Outside the cave, tens of thousands of human-faced insects surrounded the Chen Family field army camp. Their sharp mouthparts could easily tear through flesh and blood. The Chen Family soldiers died without understanding why they encountered a swarm of insects in this place.
The human-faced insects were chasing Zard.
The Chen Family soldiers were also chasing Zard.
Where was Zard?
Zard had disappeared!
In the end, the human-faced insects and the Chen Family soldiers ended up fighting each other.
When people are shameless to this extent, their enemies should feel disgusted.
In just 5 minutes, a field army camp of 500 men was completely devoured by the human-faced insects. Then they collided with the supporting troops, finding new targets.
At this moment, the human-faced insects' home was stolen, and their anger was endless. They killed people, animals, and anything else they encountered. This thing was furious.
When Huǒzhǒng Company developed it, it was intended as a weapon. Now, this ancient biological weapon had resurfaced.But the most crucial point was that with this thing rampant in Forbidden Zone 008, the Chen Family couldn't safely explore the Forbidden Zone.
They had to eliminate them.
On the Class A Airship, Chen Yu continued to sketch Fire God Zhu Rong at the table. After outlining the lines, he would begin coloring. He had to soak the powder made from ground rubies in his own blood for three days. Only then, after washing away the blood, could he mix the powder with cinnabar to use as paint.
This was just one color.
Therefore, it took a Chen Family painter a month to complete a painting.
At this time, the holographic projection in the Class A Airship turned on: "Boss, human-faced insects suddenly appeared in the Forbidden Zone. They came out of the cave where Qing Chen and others were hiding."
Chen Yu didn't intend to continue commanding, but when he heard the three words "human-faced insects," he still looked up: "Are you sure they're human-faced insects?"
"Confirmed," the officer enlarged the photo: "There is no difference from historical records. Therefore, we suspect that there is a secret base left behind by Huǒzhǒng Company in the underground cave."
Chen Yu pondered for a few seconds: "Human-faced insects won't easily leave their territory because their mission is to protect. Why would they suddenly chase a person out? Has Qing Chen already taken the opportunity to delve deeper into Huǒzhǒng Company's secret base?"
"That..." the officer lowered his head: "We don't know."
Chen Yu thought for a while and said: "Make sure to completely annihilate the human-faced insects and cut down trees at the cave entrance to provide a landing point for the Airship. The Chen Family transport ship will set sail shortly, and reinforcements will arrive in one day. I want to know about that cave..."
"Should we directly force our way in to prevent Qing Chen from obtaining Huǒzhǒng Company's secrets first?" the officer asked.
"No, whatever he gets, he has to come out of the cave," Chen Yu said calmly: "Unless he stays in the cave for the rest of his life."
Huǒzhǒng Company has always been a special existence.
There are rumors among all the Conglomerates that Ren Xiaosu became a god with the help of Huǒzhǒng Company's technology, and the mysterious Yan Liuyuan also benefited from it.
Having reached the realm of Demi-God, all Demi-Gods face the tribulation of merging with the World Will. Everyone wants to take another step without dying.
In terms of biotechnology alone, Huǒzhǒng Company is even ahead of the current Federation, simply because they actually created gods.
Even if it was by coincidence.
Everyone wants to become the next god. After seeing a god for a quarter of an hour, Chen Yu yearned even more for a higher level of realm.
Therefore, in recent years, all Demi-Gods have been searching for the secret of Ren Xiaosu's ascension to godhood.
A powerful body, a spiritual will with a fusion rate with the World Will exceeding 70%, a black True Sight Eye, and a body coexisting with cancer cells—these are the four keys to the godhead, and none can be missing.
And one of them: the technology of coexisting with cancer cells.
Is in the hands of Huǒzhǒng Company.
Chen Yu no longer cared about Qing Chen and Fire Pit. His target was only Huǒzhǒng Company, and Qing Chen and Fire Pit were merely targets he had to deal with along the way in his exploration of secrets.
Chen Yu called a number in City 7: "Move the Zhutian Air Fortress to Forbidden Zone 008. Forget about the war in the north. I'm going to find something more important."
This Zhutian Air Fortress is the Chen Family's strategic weapon, originally stationed in the Central Plains, ready to fight overseas forces at any time.
