Raising the Stakes of the Game

"I'm curious to know what secret Mr. Shadow can tell me, but I don't really like putting my life on a scale," Qing Chen said in the darkness.

In this small room, the current shadow of the Qing family and the Shadow Candidate sat facing each other in the living room. There was no light, and their faces were shrouded in shadow.

Their sitting postures were so similar that they seemed somewhat at odds in the room.

It was as if two kings, sitting opposite each other, were scrutinizing each other on a silent throne.

But that's where things get weird, because one of them is the real king who holds power and controls the power behind the scenes of the Qing clan, while the other is just an unknown nobody.

The shadow suddenly laughed, "That's strange. You're clearly rejecting me, but I'm not angry at all. Over the years, not many people have dared to reject me."

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Shadow seems to have killed many people, so he has no respect for life anymore. Trading a life for a secret, this kind of game may not mean anything to you, but it is unnecessary to me."

"To be a shadow, one naturally has to kill many people," the shadow laughed. "Otherwise, what do you think a shadow is?"

Qing Chen calmly explained, "From the outside world's perspective, I have successfully faked my death. At this point, I can simply hide in the shadows and wait for the other candidates to kill each other, then reap the benefits, right?"

The shadow smiled and said, "Yes."

"But you seem to be unable to bear seeing me have it easy, so you've come in person to add to the stakes in this Shadow Struggle," Qing Chen said. "You don't want me to have it too easy in this Shadow Struggle?"

Before this, even if Qing Chen planned to exonerate Liu Dezhu, it was merely to increase his own bargaining power for self-preservation...

If a bargain opportunity arises, having a C-Class by your side will allow you to reap the rewards.

However, he had no intention of setting traps for the Shadow Candidate, because that would be too dangerous and unnecessary.

The most important thing is the word "unnecessary".

Now, it seems that Shadow has noticed this problem, so he has come here specifically to solve it.

"Since you killed Qing Huai, I'll tell you my first secret. Without external intervention, a Shadow Struggle can easily last for years," the Shadow said slowly. "During those years, the various factions will constantly probe each other and then choose the most cautious moment to strike. But I can't wait that long, because I don't have time anymore."

After saying that, the shadow coughed violently again in the darkness.

In the dim light, Qing Chen vaguely saw the other person take out a handkerchief and cover their mouth. Then, a strange smell of blood filled the air.

Qing Chen suddenly realized what the other party meant by "no time".

"Mr. Shadow," Qing Chen said, "Was it worth suffering such severe injuries for the sake of the Shadow Struggle? Is power really that important?"

"Power?" Shadow said after a long pause, "The Qing family's foundation is like a towering mountain, and you and I are the roots beneath it. Only when you truly stand before this mountain will you understand that personal honor and disgrace are no longer worth considering. Power is merely a byproduct of shouldering a mission."

Qing Chen shook his head. "If you want me to actively participate in the Shadow Struggle, you should tell me how tempting power is, how I can use power to amass wealth and high positions, instead of telling me some strange sense of mission. I don't have your strong sense of mission, so I can't understand it."

"It's alright, you'll understand someday," Shadow said after thinking for a moment. "I don't have time to wait for years, and I can't stand seeing people slowly fight for a championship. So, it's only natural that I hope someone can speed things up. Right now, you seem to be the most suitable one."

"Does Mr. Shadow only play this game with me, or with all the Shadow Candidate?" Qing Chen asked.

The shadow laughed, "That's another secret. If you want to know the truth, go kill a candidate. This world is cruel. If you don't kill, someone will want to kill you. To be the shadow of the Qing family, you have to be used to life and death. You have guts, but you're not bloodthirsty enough. I haven't seen you for so many years, and you're still as smart and naive as before, but that's your strength, and it's also your weakness."

Qing Chen didn't press for any further questions. In this situation of information asymmetry, asking one more question would only increase the other party's sense of superiority.

Just then, Shadow stood up and laughed, "Our game will always be valid."

As he spoke, he suddenly took out a mirror the size of a palm, and then a Shadow Gate appeared out of thin air on the other side of the mirror.

Qing Chen's pupils suddenly narrowed. He realized that the mirror in the other party's hand might be some kind of hidden Forbidden Item that allowed this Qing family shadow to move freely through space.

This surprised him somewhat, because the ability to travel through space was far more awe-inspiring for a physics genius than obtaining Puppet Master.

The Forbidden Item was more mysterious than he had imagined.

Moreover, with this method, one can freely enter and exit any place, making it impossible for others to guard against!

