Identity Verification

From any perspective, Qing Chen doesn't seem like a Time Walker.

A normal Time Walker would never be like him, laughing and joking after a battle, as if everything that had just happened was just an ordinary rain in the world, nothing out of the ordinary.

"So, everything you said before was a lie, right?" Tuanzi asked in a low voice, "What about being abandoned by your teammates, what about going to City No. 10 for tutoring classes, it was all fake."

Qing Chen said with a smile, "Neither of you told the truth either. For example, you didn't mention your identities as Time Walker, so it's a draw, isn't it?"

Tuanzi hesitated for a moment before replying, "Okay."

Qing Chen asked curiously, "Did you exchange falcons with the Wilderness People to sell them to important figures in City No. 10?"

"Yes," Sun Chuci explained, "It's fashionable there to train falcons lately. If you can have a trained falcon perched on your arm when attending high-society events, it's a very prestigious thing."

Just as celebrities in the Outer World feel particularly prestigious if they can wear a haute couture gown from a certain brand, people are always chasing trends.

For the social elites of City No. 10, the falcon is now the most stylish and fashionable accessory.

Qing Chen thought for a moment, if Azure Falcon was standing on his arm, would he become the most prestigious person?

Unfortunately, Azure Falcon was too big; his arm couldn't support him.

Even Azure Falcon might not be willing to play along with his pretense.

Sun Chuci continued, "The person who commissioned the wilderness hunters to capture the falcon this time is a big shot, but it seems he didn't buy it for himself, but rather to give it to someone else as a gift."

"How much does a falcon cost?" Qing Chen asked curiously.

"1.6 million," Sun Chuci said. "We were also tempted by this amount, which is why we offered the Wilderness People an exceptionally high price to exchange for it. We just didn't expect the price to be so high that they were willing to take the risk."

Qing Chen thought to himself, "A falcon worth 1.6 million as a gift must be given to a very important person."

This gift is novel, but it's also far too expensive.

But then Sun Chuci continued, "I heard that the gifts are actually for the Shadow Candidate."

Qing Chen was taken aback. "How does this have to do with the Shadow Candidate?"

Sun Chuci said in a low voice, "Someone from our Outer World is at the PCE Public Security Management Committee. He said that the Qing family has issued the third round of the Shadow Struggle, and all Shadow Candidate must go to the 10th to take up some positions. So, those who want to climb the social ladder naturally have to offer gifts that are impressive enough. There was also a mission to capture a falcon before, but the bounty was only around 1 million. It was only last week that the price suddenly rose to 1.6 million."

Qing Chen sighed. Perhaps this is just a competition among important figures. In the future, one of the Shadow Candidate will surely emerge as a figure who can influence the Federation, so there will definitely be people who invest in advance.

Just like in the ancient dynasties of the Outer World, every prince who had a chance to compete for the position of crown Crown Prince was never short of sycophants.

The benefits that sycophants can gain from these people far exceed a million.

However, Qing Chen never expected that Sun Chuci and his group's capture of the falcon would have any connection to him.

Of course, it was only a minor connection, since no one outside knew that he was Shadow Candidate faked his death, and the falcon was not given to him.

Qing Chen asked thoughtfully, "Do you know what positions they will be holding?"

"It seems to be a trainee inspector from the Federation Central Intelligence Bureau Third Department," Sun Chuci said, "But that's just a rumor."

Qing Chen pondered. It seemed that the outside world did not know that the Shadow Candidate were actually going to join the Qing Clan Secret Intelligence Department. However, since the Federation Central Intelligence Bureau Third Department had been completely controlled by the Qing Clan, Mr. Shadow gave each candidate an identity with law enforcement and investigative powers to facilitate their actions.

In a sense, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Federation Central Intelligence Bureau Third Department is a subordinate agency of the Secret Intelligence Department.

The influence of spies, and the manpower they can mobilize, goes far beyond this.

At this point, they were only two hundred kilometers away from City No. 10. Even if the dirt road was difficult to travel, they could reach it in a day.

Sun Chuci and others took turns driving the pickup truck, traveling day and night.

They hadn't slept all night in order to make the deal with the Wilderness People at the designated time, and they were already quite tired.

But the thought of returning to the "relatively comfortable" city soon and receiving more than 80,000 yuan gave them a renewed boost.

Inside the car, only Qing Chen remained energetic. He asked, "Are you short of money?"

Sun Chuci thought for a moment and said, "Actually, we can usually take care of our own food and clothing, but there are still two months until the New Year, and we also want to have a good New Year."

Qing Chen was stunned for a moment. There were still two months until the Chinese New Year.

He has a photographic memory and can accurately count to five hours in his mind, but he seems to have deliberately forgotten about the Spring Festival.

When I was on Xingshu Road, the meaning of celebrating the New Year was to stay in a cold little house and silently recall the movies or books I remembered.

