Night’s Nomenclature-Chapter 440: Heartbeat
Countdown 719:00:00.
Another thirty-day travel period. The next return will likely also be thirty days. Many Time Travelers equipped with Cybernetic Limbs will probably start to consider how to recharge.
Qing Chen returned alone to the 112th floor of Utopia Tower.
He knew Shadow was already inside when he opened the door.
The aroma of Jingshan Tea wafted out as soon as the door opened.
Rebel King said that Shadow was attending a family meeting at the Ginkgo Garden in City 5, facing rebukes from the Qing Family bigwigs.
If Rebel King wasn't lying, then the true terror of the Shadow Gate lies in its lack of distance limitations. As long as it's a place he's been before, he can reach it.
Qing Chen walked into the room, taking off his coat and hanging it on the rack as he went: "As far as I know, you should be in City 5 right now."
The room was deathly silent, without a sound.
Qing Chen was stunned. He looked at Shadow lying on the sofa, the other wearing a black mask and black baseball cap, looking like they were asleep.
However, Qing Chen couldn't hear any breathing, not even a heartbeat.
This made Qing Chen feel something was wrong.
Even if Shadow could hold their breath, why was there no heartbeat?
Was he dead?
Qing Chen frowned. He didn't believe that Shadow would die so lonely in his own house.
Should he take this opportunity to remove the mask and see the other's Face[-]?
Forget it.
If the other person comes back to life, he might be silenced.
Qing Chen calmly moved a chair from the dining room and waited for Shadow to wake up.
After an unknown amount of time.
With a thud.
As if a drumstick had struck a drum, Shadow's heartbeat resumed.
Shadow sat up with a smile: "You're so heartless. Seeing me lying here without a heartbeat, you didn't even check if I was alright? I bet you hesitated, wondering whether or not to take a look at my Face[-]."
"You're too playful," Qing Chen sighed. "You come over in the middle of the night to drink tea and then pretend to be dead?"
"The meaning of life is to be happy," Shadow laughed.
Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "You directly used your ability to manipulate the flow of time on yourself, right? To the point where each heartbeat is several minutes apart."
But there's a problem.
The average human heartbeat is around 75 beats per minute, which means Shadow's ability to stretch the flow of time can stretch a second to several minutes.
In this absolute time, who could beat Shadow?
By the time you make a move, Shadow would have already scattered your ashes...
Shadow didn't answer Qing Chen's question.
Qing Chen looked at him, suddenly startled.
Just now, wasn't Shadow truly in some kind of near-death state? This made Qing Chen think of Shadow's frequent remarks about not having much time left.
Qing Chen asked doubtfully, "Do you really not have much life left?"
Shadow shook his head: "Don't worry, I still have a long life. At least two or three years."
Qing Chen instinctively felt something was wrong.
Would Shadow tell the truth? He didn't think so.
Then there are two possibilities: one, Shadow's time is far longer than two or three years, possibly living for two or three hundred years without any problems.
The other possibility is that Shadow's lifespan is less than two or three years.
But he can't let others know that he doesn't have much time left.
At one point, Qing Chen's answer leaned more towards the latter.
It's simply because Shadow always had a sense of urgency when arranging things for him.
He was in a hurry to hand over the hearts of the intelligence system to him, even going so far as to expose some things; in a hurry to get Qing Chen involved, even going so far as to repeatedly chat with Qing Chen and promise to give Qing Chen the Forbidden Artifact when he becomes Shadow.
According to Shadow's usual behavior, why would he need to be so urgent?
Qing Chen looked at Shadow: "How much time do you have left?"
Shadow smiled: "Didn't I tell you? At least two or three years."
Qing Chen didn't ask any more questions. He calmly asked, "I heard you were reprimanded at the family meeting?"
Shadow said with a smile, "Your information is quite well-informed. Who told you? Does Qing Family also have your inside man? Amazing!"
Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "A Time Traveler told us. He said that your support for Intelligence Bureau One's trade of Qing Mu has caused many Qing Family bigwigs to become dissatisfied."
Shadow shook his head: "Nothing happened. You don't need to consider this. Just bring Qing Mu home. Remember, the trade is scheduled for 20 days later, in Forbidden Zone 065. As for how to successfully bring Qing Mu home, that's something you need to consider."
"Wait," Qing Chen was stunned. "Aren't you sending experts? My group of investigators aren't experts. Without experts, how can I get Qing Mu back?"
Shadow thought for a moment: "Qing Ye and the others have left on missions. Figure it out yourself."
Qing Chen: "???"
How am I supposed to figure it out!
Shadow said, "Rest assured, the Shendai Family won't send experts."
