The Midnight Knocker

In the mountains and fields, the Jiuzhou members had already left, and the tanker truck sat alone in the woods.

He Jinqiu sat on the roof of the oil tanker, his neat tie loosened, no longer looking so refined and sophisticated.

Footsteps sounded outside the woods, Zheng Yuandong slowly approached. "Your men have all left, why are you still here?"

He Jinqiu smiled and said, "Wait for me, old squad leader. I know you probably have some questions for me."

Zheng Yuandong looked up at the young man sitting on the tanker truck, noticing that he had some gray hairs at his temples.

I remember how energetic, passionate, and optimistic this young man was when he first joined the company.

They followed him around every day, calling him "class monitor."

The class monitor kept calling him "class monitor" and "class monitor," like a little shadow following him around.

Now, the opponent is a top expert with his own goals and ambitions, his own organization and power, and his temples are graying.

He Jinqiu is no longer the He Jinqiu of the past.

In the past He Jinqiu was willing to trust others...

Now, He Jinqiu needs to use the Forbidden Item "Correct Coin" to distinguish between lies and truth.

Everything seems different now.

"Did you make a deal with the Inner World Consortium?" Zheng Yuandong asked.

"Yes," He Jinqiu nodded, "This time I made a deal with the Li family, I will help them stop the plans of Kamishiro and Kashima."

"What about those who took the place?" Zheng Yuandong asked.

He Jinqiu calmly said, "Kill him."

Zheng Yuandong remained silent.

"Does the old squad leader think I did something wrong? Of course, I know you definitely couldn't bring yourself to do it. You can criticize me, and I won't talk back this time," He Jinqiu said.

Zheng Yuandong shook his head. "I don't mean to criticize your stance. I just want to tell you not to go too far, not to the point where there's no turning back, and not to forget your ideals."

After saying that, Zheng Yuandong turned and left.

Only He Jinqiu remained, sitting calmly on the tanker truck, gazing up at the starry sky.

"Brother Chen, why did you make me keep my eyes closed the whole time? I wanted to see the battle between the masters from Jiuzhou and Kashima."

On the deserted streets at night, Nan Gengchen muttered to himself.

The two people, each carrying an electric scooter helmet, walked slowly.

The two of them didn't look like they had just killed a B-Class expert with a sniper rifle; it was as if tonight's events had nothing to do with them.

Qing Chen said, "I suspected earlier that He Jinqiu and Zheng Yuandong might be A-level, and now it's been confirmed. It's still uncertain about Zheng Yuandong, but He Jinqiu definitely is. If you had been looking at him within 1000 meters just now, you might have been sensed in advance, which would have been troublesome."

"Alright," Nan Gengchen said with a sigh, "How did he manage to become an A-level as soon as he transmigrated?"

"I don't know," Qing Chen shook his head. "Perhaps I wasn't among the first Time Walker?"

Initially, Qing Chen thought he might be among the first, but now he's less sure.

Qing Chen always felt that if He Jinqiu was from an earlier batch of Time Walker, then everything she had done would make sense.

But Qing Chen couldn't verify it. What if the person really did transmigrate and take the place of a big shot?

The truth about this can only be found out by asking Zheng Yuandong and He Jinqiu directly.

"By the way, Brother Chen, can we let Xiao Niu and Aunt Jiang Xue go back to the villa?" Nan Gengchen asked.

"That's enough, tell them to go back."

Tonight, of the members of Daylight, only Nan Gengchen, Liu Dezhu, and Qing Chen participated in the operation; the others went to a nearby shopping mall to watch a movie.

Liu Dezhu hid further away to provide backup, while Nan Gengchen stayed by Qing Chen's side to prevent him from being approached silently while he was focused on sniping.

The reason Qing Chen let Hu Xiaoniu and the others stay outside was because he was worried that Kamishiro and Kashima might suddenly have a brain fart and cause trouble at the villa. Now that Kamishiro and Kashima are severely weakened, he probably won't have that worry for a while.

Once the other side has recovered and regained control of many Time Walker, Bai Zhou may no longer be afraid of those demons and monsters in the Outer World.

Turning a corner, Qing Chen called out to Liu Dezhu, who was hiding in the shadows, "Zhuzi, let's go home."

Liu Dezhu walked out with a curious look on his face. "Didn't the boss say there might be danger? Nothing's happened."

Under his boss's instructions, he lay in ambush in the shadows around this corner. If the boss encountered danger, he would lure people this way, and then Liu Dezhu would launch a sneak attack.

