North Pole

This was Qing Chen's first time traveling to a foreign country, and he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive.

I'm worried about whether I'll be able to get used to the food in Amsterdam.

I worry that my English, which I think is very fluent, might sound awkward to foreigners.

She was worried about whether she would be able to get the job on the crab fishing boat.

I worry whether I will actually encounter waves that are challenging enough.

A 30-meter wave is already a testament to the power of nature; it's something you can only hope to witness once in a lifetime.

Qing Chen sat in the soft first-class seat, and once the plane entered the stratosphere, he closed his eyes and An Xin recalled the information Yan Chunmi had given him.

Information about Qing Xing.

After Yan Chunmi caused a scene in the "Prosperous Flowers" residential community and removed all the hidden stakes in a Qing Xing manner.

This third-tier actress immediately quieted down, returning to her routine of filming, working, and auditioning.

Just like a real actor.

This was truly disgusting, but Qing Xing, he had to rent another house for the security personnel to live in.

However, this act of renting a place gave Qing Chen's other Kite Falcon the opportunity to thoroughly investigate the security forces around Qing Xing.

There are 24 security personnel stationed on-site, working in three shifts of eight to monitor the activities within the Prosperous Flowers area around the clock.

But that's not what Qing Chen is focusing on; what he's focusing on is Qing Xing's lifestyle.

He mentally pieced together all the details related to his Qing Xing and discovered that the other person never wore a ring, watch, or necklace.

She wore absolutely no accessories.

In addition, Qing Xing I can change my clothes every day, and even go a month without wearing the same outfit twice.

On ordinary days, apart from clothes, he has no other personal belongings.

In other words, Qing Xing, he didn't carry that Forbidden Item with him, and he didn't know where he hid it.

Of course, there are also Forbidden Item like "Conquer by Virtue," which can be contained within the body without leaving a trace.

But in fact, "Conquer by Virtue" is not Forbidden Item in a strict sense. It is a gift that Yang Xiaojin left to Yi, and this woman herself is not yet dead.

Strictly speaking, only rule-based items derived from deceased superhumans can be considered Forbidden Item.

In the known list of Forbidden Item, none can be absorbed into the body like "Conquer by Virtue".

Therefore, Qing Chen boldly hypothesizes that Qing Xing, even Forbidden Item cannot be taken into the body.

Then, some Forbidden Item exist in the form of tattoos, such as Demon Stamp.

Qing Xing, he loves swimming, and there is a lot of evidence that he doesn't have any tattoos.

Unless... that Forbidden Item is tattooed on Qing Xing's buttocks.

Qing Chen thought this was unlikely. Forbidden Item objects are actually alive and have dignity; they wouldn't just sit idly on someone's backside.

Now that we've ruled out the possibility that we're Qing Xing to have Forbidden Item us, where would the other person hide it?

Qing Chen closed his eyes and frowned. During the five days that Yan Chunmi was monitoring him, Qing Xing that in addition to going home and to the Intelligence Department Three, he had also been to a total of 37 public places, but none of the 37 places were the same.

If it's a place to hide Forbidden Item, then you should be Qing Xing you go there very often.

Was Qing Xing that the Forbidden Item was hidden in the Intelligence Department Three? No, if they had, it would have already been obtained by Qing Wen and other Shadow Candidate.

Hiding at home? No, Qing Yi went to the Intelligence Department Three to arrest people in the afternoon, while Qing Chen's fate was decided in the evening.

Qing Chen specifically asked Yan Chunmi to investigate Qing Xing's whereabouts that day. After Qing Yi went to arrest the person, Qing Xing left the Intelligence Department Three, but did not go home.

Qing Chen's thinking became faster and faster. He kept trying to summarize the patterns in Qing Xing's actions, only to find that this guy really had no patterns at all.

Etc.

There is a pattern to it.

Qing Chen suddenly realized that he was blind to what was right under his nose; the other party did indeed have two obvious patterns.

The first rule is that you'll be Qing Xing you found money when you go out.

The second pattern is that the other person goes out every day.

Whether it's sunny or rainy, Qing Xing to have about 340 days out of 365 in a year where I consistently go out to play, stroll around, and keep appointments.

It's as if... the other person goes out just to find money, and they'll lose something if they don't go out for a day.

Qing Chen opened his eyes. He felt he had a direction for his guess. Perhaps the clues about Qing Xing were hidden in the money he picked up.

