Qing Chen went all out in his act. He not only pretended to be a City 10 refugee but also actively provoked the Chen Family soldiers, getting beaten up.
He frowned, analyzing the situation. The Chen Family exploring the Forbidden Zone wasn't a problem; after all, all the Conglomerates were doing it.
But the timing was strange:
The Northern War had just paused, and the entire Federation was on high alert, everyone knowing a new war was coming.
The four northern Conglomerates were fighting fiercely, yet the Chen Family decided to explore a Forbidden Zone first.
Therefore, the Chen Family army must have a more important task—Fire Pit.
Fire Pit exists in the cracks between the various Conglomerates. Located in remote areas, they possess abundant Forbidden Zone resources, secrets, and even mysterious Cultivation legacies.
Furthermore, to reach and influence the Qing Family’s base camp, the Chen Family must pass through Fire Pit.
Fire Pit and Forbidden Zone 008 are like thorns in the Chen Family’s throat.
Previously, if the Chen Family tried to move against Fire Pit, the Qing Family would send troops to the wilderness for exercises.That’s why Fire Pit helped Shadow Candidate Qing Huai kill Qing Chen when he challenged Forbidden Zone 002.
The relationship between Fire Pit and the Qing Family has always been ambiguous.
Whenever the Qing Family held military exercises, the Chen Family could only retreat.
After all, they were afraid the Qing Family might suddenly stop pretending.
Now, all forces were tied up in the Northern battlefield, and the Chen Family wanted to seize this opportunity to completely take down Fire Pit!
Open the corridor to the Qing Family!
Qing Chen was escorted towards the refugees, his eyes constantly observing, trying to understand this field army’s situation.
If they were targeting Fire Pit, it meant the field army must have hidden Chen Family experts; perhaps Chen Yu himself was in the Class A Airship above!
Otherwise, how could a field army take down the expert-filled Fire Pit? Even with Black Spade currently active in the North, it wouldn't be possible.
The Chen Family’s favorite combat style was hiding within the army, waiting for the chance to tear up their paintings and attack.
Until then, they’d just wait.
Qing Chen had only been observing for two minutes when he saw a familiar face—Chen Yehu.
He was wearing a colonel’s uniform, returning to an Off-road Vehicle, which belonged to Chen Yehu’s unit.
There was even a man carrying a two-year-old baby, walking with a listless and weary expression. Some women had lost their shoes and could only walk barefoot, their feet blistered.
From the Chen Family soldiers’ attitude toward Qing Chen, one could imagine how they treated these farmers.
Qing Chen frowned. Was the Chen Family not afraid of divine retribution for using these people to test the Forbidden Zone’s rules?
Luckily, the Chen Family army didn't know about Yang Yang’s settlement; otherwise, more people would be in trouble.
At that moment, an old woman fell to the ground, unable to continue after walking over two hundred kilometers.
The Chen Family soldier violently kicked her back: “Can’t walk anymore? Then die here.”
Her son’s eyes widened in anger: “I’ll carry my mother. You want living people, not corpses. How can a dead person test your Forbidden Zone rules?”
The soldier sneered: “If you’re so filial, carry her. Let’s see how long you can last. If you’re slow, I’ll beat both of you.”
The old woman’s son helped her up, carrying her on his back, struggling to continue.
Zard, the usually unserious madman, had a look of compassion on his face. He said softly and seriously, “Boss, I want to save them.”
At this moment, Zard was like when he covered Xiaoyu’s eyes, completely different from his usual self.
Xiaoyu in the group whispered in a low, pitiful voice: “Zard, Little Tu, I’m scared.”
“Xiaoyu, don’t be afraid,” Qing Chen comforted. “They won’t do anything to us for now. Zard, if we’re going to save them, we need to wait patiently, at least until Dayu comes back. Just the two of us aren’t enough to handle the risks.”
Zard nodded and hummed.
At this time, a group of Chen Family soldiers came and put electronic collars on each refugee.
