Reverse Brainwashing

The promise Qing Chen made to the old man on the Broken Bridge at Longhu Lake was a secret between them.

This secret was so important that the old man unconsciously lowered his voice when he spoke.

Qing Chen carried the Dragon Fish toward the Autumn Leaf Villa. For some reason, a feeling of sorrow suddenly welled up in his heart, because he knew that the old man's time was really running out.

Having never truly experienced familial love in the first 17 years of his life, Qing Chen is exceptionally sensitive to all the kindness and malice in the world.

If Li Shutong was the first person in the Inner World to be genuinely good to him, then the old man should be the second.

But all good things must come to an end.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they all went their separate ways.

This time, it was different from his master Li Shutong's feigned death, because there was no hope of returning.

Back at the Autumn Leaf Villa, Qing Chen put the Dragon Fish in the refrigerator, waiting to give it to Li Ke to eat tomorrow.

He lay on the recliner, silently calculating how long it would take him to infuse his entire body with Knight True Qi...

At this moment, Li Changqing ignored the "No Visitors" sign hanging outside the door and pushed the door open to enter.

As she walked into the Autumn Leaf Villa, she instructed Old Nine and Xiao Ying outside the door, "No one is allowed to come in and disturb us before dawn, understand?"

Old Nine and Xiao Ying quickly replied, "We know, we know."

Although Qing Chen knew she was worried that others would also discover the secret passage, he still felt that something was slightly off about her statement.

He opened his eyes and saw that Li Changqing was also carrying a backpack.

The woman walked past the deck chair, smiling, and said, "Wait until I change my clothes before you leave, don't peek."

Qing Chen: "..."

This woman is really strange. She's clearly a coward herself, but she always insists on winning in conversation.

A moment later, a voice came from behind Qing Chen: "How is it? Does it look good?"

The boy turned around and was shocked to find that Li Changqing had changed into a punk-style leather jacket and put on a short black wig.

To match her outfit, she even put on smoky eye makeup.

For some reason, Li Changqing already looked very young, now looked even younger.

"Why are you dressed like this?" Qing Chen asked, puzzled.

"If we're sneaking out for fun, we'll naturally need to disguise ourselves, otherwise we'll be chased down if we're recognized in City No. 18," Li Changqing said with a smile. "Want me to put some makeup on you too?"

"No need, thank you," Qing Chen said, his face instantly transforming into Zard's likeness before reverting back.

Li Changqing was stunned.

She knew that the Forbidden Item ACE-005 was in the hands of Seventh Brother Li Shutong, but she didn't know what its function was, so she couldn't connect Qing Chen in front of her with Li Shutong.

She was stunned because this was the first time Qing Chen had voluntarily revealed a shocking secret to her.

This means that Qing Chen has trusted her and is willing to share some of his secrets with her.

"We're friends now, right?" Li Changqing asked with a smile.

"Yes," Qing Chen nodded.

"Great! On such a nice day, we should go for a drink," Li Changqing said with a smile. "Let's go!"

Qing Chen walked into the passageway first, Li Changqing whispered behind him, "Walk slowly, it's so dark in this secret passage, I'm afraid of ghosts."

Qing Chen thought to himself, "If there really is a ghost in this secret passage, with your strength, you could probably knock the ghost's brain out with a single palm strike."

However, Li Changqing was behind Qing Chen, carefully tugging at his clothes, and it didn't seem like he was pretending.

Qing Chen recalled the meeting today, where the old man pretended to faint and Li Yunshou pretended to be unaware and yelled at the medical staff. He thought that this family was all too good at acting.

But at that moment, Li Changqing suddenly shouted from inside the secret passage, "A ghost!"

As she spoke, she reached out to grab Qing Chen, but Li Changqing was astonished to find that as soon as she uttered a sound, Qing Chen had already darted away like an arrow.

She managed to grab nothing at all.

Li Changqing, hands on his hips, almost laughed in exasperation in the secret passage, "Is it really that serious?"

"Hurry up, you don't have much time to move around freely," Qing Chen said.

"Where are you planning to take me?" Li Changqing suddenly asked.

"I don't have any plans," Qing Chen as he walked through the long corridor.

