Naming Technique of the Night

Chapter 797: 480, karst cave

Rocking.

Jolting.

Qing Chen felt like he was drifting in the ocean, like a rootless duckweed, not knowing where he would float to next.

He gradually woke from his coma, but he didn’t open his eyes.

It wasn’t because he was worried about being tortured after waking up, nor was it because he didn’t want to face reality.

The main reason was that someone was carrying him on a stretcher, and that feeling wasn’t too bad…

At that moment, the person responsible for carrying the stretcher whispered, “Why hasn’t he woken up yet? Didn’t his brain get fried during the third possession?”

“Hard to say. Zhao Jie died on the spot, and the machine is broken, so it’s uncertain what his condition is now… But it might be a blessing in disguise. If the machine hadn’t broken down, that person might have asked us to continue attempting possession. You saw, no one who tried to possess this kid ended well.”

At this time, only three Jindai Killers were left near Qing Chen.

The familiar sound of Jindai Yunhe’s footsteps was not there; it seemed he had gone elsewhere.

Yet, Qing Chen didn’t take any rash action, partly because his body truly had reached its limits, and partly because Jindai Yunhe, despite appearing arrogant and brutal, was actually very cautious.

The other party must be somewhere not too far away, within reach at any moment.

Moreover, there were people still carrying the stretcher; if he killed them and failed to escape… then there wouldn’t be anyone left to carry the stretcher.

He then heard the three continue to speak in low voices, “Do you think Jindai Yunhe will kill us to silence us like he did before?”

“It’s possible. After we left, we heard explosions from behind. Though distant, it must be the people coming to rescue this kid who found the farm,” someone said, “This indicates that this kid’s reinforcements are very close. If Jindai Yunhe wants to travel light, he’ll certainly choose to eliminate us.”

After all, Jindai Yunhe was A-Class, and even carrying Qing Chen, he could move faster than they could with the stretcher.

Upon hearing this, Qing Chen’s heart stirred!

Could this mean there was a chance he would be rescued?

The youth silently planned; he didn’t know if his body could support another fight, but if Jindai Yunhe wasn’t around, he could take a gamble.

Kill these three men and meet up with his rescuers before Jindai Yunhe returned.

However, before Qing Chen could finalize a plan, the sound of Jindai Yunhe’s footsteps already echoed through the woods.

Jindai Yunhe said coldly to the three assassins, “Why is the progress so slow? Quicken the pace; do not linger here.”

Qing Chen sighed inwardly; even at his peak, escaping under Jindai Yunhe’s watchful eye would be impossible.

That’s when one of the stretcher-bearers said suspiciously, “I think I saw this kid’s eyelids twitch.”

“Huh?” someone questioned, “Really?”

Several people observed Qing Chen, and after more than ten minutes, they found nothing unusual, “Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me…”

Qing Chen inwardly breathed a sigh of relief; it was a close call that almost required him to walk by himself.

He closed his eyes tightly, silently feeling his body.

There seemed to be something different.

But Qing Chen couldn’t pinpoint what had changed.

After being knocked out burying graves for the Producers, he had no clear idea of what happened after.

Now that he was awake, the first thing that felt off was the new memory file of a person in his Memory Palace.

Qing Chen roughly understood that this was probably another head sent over by Jindai while he had been unconscious…

Terribly generous.

The person providing the memory was named Zhao Jie, born in the north, from a single-parent family.

Zhao Jie’s 24 years were unremarkable, the only thing of interest to Qing Chen was the mysterious identity of the person who selected him for the Yamata; even Zhao Jie had only seen them once.

Wait a minute…

Qing Chen suddenly felt something was off; Zhao Jie was clearly raised by a single mother, yet the family wasn’t destitute, since a certain person regularly brought them wealth.

The identity of Zhao Jie seemed to hold a secret.

It was at that moment that Qing Chen noticed something odd in his blood.

Within the flowing blood,

There seemed to be boiling factors.

Nanorobots?! Qing Chen’s consciousness was already linked with those little beings; billions of nanorobots floated in his blood, like dust or brilliant starlight.

With a thought from Qing Chen, they followed the blood flow to his wound, swiftly gathering and forming biomimetic muscle tissue, filling his injuries.

As the wounds slowly healed, some of the little beings gradually detached from the biomimetic tissue, leaving space for natural healing.

Qing Chen was puzzled; when had these little beings entered his body, and since when had they become so obedient?

Although nanorobots had also entered his cerebral cortex before, after connecting to neurons, they would strictly return the same way they came.

But now… it was completely different.

Qing Chen controlled the nanorobots in his body; one moment they lined up to form the character ‘人’ (person), the next they formed the character ‘一’ (one). The little things were very obedient, following his will with one hundred percent compliance.

Gradually, Qing Chen discovered the first function of these nanorobots: they could clean up necrotic tissue and hematomas under the skin, and knit wounds together.

It’s worth knowing that after the first battle with the wolves, his body sustained many bites and scratches, many of which were torn muscles.

This injury was a direct strike on combat ability.

No matter how tenacious your will is, when muscle fibers are severed, you can’t exert force anymore.

But now, nanorobots could help Qing Chen fill that gap.