An officer coldly said: “Don’t even think about running. If the tracker detects you’ve gone too far, we’ll detonate it. If you don’t want to die, just obey.”
Qing Chen whispered: “The Chen Family doesn’t intend to leave anyone alive.”
Once the Forbidden Zone’s rules were explored, the Chen Family would kill everyone in the Forbidden Zone to prevent anyone from returning to the Federation and damaging the Chen Family’s reputation.
Zard lowered his head: “That’s cruel.”
“Zard, that’s why I want to change the world.”
“Yeah, I understand.”
The group continued until evening. The Chen Family soldiers herded the farmers to build shelters and collect firewood.
Anyone who moved too slowly was whipped.
The setting sun shone on everyone, but there was no warmth, only bone-chilling cold.
An old man with mobility issues carrying firewood fell. The Chen Family soldier overseeing them whipped him without hesitation.
With a sharp crack, Qing Chen turned to see Zard lying on the old man, shielding him from the whip.
“Compassionate, are we?” the Chen Family soldier sneered, and then whipped Zard more than ten times, tearing his clothes.
Zard was cautious this time, even controlling his body to stop elementalization, using his flesh to endure the pain. Otherwise, if he didn’t get hurt after more than ten lashes, it would be suspicious.
At some point, Qing Chen felt that Zard seemed to have two souls, one serious and one unserious.
The unserious one resisted the world that had once abandoned him.
The serious one was his true self.
It’s just that Zard truly had a mental issue, and he couldn’t tell which was himself.
This time, it was Qing Chen who covered Xiaoyu’s eyes; he didn’t want Xiaoyu to see this.
The Chen Family soldier finished venting and coldly said: “Get up and work. If you don’t build the shelters before dark, no one gets food!”
Zard helped the old man up and before the old man could thank him, he turned and went with Qing Chen to set up a tent.
Qing Chen calmly said: “Don’t worry, we’ll make them pay for these lashes with their lives.”
“What should I do?” Zard asked.
“Give me the Marionette. Don’t rush; soldiers chat and mention names. I’ll control a few first,” Qing Chen said.
After the Rat Tide in City 10 was exterminated, Qing Chen spent two days offering the rat corpses as sacrifices.
Millions of Rat Tide corpses piled up on the Lower Third District’s defensive line. In two days, Qing Chen’s Marionette gained thirteen transparent threads.
After splitting into twelve, the growth rate slowed down. The thirteenth thread took over five hundred thousand rat corpses to grow.
Qing Chen suspected that the Marionette was sick of eating rats.
Just then, there was a commotion in the crowd. He saw an old man begging a soldier for alcohol.
The Chen Family soldier wouldn’t tolerate this, kicking the old man: “Get lost!”
The old man persisted.
The Chen Family soldier said jokingly: “Old man, imitate a dog barking, and I’ll find some alcohol for you.”
Qing Chen knew the soldier was just toying with the old man. Although the Chen Family troops were brutal, their discipline was strict. No one in the unit except for the Chen Family painters would have alcohol.
Hearing this, the old man turned and left: “I can’t bark like a dog.”
The Chen Family soldier was furious: “I told you to bark, you have to bark!”
He kicked the old man to the ground and beat him mercilessly. The old man curled up on the ground, protecting his head, silent until the soldier was finished.
Qing Chen hadn’t intended to pay attention to the old man, but he heard a young farmer say, “Chen Jiazhang, that old geezer, asking the Chen Family soldiers for alcohol, isn’t he asking for death?”
Qing Chen was stunned!
Chen Jiazhang!
He quietly approached the young man: “You said his name is Chen Jiazhang? Is he from your Production Base 1129?”
“No,” the young man explained, “He’s an outsider who made his way into the production base. We brew sorghum wine there, and he often goes to the cellar to steal it. We’ve found him several times in the cellar, drunk like a dead dog and forgetting to run away.”
“And then? You just let him steal alcohol?” Qing Chen asked.
