Night's Nomenclature
Chapter 342: Pretending to be an NPC

“Are you neighbors?” Qiduo asked in surprise, glancing from Jiang Yichen to Qing Chen.

Qing Chen laughed warmly, “Of course, we live in the Microcosm World community in Upper Zone 3. We met once before. I even said when I got home that I should get to know my neighbors better.”

Jiang Yichen forced a smile, “Yes, neighbors, we should get to know each other better…”

Get to know each other? My foot!

He had witnessed so many assassins sneaking into the house, yet none of them had ever come out.

What happened to those people? Did they die?

Did more than ten people die?

Every time Jiang Yichen thought about it, he felt terrified.

Moreover, every time he thought about the fact that the other party had suspected him, he felt like he had narrowly escaped death.

If he hadn't answered the questions well at the time, would he have also disappeared in that house?

At this time, several Masonic Lodge students curiously asked, “Wow, are you big shots from Upper Zone 3? We haven't been to Upper Zone 3 yet!”

Li Xiurui, the amiable old gentleman, immediately smiled at the female students, “Come, come, come, let me tell you some interesting things about Upper Zone 3. I've lived there for most of my life; I know everything about Upper Zone 3.”

“Wow, really? Can you tell us?” the students exclaimed in surprise.

The old man smiled, “Yes, I can. But haven't you finished setting up your tents yet? The boys can start setting up the tents first. It's getting late, and it won't be convenient to work in the dark.”

Qing Chen: …

He was just wondering one thing: Is this old man really nearing the end of his life? It doesn't seem that way!

As they spoke, the old man took the female students to his bonfire to tell stories.

Qing Chen turned to the other students from Masonic Lodge, “Hey, aren't you from Upper Zone 3?”

“No,” a young man with dark skin walked over and said with a smile, “Hello, my name is Nangong Yuanyu, and I'm the head of this convoy.”

“Hello,” Qing Chen nodded, continuing to pretend to be an Inner World NPC, “This neighbor is from Upper Zone 3. If you're not from there, how do you know them?”

Nangong Yuanyu explained with a smile, “We met by chance, and we came out to play in the wilderness together this time.”

Qing Chen looked at Jiang Yichen, “By the way, didn't you say you were going to take the university entrance exam? I remember you said you came to City 18 specifically to attend a cram school. Did you meet them at the cram school?”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Jiang Yichen chuckled awkwardly, “I met them at the cram school.”

“Then why aren't you studying hard and running off to play in the wilderness?” Qing Chen said seriously, “At your age, studying is still more important. If you can get into Qing He University, that's a chance to change your life. Wait, you wouldn't be Time Travelers, would you?”

Qiduo, upon being asked this question, said with some unnatural expression, “No, how is that possible!”

Jiang Yichen quickly explained, “Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Qing He University also has an interview stage. If you only study hard, you won't be able to get in.”

Qing Chen stifled a laugh, watching the group frantically patching up their identities.

He suddenly found it very interesting.

Being an Inner World NPC seems pretty good, too.

He looked at Jiang Yichen carefully, wondering where the hell this guy had hidden the Forbidden Artifact.

What kind of Forbidden Artifact Qing Zhong had on him was still a secret, but as long as it was a Forbidden Artifact, Qing Chen was very interested.

As it was approaching midnight, Qing Chen returned to his own bonfire and called to the old man, “Grandpa, you should go to sleep. Let's chat tomorrow.”

The old man waved his hand without turning his head, “It's okay, let's chat a little longer…”

The old man was in high spirits and chattered from Upper Zone 1 to Upper Zone 3, covering a wide range of topics.

Black Spade infiltrated Zone 3 and bombed the animal protection association…

How the big shots of the Chen Family suffered setbacks in Upper Zone 3…

Shendai and Koshima wanted to buy property in Upper Zone 3 of City 18, but they were tricked by the Li Clan and lost a lot of money…

He talked about everything, including his own scandals, as if he was no longer a member of the Li Clan.

Qing Chen's expression remained calm, “You're not tired, but the female students are. Anyway, we're traveling together, there will be more opportunities. Get some rest early, you're not in good health.”

He wasn't deliberately spoiling the old man's fun; he was genuinely worried that this guy would stay up all night and wouldn't make it to Forbidden Zone 002!

The old man chuckled to the female students, “Look, my grandson cares about me. Let's all go to rest, and we'll chat tomorrow.”

After the female students left, the old man said seriously, “I've extracted information from them. These people bribed the immigration authorities and illegally obtained 97 Wilderness Hunters licenses, allowing them to freely enter and exit the city. But the problem is, not everyone can bribe the immigration authorities; they must have someone supporting them. In City 18, the Li Clan and the Qing Family share the world. Since they are not on the Li Clan's Time Traveler list, it only leaves the Qing Family.”