Although he didn't know how the other party did it, Qing Chen vaguely sensed that the other party's daily routine of picking up money was related to hiding Forbidden Item.

At midnight, the first-class passengers next to Qing Chen had already adjusted their seats to lie flat, covered themselves with blankets and dozed off, or lay in their seats watching movies.

Meanwhile, Qing Chen was still simulating surfing in his mind, over and over again.

He had to force himself to train constantly because at sea he faced too many uncertainties. The giant waves brought by strong winds could be more than 30 meters high, or even 40 or 45 meters high.

Qing Chen makes even the slightest mistake, he will be completely buried at the bottom of the sea.

At this moment, a flight attendant saw that Qing Chen was still sitting upright in his seat and assumed that it was his first time flying in a cabin where he could lie flat, so she went over to remind him.

After all, most domestic flights, even business class, only allow for slight adjustments to the seatback, so it's normal for some people not to know that.

However, just as the flight attendant approached, she saw the boy suddenly open his eyes in the dimly lit cabin and stare at her intently.

For some reason, she felt as if her heart skipped a beat, and she was momentarily afraid.

As she got closer, she saw that the boy was holding a deck of cards and was constantly cutting and shuffling them in the other person's hand.

The flight attendant seemed to be captivated by the scene, and her mind went blank for a moment.

The murderous intent within a person is very mysterious.

When a person kills a chicken, the chicken will struggle incessantly.

However, when butchers at farmers' markets kill chickens, they only need to put their hands into the cages, and all the chickens will quiet down and let themselves be slaughtered.

The village dogs bark wildly at strangers, but they become obedient and subdued when they encounter dog thieves who kill dogs every day.

As if suppressed within his bloodline, he stood frozen in place.

This thing is invisible, yet it seems to truly exist.

And that's what the flight attendant seemed to sense in that instant.

Qing Chen laughed, "Is there something you need?"

The flight attendant was stunned for a moment. She felt that the moment the other person laughed, her original fear vanished.

Like snow on the eaves, it will melt when the sun comes out.

The flight attendant thought for a moment and said, "Sir, you can adjust your seat to be flat by pressing the button on your left. We still have 9 hours until we arrive in Istanbul, so you can take a nap."

Qing Chen smiled and said, "Okay, thank you."

After saying that, he remained seated with his eyes closed, seemingly resting.

During this boarding process, Qing Chen noticed that at least seven people in the queue had looked at him more than five times, and one young man had even looked at him 17 times.

It's not that Qing Chen is overly sensitive, but rather that one must be more cautious when traveling.

He was quite certain that Jiuzhou and Kunlun had the ability to know his flight information in advance, and even Kamishiro and Kashima were likely paying close attention to him.

There must be someone on this flight following him.

Therefore, Qing Chen must keep himself in a state where he can face battle at any time.

His task was to leave no trace of his intentions.

This time, he only carried a mobile phone, a wallet, and a deck of cards with him when he went out.

It is difficult for others to carry weapons across borders, after all, global security checks have become extremely strict since 9/11.

However, this is where the advantage of the Autumn Leaf Blade comes into play; an ordinary deck of cards can become a deadly weapon at any time.

Having heard that the security situation in Europe is not very good, Qing Chen thought that it shouldn't be too much to just bring a deck of cards for self-defense, right?

Nine hours later, the flight attendant who had been frightened by Qing Chen couldn't help but glance at him every now and then.

But no matter when you look at him, the boy is always sitting there upright with his eyes closed.

If anyone gets close, those tightly closed eyes will open at any moment.

The action of cutting cards in one's hand may suddenly stop.

The flight attendant was quite certain that the young man had been sitting for nearly 11 hours, and had indeed remained conscious and highly alert.

She thought to herself, "Could this be one of those legendary top assassins, like Agent 47 from those Hollywood blockbusters?"

The young flight attendant couldn't help but fill in a fantasy scene in her mind to pass the boring time on the plane.

Until the plane landed.

Qing Chen had no luggage and disembarked first to transfer to another flight, TK1953, bound for Amsterdam, and then flew to Schiphol Airport.

Unexpectedly, yet predictably, all the people suspected of following him disappeared.

After all, they were going to change planes, and continuing to follow would be too blatant; Qing Chen wasn't stupid.

However, the stalkers were better prepared than Qing Chen had imagined. During his transfer, at Istanbul Airport in Turkey, three more people boarded the plane to Amsterdam with him, and they were all in first class...

