Chapter 751: 440, Heartbeat Sound

Countdown 719:00:00.

Another thirty-day traversal period has likely started, and it must be thirty days again when they return; many time travelers with mechanical limbs must be thinking about how to recharge.

Qing Chen returned to the 112th floor of the Utopia Building alone.

As he opened the door, he knew the shadow was already inside.

The scent of Realm camellia wafted out as soon as he opened the door.

Chuang Wang said that the other party was holding a clan meeting in the Ginkgo Manor in City No. 5, facing the scrutiny of the elders of Qing’s family.

If Chuang Wang was not lying, then the true terror of the Door of Shadow lay in its lack of distance limitations.

As long as it was a place he had been to before, he could reach it.

Qing Chen entered the room, removing his coat as he walked, and hung it on the coat rack, “As far as I know, you should be in City No. 5 right now.”

The room was utterly quiet, eerily devoid of any sound.

Qing Chen paused, looking at the shadow lying on the sofa, who was wearing a black mask and a black duckbill cap, appearing as though asleep.

However, Qing Chen could not hear the slightest breathing from the figure, not even a heartbeat.

This made Qing Chen feel uneasy.

Even if the shadow could hold its breath, why was there no heartbeat at all?

Was it dead?

Qing Chen furrowed his brows; he didn’t believe a legendary shadow would die so ignobly in his own apartment.

Should he take this moment to remove the other’s mask and see the face?

Forget it.

If the other party came back to life, he might end up silenced.

Qing Chen calmly moved a chair from the dining room, waiting for the other party to awaken.

After an unknown amount of time,

Thud.

Like a drumstick striking a drum surface, the shadow’s heartbeat resumed.

The shadow sat up, smiling wryly, “You’re really heartless, seeing me lying here without a heartbeat and not even checking if I’m alright? I bet you hesitated, conflicted about whether to take a look at my face.”

“You’re playing too much,” Qing Chen sighed, “Running here in the middle of the night to brew tea, and then playing dead?”

“The meaning of life is to find joy,” the shadow said with a laugh.

Qing Chen thought for a moment and then said, “You used your ability to control the flow of time on yourself, right? That’s why the interval between each heartbeat is several minutes long.”

But there is an issue here.

The average human heartbeat runs at about 75 per minute, which means that the shadow’s ability to stretch the flow of time could extend a second to several minutes.

In such absolute time, who could beat the shadow?

By the time you make a move, the shadow might have already scattered your ashes.

The shadow didn’t respond to Qing Chen’s question.

Qing Chen looked at him and was suddenly alarmed.

Had the shadow actually fallen into some kind of near-death state just now? This reminded Qing Chen of the times the shadow said he didn’t have much time left.

Qing Chen asked doubtfully, “Do you really not have much life left?”

The shadow shook his head, “Rest assured, my life is still long; I have at least two or three years left.”

Qing Chen instinctively felt something was amiss.

Would the shadow tell the truth? He felt not.

So there were two possibilities: one was that the shadow’s time was much longer than two or three years, possibly living two or three hundred years without a problem.

The other possibility was that the shadow had less than two or three years left.

But he couldn’t let others know that he was running out of time.

At some point, Qing Chen’s heart leaned more toward the latter, especially since when arranging his affairs, the shadow always seemed in a hurry.

Eager to hand over the hearts of the intelligence system to him, even at the risk of exposing some details, eager to get Qing Chen involved, frequently coming to chat with Qing Chen, and promising to give him the Taboo when Qing Chen became the shadow.

Considering the shadow’s usual habits, why the urgency?

Qing Chen looked at the shadow, “How much time do you have left?”

The shadow smiled, “Didn’t I tell you? At least two or three years.”

Qing Chen asked no further. He calmly inquired, “I heard you were held accountable at the clan meeting?”

The shadow responded with a smile brimming with amusement, “You’re quite well-informed, aren’t you? Who told you, do you also have an insider within the Qing’s clan? Impressive!”

Qing Chen thought for a moment and then said, “A time traveler informed us. He said your support for the transaction involving Qing Mu at Intelligence Department One had already caused much dissatisfaction among many elders of Qing’s family.”

Shadow shook his head, “There’s no need to worry about that, you just need to bring Qing Mu back home. Remember, the trade is set for 20 days from now, to be completed at Taboo Land #065. As for how you manage to bring Qing Mu back home smoothly, that’s what you need to figure out.”

“Wait,” Qing Chen was stunned for a moment, “Aren’t you going to send some experts? The detectives under me are hardly experts. Without top fighters, how am I supposed to get Qing Mu back?”

Shadow thought for a moment, “Qing Ye and his team have left on a mission. You’ll have to think of a way yourself.”

Qing Chen: “???”

How am I supposed to come up with a plan!

Shadow said, “Don’t worry, the Jindai family won’t deploy their top experts.”