Tonight, Liu Dezhu was a human-shaped backup trap, but he just didn't have to be used.

Qing Chen said, "Things went smoothly with the boss; no one's chasing after us. Let's go home."

However, the three of them crossed two streets and arrived at Zhuangyuanhong Road, where they had parked their electric scooters.

Suddenly I felt something was wrong.

Nan Gengchen stared blankly at the three electric scooters in front of him. "Where are the batteries?"

Liu Dezhu was also shocked. He exclaimed in anguish, "Holy crap, where's the battery?!"

At this point, the seat of the electric scooter had been pried open, and the battery underneath was nowhere to be found.

Who would have thought that Bai Zhou, who was just fighting against foreign enemies alongside Jiuzhou and Kunlun, and who just sniped a B-Class expert with a single shot, actually arrived on an electric scooter!

Who would have thought that the battery of the electric scooter that the boss rode during the day would be stolen!

Qing Chen thought to himself, "Is there some kind of curse that makes Bai Zhou never as handsome as the day he is?"

Last time I was looking cool for a short while before the traffic police stopped me. This time the battery was stolen too. Will I ever be able to keep up?!

Um?!

It's at least 8 kilometers away from the Guobao Garden villa area. If we push it back, how long will it take?

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "Let's take a taxi back. We'll have Luo Wanyai's men transport it back tomorrow."

When we got back to the villa, it was already around 1 a. m.

The three of them quietly returned to the villa, only to find everyone waiting when they opened the door; no one had slept at all.

Nan Gengchen looked a little awkward. "Is everyone still awake?"

Xiao Tongyun peered through the living room window and asked, "Hey, where are your electric scooters? Didn't you ride three out?"

Qing Chen: "... There was a small problem, don't worry about it."

Jiang Xue nodded. "Yes, it's good that everyone is alright."

"Let's take a look at He Xiaoxiao's group chat," Zhang Tianzhen said. "It seems like a lot has happened tonight."

Qing Chen glanced at his phone. At this moment, in He Xiaoxiao's group chat, the group owner He Xiaoxiao, surprisingly began to actively report on the progress of the battle.

It's worth noting that He Xiaoxiao has been keeping a low profile for a long time, only occasionally popping up to say a few words.

He Xiaoxiao: "The Jiuzhou Organization successfully intercepted the Time Walker of Kamishiro and Kashima at the junction of Baiyun Mountain and Yangzigou in the south."

He Xiaoxiao: "The Kunlun organization successfully intercepted the Shindai and Kashima Time Walker downstream of the Xiaolangdi Dam."

He Xiaoxiao: "Zheng Yuandong has successfully ambushed a B-Class expert from the Kamishiro Corporation. The Inner World Consortium seems to have found a way to travel in reverse to the Outer World. All group chat members, please be careful."

Qing Chen was stunned when he saw the message.

Reverse travel to the Outer World? How did the conglomerate manage to do that!?

However, before Qing Chen could even think about it, he received a text message from Zheng Yuandong, which detailed in detail the story of the members of the God Era using a shell to travel back in time.

Qing Chen thought to himself, "Is Kunlun going to share intelligence with Bai Zhou? Are they really that selfless?"

He asked on his phone, "Why did you give me such important information?"

Zheng Yuandong replied, "You're a member of Kunlun, haven't you forgotten?"

Qing Chen: "That's true..."

The other party's reply was indeed reasonable and well-founded.

At this moment, He Xiaoxiao continued in the group chat, "The battle at the intersection of Wangcheng Avenue and National Highway 103 has just ended. The boss of Baizhou used a sniper rifle to kill one of the B-Class masters of Kashima. There is still a master of illusion who is on the run."

This broadcast made no mention of the terrifying power of He Jinqiu's sword arrows, focusing all its attention on Qing Chen, seemingly trying to use Qing Chen to cover up He Jinqiu's true strength.

However, no sooner had this news been broadcast than, before anyone could even discuss it, Lu Ya suddenly sent a message: "Quick, check Weibo's trending topics!"

Qing Chen hurriedly opened Weibo. The first post read, "A large-scale battle Time Walker has apparently broken out in the Jingcheng of Japan. The identities of the two sides are still unknown. The battle involves hundreds of people and has destroyed three city blocks, causing the Jingcheng to be engulfed in flames."