Qing Chen chose first class because he could get off the plane and go through the visa channel earlier. If someone was following him but was in economy class, he would definitely be able to leave them behind.

But what he didn't expect was that the trackers went to such lengths, which made Qing Chen think that they must be members of the Jiuzhou who were rich and powerful.

If it were Kunlun, there would be no need to do this; they could just have Xiao Ying or Lu Yuan shamelessly follow along.

When the plane landed at Schiphol Airport again, Qing Chen quickly left.

Three stalkers followed closely in the crowd.

One of the women deliberately walked ahead of Qing Chen.

Because all of them had to go through visa checks and immigration procedures before they could leave the airport.

Therefore, if Qing Chen goes through customs first, they will be blocked by airport inspectors and have to go through the procedures behind them. So someone has to go through customs before Qing Chen.

This is a sandwich tracking method to trap Qing Chen in the middle.

But unexpectedly, the woman in front of her was walking briskly when she suddenly felt her foot slip and almost fell to the ground.

She looked down and discovered that the heel of her high heels had been broken off by something sharp, with a very smooth cut.

The woman was startled. How sharp must something be to cut the heel so smoothly?

Is it possible for someone to carry such a weapon through security?

Before she could react, Qing Chen had already entered the Amsterdam border quarantine channel ahead of her.

The woman whispered to the two people behind her, "Stay close."

However, just after Qing Chen passed through the visa channel, the people following him began to undergo inspection.

The pursuers watched helplessly as Qing Chen left first, anxious but not daring to force their way through the quarantine checkpoint.

Qing Chen walked into a restroom, took a black sealed package from the bucket of water used by the cleaning staff to rinse the mop, went into the stall, and locked it.

In just 30 seconds, Qing Chen had taken off and put on the reversible jacket, and then quickly changed into the shoes and pants from the sealed bag.

Their faces also changed into unfamiliar appearances.

No one knows who put the sealed bag in the toilet; it seems Qing Chen knew he would be followed and had made preparations.

After the three stalkers passed through the visa channel, they quickly arrived at the restroom entrance. Qing Chen brushed past them without them noticing.

They exchanged a glance and went into the men's and women's restrooms to check, but Qing Chen was not inside.

The three of them quickly weaved through the crowd, searching, but Qing Chen disappeared completely, like a drop of water merging into a long river.

The trackers exchanged glances, unable to fathom how Qing Chen had managed it.

This disappearance was so complete, it was as if Qing Chen had performed a magic trick right before their eyes, and such a grown man had vanished into thin air.

One of the trackers took out his phone and dialed a number, then hesitated for a second before saying, "Boss, we've lost them."

He Jinqiu's laughter came through the phone. He asked, "You managed to lose track of us even though I booked first class specifically for the three of you?"

The stalker said somewhat ashamedly, "I don't know what happened. He just vanished into thin air, disappearing without a trace. And it seemed like he was carrying some kind of weapon. We were keeping a close eye on him, but we didn't know when he cut off Wang Mengyao's heel."

"That's interesting," He Jinqiu said after thinking for a moment, "Wasn't it a playing card cut in half?"

"No," the stalker replied, "If it were playing cards, we could see them even if they were played very quickly."

"Looks like this trip to Europe is going to be fun," He Jinqiu instructed. "Since we've lost track of them, let it go. I'll take care of things back home and arrive in Amsterdam in three days. Be careful there too. I've received intelligence that the Time Walker from North America are very active in Europe. Don't get into any conflicts with them before I arrive."

At this point, He Jinqiu's voice turned cold. "Although it's normal to lose track of him, after returning to China, he went to Instructor Lu's place to receive two months of special training."

The stalker whispered, "Roger that..."

Europe, Africa, Australia, the Middle East, and South America—regions without Time Walker —Time Walker are like new continents for them.

Opportunities are everywhere.

When the Time Walker from North America arrived, their first thought was to take over the new order from the European underworld. The Mafia had already been thoroughly ravaged by the North American Time Walker.

Europe is, after all, a predominantly white world, giving North American Time Walker a greater advantage.

They dared not provoke He Jinqiu, but ordinary members of Jiuzhou still had to be careful here.

However, He Jinqiu was even more curious at this moment: what exactly was the boy named Qing Chen planning to do here?

Surely this isn't a prelude to the expansion of daylight into Europe...

Or perhaps they're just here to eat king crab and prawns?!

