Bestowal of Honors

The distance between each station where the Steam Train stops is both long and short.

Sometimes it stops after driving for two hours, and sometimes it can drive for a whole week without stopping.

The stop outside City No. 23 is only 6 hours away from the next station.

After hanging up the phone, the gang leader hurriedly began preparing for the New Year. Fortunately, it was close to the end of the year, and there were many places in the city selling New Year's goods.

The eldest brother is also a man of good manners. Facing a big shot who can gather a team of more than 900 people to fight each other, he didn't play any tricks and directly prepared all the New Year's goods that Qing Chen and the others needed.

Not only that, they also prepared thirty boxes of dried fruit, thirty boxes of cigarettes, and thirty boxes of liquor...

Among them were ten sketchbooks that Qing Chen wanted for drawing. These were not easy to buy, since everyone uses electronic products now. You could only find them in the stores in the Upper Third District; they were considered a small luxury item.

These items may not seem valuable individually, but the problem is the quantity. In total, they are worth about one-tenth the value of his mechanical limbs.

That means he earned 10% less on this shipment.

But it's okay, my brother is happy.

This gang leader is named Zhang Qinghuan. He is 42 years old this year and doesn't have any special skills. His father died from drug addiction a few years ago, after which he started doing gang work.

He spent two hours preparing the goods, then set off with the convoy, looking just like a convoy heading to earthquake relief efforts, except for a few banners.

When I went through customs at City 22, the Immigration and Customs Administration were all familiar faces; I had already taken care of them, so I could pass through directly.

As they left the city, the Immigration and Customs Administration were still joking with Zhang Qinghuan: "You've been doing a lot of business lately, hauling so many trucks!"

The official had assumed that the dozen or so trucks were carrying mechanical limbs.

The convoy slowly made its way up the snowfield. When it arrived at the Steam Train stop, another group of members were already waiting there, also intending to transport goods by Steam Train.

Steam Train are fast and safe for transporting goods; there's no need to worry about encountering Wilderness People or being stopped by the Group Army for fuel.

It's a fairly complete smuggling chain.

These people are also from City No. 23. They came out of the city's drainage canal because their goods were too sensitive to pass through the Immigration and Customs Administration.

This group of people belonged to the Blackwater Gang, and they were carrying refrigerated boxes containing organs preserved at low temperatures.

There were more than twenty women around him, who were obviously "goods" who had been trafficked to other cities to be slaves. At this moment, these women were still somewhat delirious, and it seemed that they had been injected with hallucinogenic drugs.

Zhang Qinghuan them upon seeing them and directed the truck to stop.

Generally, those who smuggle goods to the Steam Train are all in it for profit, and everyone keeps to themselves and avoids getting involved with each other.

Just like a wild animal drinking water by the river, any grudges or hatred can wait until the goods are loaded onto the truck.

At this point, he directed his underlings to unload the goods.

The Blackwater Gang members' eyes widened when they saw what they were unloading. "This is the first time I've ever seen anyone use Steam Train to transport New Year's goods!"

The Blackwater Gang leader gave his underling a disdainful look. "That's all a disguise. Those New Year's goods boxes might just be boxes of bullets. You really think anyone would use Steam Train to transport New Year's goods? How idiotic!"

However, while everyone was waiting for the Steam Train, the Blackwater Society leader saw Zhang Qinghuan's underlings grab a handful of melon seeds from the New Year's goods box.

Another underling tried to take a cigarette from the box, but Zhang Qinghuan kicked him away!

"Brother, it really looks like New Year's goods."

The Blackwater CEO was completely dumbfounded. "Are New Year's goods really this profitable now?"

He thought to himself, "These vendors selling New Year's goods are really ripping me off! They even use Steam Train to transport their goods?!"

This completely overturned the Blackwater CEO's worldview!

Just then, the Steam Train sounded its whistle and emerged from nothingness, billowing black smoke from its chimney.

Seeing this, Zhang Qinghuan immediately shouted, "Quick, quick, everyone lend a hand and pass it to the car, otherwise we won't have enough time."

The Blackwater boss was stunned for a moment. When he turned to look at the train, he saw that the more than nine hundred people on the train were also staring at him menacingly.

