Chapter 823: 494, that Joker
The sound of the sniper rifle roared incessantly.
All of Qing Chen's emotions transformed into anger, bursting out together with the gunfire.
Twenty-seven Time Travelers from the Mysterious Business Department were struck down by bullets flying from 600 meters away.
They never thought that in this Osaka, the stronghold of Jindai, someone would dare to kill so recklessly!
Even the Time Travelers who had previously caused trouble in the Island Country were now forced to be extremely cautious in hiding their traces!
In an instant, the scene outside Osaka Kansai Airport turned extremely bloody as people scrambled to escape and find cover.
But the sound of the sniper rifle was incredibly stable and rapid, giving them no chance at all.
The large glass floor-to-ceiling windows of the airport shattered one after another, with fragments falling to the ground like crystal clear cascades.
The crowd panicked, dodging fearfully, worried that this shooting incident might affect them.
However, tourists outside the airport quickly discovered that the killer's wrath was all directed at the Mysterious Business Department. His shooting was so precise that it did not harm any Ordinary People nearby.
They watched as those 'big shots' from the Mysterious Business Department fell one by one, as if someone was unfolding a cruel painting in front of them.
In fact, if anyone familiar with Qing Chen were present, they would understand the determination in Qing Chen's heart to kill at this moment.
He could have increased the shooting distance, but he chose to keep it within a range completely unaffected by wind speed and bullet travel time.
In fact, Qing Chen took that flight just to kill this middle-aged man and lure out the Time Travelers from the Mysterious Business Department for a fight.
The identity of the middle-aged man wasn't important.
Because Qing Chen wanted to kill so many Jindai Time Travelers this time that this middle-aged man was just one of them.
What mattered was that Osaka was Jindai's stronghold, and the Time Traveler Organization was extremely tight-knit. Si Nianhua once advised Qing Chen not to provoke them, as attempting to kill recklessly in someone else's base would surely provoke a mad counterattack like stirring up a hornet's nest.
But Qing Chen didn't care. Since there were many people in their base, he would lure them out to fight.
Soon, of the more than twenty Time Travelers from the Mysterious Business Department, only a few found cover before the bullets arrived.
They called for support frantically on the phone: "A sniper is attacking. They deliberately lured us here and set up an ambush beforehand! The sniper is in one of the three buildings opposite Kansai Airport, but we can't confirm which one!"
In Osaka City Hall, Chuo Ward Office, and Konohana Ward Office, hundreds of Time Travelers were driving vehicles madly onto the main roads of Osaka City.
The so-called Ward Office means the location of an administrative agency's office.
This shows just how terrifying the influence of Jindai's Time Travelers on the entire Island Country is.
Qing Chen's action, as Si Nianhua and Ji Guanya said, was like stirring up a hornet's nest.
These people were fully armed and quickly blocked all roads outside Osaka Kansai Airport.
They wore earpieces, turned off the gun safety, and then rapidly approached the three buildings where the sniper might be hiding.
Meanwhile, Qing Chen, in an apartment room, had already put down his sniper rifle.
He placed the sniper rifle on the windowsill.
Calmly, he changed into another set of clothes prepared in advance in the apartment.
Qing Chen burned all the documents he'd brought with him to Osaka, took another set of documents from the drawer, and walked out of the apartment.
In the instant he stepped out, he already looked identical to the photo on his new documents.
As Lin Xiaoxiao and Ye Wan once said, when Qing Chen is determined to hide his tracks, he would blend into the crowd like a drop of water into the sea, making it impossible for his enemies to find him.
His Taboo items were all hidden in the forest where he was attacked by wolves.
At that time, he knew he was going to die, and if he died, even his virtues would surface.
So to avoid equipping Jindai after his death,
adhering to the principle of not benefiting the enemy even in death, Qing Chen preferred to hide those Taboo items forever.
As a fact, if he hadn't hidden the Taboo items, they would have been long taken by Jindai Yunhe. This decision proved very wise.
However, the Taboo item ACE-005 Da Fu was different; even if Qing Chen died, it wouldn't fall from his face.
And Jindai had no clue about its containment conditions and couldn't use it.
So, Taboo item ACE-005 was Qing Chen's final Taboo item after his escape. The rest would be retrieved from the forest once he broke free.
Of course, it was precisely this final Taboo item that gave Qing Chen the opportunity to kill in Osaka.
When Si Nianhua came to him, she made it clear that she would assist Qing Chen unconditionally and wholeheartedly in the Outer World.
Qing Chen's requirements were simple too. He didn't need Si Nianhua or Ji Guanya to join the fight; they just needed to place what he needed in designated locations.
At that time, Si Nianhua wanted to offer more help, even initiating a Time Traveler conflict in the Island Country once more, but Qing Chen didn't agree.
At that time, Si Nianhua still didn't know that providing just a few identification documents was enough for Qing Chen to bring endless trouble to the Mysterious Business Department.
Shortly after Qing Chen exited the building, he noticed that the Mysterious Business Department had set up checkpoints at all major transport routes.
All vehicles and pedestrians had to show their documents to pass.
Qing Chen blended in with the crowd, calmly accepting the inspection like a normal person, and was allowed to pass.
The Mysterious Business Department had clearly already traced the identity information Qing Chen used on the plane.
But Qing Chen had boarded using a fake identity and fake documents.
