Zard's Identity in the Inner World

The countdown to crossing the barrier has begun; it's day eight.

In the silent air-raid shelter, Kamishiro Kongxu sat cross-legged amidst rows of corpses and white cloth, practicing his meditation.

The light from the incandescent bulb was dim and gloomy, but the woman showed no fear, as if she had long been accustomed to such an environment.

It was already midnight when footsteps echoed inside the air-raid shelter.

Kamishiro Yunwu and the others returned to the spot. "We've waited so long, why haven't we received the order to depart yet?"

Kamishiro Kongxu opened his eyes and glanced at the three of them. "Kamishiro Yunxiu's plan was to wait until he fell asleep before making his move."

"And then?" Kamishiro Yunwu frowned.

Kamishiro Kongxu: "He just won't sleep, what can I do?"

"... What is he doing?" asked Kamishiro Yunwu.

Kamishiro Kongxu glanced at the time, then cut open the chest of another corpse and offered it as a sacrifice.

In the Cloud Mirror, Qing Chen was picking up a piece of beef tongue, dipping it in sauce, and putting it into his mouth.

In this empty air-raid shelter, you could even hear someone swallowing.

Ten seconds later, the Cloud Mirror went dark again.

"This is the beef tongue restaurant next to Dotonbori. I've been there," Kamishiro Yunwu face grim. "How long has he been eating there?"

Kamishiro Kongxu said, "Eight hours."

"... Does he know he's supposed to die, so he wants to eat his fill?" Kamishiro Yunwu sneered.

However, at that moment, Kamishiro Yunluo, dressed in a white hunting robe, emerged from the darkness and said slowly, "If none of the three of you dare to make a move, then I will."

The burly Kamishiro Yunxiu frowned. "Kamishiro Yunluo, where have you been these past two days? Why were you acting alone?"

Kamishiro Yunluo laughed, "Why should I report to you? Alright, leave this person to me, you can all rest. Kamishiro Kongxu, where is he now?"

Kamishiro Yunxiu stepped forward. "If you want to challenge my authority, you can wait until the next time you travel through time to talk to the ten directors, instead of acting on your own now."

The so-called ten directors are what outsiders call the Kamiyo Ten Eunuchs.

With a smile, Kamishiro Yunluo said, "Trying to pressure me with the board members?"

Kamishiro Yunwu interrupted the two's argument, sneering, "This person is not for you to kill. Yunye, Yunjue, and I will go now."

After saying that, the three of them turned and walked out of the air-raid shelter.

After the footsteps faded into the distance, Kamishiro Yunxiu suddenly said, "Kamishiro Yunwu is expected to have a chance to advance to A-rank within one or two years. There aren't many shikigami left in the clan's Shinto Bridge. Once Crimson Leaf Hunt returns to the clan's Shinto Bridge and advances to A-rank, he will summon three shikigami, and there's a high probability that he will get Crimson Leaf Hunt. Although we don't know how Boss Bai Zhou took Crimson Leaf Hunt away, finding him will lead us to Crimson Leaf Hunt."

Kamishiro Kongxu pondered, "Kamishiro Yunwu can be considered a cultivation genius; perhaps we don't need to wait another year or two."

Kamishiro Yunluo laughed, "With such impatience, what good is advancing to A-rank? Yunxiu, Kongyu, there are only eight days left before the transmigration. We need to make our final moves before then. We can't let that boss of Bai Zhou have a chance to go back."

"Understood," Kamishiro Yunxiu nodded.

These two people, who were just arguing, are now unusually harmonious.

Suddenly, Kamishiro Kongxu said, "We must also find Jingūji Maki; she might be of great help to our plans."

Kamishiro Yunluo smiled and reached out to pat Kamishiro Kongxu's head, "If the success or failure of what we are going to do still depends on a 9-year-old girl, then it means we are not worthy of that future."

At Dotonbori's most famous beef tongue restaurant, Qing Chen was enjoying a bite of tender beef tongue when a young man with a backpack sat down opposite him and said casually, "Aren't you asleep in the middle of the night?"

"Huh?" the young man said, noticing the bowls and chopsticks set out opposite Qing Chen. "Were you waiting for me?"

Qing Chen looked up at him, then took a tiny grain of white sand from her hair and placed it in her outstretched palm. "It's not that I'm waiting for you, it's that I should be asking you what you want from me?"

"Huh, you even noticed that?" Zard across from him picked up a pair of chopsticks and hugged his backpack tightly to his chest.

During the day, the little green dinosaur first threw a bag of explosives into the Osaka City Hall. No one noticed that the explosives actually contained a handful of white sand.

However, the little dinosaur did not actually leave after performing the terrifying Combine Burial Technique; it simply remained lurking underground in the Osaka City Hall.

Qing Chen asked curiously, "What's in your bag? A master like you, why would you be afraid of being robbed?"

Zard said with a smile, "It's the whiskey I bought for our boss. It's expensive. I acted on my own this time, otherwise he might have wanted to kill me to keep quiet if I didn't bring something back."

"So, Huan Yu is indeed a Chosen One, and has the ability to kill you," Qing Chen nodded and said, "This reminds me to be careful."

