Naming Technique of the Night

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Of course, the other party might not have run far; they were simply hidden from sight by the illusion.

He Jinqiu observed his surroundings carefully and noticed that the light and shadows were still subtly wavering in an unrealistic manner, different from reality, but hard to distinguish.

He knew that the middle-aged man might still be within five hundred meters of his position, moving slowly, even the sound of footsteps had vanished.

Otherwise, with his A-Class perception, he would have been able to locate the man simply by the sound of his footsteps.

"It seems there really is no way to counteract such illusions," He Jinqiu remarked resignedly.

But as soon as he finished speaking, the sound of a sniper rifle broke the sudden quiet of the night.

He Jinqiu turned his head abruptly towards the direction of the gunshot, which seemed to come from 700 meters behind him, very close!

This sniper was not from Jindai or Deer Island; the shooter was so cautious that they had not even glanced at him.

Wait a minute!

He Jinqiu looked again in the direction the middle-aged man had fled, only to see a radial pattern of blood appear out of nowhere under the empty streetlamp.

"The boss of Daytime," He Jinqiu exclaimed in shock.

He had assumed the other was not here tonight, as the man had not fired a single shot all evening.

Unexpectedly, the other had come, just more patient than he had imagined.

As the illusion dissipated, the person maintaining the illusion fled far away upon seeing their companion dead.

The middle-aged man's corpse lay quietly on the ground, with a huge bloody hole in the back; the sniper bullet had pierced through his entire back and chest!

A distance of 900 meters was nothing for the reputation of Daytime's boss.

Yet He Jinqiu could not understand how this so-called boss of Daytime saw through the illusion? As an A-Class, he himself had trouble for a while, but that mysterious sniper found the target from 900 meters away.

This was incredible, He Jinqiu pondered with a frown.

What he didn't know was that although the Awakener using the illusion was impressive, the fabricated scene ultimately differed from reality.

At the moment the illusion was conjured, the streets before and after the illusion quickly superimposed themselves in Qing Chen's mind, like a game of Spot the Difference, and he recognized the inconsistencies at a glance.

The illusion needed imagination to build a seemingly real world and to blend lies with truth.

But to Qing Chen, fake was simply fake.

In the earpiece, Tang Keke asked, "Boss, we can roughly confirm the shooter's location, shall we go after him now?"

He Jinqiu thought for a moment, "I originally wanted to tempt him to aim at me. I might have been able to locate him immediately, but this person is too patient and too restrained; he didn't even glance at me. Don't bother searching; you won't find him. He must have planned his escape route before firing, and he might have already gotten far away by now."

At this moment, He Jinqiu felt that the boss of Daytime was like a lone wolf, whose calmness during the hunt was deeply unsettling.

The other's current actual strength might still be average; killing a B-Class with a sniper rifle required waiting for the target to be still.

But such a person would grow stronger sooner or later. Who knew what kind of scene it would be once the other became more powerful?

"Boss, what do we do now?" Tang Keke asked.

"Drive the tanker to a secluded area," He Jinqiu's face turned cold, "I can sense seven people inside, probably the ones we're looking for to replace. The other party has helped us confirm something, replacement only happens when they enter the main city area, and a countdown appears on their arm. Otherwise, there was no need for them to drive the tanker here. If there are more reverse traversal plans in the future, we will know how to respond... In the short term, they should not have the capacity to pull off such an event again."

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Tang Keke expressed her worries, "They have already entered the territory of Los Angeles City, and I'm afraid a countdown timer has already appeared on their arms by now."

"Yes, I know."

After speaking, He Jinqiu got back into his business vehicle and closely followed the tanker truck.

The car drove further off track until reaching the desolate mountains and wilderness. It was then that He Jinqiu signaled Yu Cheng to open the cover on top of the tanker.

Inside the tank, seven Time Travelers climbed out, each looking utterly disheveled and frightened.

He Jinqiu carefully examined their appearances: "Li Changqing, Li Yu, Li Kan..."

He was shocked.

The significance of Li Changqing went without saying. Li Yu was one of the National Policy Advisors of the Li Family's inner circle, responsible for formulating strategic imperatives. Li Kan was the party whip of the Federal Republican Party, and he was the one who helped the Republicant Party regain the majority seats that had been lost for four long years.

The so-called party whip is the 'disciplinarian' within the party, as well as a key figure in unifying the party's thinking.

If a civil war were to break out within the Federation, then such individuals would become one of the most important political resources for the consortiums.

If Jindai and Deer Island succeeded this time in their joint venture, the Li Family would probably fall into immediate chaos!

He Jinqiu pondered, "Are these people's connections so extensive? Have they really found replacements for so many important individuals?"

However, He Jinqiu was thinking about another issue: if the Li Family was only dealing with such an important matter through a transaction with Kyushu, then what were the Li Family's Time Travelers doing at this moment? What was so pressing that they absolutely had to do?

At that moment, when the replacements saw the people from Kyushu, some were surprised, and others were terrified.

Some claimed they had been coerced, while others remained silent.

Tang Keke looked at He Jinqiu, "Boss, what should we do with these people?"

He Jinqiu fell silent for two seconds before saying, "Give me a gun."

Tang Keke silently drew a pistol from her holster and handed it to him.

Everyone knew what kind of decision He Jinqiu was about to make.

Someone whispered, "Boss, what if someone really was coerced?"

He Jinqiu replied calmly, "I know some were really coerced, truly innocent. But they already have the countdown timer on their arms, and we can't possibly scour the world for seven Genetic Potions to stop their travel before our next jump. Plus, we don't even know if the Genetic Potion will still work after the countdown starts."

"I'm not looking for any excuses, everyone. The world is just that cruel. You don't need to do it this time; if there's any sin, I'll bear it alone," said He Jinqiu.

Tang Keke suggested, "Can't we control these replacements? If Jindai and Deer Island can do it, so can we."

He Jinqiu shook his head, "The people these replacements are supposing to replace are too important; they are not good enough actors. Kyushu doesn't have the capacity to withstand the wrath of the Inner World's consortiums. And, the deal I made with the Li Family is done; the Executive Director seat at Hu's Information Agency is what I need most."

After saying this, he pulled the trigger and killed the seven replacements in front of him.

He Jinqiu stood in the mountains under the night sky, with the cold wind howling, a solitary figure in a desolate world.

...

A 5,000-word chapter, 10,000 words updated today, is an additional release in honor of reaching first place in the August monthly ticket race; more to follow tomorrow and the day after.

I ask for your foundational monthly tickets! We are very close to the first place now, everyone help me crush it!