"Shoot! Break the legs of all those who came with girls," Qing Chen said calmly.

After a burst of gunfire, all of the Blackwater gang leaders had their legs broken and lay on the ground.

Looking down from the train, Qing Chen asked, "Who's leading these people delivering supplies?"

Zhang Qinghuan approached him tremblingly. "I... I... Captain, please don't shoot."

Qing Chen said, "Do you know why I didn't break your legs?"

Zhang Qinghuan cautiously replied, "I don't know..."

"Because the mechanical limbs in your cargo are all brand new, it means you weren't taken from someone else, otherwise your legs would be broken too," Qing Chen said. "Hurry up and move the cargo."

Zhang Qinghuan, "This is indeed a chivalrous thief full of lofty romanticism. He was right!"

Amidst the wails of the Blackwater Gang members, Zhang Qinghuan frantically led her men to move the goods.

He whispered to Qing Chen, "I also took it upon myself to send some cigarettes and alcohol, as well as thirty boxes of dried fruit..."

Qing Chen looked at him with surprise. "What's your name?"

"Zhang Qinghuan!" Zhang Qinghuan exclaimed excitedly, "Can I join you guys? I think you guys are so cool!"

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "Okay."

"How do I join?"

"After you send those girls who were injected with drugs back, someone will come to you in the future wearing a red mask. At that time, you will know that my people have arrived."

This may be the first step for the Parent's Association to set foot in the north.

And this is just the beginning.

Zhang Qinghuan watched the Steam Train depart with a longing expression. He recalled the boy's handsome face and suddenly felt that he looked somewhat familiar...

Wait a minute, isn't that Inspector Qing Chen, the one who just caused a sensation in the Federation and emerged from the A02 Base the Kamishiro Corporation?!

The Steam Train once again entered the void.

The soldiers wolfed down their food in the darkness, and one by one they nearly choked to death.

Qing Chen said, "Don't eat too much for the first three meals. Have some bread and water to soothe your stomach first. We'll start having hot pot tomorrow!"

As the Steam Train pulled back into the light, cheers erupted from the passengers.

They had been worried about whether they would starve to death on the bus, but the boss had casually solved those problems.

The soldiers unpacked the New Year's goods and distributed cigarettes.

They hadn't smoked in nineteen years, and now they were sharing cigarettes like madmen.

In just ten minutes, the entire carriage seemed to be on fire, with white smoke billowing wildly out of the windows...

It completely captivated Qing Chen!

He picked up the sketchbook Zhang Qinghuan had given him, silently walked to the last carriage, sat on the pile of gold coins, and began to draw.

Just like what he did Shinsaibashi in Osaka.

Li Cheng glanced back and suddenly thought his boss sitting on the gold coins, unmoved, was incredibly cool.

He walked over and asked, "Boss, are you painting a landscape?"

"No, it's about drawing people," Qing Chen replied.

Li Cheng leaned over for a look and saw that Qing Chen was sketching a portrait every minute, which was extremely efficient. Moreover, each portrait was of a man, and they all looked different.

He felt something was off; why was the boss drawing men?

Qing Chen looked up at him and said with a smile, "Don't worry, you'll soon find out what this is for."

Li Cheng suddenly said, "Boss, I have a feeling you're about to leave."

"Why?"

"Because you used a satellite phone to notify the Li and Qing families to send someone to pick us up and take us home, but I feel that you still have things to do in the north," Li Cheng said dejectedly. "Actually, we could rest a bit and stay to help you."

"Li Cheng, you're very smart. I know you're eager to do things for me, but I can handle this on my own," Qing Chen said earnestly. "Don't worry, there will be opportunities in the future. I'll come find you after I've finished dealing with things in the north."

All good things must come to an end, and Qing Chen still has some scores to settle in the north.

The Steam Train continued its journey south.

Two A-Class Airship were already waiting outside City No. 19.

One ship belonged to the Li family, and the other to the Qing family.

They waited there long before a Steam Train emerged from nothingness.

Qing Ling jumped off the Steam Train, and he clearly saw that the Qing soldiers had expressions of reverence and longing on their faces.

The soldiers stood ramrod straight outside the airship, but their eyes couldn't help glancing at the train.