After all, if the Qing Family and Li Clan were defeated, the Chen Family would also be in a difficult position.
Therefore, Chen Yu didn't want the Qing Family and Li Clan to be defeated. He only hoped that the northern battlefield would remain in a stalemate, as a stalemate was in his best interest.
But now it's different. The Northern War doesn't seem likely to break out anytime soon, and Shendai and Koshima are even busy suppressing domestic rebellions.
So Chen Yu wanted to take this opportunity to bring in the Zhutian Air Fortress to prevent Li Shutong's appearance.
With the Air Fortress present, even Demi-Gods would have to avoid its edge.
In addition, the Air Fortress's Phase-array Radar covers hundreds of kilometers in radius. No matter how many exits this cave has, as long as Qing Chen returns to the ground, he will be discovered.
Chen Yu was serious this time.
Return Countdown 01:00:00.
"My eyes have been opened," the Elder listened to the wailing and gunshots outside the cave, feeling that he had lived his life in vain.
Their Fire Pit lived off the Forbidden Zone. Various Conglomerates had privately sought them to purchase Forbidden Zone rules and Forbidden Zone specialties. They had also fought all sorts of people in the Forbidden Zone.
But this kind of battle that directly exploited the Forbidden Zone bug, was the first time the Elder had ever seen.
Ordinary people who trigger the rules are doomed. A-Class can barely escape, but the rule that triggered this rule was actually used as a means by Qing Chen.
At this moment, Zard shook himself, shaking hundreds of bullets off his body, and chuckled: "This time, the Feili fruit is safe."
The Elder thought, this kind of work is not something ordinary people can do. If he were to attract the hatred of the human-faced insects, he would be riddled with bullets as soon as he left the cave.
"Wait, give us back the remaining two Feili fruits!" The Elder Boss-faced: "I still need to pick them for Yiyi to eat."
Zard chuckled: "Our Boss said that after we return this time, we'll transplant the two Feili fruits to our Outer World Whale Island. When they've bred new ones, we'll return them to you. What is it called... oh, right, borrowing a womb to give birth."
The Elder touched his forehead: "Can't you use a different metaphor? I feel like I've been cheated on."
"Don't worry about it, you'll get your Feili fruits back," Qing Chen said as he walked: "A secret base hidden in the deepest part of a cave. What kind of important secret would require such a great effort?"
You know, building a secret base in a wild cave, just transporting materials, construction materials, and research equipment is a very headache-inducing task.
It must be something very important.
"Several bases of Huǒzhǒng Company have been discovered. They're all in relatively hidden places," the Elder said: "This company has existed since the previous Ming Dynasty. During the previous Ming Dynasty, they were always illegal companies. The things they studied were all shady, so they had to be hidden. Of course, there are fewer hidden ones, so they must have spent a lot of money."
Qing Chen knew that humanity's previous Ming Dynasty was actually similar to the current Outer World. Such a sinister company was indeed unacceptable to secular law and morality.
"Let's go and take a look. At least we know it'll take a while. A field army trying to eliminate nearly 100,000 human-faced insects is a tough task."
Everyone returned to the safe house, but they saw Chen Jiazhang and Dayu fighting like children.
Chen Jiazhang used one hand to press Dayu's chin, and the other to tightly clamp Dayu's hand, roaring: "Today, I'll teach you what it means to respect your elders and love your younger siblings. Call me Fifth Uncle! Don't call me old thing!"
Dayu was tugging at Chen Jiazhang's messy hair, roaring: "You're worthy of being my Fifth Uncle?! You don't even understand what kind of person Chen Chuanzhi is, you've lived a long life in vain! If you had directly killed Chen Chuanzhi back then, would my mother have cried her eyes out?"
Qing Chen: ""
Elder: ""
This is exciting!
You two came back like this after going out for a fight?
And Dayu even admitted his identity...
Qing Chen curiously said: "Before you left, weren't you both fine?"
Dayu angrily said: "Ask him yourself. What does it matter to him who my father is? He had to interfere!"
Chen Jiazhang also angrily said: "If your father knew he had a son like you, he would be so happy! Shouldn't he be told?"
Dayu: "I spit!"
