Death Comes

"Thank you both for working overtime. I'll treat you to something nice to eat when you have time," Qing Chen said with a smile to April and May.

May is a young man, and April is a very young girl who looks no more than sixteen or seventeen years old.

In fact, she was in high school and spent most of her time at school when she wasn't busy.

The Tribunal of Taboos appears to be a relatively loose organization; they are busy when there is work to be done, and live their own lives when there is no work, without being bothered by the various factions.

Some say that the Tribunal of Taboos unique Forbidden Item, like the Shadow Gate, which can set up teleportation Anywhere Door for every raven in various cities, allowing the raven to travel to the headquarters of the Tribunal of Taboos.

However, this matter has never been confirmed.

April's eyes lit up at the mention of delicious food, but then she immediately remembered something. "No, we can't eat food from outsiders, or it will affect our position!"

Qing Chen was both amused and exasperated. "Having a meal can affect one's stance?"

That stance doesn't seem very firm.

But April said earnestly, "We don't take a single needle or thread from the conglomerate; that's our principle."

Qing Chen was stunned. In the Outer World, they didn't take a single needle or thread from the masses, but in the Tribunal of Taboos of the Inner World, the opposite was true.

That makes sense. Any neutral third-party organization, regardless of which side it benefits from, will be subject to scrutiny...

For example, mobile phone testing organizations shouldn't be paid by mobile phone manufacturers.

Of course, if it were Qing Chen, he would have a different way of doing things; he might make everyone pay protection... membership fees.

"Why didn't you bring the crow this time? I mean, the Six-Eyed Crow," Qing Chen asked curiously.

April said, "There are only six Six-Eyed Crow in total. The boss took them all to the Northern Battlefield and City No. 19. The two of us stayed here specifically to guard you, as instructed by the boss."

Qing Chen was stunned. Guarding him?! Is that so mysterious?

Just then, another explosion came from a building Kamiyo Style Street. April glanced at it and said, "I'm not talking to you anymore. Let's get to work here as soon as possible and finish up early."

After saying that, April and May pulled their hoods back up and headed towards the explosion site. The first superhuman to die tonight had been born, but it was unclear which side had died.

Qing Chen and the crows stood chatting amidst the chaos, seemingly oblivious to everything happening around them.

When Qing Chen looked at Qing Yi, he found that the other was looking at a shop window, where there was a pitiful-looking girl. Her boss seemed to have run away and even forgot to open the shop window where she was.

"What? Did you fall in love at first sight?" Qing Chen asked with a smile.

"No, I just feel sorry for her," Qing Yi said.

"There are too many pitiful people in this world," Qing Chen sighed. "Where is the person who was supposed to pick you up? I have things to do after I take you there. Remember to come to work at the Intelligence Department One tomorrow. I'll let the security guard know."

"It's just ahead," Qing Yi pointed to the end of the Kamiyo Style Street.

However, at that moment, a stray bullet flew out of the building from who-knows-where and struck the old street lamp next to Qing Yi.

The glass cover of the street lamp shattered and slashed straight down towards Qing Yi's neck.

Just two centimeters from Qing Yi's neck, Qing Chen, with quick reflexes, grabbed it.

Everything happened so fast that Qing Yi had no idea what was going on and just thought it was normal for some danger to appear on the battlefield.

But Qing Chen closed his eyes to recall, then suddenly opened them and said, "There are too many coincidences, and the danger just happens to be coming for you."

Qing Yi frowned. "Sir, do you mean that Qing Xing's lucky aura is affecting me?"

"It's hard to say whether it's a lucky aura or not," Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "You should go back first, I need to investigate."

No sooner had they finished speaking than a shout came from behind them, "Inspector!"

When Qing Chen turned around, he saw that Qing Hua had brought Yang Xuyang and other detectives here.

"Didn't I tell you to stay behind at Intelligence Department One? How come you still ran away?" Qing Chen said calmly, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Qing Hua, Yang Xuyang, and the others stared blankly at the surrounding ruins, then listened to the dense gunfire all around them.