"Look at you, don't think so much while you're eating. You're Thousand-Faced Divine Lord to hide in the city, who can do anything to you?" Zard said to the waiter. "Ten more servings of beef tongue, put it on his tab!"

Osaka is a popular tourist destination for Chinese tourists, and Dotonbori alone receives tens of millions of Chinese visitors every year. Therefore, many drugstores and yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurants in the area employ Chinese students or those who can speak some Chinese. Luxury stores like Chanel in Shinsaibashi, in particular, almost always have Chinese sales assistants.

"We can chat, but don't hold me responsible for the ox tongue, thank you," Qing Chen said earnestly.

"I created chaos for you during the day, otherwise you wouldn't have gotten away so easily!" Zard said matter-of-factly. "After putting in so much effort, it's not unreasonable for me to eat a few servings of your beef tongue, is it?"

"What do you do in the Inner World? Which faction do you belong to?" Qing Chen asked.

Zard glanced to the side, and after making sure no one was paying attention, lowered his voice and said, "I belong to a secret organization that hunts aliens and protects the Federation."

Qing Chen said calmly, "What aliens are there?"

Zard's voice lowered further. "Have you ever seen an alien?"

Qing Chen said, "I've never seen it before."

Zard: "You're welcome, it's what I should do."

Qing Chen raised an eyebrow.

This Zard guy was already ridiculous in the group chat, but I didn't expect him to be even more ridiculous offline.

However, Qing Chen had already guessed Zard's identity, and he continued, "You have the ability to travel underground, so leaving the island nation should be easy for you, right?"

"It's not easy," Zard sighed.

"Can't we leave from the seabed?" Qing Chen asked.

"I dive underground and need to surface for air every now and then. How can I surface in a strait? Once I surface, it's the seabed, and there's no oxygen," Zard said, wolfing down his beef tongue. "So I have to take a ship or a plane. You know, my abilities aren't very useful on ships or planes, so it's still very dangerous for me to help you."

Qing Chen didn't believe this explanation at all. This guy could condense sand into a human, so he could naturally condense a new face on his skin to pass through customs. Therefore, it wasn't that difficult for him to leave the island nation.

In other words, those Awakened the power of the earth element are born with the ability to disguise themselves, stealthily move, assassinate, and infiltrate, which is why major corporations are particularly wary of this type of Awakened.

However, Zard did help him.

Qing Chen asked, "What do you want to gain by helping me?"

Zard asked, "How about I join Daylight?"

"Not very good," Qing Chen shook his head.

In fact, if another expert like this were to join the ranks of those protecting the Dao, then the number of protectors would increase by one.

But would Zard really betray Huan Yu?

The feud between Qing Chen and Huan Yu hasn't been over yet, so naturally they won't let this guy join.

This guy looks like a mentally unstable lunatic, but he's actually always been shrewd despite his rough exterior. Maybe he's getting close to Bai Huan Yu.

Moreover, how much of a headache is Zard's current boss Huan Yu? Who would be willing to be this guy's boss for no reason? Only a lunatic would!

Nan Gengchen and Liu Dezhu both said that this guy chats with them every day, and they're almost sick of it.

While stuffing beef tongue into his mouth, Zard lamented, "I've given so much for the organization, how can this not be enough?!"

"We don't hunt aliens during the day," Qing Chen replied. "We have different principles, so we can't work together."

Zard paused for a moment, then said, "That makes sense... But don't worry, I'll join Daylight someday. By the way, I've done a great service to the organization, so can I see your true face?"

Qing Chen shook his head. "This is my true nature."

Zard: "No way! This isn't even you! Forget it, I'm not getting involved with this tonight. I'm leaving."

After saying that, he got up and walked towards the kitchen.

They came suddenly and left just as quickly.

Only Qing Chen remained sitting there. He knew that Zard's sudden departure was because he sensed danger approaching.

He glanced at the message on his phone, put on his coat, and slowly walked out of the beef tongue shop. Even at midnight, the long streets of Dotonbori were bustling with traffic, and the sidewalks were full of tourists.

Qing Chen walked quietly towards a secluded spot.

In the shadows, someone's gaze was fixed on him, and a voice came through the communication channel. "Target locked at point A."

"Target B has been locked."

From the shadows Kamishiro Yunye calmly said, "Fire."

Suddenly, the sound of a sniper rifle rang out on the long street, and Qing Chen was shot in the back of the head and fell to the ground.

The gunshots startled the long street, and tourists screamed and scattered.

Members of the Mysterious Affairs Department rushed over and turned the body over. "Sir, the target has been killed, but there are no signs of disguise on his face."

Kamishiro Yunye was stunned. This was clearly the person they saw in the Cloud Mirror, whose identity was Takahashi Yukichi, a member of the Mysterious Affairs Department 3, who was impersonated by the Boss of Daylight. How could there be a mistake?

Moreover, their people have just entered the beef tongue shop and confirmed that this person was just with that earth-elemental Awakened!

The Kamishiro Family has many clues, but what they don't know is when Qing Chen switched places with the real Takahashi Yukichi.

They were unaware that Qing Chen possessed Puppet Master.

However, Qing Chen knew that the Kamishiro Family possessed a Cloud Mirror.