42, Killer

Countdown 40:20:00.

Qing Chen walked out of the Alloy Gate as usual, noticing the prisoners looking at him with unusual eyes, seemingly surprised to see him reappear after five days.

But this time, he didn't walk through the corridor; instead, he simply stood still.

He waited for the prison broadcast and then followed the queue downstairs to get his meal.

Prisoners immediately believed the rumors from the last few days, "This young man had angered Uncle Li Dong, was locked in the 'dark room' for several days, and had even endured some torture."

Thus, this young man had now lost the special treatment he had in Prison No. 18.

However, the prisoners still didn't dare to provoke him easily, because Uncle Li Dong might offend Qing's Family, but they couldn't.

During the meal, Lu Guangyi and Qing Chen sat far from Uncle Li Dong.

Qing Chen bowed his head and ate, carefully chewing his food, making sure everything was thoroughly chewed before swallowing.

His stomach was now fragile, and he needed to be cautious.

Throughout the meal, Qing Chen didn't speak a word; there was nothing but silence.

On his side, on Uncle Li Dong's side, the separation was clear.

It was as though they were close friends just a few days ago, but today, they were strangers.

The prisoners whispered among themselves, gossiping about what exactly had happened. Had Uncle Li Dong fallen out with Qing's Family?

They speculated about what the taboo item guarded by Uncle Li Dong might be, something worth such caution and irritation.

At that moment, only Guo Huchan seemed carefree and indifferent.

He sat down next to Qing Chen with his tray, grinning as he said, "How did you manage to offend Uncle Li Dong to the point he tortured you like this?"

Qing Chen looked up at him, "Sitting by my side, aren't you afraid of offending Uncle Li Dong?"

Guo Huchan seemed completely unconcerned, "I'm not even afraid of Qing's Financial Group, why would I be afraid of Uncle Li Dong?"

"Then why are you looking for me?" Qing Chen seemed uninterested in Guo Huchan, the burly man who made empty promises and ran his mouth off, so he didn't even glance at him while they talked.

"I'm different from others, others might value the Qing's Family behind you, but I value your capabilities!" Guo Huchan said earnestly, "I'm serious, I want to invite someone ambitious like you."

"Not interested," Qing Chen said calmly, then stood up. He handed his tray to Lu Guangyi for washing and then walked alone towards the reading area.

He hadn't walked two steps when he seemed to falter as if losing strength and almost fell to the ground, but he managed to brace himself with his hands just in time to avoid embarrassment.

Qing Chen got up and continued walking forward.

Unbeknownst to him, two prisoners had followed him from behind at some point and were casually closing in on him.

However, in the next moment, the previously frail-looking Qing Chen suddenly turned and faced the two men.

The young man's gaze was clear but oppressively piercing, as if he saw right through them.

The two prisoners hesitated for a moment, they looked at each other as if making a decision, and then suddenly, each of them pulled out a sharpened toothbrush handle from their waistbands and charged at Qing Chen.

In Qing Chen's eyes, the hydraulic shafts on their Mechanical Legs suddenly powered up; he could even see steam ejecting from their steel limbs.

It wasn't a physical reaction caused by their mechanical limbs, but rather, some mechanical structure inside the mechanical limbs had compressed the air, instantly vaporizing the moisture in the air!

But just as they leaped toward him, both simultaneously closed their eyes and passed out.

Qing Chen sidestepped slightly, letting the two men brush past him, flying behind him and tumbling over the ground more than a dozen times before finally stopping.

The two couldn't get up again; their consciousness was firmly gripped by Lin Xiaoxiao's nightmare.

Qing Chen knelt beside them to observe, while Lu Guangyi came over with his Mechanical Arm, pried open their mouths, and forcibly extracted their back molars.

The prisoners were all stunned; no one had seen clearly what had happened, everything had occurred so quickly.

They didn't understand why these two prisoners had attacked Qing Chen, nor how they had been taken down.

Lu Guangyi held a back molar in his hand for Qing Chen to see; it was clearly a silver poison capsule.

