Night’s Nomenclature-Chapter 481: The Price

In the dark, gloomy cave, the jagged stalactites had undergone the passage of countless years to form their present appearance.

Their jagged shapes resembled claws, as if demons were lurking within the mountain, struggling to break free from the rock Face[-]...

A gigantic creature from beneath the water gradually surfaced, inching its way to the riverbank. It was six meters long.

Only then did Qing Chen finally see its Face[-]—a terrifying top predator living underground, the Overlord Newt.

The newt's eyes seemed to have degenerated; its blurry, cloudy pupils stared at Qing Chen.

Standing before it, Qing Chen felt incredibly small, as if he were being targeted by a hellish fiend.

The oppressive sense of threat was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

Shendai Yunhe approached the Overlord Newt, but the aquatic beast did not show any signs of aggression, remaining motionless as if it were a pet of this A-class powerhouse.

Metal chains were draped over the Overlord Newt, resembling a saddle.

With the Overlord Newt's protection, the creatures in the water would no longer attack them.

Shendai Yunhe patted the Overlord Newt's rough, black rock-like skin, then turned to Qing Chen and smiled. "This is 700 meters underground. Even the Air Fortress's life detection equipment wouldn't be able to find you. No matter how powerful the people who came to save you are, there are hundreds of forks in the road and cave entrances along the way. It's impossible to find this place without spending thousands of people three days and three nights searching."

Shendai Yunhe continued, "By the time they find this place, I will have already taken you to another exit over a hundred kilometers away. It's quite interesting to think about; so many big shots came to save you, only to come up empty-handed."

Qing Chen calmly looked at Shendai Yunhe. "It's admirable that you prepared so thoroughly, but I think the Shendai Consortium is too short-sighted, exposing so much for me."

Shendai Yunhe shook his head. "I also thought you weren't worth it at first. But then so many people came to rescue you, and you showed an inability to be possessed, making me think you are valuable enough to warrant these resources."

With that, Shendai Yunhe walked over to give Qing Chen some diving equipment.

Qing Chen took a step back.

Shendai Yunhe laughed. "Resistance is futile. Even if you don't cooperate, I will drag you into the water. You can't breathe underwater, so you will be the one at a disadvantage."

Qing Chen calmly said, "Will a dead me still be of value?"

"Of course," Shendai Yunhe said, "I will bring your body back to Shendai and open your skull to see why no one can possess you."

Qing Chen said, "Maybe their level is too low. Why don't we go back and try? Maybe you can possess me."

Shendai Yunhe shook his head with a smile. "Do you think I'm stupid? Let's go. Perhaps you don't know, while the whole world is looking for you, Qing Hua and Yang Xuyang have been secretly apprehended by us and will soon be transported north. If you don't want to implicate them, then just come quietly with me."

Qing Chen froze, no longer moving.

Because Qing Chen's hands were still handcuffed, Shendai Yunhe only fastened an oxygen tank to him.

In the Federation, there aren't many places that require underwater work, so the diving equipment isn't much more advanced than that of the Outer World.

This oxygen tank can only last for two hours at most.

In other words, Shendai Yunhe is confident that he can use the Overlord Newt to travel one hundred kilometers within two hours.

Now, those trying to rescue Qing Chen will truly lose their target.

The wilderness is too vast. The search and rescue team must first determine the search area before conducting the rescue.

For a normal person's swimming speed, it's only about 1-3 kilometers per hour. Added to the speed of the underground river, it might reach 20 kilometers per hour.

Who would have thought that they would travel one hundred kilometers in two hours?

If the estimation is wrong, then the search area will also be wrong.

After putting on his diving equipment, Shendai Yunhe looked at Qing Chen and jokingly said, "Qing ChenSupervisor, you still seem calm. Are you ready to become a prisoner in the Shendai Consortium?"

"Too much chatter," Qing Chen calmly said, "You're using words to mask your inner nervousness. Actually, after discovering how terrifying those who came to rescue me are, you're not very sure whether there will be anyone waiting for you at the end of this underground river. So you're scared."

Shendai Yunhe shook his head with a smile, climbing onto the Overlord Newt's back, using alloy chains to secure his position.

He pulled on the rope connected to Qing Chen's wrist, letting the Overlord Newt slowly crawl back into the underground river.

The underground river was incredibly cold. The Overlord Newt moved extremely fast in the river, its huge tail flapping like a propeller, stirring up the dark currents.

Qing Chen was hung behind, following the Overlord Newt.

He closed his eyes, feeling himself drifting like a doll in the cold, dark water.

A dead end.

A desperate situation.

The underground river is even more intricate than the cave. Even if Qing Chen could remember the way back, the turbulent current would make it impossible for him to return.

Even swimming upstream a few meters a minute would take all his strength.

So, if he wanted to live, he could only stop struggling and let Shendai Yunhe take him to the next exit.

Then he would be imprisoned in the Shendai Consortium's military secret base for life.

It seemed... there was no better way.

