Uninvited Guests

"Achoo!" Qing Chen was sitting by the campfire with his eyes closed, when he suddenly sneezed.

That's strange. I haven't been sick since I became a knight, so why am I suddenly sneezing?

Is someone talking badly about me?

Qing Chen cast a suspicious glance at the film crew...

Then close your eyes again.

Li Shu left, Qing Yi returned to his tent to cultivate, Sun Chuci and the others went to arrange security, leaving only Qing Chen by the campfire.

He leaned against the large rock behind him, immersed in the world of Conquer by Virtue, training for the next Life and Death Trial challenge.

However, this Life and Death Trial is a bit difficult, as Qing Chen has already died countless times in that world.

Qing Chen was somewhat puzzled.

At one point, he felt that something was missing when training for this Life and Death Trial.

It's like a huge jigsaw puzzle, missing the very center piece.

No matter how well the edges are pieced together, the puzzle will always be incomplete...

Qing Chen opened his eyes.

I didn't feel this way the last time I trained in the Life and Death Trial in a world where Conquer by Virtue the guiding principle. It's strange.

This strange feeling seems to have started after I finished surfing at sea.

There was no longer an irrepressible urge within the body, no premonition of awakening, and no peace and joy after overcoming the Life and Death Trial.

It seems that it's because he was trained too thoroughly in a world where Conquer by Virtue is the guiding principle.

So much so that when he actually faced the waves, the experience he gained from those training sessions prevented him from having a real experience of life and death.

After completing that Life and Death Trial, Qing Chen felt that Life and Death Trial were no longer dangerous, so the training in the mysterious world of Conquer by Virtue was no longer so thrilling.

Qing Chen suddenly became alert.

I've become too reliant on this mysterious world, and have lost some of my reverence for the real world.

This is something a knight should not lose.

The romance of a knight is to risk one's life to reach an unknown shore.

If everything along the way is predetermined, then the Life and Death Trial and death will be meaningless.

Qing Chen roughly understood where his problem lay.

In this world, everyone will take all sorts of detours, and Qing Chen is no exception.

He was walking a path no other knight had ever taken, so constant self-reflection was essential for him.

The next second, he looked ahead.

Liu Liqun brought over a lunchbox and handed it to him. "Eat up, there's a little bit left from the special meal Li Yu made today. You've done a lot of work, so you can eat it."

"Thanks," Qing Chen said with a smile, "Boss Liu, how long have you been in the entertainment industry?"

"More than twenty years," Liu Liqun said, picking at his lunchbox.

"Don't you get tired of doing the same job all the time?" Qing Chen asked.

"No," Liu Liqun shook his head. "Every time I join a new film crew, I meet new people, just like starting a new journey."

"Boss Liu, you're quite the artsy type," Qing Chen said with a smile.

Liu Liqun said in a low voice, "Could you please talk to Sun Chuci and the others and tell them to stop arguing with Li Yu? This male actor is indeed an idiot, but the crew can't start filming without him right now, and there's no one to replace him in this remote area."

Qing Chen laughed, "Boss Liu, it's no use telling me this."

Liu Liqun paused for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "You said it would definitely work. You've worked for them for so long and you've become so familiar with them."

Qing Chen smiled and shook his head, "I'm not going to be that lobbyist."

"Alright then," Liu Liqun sighed.

He turned around and went to Director Zhang's side with his lunchbox in hand.

Director Zhang asked, "How was it?"

"No," Liu Liqun thought for a moment and said, "I think Li Yu still has to apologize in person. This is the result of offending someone you shouldn't have. Or, what do you think of my Qing Xiao Tu? His appearance is definitely fine. If you're worried about his acting skills, you can have the second male lead replace Li Yu and let Qing Xiao Tu play the second male lead."

Director Zhang glanced at Qing Chen and said, "No, acting skills are not something you can just talk about. There's a huge difference between someone who has studied acting and someone who hasn't. I'll try to persuade Li Yu first, and if that doesn't work, then we'll see."