Now, Jindai was looking for an 18-year-old boy named 'Guan Zhongke.' What did that have to do with Qing Chen?
More and more Jindai Time Travelers brushed past Qing Chen. The young boy walked into the crowd and disappeared.
Meanwhile, Si Nianhua and Ji Guanya had already sneaked into the country and were sitting in an izakaya not far from Osaka Shinsaibashi.
Ji Guanya smiled at Si Nianhua, "He's already caused such a big commotion, isn't it a bit inappropriate for us to be drinking here?"
Si Nianhua glanced at him, "If you want to court death, I'm not stopping you."
"You're from Qing's Family, so calling him the future new boss isn't wrong. But I'm from the Li Family, I don't necessarily need to risk my life for him," Ji Guanya sipped his sake.
The sake, called "14th Generation. White Cloud Comes and Goes," tasted sweet and refreshing with almost no alcohol flavor. Many considered it the Moutai of sake.
These two sure knew how to enjoy themselves.
Si Nianhua said indifferently, "You don't need to rush to distance yourself. If Li Changqing knew you were slacking off during this return, your end wouldn't be very pleasant."
Ji Guanya didn't seem to care, pondering for a moment before saying, "I'm curious though, what exactly is your future boss aiming to do? There are thousands of Time Travelers in Osaka. Killing these twenty or so people is like a drizzle to Jindai. What's the point?"
Si Nianhua, setting down her chopsticks meant for tuna sashimi, replied calmly, "He needs to keep Jindai on edge for ten more days. He didn't plan to start a massacre upon arriving in Osaka. Our new boss seems to be waiting for a better moment, though I don't know when."
For the next ten days, the Mysterious Business Department would undoubtedly be in a state of extreme vigilance, having to both investigate the killer and prevent another sniper from assassinating important figures.
However, Qing Chen would not continue his assassinations during this period.
He would return when their nerves were strained to the limit.
At this moment,
Si Nianhua's men had blended into the crowd as per Qing Chen's arrangement.
They were secretly collecting data related to the assassination: how many Jindai Time Travelers were in each ward office, the response speed of each ward office in a crisis, and who was in the ward office.
Most crucially, where were Jindai's chosen ones hidden?
This was the information Qing Chen wanted to know.
Ji Guanya suddenly said, "But killing these twenty or so people shouldn't keep Jindai on edge for too long, right?"
Si Nianhua thought for a moment, then said, "He said he has his ways."
...
...
Inside Kansai Airport.
A middle-aged man was silently watching the surveillance video of the teenager's swift and efficient killing.
The efficiency of the killing was incredibly high, definitely the work of an assassin accustomed to life and death.
You should know that the middle-aged Time Traveler had used two doses of the Genetic Potion, yet he couldn't react at all before the killer.
And the technique to pierce the spleen was so sharp — how many times must one have practiced to locate the spleen from the outside so accurately?
He asked on the communication channel, "Have you located the sniper's position?"
A voice sounded in the earpiece, "Reporting, sir, not yet. We're searching the three buildings one by one; the smell of gunpowder from the sniper rifle can't be hidden."
"Okay, keep looking," the middle-aged man stood up.
He silently watched the bodies, suddenly wondering who had come to Jindai's stronghold and acted so arrogantly?
Was it Qing Chen Inspector? Or... the boss of Bai Zhi?
He couldn't be sure; the shooting distance was too close. Many snipers could do this, so it might not be Bai Zhi's boss.
At this time, the information that Qing Chen was a Knight was also a Jindai upper-level secret, and not widely known.
Before this return, the Jindai Consortium had ordered all Time Travelers to be wary of Time Travelers from Qing's Family, Qing Chen, Bai Zhi, Kunlun, and Kyushu.
But this order was mainly for the Jindai Time Travelers within China; no one expected the opposition to come directly to the Island Country.
As he pondered, the team searching the three buildings had already kicked down an apartment door.
In the next moment, they were thrilled to see the sniper rifle on the windowsill!
But soon they were disappointed because the room was empty; the sniper had long since gone.
A Jindai Time Traveler slowly approached the sniper rifle, suddenly seeing a card next to it.
He picked it up and saw it was a poker card.
The card depicted a laughing Joker.
When the middle-aged man inside the airport heard about this, he was stunned: "Is it the Joker who orchestrated everything in Amsterdam?! Quickly inform the officials; Osaka City Hall must enter combat readiness immediately!"
How could that Joker suddenly appear in the Island Country!?
For a moment, the Mysterious Business Department went on high alert.
The sun gradually set.
A Nohi Bus departing from Osaka City was passing through tunnels in the mountains, heading towards Takayama and Hida.
Gifu Prefecture.
It was the starting point of Oda Nobunaga's conquest of the world.
Also the filming location of the village of Itomori in the anime "Your Name."
It had the Island Country's highest mountains, clearest streams, and most pleasant hot springs.
Qing Chen sat quietly in the back of the Nohi Bus, his hands slowly turning the Rubik's Cube as he enjoyed the scenery.
The setting sun shone through the window onto his face, bringing a slight touch of warmth to the boy.
...
Sorry for the late update. I'm stuck with the seller who won't let me update. If you want to blame someone, blame him.
Also, a small promotion for Xiaolong's new book "Mink Street No. 13," synopsis: I like to sit on empty streets at night, listening to the whispers of "them," enjoying the noise of "them."
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