For Qing Chen, this was a meaningless holiday.

Just as evening was approaching, the three pickup trucks finally arrived at the border crossing for City No. 10.

From a distance, the city is surrounded by barbed wire and electric fences several meters high to prevent smuggling.

Each city has its own tariff barriers. For example, if cars from Kamishiro and Kashima want to enter City No. 18, they have to pay a tariff of up to 47%. The same applies if cars from the Lee, Kei, and Chen families want to enter the northern cities controlled by Kamishiro and Kashima.

These are all measures taken by conglomerates to protect their own territory.

I don't know what day it is today, but there are so many people trying to enter City No. 10 through the border crossing that long queues have formed at the restricted access points outside the city.

Sun Chuci said, "I heard that this happens every year-end. The line of hunters is full of wild hunters who go out to hunt in the wilderness or hunt Wilderness People to earn money and prepare for a good New Year. This time, it's probably because of the bounty on the eagles that even more people are going out to work."

Qing Chen thought for a moment and asked, "How many wilderness hunters are there in a city?"

Sun Chuci responded, "There are 82,319 people on the record, which is a legitimate profession."

"So many," Qing Chen, somewhat surprised, because he hadn't seen any hunters frequently active in the wilderness.

On the way, soldiers from the Immigration and Customs Administration patrolled back and forth to maintain order, looking particularly grim.

Just then, a convoy drove past three pickup trucks in the fast lane without having to queue.

Qing Chen raised an eyebrow.

Sun Chuci noticed Qing Chen's unusual expression and explained to him, "People who frequently travel to and from the city get used to this. Vehicles belonging to conglomerates, officials, and even some wealthy businessmen all have electronic access tags and can pass through customs directly."

Qing Chen said, "Yes, I know."

He raised his eyebrows not because he was surprised that someone could cut in line, after all, when he left City No. 18 before, he used the Qing family's ginkgo sign to get through the priority lane.

He raised his eyebrows because he clearly saw a symbol on the convoy that looked like a tie—the logo of Heng Society.

Qing Chen had no idea that Heng Society also had influence in City No. 10.

He still thought that Heng Society was only active in City No. 18.

It wasn't until 7 p. m. that Sun Chuci and his group finally had their identities checked.

More than a dozen border guards and more than thirty mechanical guards surrounded the area, with drones hovering in the air as well.

The border crossing is a gate-like structure with a fortified defensive structure on top and a tunnel lined with white LED strips below, where all vehicles must be inspected.

When Qing Chen looked up, he saw a honeycomb embedded in the tunnel ceiling, containing hundreds of Border-01 drones carrying standard 5.56mm caliber weapons.

Unlike the Outer World, the Immigration and Customs Administration here is more like part of the city's defense system, with greater authority.

If anyone attempts to cross the border without authorization, the Immigration and Customs Administration have the right to shoot them on the spot.

Moreover, they have killed many people.

At this moment, a middle-aged man in a black uniform silently looked at the documents and information Sun Chuci handed over, then asked in surprise, "You killed 17 Wilderness People? Are you kidding me? Your team of F-Class wilderness hunters can kill 17 Wilderness People?"

Sun Chuci patiently replied, "That's right, it's quite a coincidence, but the evidence from photos and videos, the records from the life detector, and the iris sequence extraction records can all serve as proof. In addition, we have also confiscated some firearms, which you can also check."

The middle-aged man thought for a moment and waved to his colleague, who immediately went to inspect the three pickup trucks.

The middle-aged man casually turned off the body camera in front of him, then led Sun Chuci to a place without surveillance cameras and said, "According to normal procedures, you should be able to receive the 85,000 yuan federal reward, but there are four incomplete pieces of your evidence..."

Sun Chuci quickly replied, "I understand. Then we'll accept the reward of 13 Wilderness People."

He knew perfectly well that this middle-aged man was trying to make some money, and as an ordinary wilderness hunter, he had to cooperate.

Otherwise, if you want to go to the wilderness again, having your weapons confiscated by the other side will make hunting very difficult.

Seeing that Sun Chuci was so easy to talk to, the middle-aged man immediately smiled and said, "I am the captain of the Immigration and Customs Administration Seventh Brigade. You can come to me if you have any problems in the future."

"Okay," Sun Chuci nodded.

"Okay, then I'll just do a routine check of your entourage's information and we can let you through," the middle-aged man said with a smile.

After saying that, he returned to the spot where he had been standing, turned on the body camera again, and then swiped the electronic identification cards that Sun Chuci had given him onto the miniature LCD computer in his hand one by one.

However, he froze when he swiped Qing Chen's electronic identity card.

The middle-aged man glanced at Sun Chuci in surprise, then hurriedly ran towards the pickup truck in the tunnel.

There will be another chapter at 10 PM.