Rules and the Past

Rules of Forbidden Zone No. 10:

The first rule is that you can't argue; if someone insults you, you must accept it.

The second rule is that on the first night after entering, tell the Forbidden Zone a secret that only you know.

The third rule is that an animal must be killed once a day.

This is a secret that Old Master Li once gave to Qing Chen.

But these three are not all the rules of Forbidden Zone No. 10; there is a fourth rule that is unknown to most.

This fourth rule is the knight's masterpiece.

Forbidden Zone No. 10 was once a pasture by the fire pit, and it contains many useful and rare plants and animals.

Back then, the Forbidden Zone No. 10 had only three rules. Those who mastered these three rules could roam freely and enjoy themselves immensely within it.

With the pollen of the wind-blown flowers on their skins, they were not even attacked by wild beasts, allowing them to freely harvest the exotic flowers and herbs of the Forbidden Zone.

Later, in order to seize the Dragon Fish in the Forbidden Zone No. 10, the Knight Organization captured a master from the Kashima family and planted him in the Forbidden Zone, forcibly creating the fourth rule.

From then on, the fire pit could no longer go to the Forbidden Zone No. 10.

Even now, Huotang still hasn't figured out what the fourth rule is. Every time, the Great Elder has to try it himself, only to get bitten all over by the poisonous insects inside.

If the Great Elder hadn't already reached Rank A and hadn't ventured too far into the Forbidden Zone territory, he would have been poisoned to death long ago.

The rules for planting are very particular. You need to know who the person being planted is, what kind of person they were in life, what they liked and disliked most, in order to grasp the direction of exploring the rules.

The knight did this very discreetly, and no one else knew about it.

They didn't even know how this fourth rule came about; they thought someone had accidentally died inside.

What's most outrageous is that after the knight secretly planted that expert from the Kashima family, once the fourth rule was born, he even made a special trip to the Great Snow Mountain in the southwest to advise the fire pit not to go there anymore, emphasizing that safety comes first.

He even had a heart-to-heart talk with the previous generation's Great Elder, advising Great Elder not to risk his life for money.

That "I care about your safety" attitude almost made the previous generation of the Fire Pit Great Elder so angry he almost died.

If you really care about the hearth, why the hell don't do such a despicable thing?!

It was only at this point that Huotang realized that the knight had been plotting against them.

Later, Huotang couldn't figure out the fourth rule, and since that fourth rule was extremely effective at ripping people off, they chose two of the three rules and sold them to the Chen family, hoping to scam them.

Shadow laughed in the carriage, "Actually, the tea I grow is all picked from the Forbidden Zone No. 10. At that time, the Chen family was also very cunning. They knew that there were many treasures in the Forbidden Zone No. 10, and they also knew that there couldn't be only two rules there. The fire pit couldn't be so kind, so they announced the two rules they bought."

Shadow: "The two Forbidden Zone rules lured many Wilderness People, wilderness hunters, and Federation superhumans to pan for gold, resulting in countless deaths and injuries. Eventually, a third rule was discovered. But what the fourth rule is, no one knows to this day. Qing Chen, your master must have told you what the fourth rule is."

Qing Chen stared at the ceiling of the Steam Train: "What? I don't know anything about it."

"It's alright," Shadow said with a smile. "Xiao Mengqian is an ordinary person. If he doesn't know the rules, he'll definitely die if he goes in. You'll have to tell him sooner or later, so I'm not in a hurry."

Qing Chen changed the subject and asked, "How exactly was Forbidden Zone No. 10 formed?"

The shadow chuckled and said, "The Forbidden Zone No. 10 is a very legendary place. It was formed when a demigod fell there."

"Which demigod?" Qing Chen asked in confusion.

"Hu Shuo, the founder of the Hu Corporation Intelligence Agency," Shadow said, "He died of natural causes, but his burial place was chosen in that location. The Forbidden Zone No. 10 was numbered quite early; back then, the Federation didn't know that the death of B-Class or higher superhuman would create Forbidden Zone. So, the first rule should have been established by Hu Shuo. Some say it's because he had a bad temper and didn't like others arguing with him."

"Who formulated the second rule?" Qing Chen asked.

"He was an Awakened One named Zhang Baogen. It is said that he was an orphan adopted by Hu Shuo and the second chairman of the board of directors of Hu Corporation Intelligence Agency after Hu Shuo. After his death, he asked people to bury him next to Hu Shuo, to accompany the old man who had shown him kindness," Shadow said.

"What about the third rule?" Qing Chen wondered. What kind of person would leave behind a rule that requires killing every day?

The shadow said, "I'm not sure who the third one is. It's said to be an A-level expert who went to pan for gold and was killed by the rules in the heart of the forbidden land... From this, you can see how dangerous the heart of the Forbidden Zone No. 10 is."

The top ten Forbidden Zone are the Federation's ten most dangerous locations. A quick online search will reveal the legendary stories of these ten Forbidden Zone, much like the Bermuda Triangle, Lop Nur, and Kunlun Mountain, which have been legendary in the Outer World for hundreds of years.

Of course, the most dangerous are No. 001 and No. 002, which attract many people to explore every year.

After the time travel incident, the Time Walker, out of curiosity about the Inner World, also longed to go on foot and explore these places.

At this point, the Parent's Association boarded earlier began sharing their food on the train. Someone came over and gave Yingzi two apples, a handful of melon seeds, a bag of oranges, and a bunch of bananas.

