Fish and Bait

"Does anyone know where Inspector Qing Chen went?" Director Zhou asked with a smile as he squatted down in front of everyone. He looked at the crew members who were slumped over, like a cat watching mice.

Jest.

No one responded to him.

Director Zhou raised his hand and pulled the trigger to the right front. Director Zhang of the crew was shot in the chest and fell into a pool of blood with a pained expression.

People in the camp screamed. Some tried to get up and run away, but before they could even stand up, they were knocked to the ground by the butts of their rifles.

Director Zhou didn't say anything, but shot and killed the crew members who were trying to escape one by one, including a celebrity he had brought with him.

For a moment, everyone fell silent. These thugs were far more ruthless than they had imagined, killing without any hesitation.

Director Zhou asked with a smile, "If no one answers yet, guess who's next to die? Did anyone see which direction he went?"

Qing Yi said coldly, "You can kill me next. Everyone here, listen up. These people aren't covering their faces, so they have no intention of leaving any survivors. Don't think you can go back alive by wagging your tails and begging... If you go back alive, they won't be able to go back to the Federation and will only be left to wander the wilderness."

There are too many Wilderness People in this wilderness, who are actually fugitives from the Federation. Unable to return to the Federation, they have no choice but to leave modern life and live like savages.

There was not enough medicine, not enough entertainment, and not enough food.

This was very tragic for many federal citizens.

Director Zhou exclaimed, "The Shadow Candidate is indeed very courageous."

"Outsiders who kill Shadow Candidate are doomed anyway, they might as well wander the wilderness," Qing Yi sneered. "Once you kill me, the Shadows will hunt you down to the ends of the earth. With so many people on a mission together, do you think someone might betray you one day?"

Director Zhou smiled and shook his head, seemingly unconcerned.

Qing Yi.

Killing Shadow Candidate is unforgivable to the Qing Clan, but if certain conditions are met, the Qing Clan will not interfere internally.

That is to participate in the Shadow Struggle.

Therefore, if Director Zhou is truly not afraid of retaliation from the shadow, it means there is another Shadow Candidate behind the other party.

These people are actually from the Qing family?

Who is the Shadow Candidate behind the other party?

Is it because those big shots have made up their minds to cut off the shadow's wings?

Director Zhou said, "The person you respect, the person who supported your participation in the Shadow Struggle, has already abandoned you and run away. Why bother protecting him anymore?"

Qing Yi pursed her lips and remained silent.

Li Yu said, "When you arrived, he was sitting by the campfire at the very edge. Oh, and he was wearing a baseball cap. I think he might have already escaped into the woods. You should go after him."

Qing Yi glanced at Li Yu with a cold smile, "If the master had escaped, he would have had a chance to find support. Now you've squandered your last chance. You're really stupid."

Director Zhou stood up with a smile and said into his communication headset, "Keep searching in the woods, maintain a five-meter distance."

The film crew members held captive in the camp were in despair; there were even thugs in the woods.

Strangely, after a few minutes, Director Zhou frowned and asked into his earpiece, "Have you found any trace?"

"No, 212."

"No, 231."

"No, 712."

Twenty-four people in a row answered no.

The numbers following this are the action codes for each member, to prevent someone from infiltrating and impersonating them.

Moreover, this arrest operation had double insurance: each of them carried a sensor bomb, corresponding to each person's vital signs.

It will explode immediately if someone experiences cardiac arrest and their blood oxygen levels drop.

This is standard practice in modern warfare, including mountain and field battles and carpet searches, and it is also standard practice for suicide squads.

In this world, apart from a very few people, no one can take their place or assassinate someone under such circumstances, and it would be very difficult to pass through a five-meter gap silently.

Director Zhou's expression grew cold.

If the other party did not cross the woods, it means that the target is still in the camp and has never left!

"Cut open every tent," Director Zhou said coldly.

One by one, the armed men in the camp drew the daggers from their thighs and slashed the tents to check if anyone was hiding inside.

The result was that nothing was gained.

Director Zhou then said, "Inspect all vehicles, including the chassis and cargo area, and conduct a thorough search."

The result was still nothing.

Things started to look strange. Director Zhou, who had been so confident and certain, suddenly became hesitant. He couldn't even imagine where Inspector Qing Chen could be hiding.

This person is indeed even more troublesome than the legends suggest!

At this moment, Director Zhou sneered and looked at one of Qing Yi's followers in the crowd, "Where did Qing Chen go?"

The attendant said, "When the crowd was in chaos just now, he crawled into a tent, that one."

As he spoke, the attendant pointed, but there was no one in the ripped tent.

Qing Yi turned his head and looked at his follower with a serious expression. It turned out that the mole was right next to him. No wonder the other party arrived so timely. He had just arrived at the camp when the people who came to kill the master arrived.

This made Qing Yi feel guilty and uneasy, realizing that it was he who had leaked the information.

Director Zhou looked at the crowd sitting in the camp, his expression shifting between light and dark.

He suspected that Qing Chen was hiding in the crowd, but he wasn't sure which one it was.