According to insiders, B-Class experts appeared in the Jingcheng of Japan during the battle. These people are suspected of using Goryeo as a springboard to smuggle themselves to Japan and have been lying low there until now, before suddenly taking action.

As of now, the battle is still ongoing, with both sides continuing their life-or-death chase in Jingcheng, Japan.

Qing Chen had just finished reading the first one when another trending topic quickly climbed up: a large-scale battle Time Walker had also broken out in Ercheng, Goryeo. The entire Xiaozidong district in Ercheng was destroyed, and the battle was still ongoing.

According to Goryeo Time Walker, the other side in the battle is suspected of smuggling themselves into the country from the direction of Changbai Mountain.

Even the usually calm Qing Chen was utterly shocked when he saw these two trending topics.

"I finally understand why the Li and Qing families remained silent despite such a major incident within the country, while simultaneously launching a cross-border surprise attack on the Time Walker's headquarters in Goryeo and the island nation. This is something no single conglomerate could accomplish. The Li and Qing families must have joined forces," Qing Chen said.

Qing Chen's intelligence was incomplete, so he could only guess that it was the work of the Li and Qing families, since no one else could have done such a thing.

This is so unexpected.

It seems that while Kamishiro and Kashima were carrying out their reverse Transmigration Plan, the Li and Kei families were also planning everything.

The enemy had infiltrated Goryeo and the island nation long ago, searching for a possible replacement while preparing for a major war.

Of course, if the Kamishiro and Kashima clans could find Time Walker within their borders, the Li and Kei clans certainly could as well.

The reason why the Li family did not appear this time is probably because most of their main forces have already gone into hiding overseas and therefore did not have time to return.

If we go back, all the previous efforts will have been wasted.

Therefore, instead of going back to defend, it would be better to go all out and carry out a big counterattack and retaliation overseas.

This time, Jiuzhou and Kunlun did not disappoint everyone. So, have the Li and Qing clans completed their reverse Transmigration Plan?

Which important figures from the Kamishiro and Kashima Family will be replaced?

With the countdown to this return over, many bigwigs in the conglomerates will probably have to urgently get gene therapy to mitigate the risks. Sterilization and other such matters are no longer relevant.

Before this, Qing Chen had asked the old man why he didn't give gene serum to all family members.

The Li family is capable of producing gene-based drugs, and the production volume of gene-based drugs with serial number 005 is high, so there should be no problem in covering the core members of the Li family.

Moreover, sterilization can be solved by freezing sperm or eggs.

But the old man replied, "If a conglomerate pins its hopes for its continued success on frozen sperm and eggs, what will happen to the conglomerate if one day the facilities for freezing sperm and eggs are invaded, destroyed, or switched? I could build a dedicated medical center for frozen sperm and eggs in the Banshan Manor and send experts to guard it, but the question is, are these experts truly trustworthy?"

The old man added, "This is like putting all your eggs in one basket, concentrating your efforts on others. Even if you store them in five different places, it's still just five baskets, not much different. Rather than doing something so risky, it's better to prevent them from committing crimes within the Outer World."

Looking back now, it's likely that the events depicted in those two trending topics were orchestrated by the old man.

With the Union Civil War looming, the old man wanted to finish all the things he needed to do before he could leave in An Xin.

At this moment, Hu Xiaoniu said worriedly, "These Time Walker went to Japan and Goryeo to cause trouble, I'm afraid they won't be able to come back. They're completely sealed off on their territory, so it will be very difficult for them to escape. After all, that's the home ground of the Shindai and Kashima."

As previously discussed, the Time Walker controlled by Kamishiro and Kashima are very concentrated, probably numbering in the thousands or tens of thousands.

In such a situation, although the battle is fierce, those who go there will likely find it difficult to escape unscathed.

To die in battle is the fate of most people.

"Do you think they ever imagined they'd die there when they went?" Zhang Tianzhen asked.

Liu Dezhu thought for a moment and said, "They've already been controlled by the conglomerates, so they had no choice. After all, the Li and Qing families aren't philanthropists. Controlling them is precisely to make them participate in the fight."

Nan Gengchen said, "I heard Li Yinuo say that the Time Walker controlled by the Li family were very resistant to causing trouble in China, so brainwashing was difficult to succeed. However, later the Li family suggested that they go to Goryeo and Japan to cause trouble, and everything went smoothly. So although they were under control, there should be some degree of voluntariness involved."

