The Qing Clan's Pawn

"Sir, where are you going?" Sun Chuci was completely dumbfounded. He watched the middle-aged man's back as he ran away, his fat body swaying with each step.

Anxious, apprehensive, and humble.

Sun Chuci could discern the other person's psychological state simply by observing their running posture.

But he couldn't understand why.

At this moment, the middle-aged man seemed to remember something and turned to Sun Chuci, saying, "Please don't call me 'sir' anymore."

After saying that, he continued running towards the pickup truck.

Sun Chuci was even more bewildered.

The Immigration and Customs Administration officials who were just moments ago arrogant and demanding bribes panicked like this after simply swiping Qing Chen's electronic identification.

Sun Chuci ran after him, only to see that the middle-aged man had already run to the pickup truck and was standing carefully next to the vehicle where Qing Chen was sitting, with a smile plastered on his face.

He suddenly remembered a saying: the world is like a group of monkeys climbing a tree; looking up, all they see are buttocks, and looking down, all they see are smiling faces.

Unless Qing Chen's identity is special enough, why would these officials from the Immigration and Customs Administration lower themselves so much?

The middle-aged man smiled obsequiously at Qing Chen, "Sir, I didn't expect you to be in this group of wilderness hunters. You should use the priority lane, would you like me to send you a vehicle?"

Qing Chen glanced at him calmly and said casually, "It's a classified mission. Don't make a fuss about it."

The middle-aged man quickly nodded. "Okay, I understand."

In fact, even Qing Chen himself couldn't figure out what was going on.

Although he is the Li family's "future imperial tutor" and an instructor at the Li family's Martial Lecture Hall, this shouldn't be displayed in his electronic identity.

The only explanation is that, although he hasn't officially reported it yet, the shadowy figure from the Qing family has already incorporated his identity information into the Federal Central Intelligence Agency's system.

Otherwise, why would the other party address you as "sir" right off the bat?

No, he needs to see what's displayed on the identification information so he can find out what identity that Qing family shadow has assigned him.

Qing Chen had a feeling that once he entered City No. 10, everything would fall into the hands of that Mr. Shadow.

At this moment, Tuanzi and the others all held their breath and stared at Qing Chen and the middle-aged official, feeling as if the world had suddenly become magical.

How did that boy who was hitchhiking in the wilderness suddenly become a "commander"?

They had dealt with the Immigration and Customs Administration before; when the wilderness hunters entered or left the city, they faced very strict inspections if they did not pay protection money.

They might even claim they suspect you've hidden psychotropic drugs inside your tires, and then slash all of them.

They might even open your hood and accidentally damage some of the coolant hoses outside the engine during the inspection. In more extreme cases, they might even disassemble the radiator.

If your broken-down vehicle is stuck in the tunnel, don't worry. The Immigration and Customs Administration will kindly call a tow truck to take your car to a repair shop. Of course, you'll have to pay for the repairs and towing yourself.

Wilderness hunters have a natural class disadvantage when facing Immigration and Customs Administration officials, who can do almost anything they want.

Therefore, wilderness hunters generally refer to these officials as "the gentlemen of the Immigration and Customs Administration".

Now, the men are bowing and scraping before Qing Chen, practically wanting to write "flattery" on their faces.

Tuanzi's gaze towards Qing Chen changed, but Qing Chen remained calm, showing no sign of anything amiss.

Qing Chen glanced at the middle-aged man. "What's your name?"

The middle-aged man said, "My name is Li Menglin, and I am the captain of the seventh detachment of the Immigration and Customs Administration."

Qing Chen nodded. "Haven't you studied the confidentiality regulations? How can you come over and greet me in this situation? What if the cars behind you see you? Give me your identification device."

As he spoke, he took the instrument directly from the other person's hand.

The LCD screen displayed his ID photo, electronic identification number, and occupational information...

Qing Chen saw that it was clearly written in the occupation column: Inspector of the First Division of the Federal Central Intelligence Agency...

Qing Chen was puzzled.

First of all, the other Shadow Candidate were admitted to the Intelligence Department Three, so why was he admitted to the Intelligence Department One?

Moreover, while the other Shadow Candidate joined the company as trainee inspectors, he became an inspector directly, without the trainee title.

However, Qing Chen still doesn't fully understand the Federation's operating system, so he can't make a judgment right now.

He returned the identification device to Li Menglin: "Be more careful next time."

"Okay, okay, take care," Li Menglin bowed several times until he was sure the three pickup trucks were gone before straightening up.

Only then did an armed soldier dare to approach. "What's wrong, sir? Why are you being so polite to a teenager?"

Li Menglin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, only then realizing that his back was soaked with sweat.

He said to the soldier, "What do you know? He's from the Intelligence Department One. Do you think we can mess with those living devils? Besides, he's become an inspector at such a young age. He must be some big shot in the Qing family."

The soldier paused for a moment, then asked, "Is it Shadow Candidate?"