At this very moment, at the Jiuzhou headquarters in Jingcheng, He Jinqiu was sitting in his spacious office when Yu Cheng brought him a cup of coffee. "Boss, is it really necessary for us to make such a fuss over Qing Chen?"

He Jinqiu looked up at him and smiled, "You don't know what's been happening in City No. 10 lately. If you did, you'd think he's the best candidate for Jiuzhou to take charge of the European underworld. If someone like him is in charge in Europe, I won't have to fly there for business anymore. I can focus on dealing with the 'Future' organization in the Middle East and North America. 'Let 'Future' have no future,' isn't that a very creative slogan?"

Yu Cheng: "..."

He never expected that the reason Boss He wanted to recruit Qing Chen was to hand over Jiuzhou's power in Europe to that young man.

Unbeknownst to them, right outside the exit of Schiphol Airport, several assassins from Kamishiro and Kashima were standing guard in the cold wind.

I stayed up all morning until night, and I was almost frozen stiff.

But among the bustling crowds at the airport, there was no sign of Qing Chen. They almost assumed that Qing Chen hadn't even left the station, but had instead boarded a plane inside to return home.

Today, so many people are waiting for Qing Chen; his trip to Europe has captivated countless hearts.

However, the boy simply disappeared without a trace in this distant foreign land.

At eight o'clock in the evening, the "Walnut Bar" outside the harbor was bustling with activity.

Although there are still three days before the crab fishermen are scheduled to set sail, preparations are always made before departure.

In the bar, sailors from all over Europe gathered, each holding a craft beer and drinking heartily.

Soon, they would be spending 15 days and nights on the ship. During the first 30 hours at sea, they had to find the right crab fishing area, so each person could only sleep for a maximum of four hours during those 30 hours.

This is a job that only requires working 15 days a year but can earn 600,000 yuan, with both danger and opportunity.

King crabs are mainly found in the Bay of Gijjin near Russia, the Bering Sea on the east side of the Americas, and the Barents Sea in northern Europe.

Each production area produces around 10,000 tons of king crab annually.

At this time of year, all crab fishermen gather in these three places to share this bounty of nature.

King crabs live in the cold waters at a depth of 270 meters. After this season, fully grown king crabs will venture into deeper waters, at which point they will be harder to catch.

At this moment, a unique damp smell permeated the Walnut Bar. The salty, fishy scent of the sea was brought in by the sailors and captains, who seemed like a group of aquatic creatures that had come to life and gathered in the human world.

As the sailors drank their beer, they glanced furtively at the table in the middle, where three burly Scandinavian men and a young Asian man sat, creating a tense atmosphere.

Those were four captains, negotiating.

A burly white captain looked at the young Asian man and said coldly, "Zhang, your boat is too small. Everyone else has upgraded to 147-foot crab boats these past few years, but you're still using a 120-foot crab boat from over twenty years ago. This year alone, you've spent 400,000 euros on repairs, and even the crab traps are rented."

One foot is approximately equal to 30 centimeters, so a 120-foot boat is about 40 meters long.

However, the difference between a 147-foot crab fishing boat and a 120-foot crab fishing boat is not just a matter of size.

The cargo hold used to load king crabs and the crane used to lift the crab traps are not even in the same league.

Another captain said, "We acknowledge that your father is the best crab fisherman; he finds the best king crab fishing grounds every year. But Zhang, you're really not suited for this line of work. Last year you only made enough to cover your fuel costs, and this year not even a single sailor wants to go out to sea with you. With an inexperienced captain and no experienced sailors on deck, the crew will all die."

The young man's name was Zhang Jian. At a young age, he took over the job of crab fisherman from his father, along with that dilapidated crab fishing boat.

His father had died of lung cancer, leaving Zhang Jian only an inheritance: a crab fishing chart and a wrecked boat.

Zhang Jian wasn't entirely inexperienced; he had been going to sea with his father for several years.

However, in terms of technical skills, experience, and problem-solving abilities, he is indeed inferior to other captains.

Sailors' income is positively correlated with the number of king crabs caught, so if the captain cannot find the right fishing spot, the sailors' income will be reduced sharply.

At the round table, Zhang Jian coldly looked at the other three captains and asked, "You didn't call me over just to spout some trash, did you?"

A white captain said, "We know you have a 300,000-pound quota for your license this year. Sell that quota to us, and you can make a considerable income without even going to sea. Give us the boat, and you can become a shipowner."

Another captain chimed in, "Zhang, if you can't conquer the Barents Sea, then let us do it."