Li Changqing stood behind him, watching the boy's back as he passed through the light and darkness.

She said, "I thought you had something planned out, and that you would use my fighting skills or my identity to do something for me."

Qing Chen thought for a moment, "That was my original plan, but I don't want to do it now."

Initially, he intended to take Li Changqing with him to rescue Luo Wanyai.

However, this woman was too good to him. She helped him get a set of gene serum and personally got him the Heartless Bronze Bell to tie on his head.

As a result, he no longer wanted to take advantage of the other party.

Qing Chen was ready to face the world ruthlessly, but he wondered if he would betray his original intention if he really resorted to such unscrupulous means.

That's not something a knight should do.

Li Changqing smiled and said, "That's more like it."

She jogged a couple of steps to catch up with Qing Chen: "Hey, what were you originally planning to do with me? We're friends now, right? I don't mind if you use me occasionally. I can help you fight; I'm really good at it."

"Really, there's no need," Qing Chen said with a smile. "I've assessed the opponent's strength, and there shouldn't be any problems."

Even if there are problems, Liu Dezhu's current trump card is enough.

The two walked out of the secret passage, Li Changqing looked around the house like a curious child. "Grandpa used to go out and have fun through here, right?"

"Are you really okay to talk about your own father like that?" Qing Chen asked, both amused and exasperated.

Li Changqing gave him a strange look. "What's wrong with that? The old man had 11 wives in his lifetime. That's how it is in conglomerates."

Qing Chen was stunned. Back then, when the old man said on the Broken Bridge of Longhu Lake, "She is still waiting for me down there," he thought that the other person must be very devoted and loyal, and he admired him.

Looking back now, the other person should have said, "They're still waiting for me downstairs!"

Qing Chen was puzzled. "Don't conglomerates have to abide by marriage laws?"

Li Changqing said, "Who dares to regulate conglomerates? The law is meaningless in the face of conglomerates."

This is the Inner World and the conglomerate.

Even though conglomerates use their influence to amend laws countless times to make them work in their favor, they are still unwilling to obey the law.

However, at that moment, Li Changqing's phone suddenly rang. She glanced down at it and suddenly felt down.

"What's wrong?" Qing Chen asked curiously.

Li Changqing said, "I'm going back."

"Why?" Qing Chen asked again.

"There's been an emergency in City No. 18. Two of the Qing family's Shadow Candidate, Qing Wen and Qing Zhong, clashed in Fourth District. There are multiple parties involved. It looks like things are going to get interesting tonight," Li Changqing said with a smile to Qing Chen in the dimly lit room. "When the opportunity comes again, or when I no longer have to work for the Li family, I'll let you secretly take me out to play. I can't be that willful right now."

"Okay, let's go back then," Qing Chen murmured, "Be careful."

"Don't worry, there's no one in City No. 18 who can hurt me," Li Changqing said confidently as he walked back into the secret passage.

Qing Chen suddenly thought that perhaps this was the helplessness of conglomerates.

Or perhaps, this is the helplessness of the times.

Qing Chen turned and walked towards the door. Luo Wanyai probably couldn't wait any longer.

Right now.

In an apartment in the Fourth District.

Fourteen people, including Luo Wanyai, sat crowded together in the living room.

But then I saw a caretaker with red eyes say, "When I was little, my father would always take me to the food street in Lima, City No. 7, to buy me delicious candied hawthorns. You know, candied hawthorns are very expensive in the city. No one grows hawthorns in the production base. Wild hunters pick wild hawthorns from outside and bring them back, then coat them with cheap syrup and sell them for exorbitant prices. At that time, I didn't know that a string of hawthorns would add to the family's burden. My father always watched me eat them. When I offered him some, he said he was afraid of the sourness. It was only when I grew up that I realized he was just being reluctant to eat them."

Another caretaker said, "When I was a child, my family would occasionally catch a fish. My mother would always only eat the meat from the tail and the eyes. I asked her why she didn't eat the meat from the belly, and she always said that she preferred the tail and eyes. Now that I think about it, who wouldn't know that the belly meat is tastier?"