“What else could we do? We hung him in the sun for three days, then let him go, and he still came back to steal,” the young man sighed. “He’s truly addicted to alcohol, completely reckless. We don’t know how he sneaks into the cellar; it’s impossible to stop him. But later, he didn’t drink for free; sometimes he’d bring back carcasses from the wilderness—wild boars, pheasants, rabbits—as payment for the alcohol.”
Another young man said, “He doesn’t have much of a capacity; six taels make him completely drunk. We figured, let it be.”
These farmers’ ancestors might have been city dwellers. Unable to stand city life, they moved to the wilderness to farm. The production base at least provided real food, and having firearms allowed them to hunt for extra food.
Although Wildlanders would raid them, relying on Metal Storm and weapons, they could still defend themselves.
These people were inherently simple, so they didn’t kill Chen Jiazhang.
Qing Chen suddenly understood. This was his Master Uncle whose Cultivation path had been severed.
Li Shutong said that after Chen Jiazhang’s Cultivation path was severed, he disappeared to find a way to break the Reverse Breathing Technique’s shackles.
But now, it seemed he hadn’t found a way and was giving up.
Severed Cultivation path.
Betrayed blood relatives.
It weighed heavily on Chen Jiazhang.
Knights are not saints; they also take detours and are frustrated like ordinary people. Knights aren’t all the same in personality and character.
Qing Chen understood why Chen Jiazhang became like this, but he couldn’t bear to see it.
Furthermore, after his Cultivation path was severed, he seemed to be aging rapidly, unlike Li Shutong who remained eternally youthful.
Many Knights, like Qin Sheng, still looked like they were in their early twenties when they died.
Chen Jiazhang’s aging was likely the aftereffect of the Reverse Breathing Technique.
Qing Chen walked over and whispered in Chen Jiazhang’s ear: “I am Qing Chen.”
The old man sitting on the ground froze and turned his head: “Who cares what ghost you are. I want alcohol!”
“I know you’ve heard of me, and I know you don’t dare recognize me, but it doesn’t matter,” Qing Chen said, effortlessly lifting Chen Jiazhang up and walking toward Zard and Xiaoyu.
Chen Jiazhang tried to struggle, but he found Qing Chen was stronger! Logically, he should be stronger than Qing Chen, being a Knight A-Class, but years of alcohol had corroded his body and will.
He looked at his nephew in surprise. He only heard of his nephew’s name two months ago, yet now he had grown to this extent.
Qing Chen whispered, “You can’t be so willful now. We need to save these farmers from the production base; having you is best.”
Chen Jiazhang prevaricated: “I’m not your Master Uncle. I don’t know you.”
“Hearing my name, you know who I am, meaning you’re still paying attention to the Knight Order,” Qing Chen said. “I didn’t find you before, but now that I have, I won’t let you indulge yourself like this.”
Chen Jiazhang didn’t speak, only sighed.
Qing Chen asked, “Master said you were looking for a way to break the Reverse Breathing Technique’s shackles. Did you find it?”
Chen Jiazhang didn’t answer.
Night fell. The Chen Family soldiers gave each refugee a cheap protein bar—their entire day’s rations.
Even if they reached Forbidden Zone 008, these refugees would likely starve to death.
After eating, the refugees wanted to sleep, but the Chen Family soldiers didn’t allow them to lie down. They could only sleep sitting up in the wilderness.
There were 1329 refugees, guarded by 120 Chen Family soldiers, four combat teams, each led by a team leader.
Qing Chen had already confirmed the names of 87 soldiers using his hearing and planned to control the four team leaders at the right moment. That way, at least the refugees’ lives would improve somewhat.
At this time, several Chen Family soldiers, after the main force went to bed, quietly approached the refugees and picked out several women, wanting to take them into their tents.
Zard, seeing this, was filled with anger: “Let them go. Come at me!”
Qing Chen: “...”
Chen Jiazhang looked at Zard with a strange expression and suddenly asked Qing Chen, “Is he also one of our Knights?”
Chen Jiazhang couldn’t keep up his act anymore after seeing Zard.