Finally, their gaze returned to Qing Chen: Inspector, with such a large commotion, you still say it's nothing?

Before we arrived, Qing Hua had already prepared the agents mentally: the boss was probably in danger tonight, and he left us in the Intelligence Department One because he didn't want us to take any risks. However, we'd all gotten to know what kind of person the boss was during this time, and we'd received quite a few favors. The overtime pay we'd received in the past two weeks was more than enough to live a decent life for the rest of our lives.

At a time like this, how can our Group 7 back down?

Actually, the two most important things for Qing Hua were: firstly, Qing Chen didn't want them to take risks, which touched him.

Another point is that Qing Chen's offer to take Qing Mu home touched him, and he has completely given up on him.

However, the matter of bringing Qing Mu home must be kept secret for now, and he cannot tell the detectives.

After doing some persuasion, the detectives patted their chests and assured each other that even if the King of Heaven himself came, the boss would be fine.

But now they are listening to the commotion in the Kamiyo Style Street and watching the billowing black smoke rising from the buildings not far away.

I just felt I patted my chest too early.

How could they possibly participate in a battle of this magnitude?

They're good at arresting officials, but when it comes to real fighting, the Intelligence Department One is still a bit lacking.

Thinking about this, everyone felt inferior when they looked at Qing Chen. Their boss was already capable of influencing battles of this caliber; he didn't really need their Intelligence Department One at all...

Qing Chen smiled and said, "Please take Qing Yi to the car in front. I have other things to take care of."

Qing Hua dared not refute, and could only watch as her boss walked into the night.

It was as if the ongoing battle behind him had nothing to do with this boss.

Downstairs at the Utopia Tower, Qing Chen waited idly for the elevator.

After leaving the Kamiyo Style Street, he encountered no further danger... until the elevator doors opened.

Song Niaoniao, who was wrapped up tightly, stood in the elevator, staring blankly at Qing Chen through her sunglasses.

Qing Chen sighed inwardly, now he was really starting to suspect that there was something wrong with Song Niaoniao.

He only went back to the Utopia Tower four times in total, and he ran into the other person three times. It was exactly what he feared!

Song Niaoniao suddenly asked, "You weren't actually investigating those criminals the whole time, which led to the initial misunderstanding, right? After all, you can't explain why you pointed a gun at me when we first met, nor can you explain why you said 'Come again.'"

Qing Chen fell silent; it seemed the other party had already realized what was going on...

As Song Niaoniao stepped out of the elevator, she continued, "But it's okay. I'm very grateful that you were willing to save me that day. I'm truly grateful."

"You're welcome, it's my pleasure," Qing Chen said as he entered the elevator, his arm, which was hidden by the wall, kept pressing the close button.

The elevator doors slowly closed, and Qing Chen looked up through the gap to see Song Niaoniao taking off her sunglasses and staring at him.

After the door was completely closed, the A-list actress recalled the slightly awkward expression on Qing Chen's face when he was silent, and the corners of her mouth suddenly curled up slightly.

She always felt that the Qing Chen she saw on ordinary days was completely different from the Qing Chen who saved her that night.

Song Niaoniao is a top-tier celebrity, so naturally she has many friends in high society.

After the kidnapping that night, she asked her friends about the inspector of the Seventh Group of the Intelligence Department One. Almost all the friends she asked were filled with awe and respect for the newly appointed inspector, and they all called him "the living Yama".

Some speculate that this is a newly promoted powerful figure in the Qing family's inner circle, and it's best not to provoke him.

However, when Song Niaoniao recalled Qing Chen, she didn't find the boy scary at all; she even found him somewhat cute...

The living room on the 112th floor was completely dark.

Qing Chen looked at the shadowy figure sitting on the sofa and complained, "If you want to use me as bait, at least give me a straight answer, okay?"

"I told you, and now you probably won't want to be the bait," Shadow said with a smile. "Don't take out your embarrassment from when you bumped into Song Niaoniao on me. I'm not your father, I won't take that kind of treatment from you."