Luo Wanyai, standing to the side, cleared his throat and said in a low voice, "Family members, the child wishes to care for his parents, but they are no longer there; the tree wishes to be still, but the wind will not cease..."

That deep voice was like that of a funeral officiant, conveying the deepest sorrow imaginable.

Before long, the room was filled with crying.

At this moment, Luo Wanyai stood up and said, "Family members, now that everyone has shared their secrets, we are truly family. Do you trust each other? Let's play a little game."

As he spoke, he pulled over a table and stood on it. "I'll stand on this table, turn my back to my family and fall backward. I believe my family will catch me. That's how much I trust my family."

After saying that, Luo Wanyai's chubby body fell straight back, and the 13 "family members" behind him worked together to support him, preventing his head from hitting the ground.

Luo Wanyai exclaimed excitedly, "See that? This is the trust between family members! You should try it too!"

Under his command, everyone took turns climbing onto the table, and then fell into the arms of their "family members" one by one. None of them fell to the ground.

After the last person fell, Luo Wanyai was extremely excited. "See that? This is the power of family. Family won't let you down. Family will always be each other's strongest support!"

After he finished speaking, the whole room erupted in cheers, as if they were happy to have found new relatives.

Even the guards were no exception...

The situation is indeed getting a bit out of control...

As Luo Wanyai watched this scene, he thought to himself that if he had known that these guards' psychological defenses were so easy to break through, he would have been saved long ago.

However, before he could even feel happy, a satellite phone in one of the guards' pockets rang.

But the man answered the phone, "Yes, yes, my family is all fine... No, those Time Walker are still being held... Okay, we'll prepare to transfer them now."

In fact, short-term psychological suggestion and brainwashing are ultimately no match for the harsh reality.

The higher-ups in the organization only need a cold, authoritative instruction to bring the guards back to reality.

The "family members" who were just immersed in the joy and excitement were suddenly jolted awake as if doused with a bucket of ice water in the dead of winter, and gradually returned to fear and sorrow.

Luo Wanyai thought to himself, "If I had a few more days, I might have succeeded."

It's too late!

But then the guards began to calmly inspect the firearms, and the room echoed with the crisp, cold sound of guns being pulled back.

One of them said coldly, "The game is over. You almost tricked me. Now, everyone put your hands behind your backs and come downstairs with us. Remember, the organization's mission this time is to raise funds for the operation in the surface Outer World. Once you return to the Outer World, send all the money to the designated location, or death will await you."

The guards stopped pretending to be family and stopped feigning that the organization needed "donations." They abandoned their brainwashing plan and began to use their already ruthless nature to directly threaten people.

They became enraged when they realized they had almost been de-brainwashed.

However, Luo Wanyai was still a little unwilling to give up, and he patiently said, "Family members..."

The leader of the seven guards pressed a gun to his head. "Family my ass! If you say another word, I'll shoot you dead right now. Don't blame us, we have real families too. If we accidentally let you escape, someone from each of our families will die."

By this time, the guards had regained their senses; they were well aware of their roles and responsibilities.

Luo Wanyai began to despair. If he were to be transferred away, he didn't know when he would be rescued.

But where are Bai Zhou's family members? They promised to come and rescue people, but we haven't seen them yet!

All the Time Walker had their hands behind their backs, and their thumbs were clamped by metal finger locks by their guards. These were more convenient than handcuffs, and there was absolutely no room for struggle.

The Time Walker were escorted down the stairs of the emergency exit.

Luo Wanyai was still hoping that the daytime rescue would take place on the way to the evacuation, but there was still no movement when they arrived at the underground parking lot.

Now, Luo Wanyai's eyes also lost their luster.

However, when the two vans, filled with people, drove out of the underground parking garage and onto the road...

Luo Wanyai, however, saw blood suddenly burst from the body of the driver in front of him.

A bullet pierced through the guard's side, easily passing through his body and even penetrating the car body.

By the time everyone realized what was happening, two sniper shots slowly rang out from afar.

"Sniper!" a guard roared, "Drive!"

But it was too late.

Within a second, the drivers of both vans were killed, and the vehicles seemed to have gone out of control, hurtling straight toward the intersection.