Although he didn’t yet know how strong these little guys were, at least they could ensure he moved unhindered before he was fully healed.

“That’s strange. Wasn’t it said that the Federation’s nanorobots are not allowed to stay in the human body, and that all nanorobots are imprinted with fixed programs from the factory, never causing anomalies?” Qing Chen wondered to himself.

He was well aware of why the Federation had such a rule. The most troublesome thing in the last human civilization that was destroyed in the artificial intelligence crisis was nanorobots.

They were the most undefeatable weapon in the hands of artificial intelligence.

The group moved swiftly through the wilderness, and under Jindai Yunhe’s urging, everyone quickened their steps.

At some moment, Qing Chen noticed that Jindai Yunhe seemed to have a destination in mind and was eager to reach it.

After a few hours, the group stopped in front of a cave.

There are many caves in Central Plains, for example, the Outer World has the famous Jiguan Cave Scenic Area. Beneath the caves lies a complex labyrinth and even more turbulent underground rivers deeper down.

Relieved upon seeing the cave, a foreboding sense rose in Qing Chen’s heart—he was afraid that if his captor left through such treacherous terrain, they would really be difficult to find.

But the problem was, even if the Jindai had managed to infiltrate their informants into Central Plains, it seemed far-fetched they would know an entire cave’s layout, right?

At this moment, Jindai Yunhe raised his arm and spread his fingers toward the cave.

From the darkness of the cave echoed the flutter of wings, growing closer and closer.

The next moment, countless bats surged out from the cave like a black tide, the largest hanging upside down on Jindai Yunhe’s arm.

Qing Chen quietly opened one eye to take a look… only to lock eyes with a Jindai assassin.

The Jindai assassin exclaimed, “This kid woke up long ago!”

Qing Chen: “…”

This was rather embarrassing.

However, Jindai Yunhe’s mind didn’t seem to be on Qing Chen at all. The adept of the Jindai Consortium calmly slit his own wrist, using his blood to draw strange symbols on the bats’ bodies.

It was only then that Qing Chen suddenly realized something: if Jindai Yunhe could control a wolf pack before, he could now control a bat swarm.

No wonder the Jindai Clan had sent this person to Central Plains to kidnap him, because Jindai Yunhe’s abilities allowed him to stealthily use nature’s animals and beasts to traverse terrain that was difficult for humans!

“You all have worked hard, but for the great cause of the Consortium, some sacrifices must be made,” said Jindai Yunhe just as the swarm of black bats descended tumultuously, tightly encircling the three Jindai assassins.

Within two breaths, the bats dispersed, leaving behind only the mummified husks of the three Jindai assassins, completely drained of blood!

And this bat swarm, having fed on blood, became like an army, fully obedient to Jindai Yunhe’s commands.

Jindai Yunhe smiled at Qing Chen on the stretcher: “Now that you’re awake, get up. I know you’re pondering how to escape and reunite with the people coming to rescue you. But don’t bother, since the Jindai sent me to Central Plains, there’s naturally a reason for it. Soon you’ll see just how formidable my abilities are.”

Jindai Yunhe, tugging at a rope, headed into the dark cave.

To one’s surprise, he seemed to walk with utter disregard for the darkness, always somehow knowing where obstacles lay and where paths were.

The foul-smelling bat army split into seven or eight groups, one remaining by Jindai Yunhe’s side, while the rest flew into the cave.

Jindai Yunhe chose which path to take without any hesitation, as if he clearly knew which way he should go.

The bat army was guiding him.

Jindai Yunhe and the bat army were connected mind to mind!

Qing Chen realized, Jindai Yunhe’s individual combat abilities might not compare with other A-Class experts because he relied on external forces.

But in terms of functionality, the abilities of this A-Class expert were versatile and variable.

A cave that would take the efforts of a thousand people to explore was no obstacle at all for Jindai Yunhe.

Qing Chen suddenly pondered a question: if one day he truly managed to kill Jindai Yunhe, he should find a place where no one else was and bury his foe.

Then wait a few decades to harvest the Taboo that would grow from him.

The effects of this Taboo might be miraculously effective at a critical moment.

If the Shadow could use a Transcendent to grow tea, using his enemy to cultivate a Taboo shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Of course, there would also be risks involved; the Taboo Land that an A-Class could form might pose a great threat, and the Tribunal probably wouldn’t allow him to do so.

The two continued down the cave, and gradually, Qing Chen heard the sound of a rushing current.

In the cave, stalagmites hung in suspension, condensing moisture that dripped down one drop after another.

Then, Jindai Yunhe took out a glow stick from his pocket to light up the area, revealing eight sets of diving equipment already laid out!

He once again cut the wound on his wrist, letting blood drip into the Underground River.

A bad feeling rose in Qing Chen again, but in the glow of the light stick, something immense seemed to be swimming towards them from the depths of the Underground River.

It had limbs and a body shape like an axolotl, terrifying and savage.

Jindai Yunhe turned to Qing Chen with a smile: “Guess what would happen if I took you for a hundred kilometers through the Underground River – do you think those coming to save you would still be able to find you?”

…

There’s only one chapter today, taking a day off to spend with my family.