Naming Technique of the Night

The first known spoils from the first round of the Shadow Conflict was the Taboo item ACE-054: an old matchbox.

According to the information provided by Lin Xiaoxiao, one match would appear out of thin air in this matchbox every day. Once lit, the flame would reflect the person one most wanted to see at the moment, showing what that person was doing.

When Qing Chen saw the introduction of the Taboo item ACE-054, he thought to himself, was this stolen from the little match girl?

The little match girl really has it rough.

Of course, what's even more pitiful is the Transcendent who derived this Taboo item. If their ability was just to light a match and see the person they wanted to see, then their combat power would be even less than that of a 'wild beast'...

The functionality of the Taboo item ACE-054 was relatively useless, but it was still considered a Taboo item after all.

Qing Chen became suddenly very interested in this Qing Xing.

It was then that he recalled an extremely subtle detail from Yan Chunmi's information.

The data totaled tens of thousands of words, yet that sentence constituted only a very small part: "Qing Xing is sick."

What's important wasn't those four words, but the time marked beside them.

Qing Chen felt that the time was so familiar… it happened to be the first day he arrived at Prison 18 after time travelling.

This made Qing Chen frown. Could Qing Xing be a Time Traveler as well?

Uncertain, but worth suspecting.

Qing Xing fell ill while within City No. 10, which means, if the other party was a Time Traveler, then they should be one of the Zheng City people.

Qing Chen asked, "Mr. Shadow, you must have guessed long ago that Qing Xing's ability comes from a Taboo item, right? Including the big shots from Qing's Family, they should also be able to think of it."

"That's not important. What's important is what he can actually do with it," Shadow laughed. "The detail you noticed, I've noticed too. So are you guessing he's a Time Traveler?"

"He's not," Qing Chen shook his head, "This file includes Qing Xing's paintings from different periods. First of all, reaching that level in sketching isn't easy. Second, his painting style didn't change before and after he got sick."

"Whether he is or isn't, I'm not sure, but I do know that among the remaining Shadow Candidates, there is one... oh, besides you," Shadow laughed.

Qing Chen was taken aback. There's another one?

Who?

Was it Qing Yuan, the one who's been missing all this time?

Qing Yuan wasn't a native of City No. 10 but came from City No. 19. However, after arriving here, even the spy organization Kite Falcon couldn't find him. This indicates that there's an organization supporting him from behind.

It could be the power of Qing Yuan's parents, but it could also be the power of the Time Traveler Organization from the Outer World Taicheng!

At that moment, Shadow stood up: "You have another visitor, huh? This little broken house is quite lively. I'm leaving now. Once you've picked the trading location, you must tell me by tomorrow at the latest. I need to prepare in advance."

"Yes, of course. Before 6 pm tomorrow night, I will send you the chosen trading location and the reasons for my choice," Qing Chen nodded.

At the next moment, Shadow opened the Door of Shadow, and there was a knock on the door from outside.

Qing Chen opened the door, only to see Su Xingzhi standing outside sneakily. He had changed out of his white suit into casual clothes.

It must be said, he was more cautious than Li Dongze, or maybe it was because he wasn't as powerful as Li Dongze.

Su Xingzhi didn't stand on ceremony, shoving his way through the door: "Little boss, finally seeing you again. Seeing me doesn't seem to surprise you at all!"

"Indeed, I'm not surprised," Qing Chen closed the door. From the moment Li Dongze appeared at the Utopia Building, he knew it was only a matter of time before he would meet Su Xingzhi here as well.

The two of them perfectly illustrated the word 'internal strife'.

Qing Chen looked at Su Xingzhi: "Where are your glutinous rice balls, didn't you bring any?"

"How could I possibly bring frozen food for the little boss to cook," Su Xingzhi said righteously. "Li Dongze must have brought frozen food, right? I'm not like him."

While talking, Su Xingzhi carried a black bag into the kitchen, adeptly tied on an apron, and then... actually started making dough!

The bag contained meat, chives, onions, ginger, garlic—all things considered luxury items for the wealthy in the city.

The average person could only eat synthetic protein bars and rely on a few bucks' worth of composite vitamin tablets to achieve nutritional balance.

Su Xingzhi moved deftly, chopping meat, cutting chives, rolling out dough for dumpling wrappers, and had everything ready in less than half an hour.

During this time, the guy even washed his hands from time to time to take selfies, recording the process of making dumplings.

"Why are you filming this?" Qing Chen asked, puzzled.

"So that Li Dongze doesn't slander me for bringing ready-made dumpling wrappers and fillings," Su Xingzhi stated earnestly. "Little boss, you have no idea. Li Dongze isn't a good guy. We had agreed to come to City No. 10 together to visit you, but he sneaked here by himself. That guy, his heart is black!"

Qing Chen returned to the living room to wait, thinking that it had come to the part where they badmouthed each other.

Soon after, Su Xingzhi brought out the dumplings: "Little boss, let's take a photo together."

Without waiting for Qing Chen to refuse, Su Xingzhi sat beside him and pressed the camera button.

But it seemed Su Xingzhi was more meticulous than Li Dongze, and he was a bit more dramatic.

After taking the photo, he felt something was missing. He went back to the kitchen, dabbed some flour on his face, and then took another photo.