Courier, Shadow

"Stop, stop, stop! Can't you stop hurting each other? What are we even doing here? Let's have enough fun!" Ma Jingjing shouted hoarsely.

Qing Chen: "Okay, okay..."

Shadow: "Okay, okay..."

Everyone, their mouths parched, agreed. After playing for six hours, it was indeed about time...

They should stop before their friendly and harmonious relationship completely crumbles...

Qing Ye asked, "It's 11 p. m. now. Should we continue our journey and set up camp by Dragon Fish Lake, or should we camp here for the night and continue our journey tomorrow?"

Ma Jingjing turned around expressionlessly to look behind her; the boundary of the Forbidden Zone was just a few dozen meters away.

He slowly walked to the edge of the Forbidden Zone and calmly said, "I suggest we leave the Forbidden Zone and set up camp first, then set off again at dawn..."

To be honest, this was the first time he had ever seen such a way of exploring Forbidden Zone.

I've been here for six hours and I've only walked a few dozen meters.

We didn't see a single Dragon Fish, but everyone ate a lot of farts.

Why even bother leaving now? Wouldn't it be better to just sleep outside the Forbidden Zone before heading out? Besides, this way we can avoid having to reveal our secrets right now. Everyone will have enough time to go back outside and carefully consider whether there are any loopholes in what they're about to say, or whether others will find out.

I reckon even the Forbidden Zone has never seen such a group of people.

Actually, the most unlucky one is Xiao Mengqian. She carried her hiking backpack for so long last night, but it was all for nothing.

Qing Chen and Yingzi also felt a little awkward. "Ah, then let's camp outside for the night, hahaha... to recharge!"

The group left Forbidden Zone No. 10 and lit a bonfire outside. They gathered around the fire, waiting for someone to break the awkward atmosphere.

What they didn't know was that a team that wanted to assassinate Qing Chen had already wandered around the Forbidden Zone and then left.

Not only that, but staff reductions have also occurred inexplicably.

The squad leader was still thinking about how to explain the casualties of this operation to his superiors and how to write the combat report.

By the campfire where Qing Chen and the others were gathered, Ma Jingjing said, "I did pay for a guide, can't you guys show some respect?"

Zard: "Ah, right, right..."

Ma Jingjing roared, "We're already out!"

Yi Wenbo calmly said, "Let's make a deal: let's agree not to make personal attacks on each other, okay? We all want to enter Forbidden Zone No. 10 to pan for gold, so let's not waste any more time!"

"I agree!" Shadow raised his hand.

"I agree too!" Qing Chen raised his hand.

Seeing this, Zard and the others figured that since their boss had spoken, there was nothing more to say.

At this moment, Qing Chen looked at Qing Ye and said, "You brought a satellite phone, right? Let me borrow it to make a few calls."

Without saying a word, Qing Ye took out his phone and handed it to Qing Chen, even wanting Qing Chen to sign the satellite phone.

I held back.

The next morning, after everyone had woken up, they set off again.

This time, everyone fell silent, no one wanted to start another fight, and the atmosphere was incredibly harmonious.

Along the way, Shadow pointed to a flower bud and said, "This thing is called the Oil Refining Flower. After the flower withers, it grows fruit, each about the size of a fist. The oil refined from it has no side effects and tastes even better than peanut oil. It's just a pity that it doesn't enhance the abilities of extraordinary individuals, so it's been almost forgotten. In fact, if one day humans could truly live in the Forbidden Zone, then food would certainly not be a problem."

After saying that, the shadow pointed to a branch growing from a tree and said, "This branch looks like it's part of the tree, but it's a parasitic plant called Entangling Snake Vine. Its roots have to take hold of other trees... or animals. So in Forbidden Zone No. 10, you'll occasionally see animals with a tree growing on their bodies. If you try to remove it, you'll tear off hundreds of your own blood vessels."

Shadow: "Of course, this Entangling Snake Vine doesn't kill people; it sucks blood very slowly. It even secretes a liquid that has anesthetic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory effects, helping its host to heal wounds—it's a kind of symbiotic relationship."

As we were talking, a wild boar with a small sapling growing on its back ran past us. It looked both terrifying and cute, a truly contradictory sight.

The wild boar stopped, glanced at the group, and then continued running into the distance...

Zard exclaimed, "Who could resist such a fun limited-edition skin?"

Qing Chen: "???"

Zhang Mengqian: "???"

Ma Jingjing: "???"

As he spoke, Zard actually tried to pick a branch from the tree and stick it into himself, but was stopped by the shadow's gaze...

At that moment, Ma Jingjing suddenly wanted to get her tour guide fee back.

As they continued forward, Shadow took the lead, sharing a lot of useful information along the way.

But Qing Chen knew that these words were meant for him. The other party knew that he would definitely come back to Forbidden Zone No. 10 in the future, so they wanted to help him understand everything about this place.

Moreover, the shadow seemed very familiar with this place. Qing Chen was puzzled. If the shadow did not know the fourth rule, how could it be so familiar with this place?

Jingshan Tea is also picked from here.

The shadow seemed to sense his confusion and chuckled softly, "The Shadow Gate is a good thing. Once you've been here, you can explore it slowly in the future, avoiding specific time points."

Qing Chen understood that the fourth rule would take effect 12 hours after entry.

The shadow only needs to know this condition to leave using the Shadow Gate at 11 hours and 59 minutes, and then return.

Therefore, while Forbidden Zone No. 10 is forbidden for others, it cannot restrict Shadow.

Shadow chuckled and said, "Don't worry, although I've been here many times, I haven't touched your Dragon Fish. In fact, the Knight Organization haven't been here for over ten years, and they've accumulated quite a few Dragon Fish. I reckon Li Shutong was saving them up for the next generation of Knights leaders, and now you've gotten them just in time."