"Why?" Qing Chen asked suspiciously.
Shadow said calmly, "They're worried that the trade for Qing Mu is fake, and that I've set a trap to kill their experts."
Qing Chen understood.
Qing Mu has been in the North for more than ten years, and no one has ever mentioned bringing him home.
After more than ten years, Shadow suddenly said that he wanted to bring Qing Mu home, and the Shendai Family's first reaction was... a trap.
The Shendai Family just had a Shendai Yunshan killed by that Old Master from the Li Clan.
And now, they are even more worried that this Shadow from the Qing Family might also be trying to set a trap to eliminate their high-end individual combat power.
Therefore, they won't send A-Class experts.
"But even without A-Class, they'll send some B-Class Gene Soldiers," Qing Chen said seriously. "The highest level in my team is D-Class, and I'm only C-Class. How can I handle a bunch of Gene Soldiers?"
"B-Class Gene Soldiers aren't something that's readily available," Shadow chuckled. "The Shendai Family only sent eight people to assassinate the important figure Li Changqing, and many of them died. Don't worry, I believe in your abilities."
Qing Chen felt strange: "I feel like you might be hoping I'll get into some danger?"
"Not at all," Shadow smiled. "I'm helping you grow. In a man's growth process, he always has to Face[-] some pressure. I'm not like Li Shutong. He protected you too well before, hoping you'd be carefree, even wanting you to return to school. But I'm different. I know how cruel this world is, and if you want to grow faster, you must experience countless dangers."
Qing Chen was stunned.
This sentence implicitly mentioned the urgency of time. Shadow hoped that he could grow quickly, so he was willing to actively create danger for him.
But why did he want him to grow quickly?
Is it because Shadow's time is truly running out?
Qing Chen said, "What if I die in danger?"
Shadow said, "That's your fate."
"Fine," Qing Chen sighed. It seems that this time, bringing Qing Mu back will indeed rely on himself.
It has to be said that both Shadow and Li Shutong were doing it for his own good, but their methods were diametrically opposed.
One hoped that he could regain his lost happy times.
The other hoped that he would quickly possess the capital and will to survive in this chaotic world.
The former protected him, while the latter let him Face[-] danger alone.
At this time, Shadow took a sip of tea and said, "I heard that your Guardians' Union just launched a surprise attack on the Mechanical God Sect in City 18 and captured a Cardinal? When Luo Wanya came to City 10, I thought you would lie low, but instead, you captured a Cardinal."
Qing Chen: "...It was an accident."
Sure enough, Luo Wanya's arrival in City 10 and Luo Wanya's relationship with Daybreak couldn't be hidden from Shadow.
Shadow said, "Now the Guardians' Union is making a lot of noise. To be honest, this is the first time the Mechanical God Sect has been so humiliated, having a Cardinal and Deacon snatched from their headquarters... It's quite festive to think about."
It has to be said that the Mechanical God Sect is quite unlucky. City 18 seems to have become their black hole.
First, a branch was taken away, then a Cardinal and Deacon were also taken away.
Now some people are joking, will the Pope come, and then the Pope will also be taken away? Will the Pope not dare to go to City 18 because of this?
Everyone knows that the Mechanical God Sect and the Guardians' Union are now sworn enemies.
But everyone is wondering who founded the Guardians' Union. From its appearance to now capturing the Cardinal, it has only been a month or two.
In such a short time, it already has such a terrifying influence and cohesion?
Shadow glanced at Qing Chen: "Just wait, the Mechanical God Sect will be furious this time, and they'll probably get serious. Although these pretentious ghosts and monsters can't be on the table, they still have some tricks up their sleeves, and people from the Chen Family and Koshima are also mixed in. I'd like to see how you plan to deal with this."
Shadow continued, "Keep Luo Wanya hidden in City 10. Don't think that you can fight the Mechanical God Sect just because you're on your own territory. They will soon find Luo Wanya's whereabouts and come after him... Of course, if you ask me for help, I can help you deal with this Mechanical God Sect."
Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "You clearly also want to deal with the Mechanical God Sect, yet you pretend to want to negotiate with me."
Shadow nodded: "Yes, I do want to deal with them."
Qing Chen said, "You want to deal with them, aren't you going to do anything?"
Shadow: "I have done something. I had my informant tell them that Luo Wanya is in City 10."
Qing Chen: "...You're such a person."
He can imagine that the bigwigs of the Mechanical God Sect will swarm over.
At this time, the Mechanical God Sect members in City 10 have already begun to use all their strength to find the whereabouts of the Guardians' Union...
...
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶
