Naming Technique of the Night

Chapter 344: 266. Trajectory

On bloodstained Xingshu Road, Nan Gengchen squatted in a corner, hiding together with a group of innocent bystanders.

At that moment, everyone was as silent as the grave.

Only Nan Gengchen still had the presence of mind to check his phone, opening the Daytime group chat. The first to speak was Qiu Xue, “What happened on Xingshu Road? Why do I hear explosions?”

“It’s not explosions, it’s the sound of a sniper rifle,” Nan Gengchen slowly replied, “A group of people tried to kidnap me, but the boss rescued me. Now all the assassins are going after him. I’m fine.”

“Gunshots? Can gunshots sound that heavy?” Qiu Xue asked in confusion. “Where are you right now, Duckling? I’ll come and rescue you.”

“No need, no need, just look out for your own safety,” Nan Gengchen said.

At that time, he was pondering a question: if the sniper wasn’t Qing Chen, who else could it be?

In the Daytime group, he and Li Tongyun were among the few who really knew the truth; they both knew Qing Chen was a Shadow Candidate and the boss of Daytime.

Furthermore, Nan Gengchen knew that apart from the people in the group, Daytime’s members only included a girl named Yang Yang, with no hidden snipers among them.

So he was pondering a question; although he didn’t know when Qing Chen had acquired the sniper rifle or when he had brought it back, it was highly probable that Qing Chen himself…

There was no one else who could give him such a sense of security, nor could anyone have arrived so promptly.

However, it suddenly dawned on him that if the sniper really was Qing Chen, then the latter leaving early tonight and lying in ambush, and even instructing him to study hard in the classroom, must have been a plan to use him as bait!

The shot that hit the assassin’s calf had even passed between his own legs!

Nan Gengchen subconsciously glanced at the distance to the Kai Lai Grand Hotel—damn far.

If that had gone wrong, wouldn’t he have been ruined?

“Xiao Nan!” someone shouted from across the street on Xingshu Road.

Nan Gengchen turned his head and saw Hu Xiaoniu and Zhang Tianzhen rushing out from a residential area, each carrying an exquisitely crafted hand crossbow!

He had no idea where they had gotten them from.

With strict gun control within the country, it was surprising that their families would equip them with hand crossbows.

This type of weapon could also be lethal or crippling if used on people.

Spying the two wanting to cross the street, Nan Gengchen immediately became anxious: “I told you not to worry about me!”

But the two of them, after scanning the surrounding environment, ran over to him regardless and started dragging him away. Zhang Tianzhen said, “Are you hurt? We’re taking you to the hospital now.”

“I’m fine,” Nan Gengchen said with a wry smile, “I really am fine!”

“Where’s the boss?” Hu Xiaoniu asked in a low voice.

“Over by the Kai Lai Grand Hotel. But the gunfire has stopped for a while now; I don’t know if he’s still there,” Nan Gengchen looked back, and there was no one visible on the rooftop of the Kai Lai Grand Hotel anymore.

Looking at the two beside him, he honestly hadn’t expected them to come to his rescue.

“Isn’t the hand crossbow illegal too? Are you really okay using this?” Nan Gengchen asked.

Hu Xiaoniu thought for a moment and then said, “It’s a collector’s item. We have the certificates for it. It can be used to scare off criminals. If we don’t use it, it’s fine.”

Nan Gengchen: “…You guys really have some wild connections.”

Not every criminal can get their hands on firearms; having this hand crossbow is indeed enough to deter many people.

…

…

In the dimly lit emergency hallway of the Kai Lai Grand Hotel, Qing Chen moved silently downstairs.

In the entire hallway, only the occasional green exit signs emitted any light.

Qing Chen was very aware that he had to leave quickly. Otherwise, whether he was surrounded by Huan Yu’s people or Kunlun’s, the consequences would be unknown.

But just as he hastened down the stairs, he suddenly stopped his steps and slowed his breathing.

Only then did he properly discern barely audible breathing coming from somewhere below on the stairs.

Someone was hiding there.

Indeed, one had to always remain vigilant on the battlefield, or else one might capsize in the gutter at any time.

In that emergency hallway, Qing Chen and the assassin both fell silent, the latter even holding his breath.

The assassin was in no rush because he knew his backup was on the way and would arrive shortly.

At this point, the one who should be anxious was Qing Chen, because if he didn’t leave this building soon, he’d be trapped here.

Qing Chen knew he couldn’t hide back in the hotel since Kunlun had surrounded the area, and him sniping so many criminals would also cause issues.

He had to leave quickly.

The next moment, Qing Chen slowly crouched between floors 4 and 3 at the stairwell corner and then raised his hand, aiming at the iron door of the emergency exit on the third floor, and pulled the trigger.

The booming gunshot was particularly startling in the hallway!

Startled by the gunshot, the assassin’s body instinctively shook, and the sound of his clothing rubbing echoed in the hallway.

But the assassin quickly came to his senses. The shot had merely struck the iron door of the emergency exit and hadn’t hurt him at all.