A few hours later, Shadow arrived at Dragon Fish Lake with practiced ease.

This lake is rather strange. In its vast expanse, dozens of unidentified towering trees grow, their roots intertwined in the water, forming numerous fish nests.

The towering trees, their branches and leaves blocking out the sun, filled the entire sky above the lake, with only scattered sunlight filtering through, reflecting on the emerald green surface like twinkling stars in the universe.

The thousands, even tens of thousands, of beams of light shooting in at an angle transformed this place into a dreamlike realm.

"Isn't it beautiful?" the shadow exclaimed.

Zard: "Yes, yes, yes."

The shadow glanced at him sideways, and for some reason, he felt the aesthetic appeal was instantly shattered...

At this moment, Qing Ye looked around warily, then exchanged a glance with Qing Qu.

They found signs that someone had just been here, and there were quite a few.

Qing Ye told Qing Qu to stay and guard the lakeside, while he pulled Zard toward the direction the footprints came from.

Ma Jingjing and the others excitedly threw down their backpacks by the lake and took out telescopic fishing rods, fishing lines, and bait from their backpacks.

The most famous Forbidden Zone No. 10 is the Dragon Fish, so they naturally came prepared.

You can't go into the water to catch fish here. If you really go in, it's hard to say whether you'll come back alive, so you can only fish.

Ma Jingjing said, "Dragon Fish are not easy to catch, but as long as we catch one, we'll have made our money back. If we catch two, we can make a profit."

As they were talking, Qing Chen had already pulled one of the Puppet Master out of the lake.

The Puppet Master in the water seemed to have eyes, stabbing it every time!

Ma Jingjing: "..."

Yi Wenbo: "..."

They didn't even see Qing Chen use a hook or bait, and it was difficult to even see the almost transparent silk thread of the Puppet Master, and then Qing Chen just pulled one up like that...

Ma Jingjing quickly sat down and waited for the Dragon Fish to take the bait.

Qing Chen ignored them and instead walked up to Shadow with the Dragon Fish in his hand. "Could you please deliver this to Li Ke?"

Shadow: "... Okay, okay, okay."

Shadow never expected that his own younger brother would use him as a deliveryman!

He raised an eyebrow and said, "I don't know where Li Ke is either, so how am I supposed to deliver him?"

Qing Chen: "Yes, yes, yes... I called him last night. He's waiting for you in the lobby of the Cloud Top Hotel in City No. 19. You must have been to City No. 19 before, right? You can go there directly by Shadow Gate."

Shadow was stunned for a moment; this was clearly a perfect plan for him.

Qing Chen said, "Go and come back quickly, okay?"

Shadow slapped Qing Chen on the back of the head. "Fine, fine, fine..."

Qing Chen was stunned. How could someone say "okay, okay" while hitting someone, without triggering any rules?

He paused for two seconds. "You're not wearing underwear."

Shadow pinned Qing Chen to the ground and gave him a good beating. "Yes, yes, yes!"

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Qing Chen was stunned. He was doomed; he didn't dare to talk back here!

We can't beat them!

Qing Qu stood to the side, looking at the sky as if nothing had happened.

He really couldn't control the older brother beating up the younger brother.

Besides, if the current boss beats up the future boss, what right does he, as a subordinate, have to interfere?

To be honest, this was the first time Qing Chen had ever been pinned to the ground and beaten like this.

There was a time when, when Shadow said that he was his biological brother, he still felt it was somewhat unreal.

But in this moment, the relationship between the older and younger brothers feels exceptionally real and intimate.

Just like all brothers in the world, the younger brother is the one who deserves to be beaten.

"Brother, stop hitting me! Ah! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!" Qing Chen shouted.

Shadow paused for a moment, then patted the dust off his clothes.

There was a long silence.

Since he's his younger brother's apprentice, there's nothing wrong with him delivering Dragon Fish.

He didn't waste any more time, went straight into the forest, put on a black mask, and took advantage of Ma Jingjing and the others not paying attention to open the Shadow Gate and leave.

In a secluded apartment in City No. 19, a Shadow Gate opens.

The people in the room immediately stood up and said respectfully, "Boss, what are your orders?"

The shadow paused for a few seconds before saying, "Don't be nervous, I'm just here to deliver a fish."

After saying that, he picked up the Dragon Fish, opened the apartment door, and strode away.

One of the secret agents from the Secret Intelligence Department was left standing in the apartment, looking completely bewildered.

Delivering fish? When did the Shadow Boss become so free that he needs to come in person to deliver a fish?

Several tens of minutes later, in the lobby on the 76th floor of the Genting Hotel, Li Yunjing, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and stared intently at the man in black in front of him.

He subtly shielded Li Ke behind him, saying, "If there's any danger later, don't worry about me, you go first."

Li Yunjing knew who the person in black clothes, a black hat, and a black mask was, but she didn't know why he was here.

And this shadow seems to appear on the federal stage every time it does, accompanied by bloodshed and violence.

Even a master like Li Yunjing would find it difficult to predict his own fate when facing the shadow.

But he was still willing to stand in front of Li Ke and shield him from the wind and rain.

Li Yunjing looked at the shadow and said, "He has no grudge against you and will not stand in the way of the Qing family."

However, the next moment, Shadow smiled helplessly and raised the Dragon Fish in his hand, "I'm here to deliver the fish, Li Ke. This is the last Dragon Fish your master owes you."

Li Ke was stunned. "What did you do to my master?"

Shadow said with a smile, "He only got a beating. Don't worry, it was only right that I beat him up."

With that, Shadow left in a good mood.

Please subscribe to the full subscription and vote with monthly tickets!