Qing Chen: "..."

Shadow said, "Also, you always take the same route home Kamiyo Style Street. Even though there are no security cameras there, it's not like you. After all, you're someone who explored the entire District 5 on your very first day in City No. 10. So, you keep taking this route just to create a stereotype for others, making it easier for them to ambush you and for me to fish you out."

Qing Chen said irritably, "I did that so it would be easier for me to run away."

Shadow was right about one thing: he always walked through the Kamiyo Style Street when he went home, just to give others the illusion that he only walked there.

If he tries to escape one day, someone waiting there to ambush him might find nothing.

Of course, the other party might not be that stupid; this was just a small part of Qing Chen's preparations.

Details determine success or failure.

"You've made quite a commotion tonight. I feel it will take at least three months to rebuild the Kamiyo Style Street," Qing Chen said.

"I've been annoyed with that street for a long time, it'll be fun to destroy it this time," Shadow said with a smile. "The northern aliens are building their own Entertainment Street in City No. 10, it's disgusting. By the way, the trade with Kamishiro Jingbian is in three days. I'll make the preparations, but you'll have to handle the trade."

Shadow looked at Qing Chen and said, "I can do everything else, but you must handle the matter of trading for the Kamishiro Jingbian and exchanging for Qing Mu."

"It's because only when I do it personally can the hearts and minds of the Qing Clan's intelligence system be truly in my hands, right?" Qing Chen asked.

"You're quite clever," Shadow exclaimed.

At this moment, Qing Chen suddenly asked, "You brought Qing Mu home this time because you wanted to use his last bit of value, right? If I'm not mistaken, his life may be coming to an end."

The shadow paused for a moment and then said, "You'll get used to it. You'll get used to it eventually. When you're sitting at a certain height, you often don't feel your own emotions."

Qing Chen shook his head. "I don't want to get used to it."

At one point, he felt that Shadow wasn't entirely taking advantage of the situation, but the other party had become accustomed to using "interests" to mask their emotions.

At this moment, Qing's shadow calmly said, "Whether you want to get used to it or not is your business. You can also leave this place behind and walk away. I have never forced you. Shadows cannot have feelings. The previous shadow did not take over Qing Mu, and neither did I. You may not be able to accept it."

The shadow continued, "But you have to understand, while I don't entirely want to take him home, your sincerity is enough. So, if you're going to leave, you have to finish this first."

Qing Chen continued, "But why me? I am a Time Walker, not a true member of the Qing clan."

"You'll know the answer later," Qing's shadow asked. "I have a question for you: you want Qing Yi to be your shadow, right?"

Qing Chen hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded. "No one said that a shadow can't have its own shadow. He's in the light, and I'm in the dark. That's fine."

"It's good that you dare to break the rules, but have you thought about what Qing Yi would think if he knew you were also Shadow Candidate?" Qing's Shadow asked. "You can say you won't change, but what about him? Killing your own friend with your own hands is not a pleasant experience."

Qing Chen was stunned for a moment. It seemed that Shadow had personally killed his friend in the last Shadow Struggle.

At this moment, Qing Chen asked, "Do you think Qing Xing really has a lucky aura?"

Shadow chuckled and countered, "What do you think? I know you 'Qing Xing you're investigating Yan Chunmi, but let me tell you, no matter how good your detective skills are, you won't find anything. Do you think I only started paying attention to him now? I've been paying attention to him ever since I became Shadow."

"In the past 10 years, he has picked up money a total of 3,491 times. No two people who lost money were the same person. If someone deliberately threw money at him to create this illusion of good luck, then picking up money is his biggest flaw, because you would have to find 3,491 people to throw money at him."

Qing Chen nodded. The bigger the lie, the more people it affects, the bigger the flaws in the lie will be.

However, Qing Chen said, "Have you ever considered that there might be a group of secret members helping him create accidents, such as helping him steal money and then throwing it on the ground for him to pick up?"