They are looking for someone.

Strangely, this Steam Train smells strongly of hot pot...

Qing Ling glanced at the insignia on the soldiers' shoulder straps; they were clearly members of the Shadow Unit.

Within the Qing clan, the Shadow Unit differs somewhat from other Qing clan units.

Qing Ye stood casually outside the airship, smiling as he shook hands with each of the Qing family members, including Qing Ling: "Thank you for your hard work, welcome home."

After they finished speaking, someone would put a second-class merit medal on them.

Qing Ye explained, "The Shadow Boss was originally going to come in person today, but the patriarch called him back to the Ginkgo Manor, so he couldn't come. I'm awarding medals to everyone, please forgive me. Also, everyone's salary for the past few years will be retroactively paid after identity verification, all at a three-level increase. There are some procedures that need to be followed, but you were all once under the Secret Intelligence Department, so you know the importance of following procedures."

Qing Ling nodded. "Understood, we all understand."

Qing Ling and the others watched this scene as if from another world; they had waited far too long for this day.

Slowly, everyone on the Steam Train disembarked. The soldiers were somewhat surprised, and so Qing Ye. Holding a Ginkgo Medal in his hand, he asked blankly, "Wait, where's that kid Qing Chen?"

Within the Qing family, this Silver Ginko Medal ranks above the First-Class Merit, Second-Class Merit, and Third-Class Merit.

In the past twenty years, one of the people who received this medal was Qing Mu, who had just returned home. At this time, his consciousness had been completely lost and he could never wake up again.

The other person to receive the Ginkgo Medal was Qing Chen.

The person these Qing soldiers were searching for in the carriage with eyes full of admiration was Qing Chen —this was the shared sentiment of all the members of the Shadow Direct Force.

They knew how incredible a task Qing Chen had accomplished and how many hardships he had endured.

But the protagonist who should be standing here at this moment is nowhere to be seen!

At this moment, Qing Ling had someone bring out a thick stack of sketch paper. "This is what the boss asked me to give you. He drew 723 people and needs you to use facial recognition technology to analyze their household registration information. He needs this information. He said that Shadow knows how to pass the message to him."

Qing Ye flipped through his sketchbook but couldn't remember the people in the sketches. He grumbled, "I finally managed to snatch this award from the boss, and now he's vanished! Facial recognition technology isn't that simple. Did he really think he could recognize someone just by drawing a random picture? What a joke..."

The shadow is not without space.

If Shadow really wanted to award Qing Chen a medal, he could have waited until after the awarding ceremony to open the Shadow Gate.

It was only because Qing Ye had pestered Yingzi for three days, insisting on getting a chance to become familiar with his future boss, that Yingzi finally gave him the opportunity to receive the medal.

For this matter, Qing Qu cursed him as a "despicable scoundrel" for two days.

At this moment, Qing Ling said, "The boss said that he drew it according to the 'Six-Point Facial Recognition Technology,' so it will definitely be able to recognize it."

Qing Ye was stunned. There really is someone who can draw using facial recognition technology?

In fact, when Qing Chen Shinsaibashi, even Kamishiro Yunluo felt that his painting technique was completely different from other painters, like that of a beginner.

However, only Qing Chen himself knew that he did not care about technique or light and shadow in his paintings; he only cared about whether they could be recognized by machines!

That's his real purpose in practicing drawing!

Qing Ye asked in confusion, "Who are these people?"

Qing Ling said, "The person the boss wants to kill."

Qing Ye understood; Qing Chen wanted the Secret Intelligence Department to find all of them one by one and then kill them.

But what he couldn't understand was why so many people wanted to kill Qing Chen...

Qing Ling said, "In addition, he also wants all the information about the Kamiyo Yunhe, 'all'."

Qing Ye clapped his hands. "Interesting. Let's go home!"

Qing Ling and the others walked onto the boarding passage at the back of the airship. Just before he was about to enter, he turned his head to look in the direction of the Li family.

There, Li Cheng happened to turn around and look at him. The two smiled at each other and easily stepped into their respective airships.

This was only a temporary separation; they knew they would soon be reunited.

They don't have to do anything now; they just need to wait for someone to return from the north.