Naming Technique of the Night

Ninth District, Shadow Candidate Qing Wen, stood quietly on the skybridge between two buildings.

The suspended bridge was like a steel cable hanging between the two tall structures.

Every time Qing Wen stood in such a place, overlooking the most absurd part of a city, he always felt a unique sense of detachment.

This place did not belong to him, nor did he belong to it.

At 3 p.m., 72 Detectives from Intelligence Department Three had entered the apartment building to his right, conducting a thorough blockade based on the information provided by Kite Falcon under Qing Wen's command.

Gunshots echoed from the building, yet Qing Wen's expression did not change; he simply stood above the clouds, observing the scenery.

He seemed not to take this capture operation to heart. Although the Detectives were weak, Qing Wen's Kite Falcon agents had already been hidden inside the building, ready to take action at any moment.

The capabilities of those Kite Falcons far surpassed those of Detectives and Assassins.

Within half an hour, his subordinates had brought five handcuffed Assassins onto the skybridge to report the good news, "Inspector, we've caught them all, but there were only five in the apartment building. While fighting inside, your experts intervened in a timely manner, so our side only suffered three minor injuries."

Qing Wen smiled warmly, "Five is very good, we still have plenty of time."

Just then, a Detective approached Qing Wen and whispered, "A friend of mine from Intelligence Department Three said that Qing Yi hasn't shown up for work there until now, Qing Wu left soon after we did, Qing Shi is still chasing celebrities, and Qing Xing picked up some money."

Unexpectedly, not only had Qing Wen absorbed Qing Yi's Detectives under his command, but he had also secretly bribed those missing Detectives from Qing Yuan's team.

However, Qing Wen did not bring Qing Yuan's people with him for the operation, but instead left them in Intelligence Department Three to act as informants, monitoring the every move of the other Shadow Candidates.

Qing Wen looked at the Detective and said impassively, "Alright, thank you, I know."

The Detective seemed to be trying to curry favor, "Qing Yi is still young and playful, not a concern. But Qing Wu suddenly leaving, could that cause any problems?"

Qing Wen chuckled, "No worries. We just need to catch one more Assassin."

The Shadow required the capture of at least six Assassins or the operation's Commander, Lin Haiping.

And there were twelve Assassins.

So, in theory, at most three Shadow Candidates could gain the advantage for the next mission.

Qing Wen could, of course, capture everyone, cutting off the paths of other Shadow Candidates, but he felt there was no need to rush; there was plenty of time to play the long game.

Now, he was already ahead of the other Shadow Candidates, so there was no need to panic.

Qing Wen said with a smile, "Wait until we get back to the underground garage of the PCA Central Intelligence Agency. I've prepared some little gifts for everyone there."

The Detectives were momentarily stunned, then all of them were overjoyed.

They knew Qing Wen was generous; he was rewarding them for their efforts in this operation.

The gift was something to look forward to.

On their way back, the Detectives saw a surge of activity as everyone wanted to ride in Qing Wen's car to get closer to their new boss, but in the end, it was the three most senior Detectives who managed to squeeze in.

Qing Wen, however, did not bother with all this, quietly waiting for the Detectives to decide among themselves.

Back in the underground garage of Intelligence Department Three, Qing Wen's Servants had been waiting for quite some time.

The management here wasn't as strict as in Intelligence Department One; Qing Wen simply had to make a phone call, and his personal vehicles could all enter the garage.

Qing Wen's Servants opened two box trucks, revealing 72 gifts in the trunk.

It was basket after basket of beef, fresh and inviting.

The fresh meat, sealed in baskets with cling film, rather resembled fruit baskets sent to visit patients in the Outer World, with thick slices arranged into attractive rose shapes.

In the Inner World, because real beef was extremely scarce and even barbecue restaurants sold synthetically flavored beef—a fancier kind of synthetic protein—the most valuable gift was fresh meat.

Only in the markets of the Upper Three Districts could one find genuine fresh meat, selling for hundreds of dollars a pound, with the best beef costing tens of thousands.

The Detectives' eyes lit up at this sight, and they roughly estimated that each basket of beef weighed about twenty pounds, enough to cover a month's wages.

Wouldn't their wives be overjoyed if they brought this home?!

Qing Wen said with a smile, "This is just a small token of my appreciation as I am new here; there's a more generous gift coming before the Spring Festival. I hope you all can continue to collaborate with me in the meantime."

The Detectives were thrilled, each carrying a basket of beef and escorting the five Assassins upstairs.

As each of them entered the large office, the other Detectives who had stayed behind were astounded by the sight of the beef baskets, looking incredulous.

In fact, by choosing to distribute gifts at this time, Qing Wen intended to make the Detectives of other Shadow Candidates envious. What he was doing was similar to what Qing Chen had done in Group Seven, although the level of the gifts was slightly different…

However, just at that moment, the door of Intelligence Department Three opened again.

Qing Wen turned his head and was surprised to see Qing Hua, who had previously come to the PCA Federation CIA Headquarters to make an arrest, standing at the door.

Qing Hua entered jubilantly with dozens of people, circling the five handcuffed Assassins, "Are these the Assassins who attacked Jindai Street?"