Night's Nomenclature
Chapter 473: The Last Meter

Pain.

Excruciating pain.

After the numbness subsided, an overwhelming pain felt like ten thousand needles piercing the body, and the burning sensation of the wounds was like being roasted over a flame.

Qing Chen slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying in a dilapidated room.

His fingers and wrists were still tightly bound by finger locks and wrist locks.

"Why am I here? Did someone save me? No, I wasn't saved," Qing Chen thought silently.

He had regained consciousness once before; he was clearly on an Airship. Whoever saved him shouldn't have brought him to this place.

Moreover, whoever could stop an Airship must also be able to open the finger locks and wrist locks.

Qing Chen endured the pain and looked around.

In the corner of the room, some logging tools were piled up.

In the center of the room, an iron stove was burning, with an old black iron kettle on top, spewing white steam from its spout.

It wasn't cold here; new firewood had just been added to the stove, indicating that the person hadn't gone far.

Qing Chen silently felt his injuries. He had been changed into an old cotton-padded jacket, with bandages wrapped almost all over his body underneath.

As soon as he moved slightly, he felt pain all over his body, as if there wasn't a single unscathed part.

Qing Chen closed his eyes and breathed quietly.

He felt like he was back in Prison 18, the one he had just transmigrated to, in that helpless predicament.

Only, Qing Chen knew that this time he might not have another chance to find a Li Shutong.

At one point, he suddenly remembered what Shadow had said to him.

The 599 meters on Qingshan Cliff were all walked with your predecessors, but the last meter, you have to walk it alone.

Qing Chen didn't know if he had a chance to survive, but perhaps this was the so-called last meter.

No one could help him.

He had to help himself.

He didn't know how long had passed.

With a creak.

Someone pushed the door open.

The cold wind from outside rushed in, making the already weak Qing Chen shiver.

Qing Chen had never felt so weak before, so weak that his thinking was somewhat impeded.

The countless pains converged in the neurotransmitters, each moment an indescribable torment.

He had seen the seven people who entered from outside; it was the arrest team led by Shendai Yunhe.

Shendai Yunhe, dressed in simple clothes, looked at Qing Chen: "Awake? It's rare. You didn't try to escape after waking up. What, have you given up?"

Qing Chen calmly said, "Hiding you outside in the cold wind, wanting me to try to escape and then catch me again, to break me down again and again, to make my psychological defenses collapse. This should be your usual psychological warfare tactic, right?"

When a person is in a desperate situation, once they find a glimmer of hope, they will put their whole heart and soul into that gamble.

When that hope is shattered, their mentality is on the verge of collapse.

Too many people can't bear the cruelty of having their last straw taken away.

Shendai Yunhe wasn't angry after being exposed. He gestured for his subordinates to cook, while he walked to Qing Chen's side and sneered, "The famous Intelligence Bureau One Qing Chen Supervisor, it seems your will to survive isn't that strong either."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and pressed hard on Qing Chen's right ribcage, where the wound from the wild wolf's bite was located.

In an instant, Qing Chen felt as if someone had branded him with a hot iron; he arched his body like a shrimp.

But what surprised the others in the hut was that the weak boy didn't make a sound from beginning to end.

Shendai Yunhe calmly said, "Humans making a cry of pain is a normal reaction when encountering pain, so don't resist. Hum, hum, and I'll let go. Look, you don't even need to beg."

However, Qing Chen still didn't make a sound.

The barrier of will never distinguishes the form of compromise; whether it's a cry of pain or a plea, it's essentially a retreat.

He could retreat this time, perhaps nothing would happen.

But repeated subtle retreats would eventually become the prelude to the collapse of will.

Therefore, all Qing Chen could do was not retreat a single step.

Shendai Yunhe raised an eyebrow: "Useless resistance... Come, torture him in different places until he makes a sound."

After saying this, he let go and had another subordinate come over.

The subordinate's right hand was like an iron clamp, tightly gripping the wound on Qing Chen's right arm. Qing Chen's forehead was covered with a fine layer of sweat; soon, even his clothes were soaked.

The boy's muscles trembled all over; the pain was real.

At this moment, Qing Chen closed his eyes and tried to immerse himself in the world of Conquer with Virtue to avoid the pain.

But it was useless.