"Kill them all, then search slowly after you're done. Qing Chi, come out here," Director Zhou said, taking a step back.

It seemed they were ready to open fire on everyone.

But when Director Zhou looked up at the mole named Qing Chi in the crowd, he was shocked to find a line of blood on the man's neck, from which blood was seeping out!

He had no idea when Qing Chi had been ambushed.

Qing Yi was also stunned.

At that very instant, a huge explosion suddenly roared through the woods. Only upon close listening could one discern that the explosions were intermittent and continuous.

It was as if someone had killed all twenty-four people in a single second, leaving them without any vital signs.

Director Zhou roared, "Fire!"

Qing Yi instinctively wanted to get up and make a final stand; he was unwilling to sit there like a coward and be killed.

As a member of the Qing family and someone who came from the Autumn Leaf Villa, he should die standing up.

However, just as he was struggling to get up, he suddenly saw a woman in the distance smiling at him.

Qing Yi remembered that the other person had come with the film crew and seemed to be a third-tier female celebrity.

Beside him, a stranger held his shoulder and looked at him with a smile, "Don't move, someone will handle these things."

That familiar voice... it was the gentleman's.

Qing Yi never expected that her husband had never left, but had always been by her side.

For some reason, he seemed to be able to feel the warmth emanating from the other person's hand pressing on his shoulder.

All of Director Zhou's previous banter vanished in an instant. Qing Yi felt that if she survived, she must tell Li Ke about this and make him envious...

But those people were about to open fire!

Qing Yi even saw the gunfire erupting from the muzzle!

In an instant, the bullet's speed suddenly slowed down, as if it had struck a thick layer of hydrogel. The orange-yellow bullet only traveled a little over a meter in the air before coming to a stop.

Qing Yi even saw a bullet fly to his forehead before slowly stopping and hovering in the air.

That was Yan Chunmi's ability, and the purpose of her being here was to protect Qing Chen.

Qing Chen once asked Yan Chunmi what her strength level was.

Yan Chunmi's answer was that her skills were very low.

However, the other party was once a secret agent, but was demoted to Kite Falcon because he had to assist Qing Chen.

How could someone personally chosen by the Shadow for Qing Chen possibly be of low strength?

Now Qing Chen understands that, just as Li Shutong had Mother Ye by his side, Shadow also chose an assistant for him who could ignore light firepower.

That's why the shadow made him cooperate more with the Kite Falcon.

Qing Chen couldn't help but think about it. If Yan Chunmi was carefully selected by Shadow, what about the remaining 11 Kite Falcon? Would they also be in the same situation?

After the assassins pulled the triggers, bullets from their automatic rifles burst forth, embedding themselves in the invisible barrier outside the crowd in a staggered pattern.

It's like a decoration in the air.

In the dark woods, a young man wearing a black baseball cap and a black mask walked out calmly.

Behind him were seven other people, dressed in the same attire.

Qing Chen wondered, if the secret agents had 12 Kite Falcon, did the Shadow also have 12 Kite Falcon?

What level is the Shadow Kite Falcon?

But the seven men arrived with lightning speed, and Director Zhou's men were ruthlessly crushed without any chance of resistance. The more confident they were when they arrived, the more pathetic they became.

At this moment, Shadow said with a smile, "Don't kill them. Leave them alive so I can see who is so reckless as to dare to lay a hand on my people."

Qing Chen immediately understood. It was Shadow who had made the move. By slowing down the passage of time, Shadow killed 24 people in a single second...

To be honest, even Qing Chen didn't expect that Shadow would come here in person.

Qing Chen got up and walked over, saying in a low voice with annoyance, "Before I came out, you only told me to be bait once, and you didn't say that it would attract so many people."

"If I didn't attract so many people, how could it match your current status?" the shadow said with a smile, "Nor could it match the price you pay for impersonating me."

"So, is the matter of impersonating you over?" Qing Chen asked tentatively.

"It's all in the past," the shadow said with a smile. "But it's a shame you're not used as bait anymore; you could catch big fish with that."

Qing Chen said, "Give me a break. You could have made your move much earlier, but you insisted on waiting until the last moment to deliberately create a suspenseful situation, is that it?"

Shadow glanced at him. "Isn't this to help you find the mole around Qing Yi? Besides, how can Qing Yi be so devoted until the very last moment? You want him to be your shadow, but you don't know how to make him completely loyal. Otherwise, why do you think I personally came to arrest these small fry?"

Qing Chen was stunned. Behind the shadow's playful antics, there were always reasons, more or less.

This time, Shadow was worried that he wouldn't be able to control Qing Yi, so he planned until the very last second.

Qing Chen sighed, "Actually, it doesn't have to be like this."

Shadow said coldly, "When it comes to the interests of the family, what does personal gain or loss matter? Put aside your so-called chivalrous heart. If you are too merciful, more people will die because of you."

Qing Chen shook his head. "I don't believe that scheming can be exchanged for sincerity."

The shadow said calmly, "That's alright. You can continue to be sincere. I'll take care of some things."