“Why?” Qing Chen asked suspiciously.

Shadow replied indifferently, “They’re worried inside that the trade for Qing Mu is a trap, and that I’ve set it up to kill off their top fighters.”

Qing Chen understood.

Qing Mu had been in the north for over a decade, and no one had mentioned bringing him back home.

When Shadow suddenly mentioned bringing Qing Mu back home after all these years, the Jindai family’s first reaction was… this must be a deception.

They had just been tricked by Elder Li from the Li family, who killed a Jindai Yunsong.

And now, their bigger worry was whether Shadow from Qing’s Family might also be setting a trap to eliminate their high-level combatants.

Therefore, they wouldn’t send any A-Class experts.

“But even if they don’t send A-Class, they might send some B-Class Genetic Warriors,” Qing Chen said seriously, “The highest rank among my subordinates is D-Class, and I’m only C-Class. How can I compete against a bunch of Genetic Warriors?”

“B-Class Genetic Warriors aren’t something you find on every street corner,” Shadow said with a laugh, “The Jindai family only sent eight to assassinate the important figure Li Changqing, and several of them died. Don’t worry, I believe in your abilities.”

Qing Chen felt odd and said, “I feel like, maybe you actually want me to encounter some danger?”

“Not at all,” Shadow said with a cheerful smile, “I’m helping you grow. A man’s growth process must face some pressure. I’m not like Uncle Li Dong who has been protecting you too well, hoping that you can live worry-free, even trying to get you back to school. But I’m different. I know how cruel this world can be. If you want to grow up faster, you must go through numerous dangers.”

Qing Chen was taken aback.

These words subtly hinted at the urgency of time, with Shadow hoping he could grow up quickly, thus deliberately exposing him to danger.

But why did they want him to grow up quickly?

Is it because Shadow’s time was really running out?

Qing Chen said, “But what if I die in danger?”

Shadow said, “That would be your fate.”

“Alright then,” Qing Chen sighed, realizing that for this trade for Qing Mu, he really had to rely on himself.

Despite everything, both Shadow and Uncle Li wished him well, though their approaches were completely different.

One hoped he could reclaim his lost happy times.

The other hoped he would soon possess the skills and will to survive in this chaotic world.

The former protected him constantly; the latter threw him into danger to face it alone.

At that moment, Shadow, taking a sip of tea, said, “I heard that your Parents’ Meeting just launched a stealth attack on the Mechanicus in City #18 and kidnapped a Red-robed Bishop. When Luo Wanya came to City #10, I thought you were going to lay low, but instead, you ended up kidnapping a Red-robed Bishop.”

Qing Chen: “…It was actually an accident.”

Indeed, Luo Wanya’s arrival in City #10, and his relationship with Daytime, couldn’t escape this Shadow.

Shadow said, “The Parents’ Meeting is causing quite a stir now. Honestly, it’s the first time the Mechanicus has been insulted like this, having a Red-robed Bishop and Red clergy stolen from their headquarters… just thinking about it is celebratory.”

As for the Mechanicus, City #18 seems to have become their black hole.

First, a subordinate branch was taken, and then a Red-robed Bishop and Red clergy were taken as well.

Now people are joking, wondering if the Pope himself might visit and then also get kidnapped. Would that make the Pope too scared to visit City #18?

Everyone knows that the Mechanicus and the Parents’ Meeting are in a do-or-die situation.

But everyone is curious about who founded this Parents’ Meeting, from its emergence to now, kidnapping a Red-robed Bishop in just a month or two.

Such a short time and already such terrifying influence and cohesion?

Shadow glanced at Qing Chen, “Just you wait, the Mechanicus is going to be furious this time, ready to strike real blows. These demon-like tricksters may not show themselves, but they still have some tricks up their sleeves, and there are people from the Chen Clan and Deer Island among them. I’m quite curious to see how you plan to handle this.”

Shadow continued, “You keep Luo Wanya well-hidden in City #10. Don’t think that just because you’re on your own turf, you can start a fight with the Mechanicus. They’ll soon trace Luo Wanya’s whereabouts and come looking… of course, if you ask, I can take care of the Mechanicus for you.”

Qing Chen thought for a moment, then said, “It’s clear you also want to deal with this Mechanicus, yet you act as if you’re setting terms with me.”

Shadow nodded, “Yes, I really do want to deal with them.”

Qing Chen said, “If you want to deal with them, aren’t you planning to do something?”

Shadow, “I did do something. I let an insider tell them Luo Wanya has come to City #10.”

Qing Chen: “… You could be a bit more subtle, couldn’t you?”

He could imagine that the big shots of the Mechanicus were probably already swarming their way here.

Meanwhile, the followers of the Mechanicus in City #10 had already started mobilizing all their resources to trace the Parents’ Meeting.

…

Another chapter at 11 PM.

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