However, this Forbidden Item should only be allowed to go to "known places," otherwise why would the shadow come in through the main entrance?

Shadow seemed to notice Qing Chen's reaction. "How about we add another bargaining chip? If you become Shadow one day, I'll give you this Forbidden Item."

Before Shadow stepped through the door, Qing Chen asked, "Actually, Mr. Shadow, you made this special trip because you were worried that I would completely side with the Knights, right? Are you worried that I will leave the Qing Clan?"

"I'm just worried that you're getting too close to Li Shutong and forgetting your identity as a member of the Qing family," Shadow smiled.

Qing Chen paused for two seconds before saying, "Li Shutong has already given me a Forbidden Item, but you haven't."

The shadow laughed, "That's interesting."

After saying that, he didn't respond further, turned around and disappeared into the Shadow Gate.

Qing Chen remained quietly seated on the sofa until the Shadow Gate disappeared, at which point he finally let out a soft sigh of relief.

The shadow exerted a far greater sense of pressure on him than he had imagined, and he was not as calm as he had expected.

The other person was just sitting casually across from him, yet he felt as if he were talking to a tiger. The atmosphere in the room seemed to be drawn by some force, keeping Qing Chen's mind constantly on edge.

The next second, the room was illuminated by a warm, orange-yellow light.

Qing Chen asked curiously, "Why didn't you turn on the light just now? I could have seen what he looked like."

Yi said, "I don't want to provoke this kind of person easily."

Qing Chen was taken aback. What kind of person could make Yi Du not want to provoke him easily? He said irritably, "Why didn't you warn me beforehand and tell me there were people in the house?"

"He won't kill you," Yi said slowly. "Your master asked me to warn you in advance if you encountered any danger, but you haven't encountered any danger, have you?"

"So, my master's trading partner is him?" Qing Chen asked after thinking for a moment.

"I don't know, don't ask me," Yi replied, "But... I'm curious, will you do as he says and kill the other candidates?"

Qing Chen pondered for a moment, "No, I don't even believe what he's saying right now."

"Phew," Yi seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, "Your master would be very happy if he knew you thought that way."

"Why?" Qing Chen asked curiously.

"Because this Shadow never tells the truth," Yi said casually. "Saying he'll let you participate in the Shadow Struggle is probably nonsense, and that he'll give you Forbidden Item if you become a Shadow is probably nonsense too. I even suspected he'd never been seriously injured, and that his frequent coughing was due to the containment conditions of some Forbidden Item!"

"Then why does he want me to kill the other Shadow Candidate? What benefit would that bring to the Qing Clan?" Qing Chen wondered.

"He only cares about what's fun and what's interesting!" Yi said. "He often achieves his goal while playing around."

"Then why didn't you say so sooner?" Qing Chen asked, puzzled. "Did you have to wait until I rejected him before offering this kind of hindsight advice?"

"I'm just trusting your analytical skills. I knew you wouldn't believe him," Yi said.

Qing Chen thought for a moment, "If he had given me a Forbidden Item before he left, I might have trusted him a little more."

After a few seconds of silence, Yi said, "You're such a realistic person."

In fact, Qing Chen was not very interested in the secret that the shadow mentioned.

Because he had already figured out many things in the two minutes he stood outside the door.

First, on the day the Deity's Scepter fell from space, Qing Chen knew that Li Shutong must have made some kind of deal with the Qing family, otherwise his master would never have known the exact time when the tungsten rod fell.

Secondly, Master's friend was jointly detained by the Chen and Qing families. Li Shutong had been searching for so many years but had not been able to find the location where his friend was being secretly detained. However, as long as he completed the deal with the Qing family, the secret would no longer be a secret.

Thirdly, the Forbidden Item ACE-002 was extracted from one of the ancestors of the Qing clan. That ancestor was an ordinary person, not a superhuman, so no one expected that the other party could extract the Forbidden Item.

This was top secret. If it weren't for Qing's information, Li Shutong would have had no reason to know this intelligence, much less the conditions for containing Forbidden Item.

Qing Chen pondered: When did this transaction begin?

He believes the deal must have started long ago, even before he entered Prison No. 18.

Because Li Shutong had begun "collecting" prisoners who deserved to die before he entered Prison No. 18, this was a condition for accepting ACE-002.

At this time, he, a marginal figure in the Qing family, suddenly became involved in the Shadow Struggle and was assigned a mission to Prison No. 18.

Qing Chen couldn't help but suspect that he was actually part of the transaction!

Just a moment, there will be another chapter.