Qing Chen's consciousness involuntarily plunged into his memories.

Back to that night climbing Qingshan Cliff.

He repeatedly climbed Qingshan Cliff, facing Cao Wei's crossbow bolts.

Repeatedly jumping that last meter.

Repeatedly watching the sunrise like the sea.

And the names carved by his predecessors.

And forever young.

For some reason, Qing Chen's heart suddenly calmed down.

Perhaps he really couldn't escape, but his life now wasn't much worse than it was at the beginning.

Equally penniless, equally facing adversity.

Equally never giving up.

Qing Chen opened his eyes and stared intently at the killer beside him.

To be honest, this Shendai killer had interrogated many people. There were indeed some tough guys in this world, but he had never seen anyone who could remain silent in the Face^[-] of pain.

However, this subordinate slowly discovered that the boy was gradually stopping the trembling deep in his muscles, and even his expression was becoming more and more resolute.

Qing Chen suddenly said, "You can't escape, can you?"

Shendai Yunhe looked at Qing Chen: "I think that as a prisoner, you shouldn't have much hope for this. Don't worry, no one can save you."

Qing Chen continued, "You abandoned the more efficient Airship, indicating that the airspace returning to the North has been blocked. This hut should be in the forest farm of a production base. The wood used is white wax tree, which means you don't even have a chance to cross the Spring Thunder River."

Spring Thunder River is the boundary between the south and north of the Federation; people usually use this river as the dividing line between the south and the north.

In spring, the northwest ice floes follow the river eastward. When the ice floes collide with each other in the river, they make a crackling sound of ice floes colliding and ice melting.

So some people named it Spring Thunder.

And white wax trees are fast-growing species south of the Spring Thunder River; they are rare in the north; at least northern lumberjacks wouldn't specifically look for white wax trees to build houses.

Shendai Yunhe smiled and gestured for his subordinate to release Qing Chen's hand: "Supervisor Qing Chen is indeed observant, but this observation is useless. Let alone that you're seriously injured and dying, even in your prime, you wouldn't be able to escape my control. Don't have more ambition after killing a B-Class. As I said, the gap between you and me is heaven and earth."

In fact, even Shendai Yunhe was surprised, because on their way to escape from the Central Plains, they were surprised to find that the North had been sealed off by the Li Clan.

It is said that Li Changqing, that crazy woman, has dropped everything and started tracking them down.

It's understandable for the Qing Family to hunt them down, but why is the Li Clan's Li Changqing doing this?

Li Changqing in uniform is the craziest Li Changqing.

At this moment, there are six Li Clan Class A Airships taking off and patrolling the northern airspace, almost achieving full radar coverage.

This is also why Shendai Yunhe and his team had to abandon the Airship.

Not only that, but someone sent him a message that even Fire Pit had issued orders to the wilderness, asking all Wildlanders to track their whereabouts.

Shendai Yunhe didn't understand why Fire Pit, which had nothing to do with this, was also involved.

As a result, his gaze at Qing Chen was somewhat strange.

He only kidnapped a confidant of Shadow; why did it cause so much trouble?

Shendai Yunhe began to suspect that someone else might come out to save this boy.

Shendai Yunhe didn't show anything on his Face^[-]; he joked, "Do you know what your fate will be? I'll take you back north and let you live in a pigsty like Qing Mu, eating pig food. Qing Mu's former colleagues will watch you, and we'll capture your current colleagues and keep them nearby to watch you turn into a dirty pig. You thought you could challenge the Shendai Family and make us easily hand over Qing Mu, but you've become the new Qing Mu. Isn't it ironic? Whether you submit or not, in the future, when Qing Family intelligence officers provoke the Shendai Consortium, they will think of you; they will start to fear, afraid that they will have the same fate as you."

Qing Chen didn't pay attention to the other party's banter and said to himself, "There must be many people looking for me outside now, so many that you need to satirize a prisoner to seek inner peace."

Shendai Yunhe narrowed his eyes.

Qing Chen said, "Send me back, and I'll spare your life."