At this moment, another trending topic appeared: The battle in the Jingcheng of the island nation is coming to an end. An insider revealed to the media that the Kamishiro Family suffered heavy losses, but almost half of the foreign Time Walker were wiped out, and the remaining foreign Time Walker could only flee in disarray.

The "overseas" Time Walker mentioned here are in contrast to those from island nations.

Soon, Time Walker from the Kamishiro Family began giving media interviews. "We have brought the situation under control and demonstrated the Kamishiro Family's strength in the Outer World. Here, we also warn all Time Walker from outside the country not to attempt to come here..."

This Time Walker has already identified himself as a member of the Kamishiro Family, which demonstrates the Divine Era's extremely high level of control over the Outer World.

However, before the Time Walker could finish speaking, another explosion rang out in the distance.

The interview camera panned to the direction of a Japanese shrine several kilometers away, where a huge fire illuminated the sky.

The reality does not seem to be under control as the Time Walker from the Age of Gods claimed.

The other side in the battle even had the energy to blow up the island shrine while fleeing!

The interview camera then turned back to the face of the Time Walker from another era, only to find his face ashen in the firelight.

The reporter asked in a low voice, "Excuse me... what's going on here?"

"No comment," the Time Walker from another era said, no longer interested in an interview, and turned to head towards the shrine.

In the Bai Zhou Villa of the National Treasure Garden in Los Angeles, Qing Chen sat in the living room pondering, "Even if the Time Walker controlled by the Li and Qing families want to cause trouble in Japan, they wouldn't issue an order to blow up a shrine. After all, those people in the Inner World haven't experienced our history and won't empathize with us. So, this action should be something those Time Walker did spontaneously."

Nan Gengchen looked on with awe. "Brother Chen, why don't we go have some fun too?"

Qing Chen glanced at him. "No, it's not the right time yet. If you're thinking about this kind of thing, you should go cultivate now and make yourself stronger as soon as possible."

At this moment, in He Xiaoxiao's group chat, Chuang Wang asked, "Was such a big thing happening outside done by Jiuzhou and Kunlun?"

The Forbidden Item ACE-999 replied, "No, they have no connection with the territory and have not received any instructions from Jiuzhou or Kunlun. Jiuzhou and Kunlun adhere to the principle of peaceful coexistence in their interactions with the outside world. Of course, Jiuzhou and Kunlun will also do their best to protect our compatriots who are lost abroad and bring them home."

Under the official words of this Forbidden Item ACE-999, they first distanced themselves from Jiuzhou and Kunlun and their involvement in this matter, but then changed their tune and characterized the Time Walker they were going to bring back to the country as "compatriots who have been lost abroad".

In the group, some people who knew what Jiuzhou had been doing outside curled their lip at this official language. The US Time Walker's high-level control over Jiuzhou has been a long-standing issue.

Even if Jiuzhou were to come out and admit that they were the ones who did it, many people would not be surprised.

So much happened tonight that everyone needs time to process it all.

What happened overseas was covered up, even covering up everything that happened domestically, and it didn't even make it to the trending topics.

The very next day, news came from the outside world again: the mastermind behind the shrine bombing had been confirmed to be a young man named Zhang Jingwen, who had not yet been arrested and whose whereabouts were currently unknown.

With only a few days left, all the information was related to overseas locations, and before we knew it, the time for our journey was approaching.

During the day, all practitioners completed their Great Circulation practice.

Inside the villa, Qing Chen looked at all the members of Daylight and said, "After this time travel, I may have to take Xiao Niu on a long trip. The boss instructed that the civil war may break out soon, and everyone else should not walk around in City No. 18. Keep a low profile as much as possible."

Zhang Tianzhen and the others nodded. "Understood."

The countdown has reached zero.

The world was plunged into darkness.

It lit up again.

Qing Chen enjoyed a brief moment of peace on a recliner in the Autumn Leaf Villa.

He didn't go to sleep; instead, he silently trained in the mysterious world for the next Life and Death Trial challenge.

Qing Chen was waiting.

He knew that tonight's events were not yet over.

Knock, knock, knock—there was a knocking sound at the door.

The other party pushed the door open and entered without waiting for Qing Chen's response, as if knocking on the door was merely a polite gesture.

At this time, there is only one person who can ignore the "No Guests Allowed" sign at the Autumn Leaf Villa.

In the darkness, Li Changqing looked at him with a beaming smile, "How long are you planning to keep lying to me?"

There will be another update at 7 PM tonight, with 5,000 words in the chapter.

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