They look like they're out for a picnic.

I must say, my family members are in great spirits now, and they all look very energetic.

Ma Jingjing and the others watched this scene, whispering among themselves, "What exactly is the relationship between these people?"

Yi Wenbo shook his head. "I don't know..."

One of the Golden Family, named Wang Dingye, leaned over and sat down next to Qing Chen, whispering, "Fellow member, the Black Family sent you to meet us. Is there anything else they want to tell you?"

Although the hierarchy within the Parent's Association was clear, the organization's guiding principle advocated equality for all, so this Golden Family didn't put on airs towards Qing Chen, the Blue Family, but instead treated him with exceptional friendliness.

In Luo Wanyai's own words. "The Parent's Association a place of mutual help and equality. You, the 'Golden Family, are not bureaucrats, but protectors of the Parent's Association. In times of danger, you should be at the forefront, protecting the 'Blue Family,' 'Green Family,' and 'White Family' members behind you..."

Overall, the Parent's Association doesn't yet have the bureaucratic problems of large organizations because everyone there is new blood, so the atmosphere is very harmonious.

It might change later, but it hasn't yet.

Qing Chen smiled and said, "You're going to the City No. 13, right?"

Wang Dingye smiled and said, "Yes."

"Do you have a lot of money on you?" Qing Chen asked.

"Ah, this," Wang Dingye thought Qing Chen wanted to borrow money, so he hesitated for a moment, "The Black Family said that things are improving in City 22, and life will get better in the future. But everyone is still struggling and doesn't have much money. This time, we traveled a long way, and the gold coins were collected by everyone using their jewelry. The fruit was also given by our neighbors. Fortunately, we met you this time, and we were able to keep more than ten gold coins... I was just planning to use these ten or so gold coins to buy some weapons in City No. 13, but if you need them, I... can give you half! After all, you helped us get a free ticket."

Qing Chen smiled, took out three gold coins from his pocket and stuffed them into Wang Dingye's hand. "I don't want your money, I'm just worried that you won't have enough to spend. You've worked hard to expand our Parent's Association's territory, so you mustn't suffer too much when you're out and about. Recently, the price of medicine in the Federation has gone up again, so if any of you get injured, you'll have some money left for medical treatment. Also, take some money to stock up on some medicine in advance."

In the future, when various conglomerates discover the threat posed by the Parent's Association, they will certainly try to cut off all of the Parent's Association's resources.

That day is not far off, so Qing Chen asked Luo Wanyai to start purchasing medicines from the city in batches from now on and store them in a safe place.

Even if the medicine expires, we can't wait until we need it and then not have it.

This can be considered as taking precautions.

At that moment, Wang Dingye looked at the three gold coins in his hand and was deeply moved. This is what family is all about!

What a pure and loving family!

I took a ride on the Steam Train and not only did it cost me nothing, but I also got three gold coins!

Qing Chen said in a low voice, "Alright, hurry back and rest. We'll be at City No. 13 soon, and you'll have a tough battle to fight. Also, don't be too enthusiastic towards me. I'm hiding my identity, and it will be inconvenient for me to act if people discover my family's identity."

"Okay!" Wang Dingye returned to his group and sat down, moved.

On the other side, Ma Jingjing and the others watched this scene. They didn't know that Qing Chen knew these people, nor did they know that these people were from the Parent's Association.

They only saw Wang Dingye take the fruit over, and then Qing Chen gave them three gleaming gold coins...

Ma Jingjing and the others looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Why did that kid give these people gold coins?" Yi Wenbo asked, puzzled.

"I don't know, I just saw him take the fruit over and exchange it for gold coins. Do you think we can exchange our gold coins back too?" Xiao Yu said.

It's like the story of the golden axe and the silver axe; as long as you are sincere enough, you will be rewarded...

To be honest, based on their understanding, they simply cannot explain why fruit can be exchanged for gold coins.

Yi Wenbo immediately carried a bunch of fruit and peanuts to Qing Chen. He placed the fruit on Qing Chen's table and said with a smile, "We brought a lot of things, so we'll share some with you."

After he finished speaking, he waited silently.

Qing Chen looked up at him for two seconds and said, "Thank you."

Yi Wenbo stood there waiting for a while... and that was it? Where are the gold coins?

Qing Chen asked with a smile, "Is there anything else?"

"No... it's nothing," Yi Wenbo said after a moment of stunned silence before turning and leaving.

What kind of mess is this? Not only did they not get the gold coins back, but they also lost some fruit. Aren't they just being pathetic?!

Back in her seat, Ma Jingjing asked softly, "Did they exchange it for something?"

Yi Wenbo said expressionlessly, "In return, I received a thank you."

Just then, three airships suddenly flew by in the distance, quickly overtaking the Steam Train and continuing southward.

Each one is B-Class Airship, and they are all fully loaded with ammunition.

Qing Chen looked at the airships from afar and said, "Strange, none of these three airships have military-grade paint. Does the Federation still have civilian B-Class Airship?"

B-Class Airship belong to the military and are required to be painted with combat serial numbers.

The shadow said with a smile, "They erased the numbers, naturally because they didn't want to find out who actually killed you."

"Kill me?" Qing Chen was taken aback. "How did they know my whereabouts?"

There will be another chapter at 11 PM.