Li Menglin shook his head. "No, the Shadow Candidate all go to the Intelligence Department Three, and they are all trainee inspectors. To be promoted from trainee inspector to inspector, it takes at least a year of 'gilding' experience. Moreover, the authority of trainee inspectors and inspectors is completely different. But the most important thing is that the Qing family will not send Shadow Candidate to the Intelligence Department One as pawns."

"A foot soldier?" The soldier was taken aback.

"You all don't know these things," Li Menglin thought for a moment and gossiped, "Intelligence Department Two is under the Li family's control, Intelligence Department Three Intelligence Department Four is under the Chen family's control, Intelligence Department Six is under the Shen family's control, and Intelligence Department Seven is under the Kashima family's control. Only Intelligence Department One and Intelligence Department Five are special cases."

"Is that even a saying?" the soldier asked, puzzled.

Li Menglin said smugly, "What could you lowly soldiers possibly know?"

"What's so special about Intelligence Department One and Intelligence Department Five?" the soldier asked, knowing his superior wanted to show off how much he knew, so he immediately played the straight man.

Li Menglin said, "Let's talk about the Intelligence Department Five first. That part is all forensic doctors, so generally no one pays attention to it. The Intelligence Department One is more special. People from all kinds of conglomerates are there, vying for power and profit. Generally, conglomerates will send their most ruthless people in, like raising poisonous insects. The Intelligence Department One has more power than the other departments, with the highest priority of authority, but the internal struggles are also the most intense, and very few people end up well."

According to the regulations of the Federal Central Intelligence Agency, the Intelligence Department One has the right to access files from other divisions, and if relations break down, it even has the right to take prisoners directly from other parties.

As Li Menglin watched the three pickup trucks drive away, he suddenly wondered if the young inspector's sudden return from outside was to help a certain Shadow Candidate win this round.

As is customary in previous years, the Shadow Struggle only has four rounds. Although the last two rounds take the longest, the third round usually reveals who is all bark and no bite and who is just playing dumb.

After this round ends, the power factions within the Qing clan will likely have to choose sides.

Li Menglin said to the soldiers, "Remember the serial number of this Wilderness Hunters team, 0291, and add it to our whitelist. Don't deduct their pay this time. Also, let them pass directly when you see them in the future; don't charge them any handling fees."

After the three pickup trucks entered the city, Sun Chuci received a message on his phone: a reward of 85,000 yuan was deposited into his account, and this reward was exempt from personal income tax.

Sun Chuci remained silent. He had thought his earnings would be withheld, but they were all distributed in full.

The car was silent. The usually lively Tuanzi was quiet, and the car radio remained silent as well.

Qing Chen smiled and looked at Sun Chuci: "Where in City No. 10 do you live?"

Sun Chuci hesitated for a moment. He didn't know how to properly interact with such an important figure from the Inner World, so he could only cautiously say, "We live on Ningbi North Street in the District 5..."

Qing Chen recalled the City No. 10 he had seen before and instantly located Ningbi North Street, just like a navigation system.

He said, "I live just two blocks away from you. You can call me if you need anything."

Sun Chuci was taken aback. "Don't you live in the Upper Third District?"

"Please don't address me with such formalities," Qing Chen said with a laugh. "We don't need to be like that. In any case, I'm very grateful to everyone for giving me a ride."

The two houses that Grandpa Li Xiurui bought for him were both in the third district.

However, Qing Chen did not live in the Upper Third District, so he naturally wanted to keep a low profile.

The Upper Third District of City No. 10 are home to many social elites, especially celebrities and actors. Living there means you never know when you might be unintentionally photographed by paparazzi.

So he rented a house on the edge of District 5 in advance, which was only a 20-minute drive from the Federal Central Intelligence Agency, making it very convenient.

"By the way," Qing Chen looked at Sun Chuci, "Were you college students in the Outer World? Tuanzi asked me a lot of questions before, and it's clear that you're all good students."

Sun Chuci hesitated for a moment, but finally told the truth, "We are all students of Zhengcheng University in the Outer World. However, it is easier to get into university in our Outer World than Inner World the inner world, so there is nothing to be proud of in being a university student."

Tuanzi added from the side, "Sun Chuci is the president of our Zhengzhou University Student Union."

Sun Chuci shook his head. "It has no practical significance."

Even at this point, the students still regarded Qing Chen as a native of the Inner World, never imagining that Qing Chen was actually Time Walker.

Qing Chen asked, "By the way, are there any well-known Time Walker organizations in Zheng City of the Outer World?"

Sun Chuci thought for a moment and said, "There are two or three well-known ones internally, but the Time Walker in Zhengcheng are quite infighting, so they are not very famous among all the Time Walker organizations."

"Oh," Qing Chen nodded, "What about other Time Walker organizations? Are there any particularly famous ones?"

Sun Chuci thought for a moment and said, "Kunlun, Jiuzhou, Matrix, Daybreak, Red Leaf... these are some of the more famous ones. Daybreak is relatively close to our Zheng City, and I've heard that organization is quite powerful."

Qing Chen was stunned. Had Bai Zhou's reputation already reached Zheng City?

Thank you to Huajiao Youdianma and angel_Zouxin for becoming new patrons of this book. You guys are so generous! I hope you don't get bitten when you're grooming your cat!