Shendai Yunhe suddenly laughed angrily: "To be honest, I really didn't expect that under such circumstances, Supervisor Qing Chen could actually threaten an A-Class expert. Don't worry, even if I die, I'll kill you before I die. This matter isn't that complicated. I put a knife to your neck; as long as the other party cares enough about you, they have to let me go. Just like bank robbers holding hostages, this is an unsolvable situation. Do you think anyone can crack it? How are bank robbers usually dealt with? It seems they use snipers, but are snipers useful against A-Class experts? We already have a sixth sense."

This seemed to be a dead end. As long as Shendai Yunhe didn't act foolishly, even if his whereabouts were found, as long as no one was willing to blow Qing Chen up with a single shot, Qing Chen would be his biggest bargaining chip.

Shendai Yunhe smiled: "Don't worry, even if Shadow comes in person, I'm confident that I can kill you before he kills me."

Qing Chen closed his eyes to rest; this was indeed an unsolvable situation.

At this time, Shendai Yunhe didn't seem to want to end the topic but asked, "Where are your Forbidden Artifacts hidden? Or let's make a deal. You tell me where the Forbidden Artifacts are hidden, and I won't torture you on the way. How about that?"

Qing Chen glanced at him: "You've all changed my clothes; you should know that I don't have anything hidden on me."

Shendai Yunhe thought for a moment: "Did you swallow it?"

"Why don't you cut me open and see?" Qing Chen said calmly.

Shendai Yunhe shook his head: "No need for such a test; you know I won't kill you now."

However, the torture would not stop.

As he spoke, Shendai Yunhe pressed on Qing Chen's wound again, using endless pain to crush the young man's will.

He seemed to enjoy the pleasure of torturing others.

Even though Qing Chen remained silent, his eyes tightly closed.

At this time, Qing Chen suddenly opened his eyes and said, "I do have something hidden in my body."

Shendai Yunhe's eyes lit up: "Which number Forbidden Artifact?"

Qing Chen shook his head: "It's not a Forbidden Artifact; it's an iron will."

"..." Shendai Yunhe laughed angrily: "You can still make witty remarks at this time. I believe in Supervisor Qing Chen's perseverance. It doesn't matter; Forbidden Artifacts are just incidental; it doesn't matter if I don't get them."

Saying this, he turned to see if his subordinates had cooked.

Shendai Yunhe picked up the kettle on the stove and poured a cup of water for each of his subordinates: "You've all worked hard. It will still be a difficult time for a while to return to the north. We have a mission, so we'll use water as wine. When we return to the north, I'll give you all credit."

The subordinates handed over their teacups, respectfully waiting for Shendai Yunhe to pour water for them one by one.

The group chatted casually in Japanese for a few sentences. When the water was not so hot, they sipped it lightly.

Half an hour later, one person suddenly collapsed on the ground.

Someone looked at Shendai Yunhe in astonishment, but found that this A-Class expert was calmly looking at them.

With a few thuds, six subordinates all lay on the wooden floor, their breath gone.

Qing Chen was stunned; he didn't expect Shendai Yunhe to be so ruthless, even killing the six subordinates who followed him.

However, this also indirectly showed that Shendai Yunhe's situation must be very bad; this was probably done to prevent leaks and betrayal.

In a bad situation, once someone defects, Shendai Yunhe will be doomed.

Qing Chen asked, "Don't you trust them?"

Shendai Yunhe looked at Qing Chen: "Are there people worthy of trust in this world? They are dead, but I will complete the mission for them. Once I return to the north alive, they will all be meritorious; the Shendai Consortium will support their families and enjoy the honor they brought. Don't you think this is the best result? They are also willing to sacrifice their small self for the Conglomerate's grand goal."

Qing Chen was stunned. He found that Shendai Yunhe wasn't making excuses but sincerely believed in this explanation.

He sneered at Shendai Yunhe: "Hypocritical nation. If they really wanted to sacrifice, you could just ask them to commit suicide; why bother poisoning them secretly?"

"Let's go. I know you're a Time Traveler. There are 21 days left until your return; we need to reach the North before you return," Shendai Yunhe said with a sneer.

Having said that, Shendai Yunhe dragged Qing Chen out of the door into the wind and snow, not knowing where they were going.

Qing Chen stumbled, each step in the snow seemed to exhaust all his strength. He looked at the snow forest outside and thought that perhaps he really couldn't survive this ordeal.

But it didn't matter; life wouldn't only have sweetness but also bitterness.

He had already tasted the bitterness of life; this time it was just stronger.