Liu Liqun scratched his greasy hair, not knowing what else to say.

In the dead of night, all the crew members were fast asleep.

Sun Chuci walked through the mountains and forests, checking whether anyone at their posts was slacking off or sleeping.

But just then, the roar of a convoy could be heard again in the distance, and Sun Chuci shouted, "Alert!"

The convoy arrived extremely quickly, giving Sun Chuci a bad feeling.

However, he wasn't worried about any danger; his main concern was that he'd have to become the boss's mouthpiece again...

At that moment, he raised his gun and fired into the sky, signaling the approaching vehicles not to get any closer.

The car stopped, and someone jumped out first and walked alone toward the camp.

Director Zhang and Director Wang also came.

By the light of the campfire, they could make out the man's appearance. "Old Zhou, what brings you here? Mr. Sun Chuci, please put down your gun. This is Zhou Ping, the assistant director who directed 'The Messenger of Justice'."

Sun Chuci was somewhat surprised; it turned out to be yet another film crew shooting on location.

Zhou Ping greeted Director Zhang with a smile, "You guys are here too? I brought my crew here to scout locations, and I didn't expect to run into you."

Without waiting for a response, Zhou Ping turned back to the convoy behind him and shouted, "Come on over, there's no danger!"

The convoy drove in. The crew wasn't too big, about sixty or seventy people. They carried their equipment and planned to camp by the lake next to Qing Chen's camp.

Director Zhang asked in confusion, "I haven't heard that you have any movies or TV shows coming up recently."

"Haha, we just secured investment, and the two lead actors have just been scheduled to appear on the schedule," Zhou Ping explained.

Director Zhang glanced over at the film crew and indeed saw several familiar actors walking over.

Sun Chuci glanced at Qing Chen discreetly, only to find that the other party's expression was icy.

His heart tightened.

Just as I expected, there was something wrong with the production crew.

First of all, ordinary film crews would never travel in the middle of the night.

Secondly, if a film crew hears a warning shot, they will absolutely not continue to approach; they will turn their vehicles around and leave immediately.

Although the production team was well-equipped and included well-known actors, it was still quite unusual.

This is Sun Chuci's judgment.

For Qing Chen, the reason for judging that there was a problem with the production team was too simple.

Because Yan Chunmi is in this film crew.

According to Qing Chen's arrangement, Yan Chunmi, the Kite Falcon, should have been in City No. 10, leading other Kite Falcon to monitor Qing Xing.

There are two possibilities for the other party suddenly disobeying orders and sneaking into this film crew.

One possibility is that she came along with Qing Xing.

But the probability is very small, because she caused trouble in the Prosperous Flowers area and cleared out the Qing Xing stakeouts.

If Qing Xing she left City No. 10 under the guise of being part of the film crew, then her goal of infiltrating the crew would have been far too obvious.

That leaves only one other possibility: there must be a problem with the production team, and it must be related to the transaction involving Qing Mu.

Yan Chunmi had to come over personally to warn Qing Chen in the wilderness where there was no signal.

Qing Chen put on a baseball cap, lowered his head, and remained silent.

Is it the God of Ages who has arrived? Or some other Shadow Candidate?

Both are possible.

Qing Chen looked toward his film crew. Li Yu hid when she heard the sound of vehicles, seemingly afraid that Sun Chuci would introduce her again.

The next moment, Qing Chen suddenly realized that something was wrong.

He heard the engine sound early on when the convoy arrived, even before Sun Chuci spotted them.

However, despite the expected roar of Twenty-Two engines, only eighteen vehicles arrived at the camp.

Therefore, four vehicles in the convoy stopped along the way, and the people in the vehicles had already gotten off. They were using the woods outside the lake to conceal their tracks and were slowly approaching the camp.

Qing Chen frowned. The other party wasn't just passing by; they were there specifically for the film crew.