Qing Chen continued, "Although accidents may seem like coincidences, as long as the executor is clever enough, they can still be done flawlessly. Perhaps there are people in this world who are good at using 'accidents'. Behind what seems like coincidences, there are actually deeper calculations."

Qing Chen is not a person who believes in coincidences, so he will send someone to investigate Song Niaoniao after he returns tomorrow.

The other party appeared in front of him far too frequently, so he couldn't help but be suspicious.

Therefore, when he heard the rumors about Qing Xing, his first reaction was to doubt Qing Xing.

At this moment, Shadow explained, "I also doubted the direction of your guess, but there have been more than 130 coincidences related to him over the years. For example, Qing Wen a fever because the weather cooled down and his servant forgot to close the window, causing him to catch a cold in the middle of the night."

"There are 63 more cases, which occurred under surveillance cameras. No one cooperated unintentionally, and no two faces appeared on camera repeatedly. There was only one repeated face. I had someone interrogate that person, but we found that the person was clean and innocent. It was just a coincidence that they appeared at two accidental scenes."

Qing Chen understood what the shadow meant. If the same face never appeared on camera, it meant that it couldn't be a team crime, otherwise the team would be too big and it would be easy to leak secrets.

If the team has more than ten members, Shadow would probably have found them long ago.

Shadow said, "Qing Xing of the accidents happened in neighboring cities hundreds of kilometers away, which also ruled out the possibility that he committed the crimes himself."

Qing Chen frowned. If he ruled out team involvement and the possibility that he had personally orchestrated Qing Xing accident, then it could basically be determined to be metaphysics.

"So, you also believe that Qing Xing really does have a lucky aura?" Qing Chen asked.

"I don't believe it," Shadow chuckled.

"Why?" Qing Chen asked, puzzled.

"There's no reason why, I just don't believe it," the shadow laughed. "Do you believe it?"

"I don't believe it either," Qing Chen replied.

"Why?"

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "Right now, the most important thing for him is the Shadow Struggle. If he really has a lucky aura, he should have become my friend long ago. Or, his lucky aura should have already been bestowed upon me, but I haven't encountered any unexpected events."

Shadow was taken aback for once. He hadn't expected Qing Chen to give such a confident answer, but after thinking about it carefully, he still couldn't refute it.

Qing Chen said, "It's Qing Xing that he probably doesn't know that the 'ninth' Shadow Candidate is still alive, but the kind of lucky aura doesn't happen based on Qing Xing's knowledge. If he really has a lucky aura, then even if he doesn't know of my existence, I should have encountered many accidents by now."

Right now, Qing Yi and the others are practically acting out a scene from the movie "Final Destination," never knowing when an accident might suddenly happen.

But Qing Chen had never encountered this before.

Therefore, Qing Chen firmly believed that this was a design by Qing Xing, only it relied on more sophisticated methods.

This is a world where extraordinary individuals exist, and Qing Chen suspects Qing Xing he is one of them.

Or perhaps, they possess some Forbidden Item that can control the fate of others.

Qing Chen looked at the shadow. "Is there a Forbidden Item that no one knows about, that can change someone's fate?"

Shadow thought for a moment, "Huh, there really is one. In the previous human era, there was a superhuman who possessed such an ability, but he was killed by the Federation founder named 'Ren Xiaosu' before he could fully develop it."

"What ability?" Qing Chen asked.

Shadow shook his head. "I don't know, it's been too long. All I know is that he died on Wangchunmen Street in Luocheng at that time. This event was recorded by the Hu Corporation Intelligence Agency as part of the 'Records of Extraordinary People,' but there is no clear information."

Qing Chen thought that there was actually something in his memory that could do this.

Death Note.

Any reasonable event written down in a notebook, no matter how bizarre or coincidental, can be realized as long as it has an underlying logic.

Five thousand words in the chapter, ten thousand words have been updated today, still paying off a little interest.

September is almost over. There will be a separate chapter later, you can read it or not.