Naming Technique of the Night

In apartment 301 at door 3 of building number 7 in the Luo Yin Residential Area, four men sat at a card table, with a woman holding a child just over a year old standing by the window.

This had been a hidden gambling den for several years, operated by a couple who not only participated in the gambling but also took a cut of the proceeds.

During the games, the men sat at the table to play cards while the woman kept watch by the window.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The room was filled with boisterous noise, the sound of shuffling mahjong tiles was incessant.

However, at that moment, the woman suddenly panicked, "Stop playing, stop playing, I see two police cars entering the yard, run!"

After speaking, the woman walked over to the main switch of their home, pulling down all the circuit breakers.

It was midnight, and most of the lights in the residential area were out, so having the lights on at home was already very conspicuous.

The four men by the card table immediately stood up in the dark. Qing Guozhong muttered a curse under his breath and dashed towards the stairwell.

Only, for some unknown reason, the stairwell light, which had been working fine when they arrived, was now off.

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The old residential building's stairwell didn't even have a window, so without the stairwell light, having just come from the bright room, Qing Guozhong and the others could barely see anything in the hallway.

Someone among the four spoke up, "Once we get downstairs, we split up and run. There are four exits in this residential area; it's impossible for them to catch everyone—tough luck for whoever gets caught."

No sooner had he finished speaking than he sensed a rush of wind in the dark staircase.

In an instant, he felt a heavy punch to his stomach, bending his body like a shrimp on the stairs.

But the person who struck him didn't linger and instead continued to take advantage of the darkness to rush at the three gambling accomplices behind him!

In just over ten seconds, that black shadow fluidly took down all four men.

The gamblers couldn't see who it was; they only felt as if their opponent had preempted everything, including their reactions.

So when the first second of being struck began, every subsequent second proceeded according to the assailant's script.

They weren't even extras, at best they were just four props.

"Dammit," one gambler spat out all his stomach acid: "Who is it! Who!?"

However, the shadow did not linger. The figure made their exit before the police could find their way to the back of building 7.

Soon, Qing Chen stood in the greenbelt of the residential area, silently watching as the four men were helped into the police cars.

He had promised the lady officer who responded to the call that not one of the gamblers would get away.

And so, they certainly would not.

Qing Chen was a man of his word, just like that night on Laojun Mountain when he promised Hu Xiaoniu he would kill the leader of the criminals, the leader was certain to die.

Countdown 00:00:00.

Transition.

...

As the world's darkness dissipated, Qing Chen was still seated by the campfire, with only Uncle Li Dong beside him.

This teacher looked at Qing Chen: "Back already? Show me your palm."

Obediently, Qing Chen opened his palm.

Uncle Li Dong nodded, "The injury hasn't healed completely. It looks like you didn't hold back on training back in the Outer World, how did it go?"

"I can now climb a vertical cliff of over twenty meters by myself," Qing Chen answered honestly, "but I've only succeeded three times."

Uncle Li Dong was moved, as his student truly made things worry-free.

Without a teacher's supervision, without a teacher's scolding, the young man would restrain himself with the strongest self-discipline.

Compared to the playful and lazy days of his youth with Senior Brother Chen Jiazhang, this student's life was incredibly inspirational.

If only he and his senior brother had been as diligent back then, the teacher wouldn't have been angry all the time, he would surely have been very happy.

Only those who have truly experienced that kind of training can understand the feeling of having scars all over your hands and still needing to press all your weight onto those few fingers while climbing.

The piercing pain keeps you constantly alert and even makes you regret taking this thorny path.

Uncle Li Dong looked at Qing Chen, "You don't seem very happy. Why aren't you happy? As a young person, you shouldn't always be so gloomy; you should be happy about the results of your training!"

Qing Chen said softly, "Teacher, I've severed ties with my parents, completely."

Uncle Li Dong paused for a moment, "I thought you were so hardworking and enduring, suppressing all your little tempers because you had no parents."

Qing Chen: "..."

"Just a joke," Uncle Li Dong asked softly, "How do you feel?"

"At first, I felt somewhat lost and sad," Qing Chen thought for a moment before answering, "Later, I reported my father, and my mood turned to relief. But now that I'm back in the Inner World, I suddenly feel a bit aimless and everything seems so unreal."

When he was a child, in winter, his father would bring home baked sweet potatoes for him to eat every day; it was their favorite snack.

His mother would remind him to put on long johns and would warm up his milk on the radiator, so he could take it to school.

The whole family would go to the mountains to escape the summer heat. His father would scoop up spring water with his large palms to show his son the tadpoles he had caught.

Because his memory was so good, Qing Chen felt as if all those moments were vivid and tangible.

He didn't know how life had suddenly turned out this way.

When everything had been cut away, the past indeed had become smoke, and all that was left of the beauty existed only in Qing Chen's memory and in old photos.

That's why it felt somewhat unreal.

No one could return to the past.

There was no need to wait for anyone anymore.

Uncle Li Dong was silent for a moment, then smiled and patted his shoulder, "Silly kid, you still have your teacher."

"Yeah," Qing Chen responded softly.

Looking at the starry sky, Uncle Li Dong said, "Sometimes I feel like you're my son. When I see you training so hard, I have to toughen my heart and not watch, otherwise, it would hurt a little. That night when you came back covered in wounds, with your feet all bloody, I was wondering what you had gone through.

Look, your teacher isn't that heartless; it's just that I know you have to walk this path on your own, that's your life."

Suddenly, Qing Chen asked, "Teacher, you bringing me out this time, was it partly due to Qing Huai from the Qing's Family's fourth room?"

"Yes," Uncle Li Dong smiled and said, "That's right, it was for him. I know his mission is to enter Taboo Land No. 002 to capture something. Just like your mission is to go to Prison No. 18 and retrieve ACE-005."

"What are you looking for him for?" Qing Chen asked.

"Of course, it's to give you the opportunity to kill him," Uncle Li Dong's expression gradually turned cold, "The fourth room violated the rules of the Shadow struggle. The elders secretly sent death warriors to assassinate you. How could I as your teacher not help you get this revenge? Why should their Shadow Candidates have someone to help them while my student only has an old folks' home fighter?

If Qing Huai doesn't die, I wouldn't be doing my job as a teacher."

Uncle Li Dong gently patted Qing Chen on the shoulder, "Don't worry, whatever others have, my student must have too."

"Thank you, Teacher," Qing Chen said looking at the night sky.

A few days earlier, when Uncle Li Dong said he would give him his fourth lesson on how to hunt, Qing Chen had an epiphany.

Uncle Li Dong wasn't taking him to hunt beasts, but to hunt Qing Huai.

…

Thanks to Student Jin Dong for becoming a new ally of this book, a great show of generosity, may fortuitous wealth flow your way!

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