Chen Jiazhang: "I spit, spit, spit!"
Qing Chen was completely dumbfounded. These two, as A-Class masters, were like children. Dayu's aloof persona completely collapsed!
Fortunately, Dayu didn't use any lethal force, otherwise Chen Jiazhang's head would have become a Mediterranean today.
"Alright, alright, stop fighting," Qing Chen and Zard pulled the two apart.
Qing Chen's internal injuries weren't healed yet, and he couldn't use much strength. It took him a long time to pull the two apart: "Don't rush to fight. We found Knight Company's secret base, and everyone is going to explore it."
Chen Jiazhang was stunned: "When did our Knight establish a company?!"
The Elder lamented: "That's Huǒzhǒng Company's secret base."
Qing Chen nodded: "Now it belongs to Knight."
Elder: ""
Qing Chen looked at his arm and said: "It's almost time to return. After the next crossing, we'll set off immediately. The human-faced insects won't be able to hold off the Chen Family army for too long. The sooner we explore, the sooner we can leave this ghostly place."
This is the best opportunity. The secret base's guards have been withdrawn, and it's now undefended.
Countdown to return Ling.
Return.
Countdown 168:00:00.
It was still the homestay in Nanchi Town.
Outside the homestay were international mountaineers startled by the explosions. In front of him were Shendai Yunluo and Yang Yang.
Qing Chen coughed violently as soon as he returned, spitting out a mouthful of blood again.
At this moment, his internal organ damage was still very serious.
Shendai Yunluo and Yang Yang were shocked when they saw this.
Yang Yang quickly poured a cup of hot water for Qing Chen: "What happened? I was wondering, we agreed to meet at the wilderness settlement, where did you go?"
Qing Chen drank some water and said: "I was originally going to the wilderness settlement, but as soon as I woke up, I was surrounded by the Chen Family army, and Chen Yu was also in the army. They drove more than 1,300 refugees to Forbidden Zone 008. We fought with Chen Yu there, and we were badly injured before escaping. We're temporarily safe."
Shendai Yunluo frowned: "Will there be more battles? I can't rush over from the north."
Qing Chen suddenly looked at Shendai Yunluo with a half-smile: "Are you worried about me?"
Shendai Yunluo raised his eyebrows: "I just think there will be a chance to get the eyeballs."
He didn't expect that Qing Chen would use his own tactics against him.
Shendai Yunluo said: "Okay, after going through a round with Demi-Gods, you can actually come back alive."
Qing Chen shook his head: "Chen Yu's strength is terrifying. He's already at the peak of Demi-God. The four of us A-Class fighters couldn't do anything to his painting. In the end, we were all badly injured before barely ruining one of his paintings."
Shendai Yunluo nodded: "When I was hit by him, I knew he had the Purple Orchid Star blessing and became the youngest Demi-God. We can't afford to provoke him now. If I gather the eyes for Hyakumegami, and I also become a Demi-God, with twelve Demi-God Shikigami, maybe I can beat him."
"Not necessary," Qing Chen shook his head: "He has lost many of his paintings. Now he should only have a few paintings for self-preservation, or I wouldn't be able to come back alive. I support you in gathering the eyes and challenging him. In fact, he's not that scary."
Shendai Yunluo laughed: "You want me to take the blame! Are you heartless?!"
Qing Chen managed a smile: "I'll go with you."
Shendai Yunluo's lips curved slightly: "That's more like it."
Yang Yang pouted: "You two are almost there. I'm still here."
Shendai Yunluo: ""
Yang Yang checked Qing Chen's injuries: "Your life Force field has weakened by 80%. Chen Yu is such a bastard. You're so badly injured. Why don't we leave? Don't be a target for the Kingdom, the Future, and Koshima here."
Qing Chen fell silent. This was his biggest crisis.
Demi-Gods from the Inner World were eyeing him, and there were three Conglomerates in the Outer World who wanted to kill him.
He said: "We've been targeted. We can't escape. We'll face whatever comes our way. We still have one thing to deal with."
Having said that, he turned and walked out of the room toward Mr. Liu's room.
During the last return, he hadn't dealt with Mr. Liu and his wife poisoning him in the Rhodiola.