Here, the boats are not necessarily privately owned; a single boat may have many shareholders.

Shareholders may not know how to catch crabs, but they can still receive dividends after investing.

There are only so many boats that can obtain crab fishing licenses. For example, a boat's quota is 300,000 pounds, and if they catch more crabs than that, they will face hefty fines.

This is one of Europe's measures to protect the marine ecological environment.

Therefore, these captains saw that Zhang Jian, an Asian, couldn't gather seven sailors, so they wanted to buy his quota at a low price so that everyone could make a profit.

Zhang Jian was unwilling to do so. He shook his head and said, "This ship was left to me by my father, and I am capable of navigating it to the Barents Sea to fish for king crabs."

A burst of boisterous laughter erupted in the Walnut Bar, as if Zhang Jian had just told a joke.

A captain said, "Last year you only caught 70,000 pounds of king crabs on two voyages, barely enough to cover fuel costs, Zhang. The sailors come with you to support their families, not to go sightseeing. This year you've only recruited three sailors: one is an old man who used to work with your father, and two are newbies with no sea experience. Even with the bare minimum, you need to find two more. Can you recruit them? If not, how are you going to go to sea?"

Another captain chuckled and said, "Are you expecting the captain to personally go up to the deck to retrieve the crab traps? Then who's in the wheelhouse steering the ship?"

Zhang Jian stared stubbornly at the captains, seemingly unsure how to respond.

As the other party said, he indeed couldn't recruit the last two sailors.

Every year, many new people want to join the crab fishing industry in this port, so he could theoretically trick some of them into joining his boat.

But these captains seemed to have a premeditated plan: whenever a newcomer arrived, the captains would tell him how miserable Zhang Jian had been over the past two years.

As a result, Zhang Jian couldn't even recruit enough crew members this year.

However, at that moment, the door of Walnut Bar was pushed open.

The wind chimes at the door jingled crisply, and a gust of cold winter wind blew in from outside the bar. A young man, carrying the chill of winter, walked into the bar with a broad smile.

The cold wind seemed to have transported everyone to the frigid Barents Sea beforehand; the black night outside the bar resembled that black sea.

The young man noticed everyone in the bar suddenly turning to look at him, and without any stage fright, asked in English, "Good evening, everyone. Someone told me that I can find crab fishing jobs here?"

Zhang Jian's eyes lit up immediately, but then dimmed again.

Because he knew very well what would happen next.

Moreover, this boy is too thin and too young. He's probably just graduated from high school, or even dropped out.

She is very good-looking, but the Barents Sea doesn't care about looks.

A captain sized up the boy. "Are you working at such a young age?"

The boy laughed and said, "Is that not allowed? I need to support my family. I heard the North Pole hasn't filled its crew yet. Who's the captain of the North Pole?"

Zhang Jian raised his head. "That's me."

However, another captain standing nearby laughed and said to the boy, "You want to be a sailor on the North Pole? But do you know that the North Pole's catch of king crabs last year barely covered its fuel costs?"

The boy smiled and explained, "My teacher told me that in the first year of entering a new industry, you don't need to think too much about profits; accumulating experience is the most important thing!"

One sailor joked, "What kind of experience can you gain on the North Pole? Learn to play the harmonica from Zhang? He plays the harmonica quite well, but he's no good at catching king crabs. Last year I went to sea with him, and I almost got scolded to death by my wife when I came back with a meager reward."

A captain looked at Zhang Jian and laughed, "Besides, would you really want such a thin sailor on board? What could he possibly do on deck? He probably wouldn't even have the strength to move a crab trap."

Zhang Jian sat silently at the table. He knew that the boy would eventually abandon the North Pole and board other crab fishing boats, or perhaps leave Amsterdam altogether.

In short, it will not be included in the North Pole.

At this point, Zhang Jian no longer cared whether the young man was thin or not; as long as someone was willing to join the North Pole, that was fine, even if it meant cooking for everyone on the North Pole.

The next moment, a hand suddenly reached out into Zhang Jian's eyes as he looked down.

He looked up in surprise, only to see the boy standing beside him, smiling, "You must be the captain. My name is Qing Chen, and I happen to be Asian as well. If it's alright, I'd be happy to join your North Pole."

Zhang Jian was stunned for a moment, then quickly stood up and shook Qing Chen's hand. "Welcome to the team, you're so welcome."

A 7,000-word chapter, with another chapter at 11 PM tonight.