Night's Nomenclature
Chapter 381: City 10s Food Chain

“If only I could never see those living Yama Kings again,”

This was Li Menglin's greatest wish after leaving that ghostly place, Intelligence Bureau One.

To make this wish come true, he even wanted to wait for a shooting star by his window.

It wasn't that Li Menglin still naively believed that shooting stars could really grant wishes.

He knew very well that as long as he was still living in City 10, in the Federation, this wish would never be realized.

So he could only resort to metaphysics.

These days, Li Menglin had been jumpy every time he answered the phone, fearing that it was Intelligence Bureau One calling him back for duty.

Fortunately, those living Yama Kings seemed to have forgotten him. As long as he reported the entry and exit of Conglomerate vehicles in City 10 on time, nobody bothered him.

This really relieved Li Menglin.

Just when he thought life was returning to normal, he unexpectedly met that Yama King here again.

Could this Yama King be interested in his daughter? No, with Song Niao Niao around, there would be no room for his own daughter.

Although Li Zhaoen's looks were also at an 80-point level, she looked a bit dull next to Song Niao Niao.

Li Menglin was lost in thought.

Meanwhile, the stars, including his daughter Li Zhaoen, were silently staring at Li Menglin in shock.

It was because this usually imposing immigration officer was so humble and cautious in front of the boy, even stuttering.

What kind of scene had Li Zhaoen seen at home since childhood? It was always others lining up to ask her father to do things.

Now, she finally saw her father's humble side.

Li Zhaoen looked at Qing Chen; this was clearly a powerful figure in the Federation.

Not only was Li Zhaoen moved, but everyone, including Song Niao Niao, after experiencing despair, rescue, and reversal, looked at Qing Chen differently.

They understood that stars were just stars; these powerful figures were the ones who truly held the power of life and death in the Federation.

Qing Chen looked at Li Menglin calmly and said, “I'm here because some black market human traffickers had their eyes on your daughter and her friends. I've been watching them for a long time, and finally caught them today.”

“Ah?” Li Menglin hadn't expected it to be this. Only then did he shift his gaze away from Qing Chen, and then he discovered that his daughter and those stars had their movements restricted with finger locks.

On the ground, two middle-aged men were lying limp; their thigh bones had been broken by Qing Chen, making escape impossible.

The scene was right here, with seven witnesses, and the facts were evident.

Li Menglin first brought people to unlock the finger locks for the stars. At this moment, nothing was more important than his daughter.

He softly cared for his daughter, asking about the events.

Qing Chen waited silently. Soon, just as Li Menglin and his people were unlocking the finger locks, loud running sounds came from outside. Everyone in the room was startled, fearing that the accomplices of the middle-aged men had come for backup.

Only Qing Chen remained calm.

The next moment, Yang Xuyang from Intelligence Bureau One also arrived with more than twenty brothers from the Seventh Group.

After entering the room, these twenty-plus people immediately surrounded Qing Chen, using pistols to force Li Menglin, Li Zhaoen, and others back into a corner, only protecting Qing Chen.

This scene was too shocking, making Li Menglin and the others a little bewildered.

“Boss, we're here,” Yang Xuyang said softly, “Should we take all these people back?”

In fact, Yang Xuyang had already gone home to prepare for his shift. They had been working overtime for ten days, and everyone wanted a good rest and some intimacy with their wives.

But as soon as Yang Xuyang heard that his Supervisor had something, he immediately came with more than twenty brothers without saying a word.

This was Qing Chen's influence in Intelligence Bureau One.

Intelligence Bureau One Seventh Group, this should be Qing Chen's first truly loyal army.

Qing Chen looked at Yang Xuyang: “The two on the ground are black market human traffickers; the rest are hostages. You handle the rest. There are seven more people in the parking lot; remember to bring them back to Intelligence Bureau One. Remember, I want live people. Be careful of someone trying to kill them on the way back. After they are brought back to Intelligence Bureau One, I'll give you three days to find out who their clients were and how many clients they had. Your next important task, Yang Xuyang, is to find all those human traffickers who treat people as slaves and bring them to justice.”

Yang Xuyang was excited. He stood straight, his voice loud: “Guaranteed mission completion!”

Qing Chen then looked at Li Menglin and calmly said, “You didn't even know your daughter's phone was being monitored. Report to Intelligence Bureau One tomorrow. I'll have someone arrange some basic anti-surveillance training for you.”

After arranging all this, Qing Chen turned and left.

The others in the room watched him leave, the boy followed by Yang Xuyang and the fierce-looking agents.

Qing Chen didn't take the opportunity to improve his relationship with Song Niao Niao, nor did he take the opportunity to make any demands on the stars. It was as if the boy had simply saved some unimportant people and done a trivial matter.

The stars watched Qing Chen's departing back and thought, this is Song Niao Niao! He completely ignored her?!

Li Zhaoen rubbed her fingers and stood up. She looked at Li Menglin: “Dad, who exactly was that person?”