But what if Qing Chen, from the moment he entered the water, had never planned to go out alive?

A Knight, even on a dead-end path, must die with dignity.

Those who have insulted a Knight must pay the price with their lives.

"Everything has a price."

Qing Chen calculated the time underwater, then opened his eyes. Only the faint light from Shendai Yunhe's light stick was visible in front of him.

A silver glow suddenly lit up in the veins of his arms. Countless Nanobots in the young man's body absorbed enough bioenergy and concentrated towards his wrists.

They seeped out from the gaps in his skin cells, like mercury, covering the handcuffs and wrist restraints.

They flowed into the keyholes of the cuffs and wrist restraints.

The little guys hardened, pushing against the mechanisms in the keyholes.

Two barely audible clicks could be heard underwater, and the cuffs and wrist restraints simultaneously opened.

This was the effect of the ubiquitous Nanobots, and it was the long-awaited freedom.

Qing Chen grabbed the rope Shendai Yunhe was using to pull him, inching closer.

In the dark water, Shendai Yunhe's "sixth sense" was weakened, and he didn't immediately notice Qing Chen approaching along the rope.

When Shendai Yunhe noticed something was wrong and looked back, he saw that Qing Chen was already within a meter of him!

The young man underwater had a bright smile, pulling a strand of his hair between his fingers and dragging it across Shendai Yunhe's oxygen tank.

A clang!

A huge gash appeared on the black oxygen tank, and the compressed air suddenly found an outlet, gushing wildly from the gash.

At this moment, Shendai Yunhe finally understood how this young man killed people. It turned out that a thin strand of hair could be the sharpest weapon in his hands!

Shendai Yunhe didn't know that Qing Chen was a Knight.

He also didn't know that even when a Knight had only a breath left, they could still use their body and hair as weapons!

Shendai Yunhe's Face[-] contorted with rage, and he grabbed Qing Chen's oxygen tank strap, trying to tear off Qing Chen's oxygen tank for himself.

Whether Qing Chen had an oxygen tank or whether he could survive, he didn't care.

But Shendai Yunhe discovered that in the light of the light stick, Qing Chen was still smiling.

That bright smile made him feel uneasy.

The next moment, he realized that before cutting his oxygen tank, Qing Chen had already cut his own!

This young man wanted to die with him!

But even so, Qing Chen didn't rest assured. He pulled another strand of hair, intending to take advantage of the other's panic and shoot a Knight True Qi at Shendai Yunhe's Face[-].

But an A-class is still an A-class. Shendai Yunhe vigilantly dodged to the left, and the "Autumn Leaf Blade" made of hair only hit the A-class expert's left arm, not even piercing through.

At this moment, Qing Chen had already let go of the rope, letting himself drift in the dark current of the underground river, separating from the Overlord Newt and Shendai Yunhe, the distance between them widening.

It seemed that Qing Chen was forced into the water.

However, Qing Chen had already planned what to do before entering the water.

700 meters underground, even if Yang Yang came, he wouldn't be able to sense his Force field; Master Li Shutong, Li Changqing, and Shadow couldn't save him either.

Even if he could breathe underwater, he wouldn't be able to find a way out before his Knight True Qi ran out.

After killing Shendai Yunhe, the Overlord Newt wouldn't let him go, and the ferocious fish in the water wouldn't let him go either.

But it didn't matter.

He could die here with Shendai Yunhe!

Perhaps in other places, ten Qing Chens couldn't defeat one Shendai Yunhe.

But this was different.

The power of nature could kill anyone.

Thank the world, there is deprivation, but there are also gifts.

If Shendai Yunhe thought that threatening Qing Chen with death would make him obediently become a prisoner, he was too naive.

A Knight never lacks the courage to Face[-] death!

Their path is accompanied by life and death!

So, Qing Chen calculated the time, and 30 minutes after he and Shendai Yunhe entered the water, he finally chose to act.

The reason for waiting 30 minutes was that in this situation, if Shendai Yunhe ran out of oxygen, even if he immediately returned, he wouldn't be able to hold his breath for half an hour underwater.

This A-class expert would definitely drown in this underground river!

Shendai Yunhe was furious now. He never expected that he, a powerful A-class expert, would be in danger of death in his most proud moment, plotted against by a mere C-class.

He also didn't expect that this small character in his eyes would have the courage to exchange lives with him.

However, at this moment, the Overlord Newt opened its mouth and spat out a black bag containing artificial gills that Shendai Yunhe had hidden.

This was technology that the Time Traveler had diverted to the Outer World, an additional precaution that Shendai Yunhe had made, but he never expected to use it.

He urged the Overlord Newt to return and capture Qing Chen.

Even with a corpse, he would bring this young man back!

However, Shendai Yunhe froze when he returned. The young man was not drifting with the current, but using his fingers to hold onto the stone wall at the top of the underground river, climbing like he was mountain climbing, slowly climbing upstream.

In this dead end, he still hadn't given up on a glimmer of hope...

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