Naming Technique of the Night

Chapter 802: 483, the second Qing Mu

In the malformed and twisted underground cave, the howling of mechanical hunting dogs echoed.

They followed a familiar scent, winding through the maze-like cave, arriving at the underground riverbank.

Along the way, every 1.2 kilometers on average, a drop of Qing Chen’s blood appeared.

A total of 37 drops, spreading all the way to the deepest part of the cave.

Ordinary excellent hunting dogs have a tracking distance of 0.5 kilometers, while mechanical hunting dogs have a maximum tracking distance of 1.3 kilometers.

Therefore, Qing Chen’s blood appearing every 1.2 kilometers, very consistently, suggests that Qing Chen intentionally left these traces, hoping that reinforcements could catch up based on them.

This discovery excited everyone, as it meant Qing Chen was still conscious, even when gravely injured and at the end of his strength, still finding ways to save himself.

Their biggest fear was that Qing Chen had already collapsed.

If that were the case, Qing Chen would truly become a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Lao Shijiu ran limping at the front, afraid that there might be a trap under the cave that could harm his boss.

After confirming there was no danger, he jogged back to report, “Boss, there are blood stains ahead but no signs of a fight. The trail stops at the underground river; it seems the Jindai took Qing Chen away through the river.”

Li Changqing frowned and came to the riverbank, looking at Jindai Yunhe’s severed arm discarded there, and the corroded pits on it, “How did this happen, and whose arm is this?”

The riverbank was a mess, with blood, water marks, and scattered submersible equipment everywhere.

Lao Shijiu squatted down to examine, “From the marks on the ground, originally there were eight sets of submersible equipment, but now three are missing. Strangely, some of the wet footprints indicate two people, one a mysterious expert from Jindai, the other matching Qing Chen’s characteristics. They left, but why take three sets of submersible equipment? If the distance is too far, one per person wouldn’t be enough; they should take four.”

Zheng Yuandong glanced at the clues on the ground, “It was two people. Someone left and then came back alone to get another set of submersible equipment.”

“Was it Qing Chen?” Lao Shijiu was stunned, “Could he have escaped control and returned here alone?”

“No,” Zheng Yuandong shook his head, “If he had broken free from the Jindai expert’s control and returned here, he would definitely head towards the cave entrance rather than continue underwater. So, the one who came back is the Jindai expert, and this arm is his.”

These words left everyone looking at each other in astonishment.

He Jinqiu leaned on his Black Scepter, smiling by the riverbank, “If I’m not mistaken, the one who attacked this time should be Jindai Yunhe. According to Hu’s Information Agency, the entire Jindai Consortium has seven people capable of controlling beasts, but only one has reached A-Class, while the others are all below C-Class. Only Jindai Yunhe has the ability to control so many wolf packs.”

“Jindai Yunhe,” Li Changqing continued frowning, her delicate eyebrows now fierce as knives.

“A C-Class severing an A-Class’s arm underwater, who would believe it?” He Jinqiu laughed, “In ordinary times, even a hundred C-Class wouldn’t stand a chance against an A-Class without modern technology. Of course, Jindai Yunhe isn’t the top among A-Class experts either.”

If He Jinqiu were Jindai Yunhe, with just his few jade swords, sending any number of C-Class would be a death sentence.

The gap between B-Class and A-Class is what every transcendent wants to cross. Once crossed, it means truly being extraordinary.

Even if Jindai Yunhe isn’t a combat-type A-Class expert, losing an arm to a C-Class is still shocking.

He Jinqiu tapped his Black Scepter, “Actually, I’m not very surprised. Someone who could maintain calm after being taken over by neurons three times and guide us here, it makes sense for him to sever Jindai Yunhe’s arm.”

Zheng Yuandong eyed the severed arm, “The wound on the arm is corroded by an unknown liquid; half of the cut is smooth, and the other half rough. Qing Chen probably cut half of it, and Jindai Yunhe severed it completely to prevent the spread of necrotic tissue. Qing Chen must have severely injured Jindai Yunhe when they went underwater, though he himself must be gravely injured too. But the good news is, Qing Chen should be alive.”

In a few words, the situation was roughly described.

Li Changqing ordered to keep the severed arm and take it back for comparison.

They didn’t have Jindai Yunhe’s gene in their database, but they had samples of some Jindai family gene sequences and could approximate the arm’s owner’s identity through familial relations.

“The bad news is, Jindai Yunhe is still alive. The good news is Qing Chen is also alive,” He Jinqiu looked at the rushing dark underground river and said, “The ravens didn’t appear here at all; there’s no sign of them for miles around.”

Given the Contraindicated Courts’ usual behavior, if a transcendent fight broke out here and someone died, the ravens would definitely come to collect the transcendent’s body.

Of course, this was also why Li Changqing hadn’t gone mad.

