness People were pale-faced and their bodies were also pale.

They weren't sick; rather, they had strange powder smeared on their bodies.

The next moment, someone took out a sheepskin bag and handed it to the middle-aged man. "Elder, it's time to refill your powder."

"Hmm," the elder stood up, the bone necklace around his neck jingling and making a rattling sound.

He took a handful of powder from the sheepskin bag and smeared it on his face and body.

The attendant beside him said, "Elder, the Windblown Flower Pollen given by the Great Elder is running low. We are facing increasing danger in the Forbidden Zone, but we still haven't found any prey... Why don't we wait another day and then return to the Snow Mountain? Without the Windblown Flower Pollen, we may not be able to withstand the wild beasts and plants in the heartland."

After replenishing the powder on his body, the elder pondered, "Collecting the Windblown Flower Pollen is no easy feat. If we return empty-handed, how can we explain this to our ancestors?"

"But we can't risk our lives here," the attendant whispered. "I've heard the Great Elder mention it; Forbidden Zone No. 002 is incredibly eerie."

The elder sighed and sat down again. He raised his hand to look at the time, date, and temperature on the digital watch on his wrist, his expression shifting.

If Qing Chen were to see the elder's skeletal frame, which exuded a primal aura, and then notice the digital watch on his wrist, he would probably find it strangely incongruous...

However, all of this is perfectly normal for the people living by the fire pit:

Collecting bone fragments is a way of showing respect for strength and ancestors, and also a symbol of status within the clan.

I use a digital watch because digital watches are really useful!

It's at least better than looking at shadows or the sun...

Due to certain changes, the people of Huotang received power from their "ancestors," which led them to worship totems and deities.

But this doesn't mean we should reject technology... after all, our ancestors didn't reject technology!

Hunting by car is definitely more efficient than hunting on foot!

All "isms" in this world will eventually become pragmatism.

This is also an era in which metaphysics and science each play their own game, with disagreements, yet inexplicably merging together.

At this moment, the elder looked in a certain direction and sighed, "Let's wait two more days. If we still haven't seen anyone, we'll leave before the Windblown Flower Pollen runs out..."

In the distance, Qing Chen and Li Shutong had successfully left the Forbidden Zone.

He glanced back at the deep, dark forest, and felt a strange sense of familiarity.

The boy whispered, "I will come back."

During this trek through the wilderness, he witnessed countless wonders and experienced a great deal.

It was like a magnificent melody, constantly weaving and resonating throughout his life.

It also changed his fate.

At one point, Qing Chen felt that his own life truly began from the moment he transmigrated.

00:00:00.

The countdown has reached zero.

Return!

Book One, Chapter One of the Night: Sonata.

Over.

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