At that moment, Qing Chen understood that the three Death Warriors who had died before were not there for Uncle Li Dong; the target… was himself.

These two death warriors had come in five days ago, along with Jian Sheng from Sichuan Province.

At that time, everyone's attention was on Jian Sheng, but even in that immense chaos, Qing Chen noticed something odd about these two individuals.

Initially, he didn't pay much attention, but on the fourth day in the dark cell, the more isolated Qing Chen became, the clearer his mind grew, to the point where he revisited all the unusual occurrences in his mind.

Therefore, he gave them a chance, a chance where he was alone and vulnerable.

In doing so, he aimed to confirm for whom these death warriors had come.

If these two individuals did not take action, he would expose them regardless; if they attacked, the answer would immediately become clear.

Calculating the time, the first batch of death warriors had come in with him.

So, actually, from his first day here, there had been people wanting to kill him. If he hadn't found Uncle Li Dong immediately, allowing the latter to feel wary, he would have already been dead.

These subsequent death warriors seemed to be under a death order, desperate enough to risk their own lives just to kill him.

Who exactly wanted him dead, other Shadow Candidates?

Qing Chen couldn't be sure, but this was the most likely answer.

It seemed the struggle for the position of the Shadow was more dangerous than he had imagined.

In Qing's Financial Group, those Shadows specifically handling dirty jobs are ruthless, and only those who dare to eliminate their rivals are fit to be Shadows.

This dark race among nine people was never about who performed tasks better, but who was more vicious and decisive.

At that moment, four Mechanical Prison Guards uniformly sprinted over.

However, they did not trouble Qing Chen but directly carried these two death warriors out.

Qing Chen knew they would face very harsh interrogation and punishment, as he had just experienced.

"Boss, what now?" Lu Guangyi asked.

"Wait for them to talk," Qing Chen said and then exchanged a glance with Lin Xiaoxiao across the air before heading to the reading area.

...

At night, Prison No. 18 returned to tranquility.

As Qing Chen lay on his bunk pondering, the alloy gate of his cell opened on its own.

He was not surprised but quietly walked out, with Uncle Li Dong, Ye Wan, and Lin Xiaoxiao waiting for him in the downstairs fitness area.

This was agreed upon, as what Uncle Li Dong had to teach him must not be known to others. Fortunately, after 9 p.m., all prisoners were forced back to their cells, giving Qing Chen ample time to learn… how to become a Transcendent.

Uncle Li Dong looked at Qing Chen before him and asked, "Got any questions? You can deal with other things before we start learning."

"Who wants to kill me?" Qing Chen asked.

"Not interrogated out yet," Lin Xiaoxiao said nearby: "These two have tough bones, still clench their teeth even in nightmares. They really committed crimes to get here, no one arranged that, so it's hard to trace anything from that angle. Their mechanical limbs seem to be specially replaced to prevent tracking down their sale and production locations. But don't worry, give me 7 days, and I'll have an answer for you."

"Thank you," Qing Chen nodded.

Uncle Li Dong thought for a moment and said, "It must be those young ones from the Qing family who want to contend for the position of the Shadow. Facing dangers is an inevitable path, and you need to be mentally prepared for this."

"Why does everyone compete for this position of the Shadow?" Qing Chen puzzled: "Even at the risk of dying nine out of ten times?"

Uncle Li Dong smiled and said, "Because, since some generation, the rule in the Qing Family has been that only those who have been a Shadow can become the Family Head."

...

Asking for monthly votes, please! Just let me stay in the top ten, or I am going to drop out again!

...

Thanks to "Second Brother Not Taking the Journey", "Lord of Cloud Skies", "Endless Night Fire ", "Flying Little Crow", "Mimo Seven Tones", and "A Shivering Student" for becoming the new Alliance Hierarchs of this book, thank you, bosses, you are all so generous!

Thanks to Li Dongze and Yuan Zhang for the new million bounty, thank you, bosses, you are all so generous!

May the bosses have blessings as vast as the East Sea and a lifespan as long as the South Mountains. Yesterday was such a surprise, gaining so many new Hierarchs!