You might not trust the words of a man’s mouth, but you can definitely trust the Contraindicated Courts’ collection capabilities; they won’t miss any transcendent’s body now.

Qing Chen and Jindai Yunhe, a C-Class and an A-Class, are both within the Contraindicated Courts’ collection range.

Li Changqing turned to Lao Shijiu, “Deploy professional submersible equipment to search underwater, and have the Qing Shan ship expand its search area. Tonight before dark is our best chance to find Qing Chen. We must find him before Jindai Yunhe catches up with him again!”

Then she turned to He Jinqiu, “Thanks this time. In Hu’s internal board, I can continue to be your ally, I owe you one.”

He Jinqiu shook his head, “Although I like business talks, Qing Chen is also a member of Kyushu, so you don’t need to thank me.”

Li Changqing was stunned, looking towards Zheng Yuandong, then towards He Jinqiu, “Which organization does Qing Chen belong to? How did he end up adding every organization from the Outer World?”

Zheng Yuandong’s and He Jinqiu’s expressions turned subtle…

…

…

In the darkness, it was unclear how long or how far he drifted.

It seemed as long as a century.

In his drowsiness, Qing Chen sensed fish in the underground river approaching him, probing.

He mustered his last willpower, releasing the remaining strength in his body, using a golden electric arc to fend off those trying to devour him.

This act worked, and the greedy fish stayed several meters away, continuing to follow him but did not give up.

Did Jindai Yunhe die?

Qing Chen was unsure.

Would he die?

He was also unsure.

After an unknown amount of time, Qing Chen gradually entered a state of exhaustion while maintaining the golden electrical arc.

The wounds left by the deinosuchus on his body kept aching, both new and old wounds flaring up after the intense battle.

Fortunately, transcendent beings had strong self-healing abilities, and the wounds had gradually stopped bleeding.

Suddenly, light appeared at the end of the river, weak but as hopeful as a beacon in the darkness.

The sound of splashing water pushed Qing Chen out of the river.

He found himself in a dim valley, where the river split into several streams, each flowing in different directions.

Qing Chen was pushed to the river’s edge by the water.

He lay there helplessly, unable to move a finger or lift his eyelids, only able to hear beasts slowly approaching, their footsteps heavy and numerous.

“Damn it,” Qing Chen bitterly smiled in his heart, out of the wolf’s lair, into the tiger’s den?

He thought he had escaped the abyss, only to face death once more.

Forget it.

Tired.

Let it end.

But before the beasts could get close, human footsteps approached, the hard boots stepping on the soft pebbles by the pool, making a sound only made by military boots fitted with alloy steel plates.

Qing Chen was too hazy to think clearly, unsure who this person was, why they were here, or what they wanted to do.

He only knew Jindai Yunhe didn’t wear such boots.

Then, in the valley, came the sound of cutting meat and the roars of beasts.

The sound of slicing flesh was like a tailor cutting thick leather with scissors, quick and decisive.

In just a few breaths, the beasts were all but dead.

The person came to Qing Chen’s side and squatted down, chuckling, “You’re really hurt. Fortunately, I was here waiting; otherwise, you’d have died. Remember to show mercy if you recognize me in the future.”

As he spoke, he covered Qing Chen’s eyes with a black cloth, seemingly to prevent Qing Chen from seeing his face.

Although Qing Chen’s consciousness was vague, he confirmed he had never heard the person’s voice before.

This was a stranger.

But why would a stranger come to this remote place to save him, wearing military boots no less?

Voices can be disguised, and what someone says may not be true.

Moreover, the way they walked gave Qing Chen a strange feeling.

Roughly estimating their strength, given the speed at which they killed the beasts, they must be an expert, much faster than Qing Chen could handle.

The person took out a syringe from their pocket and injected Qing Chen’s neck, joking, “Now you definitely won’t die. The life-saving potion diluted from God’s blood, very precious. I wonder if I’d get caught if I secretly injected half of it myself… Better not risk it. You rest a bit; there are no beasts around. I’ll go ambush Jindai Yunhe that old guy, see if I can finish him off.”

With that, the person got up and left.

Left…

The mystery deepened in Qing Chen’s heart. Someone came here to give him a life-saving shot and then left?!

What kind of operation is this?!

Soon, more footsteps echoed in the valley, dense and hurried.

Qing Chen could no longer resist falling asleep. Just before he slipped into darkness, he heard someone say, “Reporting, we found the target, alive. But… no sign of officer Jindai Yunhe.”

“Alright, we’ll take the target north to meet up, arriving at the extraction point in 20 minutes…”

The communication channel calmly stated, “Depart immediately after rendezvous. A northern extraction route has been opened, transporting the target directly to a secret military base.”

“Received.”

…

Another chapter before 11 PM