Actually, the two of them were Koshima spies being monitored by Ni Ergou. Mr. Liu's company had been secretly providing funds to the Koshima spy organization within the country.
So when the two of them suddenly signed up for the mountaineering team, Zheng Yuandong informed Qing Chen.
It was because these two saw the Reverse Breathing Technique ice pattern on Qing Chen's face that the Koshima and Kingdom death squads decided to test him.
Qing Chen used the power ring to open the door, but he found that Mr. Liu's wife had turned to dust, scattered on the ground, while Mr. Liu was crying on the ground, gathering the scattered ashes.
He calmly said: "It turns out that only one of you is a Time Traveler."
Qing Chen's not being poisoned in the Rhodiola meant that the couple's identities had been exposed long ago.
In the seven days of travel, since Koshima knew they had lost their usefulness, they wouldn't give Qing Chen a chance to interrogate those who knew the truth. The other party directly killed Mr. Liu's wife.
Mr. Liu cried while saying: "I told her not to come, not to come, but she said that someone in the Inner World threatened her life, and she would die if she didn't come. She never killed anyone! Why did she come here! She said that a Conglomerate called Koshima wanted to kill you, not just her, but many people are planning to kill you!"
Qing Chen calmly asked: "I thought your relationship wasn't that deep, and you weren't very harmonious before, but now you're crying so sadly?"
Qing Chen felt there was another possibility: both husband and wife were Time Travelers, and after Koshima knew it was exposed, it chose to kill one person and let the other gain trust, giving him some misleading information.
Mr. Liu weakly knelt on the ground: "I married her before I started my business. At that time, we lived in a small rented house in Shenzhen, and we didn't even have a place to shower. I was so poor at that time, I didn't even dare to treat her to a good meal when we got married, and we just ate a beef hot pot by the roadside. I said sorry to her, and she said it was okay, that we were a couple through thick and thin, even now, with so many conflicts, that feeling is unforgettable."
Mr. Liu continued: "Since she traveled, we've been controlled, living in fear every day, and we can't sleep well..."
As he spoke, Mr. Liu pulled out a pistol from under his pillow, pointed it at his chin, and pulled the trigger.
With a bang.
Mr. Liu froze. The bullet had been fired, but it didn't pierce his head, but instead, along with the pistol, smashed against the wall beside him!
The moment he pulled the trigger, Qing Chen had already activated the Wujù, a huge magnetic field that caused the pistol and bullet to fly out of his hand, as if sticking to the wall.
As he retracted the magnetic field of the Wujù, the firearm fell to the ground.
Qing Chen calmly asked: "Why commit suicide?"
Mr. Liu said blankly: "My wife said that if she died after returning, I should also commit suicide and not give you a chance to interrogate, otherwise our son would be assassinated."
Qing Chen shook his head: "Don't worry, the people who are chasing after the Koshima spies within the country right now should have surrounded them, they won't have time to kill your son. From now on, you'll honestly follow me to continue mountaineering. I still have many things to ask you. Don't try to escape, I will know if you escape, and then it won't be just death. If anyone asks, just say your wife was sent to Kathmandu due to altitude sickness."
Having said that, Qing Chen returned to the room. Shendai Yunluo praised: "Wonderful, your abilities are becoming more and more at ease, you can even save people after they pull the trigger."
Qing Chen sighed: "What's going on. By the way, do you, Shendai, still have spies within the country? Give me the list, I'll wipe them all out."
Shendai Yunluo laughed: "Do you think I look like a fool?"
Qing Chen endured the pain and slowly lay on the bed. He took a few deep breaths and said: "People say that the three great joys of middle-aged people are promotion, wealth, and the death of their wife. I didn't expect this Mr. Liu to have such a deep relationship with his wife."
Shendai Yunluo said with a smile: "It is said that poverty tests women, and wealth tests men. Most people in the world cannot withstand these two tests, so the divorce rate of successful men is as high as 95%."
Qing Chen looked at Shendai Yunluo and pondered: "Aren't you going to sleep?"
Shendai Yunluo smiled and sat cross-legged on the ground to begin Cultivation: "You're so badly injured, as one of your Guardians, I should naturally protect you here! Sleep peacefully, I won't make a sound."
Yang Yang rolled his eyes.