Naming Technique of the Night
Chapter 21 - 21: 21. Expansion Pack: Shadow's Struggle

Chapter 21: 21. Expansion Pack: Shadow’s Struggle

7:20 AM, countdown 16:40:00.

Qing Chen had run three laps around the neighborhood, and when he returned home, he saw Jiang Xue hanging clothes on the balcony railing upstairs, each piece belonging to him.

Because he had been busy with time-travel matters recently, he had accumulated a lot of unwashed clothes. He had planned to wash them yesterday, but Jiang Xue had taken them.

Upon seeing him, Jiang Xue smiled and opened the window to call out, “Qing Chen, I’ve made some plain porridge, come up and have some.”

“No need, no need,” Qing Chen quickly waved his hand, then nibbled on a compressed biscuit as he headed to school.

It had been a long time since anyone had treated him so kindly, so he was not quite accustomed to it.

Just as he entered the school gate, Qing Chen saw many people running towards the high school building. He happened to run into Nan Gengchen sprinting, and he curiously asked, “What’s going on?”

“Didn’t you see the class WeChat group? There’s a transmigrator in the class next to ours; the guy is currently in the classroom,” Nan Gengchen said, panting.

“Wait, how did they replace out he is a transmigrator?” Qing Chen wondered; there had been no one with mechanical limbs in the next class yesterday.

“He was bragging about it,” Nan Gengchen explained. “He held it in all day, but let it slip last night while chatting with classmates.”

Qing Chen frowned upon hearing this. What was happening, so many transmigrators in Los Angeles Foreign Language School?

The school had about two thousand people, and out of the known transmigrators, four were from this school alone. How many could there be nationwide?

Even if only a dozen cities nationwide had transmigrators, the overall number wouldn’t be small.

By then, Qing Chen thought, others would probably spot this pattern as well.

Would there be a large influx of people into these cities, hoping to become the third, fourth, or fifth wave of transmigrators?

Perhaps not right now, but if a third wave of transmigrators were to confirm this suspicion, such theories might turn into reality.

In the future, including Los Angeles, those dozen cities would likely become increasingly bustling.

Qing Chen and Nan Gengchen ran towards the classroom, but before they could get a clear look, the dean of students arrived with a group of teachers and took away the student who claimed to be a transmigrator.

“We’re too late!” Nan Gengchen mumbled.

Qing Chen decided not to meddle further and turned to pull Nan Gengchen towards their own class.

He guessed that the mysterious organization would soon arrive at the school, and with the transmigration imminent tonight, he didn’t want to complicate matters.

He wasn’t sure if the mysterious organization had seen his face. Since they could restrict Jiang Xue’s movements, they could probably check the surveillance cameras, right?

Although the area where he lived was old and the surveillance sparse, and he had deliberately chosen to walk in places without cameras that day, Qing Chen couldn’t guarantee that they hadn’t found him.

Throughout the entire day, Qing Chen stayed quietly in class, avoiding any encounter with the mysterious organization.

Except to use the restroom, he never left the classroom.

It is worth mentioning that their English teacher, Du Yihong, had taken another leave of absence, which only solidified Qing Chen’s suspicions.

“Qing Chen, Qing Chen, look,” Nan Gengchen said. “He Xiaoxiao’s guide has been updated!”

Qing Chen’s eyes lit up. So far, among all the transmigrators who’d described the Inner World, He Xiaoxiao’s guide was probably the most captivating.

Because others simply provided an overview of the world or some fragmented information.

But He Xiaoxiao, a top player in video gaming, was sharing genuinely useful information.

Such as the Contraindicated courts, Uncle Li Dong, and the Genetic Potion—stuff that most transmigrators hadn’t even come into contact with yet.

However, what had happened when He Xiaoxiao suddenly disappeared and then reappeared?

Qing Chen opened the video on his phone.

“Hello everyone, I’m He Xiaoxiao. Due to some special reasons, I couldn’t provide a new guide yesterday.”

“Today’s guide is about the current expansion of the Inner World game: Qing’s Shadow Contest.”

“Qing’s Group is one of the top five companies in the Inner World…”

“A ‘Shadow’ in Qing’s Group holds all the power in the underground world.”