Li Menglin glanced at his daughter and then at Song Niao Niao: “That's the new young Supervisor at Intelligence Bureau One. Do you know how many people he's caught recently? There are many rumors in the ‘front line’ recently that many officials have mysteriously disappeared, and he's the one who caught them, and basically none of them came out. Stay away from him. He's a true beast in the Federation, a powerful figure in the Qing Family.”

Li Zhaoen thought, no wonder her father was so polite to him; he's a big shot in the Qing Family!

She muttered, “He looks so young.”

“You don't understand,” Li Menglin said impatiently, “In the Conglomerate, the younger a powerful figure is, the more it shows that he has a bright future. One day, he will become a major player in the Conglomerate.”

Li Menglin was someone who liked to fawn over big shots, but Li Zhaoen was his precious daughter, and he didn't want his daughter to have anything to do with such a dangerous person.

He suddenly looked at Song Niao Niao, but saw her thoughtfully looking at the now empty doorway.

Li Menglin felt that tonight's events were not that simple.

Outside the corridor, Qing Chen handed his belongings to Yang Xuyang.

Yang Xuyang was stunned: “Boss, you live here too?”

“Yeah,” Qing Chen responded expressionlessly.

“What are you taking so much stuff for? Are you planning to live in our Intelligence Bureau One?” Yang Xuyang wondered.

Qing Chen glanced at him: “We have a lot of work to do. You guys can rest, but I can't.”

Yang Xuyang was suddenly moved: “Boss, you've worked too hard.”

In fact, Qing Chen insisted on staying in Intelligence Bureau One simply because he didn't want to see Song Niao Niao again; it was too awkward.

Although he had made many excuses, if the girl wasn't a fool, she would figure things out sooner or later.

Qing Chen planned to stay in Intelligence Bureau One for a while, then move to the house in District 3 that Li Xiurui bought for him, so that he would have no more contact with Song Niao Niao.

“By the way, how's Qing Hua's preparation?” Qing Chen asked.

“Don't worry, Qing Hua, the probationary Supervisor, is an experienced intelligence officer. There won't be any problems on his side,” Yang Xuyang said cautiously.

“That's good,” Qing Chen nodded.

Yang Xuyang continued: “Are you really going to investigate the mastermind behind the sale of these stars? You know, the person who can buy Song Niao Niao must be of extremely high status.”

Qing Chen looked at Yang Xuyang: “I know you're kindly reminding me to avoid getting involved in danger, but is anyone's status higher than Shadow's? Don't worry. If there's something I can't handle, Shadow Master will take care of it.”

Qing Chen thought, Shadow had made so many jokes with him; causing some trouble for Shadow shouldn't be a big deal, right?

Yang Xuyang's attitude became even more humble. It turned out that this Boss was Shadow Master's direct subordinate, which was even better.

…

…

At this time, Qing Hua was walking idly along the bustling streets of District 5.

He noticed someone following him, but he didn't care.

Tonight, many people in Intelligence Bureau One went home to rest, but Qing Hua didn't rest because Qing Chen had an important task for him…waiting for Shendai or Koshima to make a deal.

Seventh Group had put up a whiteboard at the entrance on the third floor for seven days, and Qing Chen had been arresting people for seven days.

Qing Hua had once told the young Supervisor that Shendai and Koshima probably wouldn't come to trade.

But Qing Chen said that if they weren't willing to trade, it meant they hadn't caught the important person yet.

So they had to keep arresting people until they caught someone important enough to force them to trade.

Two days ago, Qing Hua's team finally caught a core member of the Shendai Family. The person's father was one of the Shendai Family's representatives in City 10 and an important member of the Senate.

This kind of member of the Senate had to cherish his reputation. If his son had a blemish, it would inevitably reduce the public's trust in him, so he couldn't just sit back and watch his son go to jail.

Logically, this senator's son should have been very cautious, but he ran into Qing Chen.

This was Qing Chen's plan: I catch someone important enough to force you to trade with me.

This was an overt strategy.

What Qing Hua didn't know was that it wasn't only Shendai's people following him.

Further away, Shadow Master, dressed in black, was standing on the top of a building, standing in the clouds and observing this operation.

Shadow was very interested in the operation arranged by Qing Chen because he also felt that the Shendai Family being forced to break its alliance with Koshima in Intelligence Bureau One was very interesting.

At this time, on the rooftop, someone was standing respectfully behind Shadow and said in a low voice: “Shadow Master, the person who bought Song Niao Niao is likely a powerful figure from the Chen Family. If we really dig him out, it might have serious consequences.”

Shadow smiled and said: “What's to be afraid of? I'm still here. Do you know why we put a wild tiger into the forest? It will quickly eat all the animals in the forest; it eats everything. Do you know why the tiger does this?”

The person behind him was stunned: “Sir, I don't know.”

Shadow laughed: “Because it wants to know where it stands in the food chain, what it can touch, and what it can't. Do you think Qing Chen is reckless? In fact, what he's doing now is no different from that tiger put into the forest. He wants to know how much I'm willing to do for him and where he stands in the food chain.”

…