When Luo Wanyai heard the word "sniper," he couldn't help but show a look of wild joy on his face.

He kept up with the news about the Time Walker in the Outer World, and of course knew that the boss of the Daytime Inn was a sniper.

It's daylight! Daylight has come to save him!

At this moment, besides Bai Zhou, Luo Wanyai couldn't think of anyone else who would come to save him!

No one saw it, but at that moment, a masked teenager, wearing Bluetooth headphones, hid in the shadows at the intersection and intently looked into the van. "Boss, the thugs are in positions 2 and 3 on the left of the front car. The thugs are in positions 2, 4, and 7 of the rear car. You can shoot."

On a distant rooftop, Qing Chen pulled the trigger again and again, like a ruler in the dead of night.

Luo Wanyai sat blankly in the car, his face covered in blood.

He dared not move an inch, for fear that the incredibly powerful sniper bullets might accidentally injure him.

However, the truth is that Luo Wanyai was overthinking it.

He was shocked to discover that the sniper's firing was extremely rhythmic; as the vehicle waited for it to continue sliding forward, the firing angle of the target inside the car was constantly changing.

Bullets flew in, piercing the guards' bodies at bizarre angles, but only brushing past the Time Walker.

Luo Wanyai felt as if he were sitting in a maze of intersecting bullet trajectories, the bullets like interwoven lines, dense yet never touching his body.

Within ten seconds, the sniper gave the guards no chance to retaliate and killed all seven guards inside the car.

The Time Walker gasped in terror inside the vehicle, the windows stained with a dark red bloodstain.

It's alright, all the Time Walker are fine!

Everyone was utterly shocked. What kind of marksmanship was that? And how did the opponent distinguish between the Time Walker and the Watcher from such a distance?

The next moment, a young man wearing Bluetooth headphones walked towards the car. "Boss, all the targets have been taken care of. Boss is awesome. May you live a long and prosperous life and rule the Jianghu."

Through the Bluetooth headset, Qing Chen calmly said, "No need for flattery, Liu Dezhu. Take these Time Walker away as soon as possible. Xiao Niu and Tianzhen, you two get ready to drive over and pick them up. City No. 18 is a dangerous place tonight, so hide and don't show yourselves."

Through the Bluetooth headset, Hu Xiaoniu and Zhang Tianzhen said in unison, "Received."

This time, it was a coordinated operation by the Daylight Organization.

Even with Qing Chen's sniping skills, it would be impossible for him to immediately identify the target inside the car in such a short time.

At a distance of 1,400 meters, the target he could see was extremely blurry. His ability to hit it relied on his absolute gun sense and calculation within 2,600 meters, but it did not mean that his eyesight was superhuman.

Therefore, in this situation, if Qing Chen wants to avoid accidentally harming the Time Walker, he needs someone to perform close-range relay guidance.

Liu Dezhu had been guarding this intersection. He only needed to do one thing: tell Qing Chen where the caretaker in the car was sitting.

Time Walker and guardians are easily distinguishable: Time Walker are forced to keep their hands behind their backs, while guardians have eyes that scan their surroundings like wolves.

No one is more suitable for this close-range precision-guided role than Liu Dezhu. Even if someone discovers Liu Dezhu's existence, his C-Class strength is enough to deal with most crises.

Inside the two vehicles, seven Time Walker remained frozen in fear, their hands and feet icy cold.

With a whoosh, the car door was pulled open, and Liu Dezhu, a young man wearing a mask, laughed and said, "Everyone, get out of the car. I'll help you get out of here."

A 5,000-word chapter, with 11,000 words updated today. Of these, 6,000 are daily updates, 4,000 are to Huan Yu's debt, and 1,000 are for interest... (A clumsy writer's careful calculation).

Boss Huan Yu has paid off his debts and feels a bit lighter now.

Also, thank you all for your subscription support. The Naming of the Night has now reached 91,500 average subscriptions (very close to 100,000 average subscriptions), and the number of additional subscriptions in 24 hours has reached 55,000. This is an achievement I never expected. Thank you all, and I will continue to write well.

Thank you to Shenxiuyi for becoming a new ally of this book. You're so generous, boss! You can eat meat without gaining weight!