One should know, with a folding section of the staircase between the floors and a corner separating him and Qing Chen, this kind of shooting was pointless.

The next moment, Qing Chen pulled the trigger again.

The bullet struck the iron door and did not embed itself, but instead ricocheted around in the emergency hallway.

The assassin sneered internally, thinking that what Qing Chen was doing was merely futile.

However, Qing Chen, expressionless, observed the sparks generated when the bullets collided with the iron gate.

Then he pulled the trigger again.

He pulled the trigger again.

At this moment, the assassin had relaxed his guard, but during this fourth shot, he suddenly felt a numbness in his right chest.

Instinctively reaching to touch it, he found his chest covered in fresh blood, with a small hole!

The assassin found it hard to believe as he slowly knelt down, unable to understand how Qing Chen had managed to do it even as he died.

He knew Qing Chen had used the iron door next to the safety passage to create a ricochet. During the fourth shot, the bullet bouncing back and forth in the safety passage struck his chest.

He also knew that Qing Chen had not been entirely sure of his shot, only succeeding on the fourth attempt.

But the critical issue was, Qing Chen had succeeded.

How could he have succeeded? How could such a legendary feat be achieved? Was he still human?

Vaguely, the assassin kneeling on the ground saw the young man walking down the stairs.

The young man’s face was calm, and he didn’t even spare him a second glance, as if he were merely a weed that the young man had unintentionally stepped over in his life.

In fact, those four shots had not been easy for Qing Chen, with the most crucial being the first one.

The sound of gunfire abruptly rang out in the corridor. The rustling of the assassin’s clothes below gave away his position. The next three shots each required a precise analysis of the trajectory.

Until the fourth shot, there was still an element of luck involved.

When going downstairs, Qing Chen even had time to glance at the Daytime group.

Boss, “Liu Dezhu, where are you?”

Liu Dezhu, “Almost there, boss, wait for me!”

Brave Xiao Niu, “Boss, Zhang Tianzhen and I are at Xingshu Road at this moment, we can come to support.”

Boss, “No need, Liu Dezhu is enough.”

Tonight’s battle, C-Class Liu Dezhu alone could surprise any enemy.

Outside the safety passage was the back door of the grand hotel, leading out to Xingshu Road.

But just as Qing Chen was walking out of the safety passage, he suddenly raised his hand and shot towards a patch of tree crowns in the shadow not far away.

The person in that shadow, caught off guard, was forced to jump down from the dense canopy to dodge the bullet.

The assassin quickly rolled on the ground while Qing Chen stood expressionlessly at the entrance of the safety passage, his handgun bullets hitting the ground and causing chips of stone to strike the assassin’s face, burning with pain.

The assassin looked quite disheveled, but Qing Chen noticed the opponent’s speed, and his pupils contracted sharply.

He didn’t rely on the advantage of having a firearm but quickly retreated back into the stairs of the safety passage!

However, Qing Chen’s retreat was decisive, the opponent pursued even more resolutely, and was even faster than Qing Chen!

Qing Chen fired to block, but the speed of flipping his arm to aim was still not as fast as the opponent’s running, so he couldn’t hit at all.

It wasn’t that his shooting skills were lacking, but rather that the opponent’s level was entirely above his.

Before Qing Chen could completely retreat into the safety passage, the assassin had already reached him and slammed a fist into his chest.

With a loud boom, the young man was sent flying back up the stairs of the safety passage.

However, just as the assassin was about to continue pursuing into the safety corridor, he suddenly stopped.

And he too retreated rapidly.

Qing Chen coughed up a mouthful of blood, hastily catching it with his clothes as he coughed.

He slowly got up and with the assassin used the door of the safety passage as a boundary, both retreating to a safe distance.

The assassin silently examined his abdomen where his clothes had been cut through, and tiny beads of blood seeped out from the fine cuts in his skin beneath.

This was the effect of a cut from a sharp weapon, very sharp.

Yet, as the assassin frowned and surveyed the safety passage, he saw nothing, as if there was an invisible knife hanging in the passage.

Qing Chen silently retracted the Puppeteer, having wrapped the transparent thread around the entrance of the safety passage at the critical moment and infused it with Knight Vital Energy.

If not for that, the opponent might have already rushed in for close combat.

“Very fast, possibly D-class peak or even C-class early stage,” Qing Chen silently assessed as he faced an opponent with such a gap; even his expertise in combat techniques was of no avail.

The opponent was likely a Genetic Warrior, not an Awakener or Cultivator. If it had been the latter two, they would have shown other capabilities by now.

What surprised Qing Chen was that, given this assassin’s strength, he was not one to serve others. Why then would he work for Huan Yu?

Could it be that Huan Yu offered him benefits compelling enough to sway him?

Or could this be Huan Yu himself?

No, Qing Chen shook his head internally. Huan Yu, the type to control everything from behind the scenes, being at the scene didn’t fit his style of operation.

…

There’s one more chapter tonight.