“It’s said that this has been a tradition in Qing’s for over a thousand years. Every once in a while, they select a new Shadow, leading to a fierce competition similar to a royal succession struggle. Each Shadow Candidate must undergo the harshest of trials. At the same time, when the new Shadow is chosen, it usually stirs up considerable turmoil in the Inner World.”

“Currently, there are eight known Shadow Candidates. Each one of them is exceptionally gifted. These candidates are named Qing Huai, Qing Wen, Qing Shi… but there’s one who is extremely mysterious; I haven’t been able to replace out his identity yet.”

Qing Chen watched silently, knowing that an expansion meant new plots and characters opened up based on an existing game, like Red Alert 3: Yuri’s Revenge.

He didn’t know that Uncle Li Dong had once speculated that he was a Shadow Candidate, nor did he even know himself that he was one. Lu Guangyi had never mentioned it.

But now he suddenly understood why he had appeared in Prison No. 18.

It must be said, He Xiaoxiao’s strategies had always been of great help to him.

Countdown 6:19:29.

He waited until the afternoon, but Qing Chen did not see anyone from the mysterious organization at the school. Instead, a classmate from the next class had not come back, reportedly taken home by his parents for reflection.

As the time for time travel drew closer, Qing Chen could clearly feel Nan Gengchen becoming increasingly nervous.

He didn’t know what to advise him. If this guy really did travel to Prison No. 18, then he would take the risk of being discovered to help him.

“If, I mean if you travel tonight, you must be careful. You’ve seen what those people online said, the Inner World is not safe,” Qing Chen advised Nan Gengchen.

Nan Gengchen’s expression was a bit unnatural. “I, I’m not a transmigrator.”

“As long as you know,” Qing Chen said no more, as the other had managed to keep the secret up to now, it showed he knew what he was doing.

In the evening, Qing Chen skipped classes and went home, then calmly waited at home for the countdown to time travel.

He closed his eyes to rest. After an unknown amount of time, there was a knock on the door. Qing Chen opened the door and saw Jiang Xue standing outside: “Is something the matter, Aunt Jiang Xue?”

Jiang Xue hesitated and then said, “You know I’m a transmigrator. The countdown has a little while left until it’s time, the Inner World is very dangerous and I’m not sure if I can come back. If I don’t return safely tomorrow, could you take care of Xiao Yun for a day for me?”

Qing Chen was stunned. “Why would you say that? You’ll definitely come back safely.”

Jiang Xue shook her head. “You wouldn’t comfort me like this if you knew how dangerous that world is, but I am well aware. There, without the backing of the five major companies, a human life is worthless. I’m not asking you to take care of Xiao Yun for long, her grandmother is coming over from Zheng City tomorrow…”

“Okay, I promise you, but I still hope you’ll be fine,” Qing Chen nodded.

“Thank you,” Jiang Xue said, handing Qing Chen a key. “I’ll leave a key with you, in case something happens you can easily open the door.”

Having said this, Jiang Xue turned and left.

Qing Chen was stunned for several seconds. He hadn’t expected her to entrust him with her house key.

This must also be a form of trust, right?

Countdown 00:9:59.

Qing Chen, making the most of his last moments, held a small USB drive in his mouth.

He wanted to test if an item hidden in his body could pass through that wall of time.

Then, he once again turned his arm purple.

After everything was completed, Qing Chen took a deep breath.

Countdown: 00:00:10.

9.

8.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

1.

The world shattered.

And reformed.

…

The monthly tickets are already in the top ten! 45,000-word monthly tickets in the top ten! If I can get into the top five this month, I will immediately add three more chapters!

…

Thanks to the group members of Elbow Black and Stupid Group, Bear Children, Autumn Detachment, Beetle Beetle for becoming the book’s Alliance Hierarchs. Big shots are generous, may your fortune be as vast as the eastern seas and your life as long as the southern mountains!

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS

Lordbluefire

Footnote:

[1] Nine Dragons’ Contention for Succession was a historical event in which the sons of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty competed for the throne.

[2] Red Alert 3: Yuri’s Revenge is an existing game under the Command & Conquer series, though it is supposed to be the expansion pack for Red Alert 2, not 3.