Qing Chen nodded; this was consistent with his judgment.

The Masonic Lodge might be backed by the Qing Family's Shadow Master.

Earlier, he was worried about the Masonic Lodge because there was someone like Jiang Yichen in the team, someone who might be hunted by the Qing Family.

But now, he was worried about Jiang Yichen…

If the Masonic Lodge was indeed backed by the Qing Family, then Jiang Yichen would have fallen into a wolf's den.

After the group time travel, Qing Chen felt that the most interesting thing was this: everyone had their own secrets, played their own roles, and were always waiting for social death or real death…

Now, those people didn't know that among them were not only the Boss of Daybreak, but also the previous head of the Li Clan and the next leader of Knight…

This group of people was incredibly valuable.

Qing Chen looked at the old man, “You chatted with them just to get information from them?”

“Of course,” the old man said righteously, “Even though my time is limited, I can help you as much as I can.”

“Cut the crap,” Qing Chen said expressionlessly, “I advise you to take it easy and don't die before reaching Forbidden Zone 002.”

The old man said, “It won't be that bad. Being with these students makes me feel much younger!”

…

…

On the other hand, Nangong Yuanyu and Qiduo found Jiang Yichen and asked, “What's the background of these people? I saw that you seemed very afraid of them?”

Jiang Yichen thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth, “I'm not afraid of them, but I'm afraid of that young man. He is indeed my neighbor, but I saw through the cat's eye more than ten fully armed assassins sneaking into his house to kill him, and those people never came out. I've recently listed my house with a real estate agent. I don't dare to stay there for a minute. I thought I could get away by doing this, but I didn't expect to meet them here again.”

Qiduo pondered, “Did they come to kill Jiang Yichen to silence him?”

Nangong Yuanyu shook his head, “No, they left City 18 ahead of us, and they were the first to arrive at the campsite. We stayed here because we wanted to interact with Hu Xiaoniu.”

“That's right,” Jiang Yichen slowly relaxed, “But we should try not to provoke such big shots from the Inner World. Shall we leave early tomorrow and go our separate ways?”

Nangong Yuanyu looked at Jiang Yichen, “Could they be Time Travelers?”

“No,” Jiang Yichen shook his head, “That young man has lived in the Microcosm World community for eight years, and the old man is too old. No Time Traveler that old has appeared yet.”

Qiduo said, “It seems they are not Time Travelers. How about I take the opportunity to talk to Hu Xiaoniu alone at night after they're asleep? We're all Outer World Time Travelers, so he should be closer to us emotionally.”

“I think they have separate tents, and you shouldn't be discovered if you approach Hu Xiaoniu,” Nangong Yuanyu thought for a moment, “But just ask about the identities of these people and what they're doing in Forbidden Zone 002. Don't ask too many specific secrets, otherwise Hu Xiaoniu might be embarrassed. We just need to know that these people have no malicious intent; we don't need to worry about anything else. The most important thing is to arrive at the outer perimeter of Forbidden Zone 002 in six days and hand over the medicine to the Wildlanders.”

“Okay,” Qiduo nodded, “The winter in the Inner World is too cold. Without medicine, those Wildlanders won't survive.”

In the middle of the night, Qiduo quietly came to Hu Xiaoniu's tent and whispered, “Xiaoniu, Xiaoniu.”

Hu Xiaoniu opened his eyes, thinking that Brother Chen was really meticulous; he even calculated that the other party would come to find him at night.

He silently crawled out of the tent and pulled Qiduo into the depths of the woods.

After they stopped, Qiduo asked, “Are you their servant?”

Hu Xiaoniu nodded, “Yes.”

Qiduo thought for a moment, “I heard that servants… If you need to, we can try to help you escape City 18 and break free from their control.”

Hu Xiaoniu was inwardly amused; these people had such vivid imaginations.

He quickly explained, “Although these people are members of the Conglomerate, they are actually pretty good people, and I don't plan to escape for now.”

“That's good,” Qiduo nodded, “By the way, what are you going to Forbidden Zone 002 for?”

“Just tourism,” Hu Xiaoniu said, “The old man is dying, and he wants to see the tree in Forbidden Zone 002. By the way, why are you going to Forbidden Zone 002?”

Qiduo was a little embarrassed.

Hu Xiaoniu thought for a moment, “It's okay if you don't want to say. We'll take care of each other along the way. Tell me if anything happens.”

“Okay,” Qiduo thought, Hu Xiaoniu is a really nice fellow…

At this moment, Hu Xiaoniu suddenly said, “Be careful of the high school student named Jiang Yichen. He's not simple; he may have other plans by following you.”

This was what Qing Chen had told Hu Xiaoniu to say tonight.