Night’s Nomenclature

Chapter 952: Defeating Magic with Magic

"What's our goal this time in the West Continent?" Yi curiously asked.

"To find a way to eliminate the Arbiters' threat from the root," Qing Chen said; "Also, let's perform some magic—no, magic. Qing Chen is not Qing Zhen. Qing Zhen was an ordinary person who never became a Metahuman until his death.

But Qing Zhen didn't become a Metahuman because he believed his intelligence was more than sufficient, that even without being a Metahuman, he could save the world. This ancestor of the Qing Family ultimately did use his wisdom and forbearance to outwit Ling and end the intelligent machine crisis.

But Qing Chen is different. He excels in computational ability but is less skilled in strategic planning compared to Qing Zhen, so when faced with crises, he mostly tackles problems as they arise. If Qing Zhen could see a hundred steps ahead with one step,

Qing Chen might only see thirty steps ahead. This is perhaps the difference between them. Of course, he doesn't necessarily need to become anyone; he has his own path.

At this moment, Black Widow stood in the control room of the Gods' Air Fortress, holding a golden True Sight Eye. She seemed hesitant, as if unsure whether she should open this key gate.

"What's so special about 78 Victor Avenue? Is there some secret? Why are you so certain that the door you're opening will be there?" Qing Chen asked. Black Widow shook her head: "There's no secret; it's not a significant place to others."

After saying that, she mustered her courage, embedding the golden stone into the door. Red scorch marks appeared at the seams where the stone connected to the door, as if a high-temperature star was melting the metal, about to drip red molten iron.

She twisted it ten times, ripples spreading across the door.

Qing Chen was about to enter, but Qing Ji stopped him, first going in to check before saying to Qing Chen: "It's safe, but the house is strange." Black Widow glanced at Qing Ji. This great demon, Qing Ji, had never trusted anyone and never forgotten his responsibilities. He worried that the door Black Widow opened concealed a trap that endangered Qing Chen's safety, yet he didn't hesitate to check it himself.

"I'll go in and take a look," Qing Chen stepped inside.

78 Victor Avenue was a typical Western-style townhouse, with more than twenty houses forming long rows, each with three floors. Entering the key gate, Qing Chen saw that the fireplace was filled with dust, and there were dried bloodstains on the carpet and walls. He slightly frowned; this villa looked more like a haunted house.

Ling said behind him: "Fourteen years ago, a murder case occurred at 78 Victor Avenue. The wife killed her husband, leaving their daughter alone at a boarding school." Black Widow followed him in, softly saying: "I grew up here. After my father passed away, my mother found another man. The man's career was as a manager at a textile factory under the Marquis of Wendy, with an income higher than most citizens. He would take Black Widow and her mother to upscale restaurants and on vacations to the beach.

Black Widow thought he was a good stepfather until one day they went to their seaside villa. After entering the room, the stepfather locked Black Widow's mother inside, taking Black Widow to the beach to collect shells.

When they returned to the villa, Black Widow saw the Marquis of Wendy get into a vehicle, while her mother was crying in the room, covered in bruises. At that time, she was still very naive, only knowing that something bad had happened.

This continued for seven years until the Marquis of Wendy no longer favored her mother, and the man was demoted. The man began drinking heavily; when drunk, he would call Black Widow's mother a bitch, a prostitute. Her mother just silently endured.

"Didn't she ever think of leaving him?" Qing Chen asked upon hearing this.

"Yes," Black Widow said: "I asked my mother why she didn't leave him, and my mother said she needed his salary to live and pay for my schooling, that she could endure all of this." "What happened later?" Qing Chen asked.

"When I was seventeen, he got drunk, locked my mother in the room, and assaulted me," Black Widow calmly said: "After it was over, he went back to bed, while my mother went to the kitchen and got a kitchen knife, stabbing him eleven times while he was asleep. He struggled to run downstairs but stumbled and fell down the stairs, never getting up again. After my mother killed him, because she didn't want to become a slave, she also took poison and committed suicide. I continued my studies until I was chosen by the Arbiters organization at school... that was another nightmare.

Black Widow: "This is the place I hate most, but also the place I miss most, it's quite contradictory. I've always wanted to come back and clean this place up, but I've never had the courage." Qing Chen nodded, "Okay, let's start working." Black Widow was stunned: ""

With such a tragic experience, a typical boss would at least comfort their employee, but Qing Chen directly skipped those emotions and wanted to start working. Wasn't this boss said to be compassionate and righteous?

Or, was she still just an outsider, not worthy of his concern?

Although Black Widow didn't need all that, the moment she had said these things, and Qing Chen had this matter-of-fact attitude, she felt a little awkward. At this time, Qing Chen stood in front of the fireplace, stroking the dried bloodstains: "Black Widow" "Mm" Black Widow immediately looked over.

Qing Chen looked at her and said: "Clean the room first; we'll be staying here from now on." Black Widow: "Okay."

"No need for that much trouble, just buy some all-terrain floor cleaning robots. I've already ordered them; someone will deliver them shortly," Ling said. Qing Chen was stunned: "When did you order them?"

Ling pointed to her head, "The functions of West Continent robots are more than you imagine." Ten minutes later, delivery robots arrived, bringing all-terrain floor cleaning robots.

These robots, like six-legged spiders, first scanned the room before starting to climb up and down, thoroughly cleaning the walls, ceiling, floor, and fireplace. Their waste bags behind them gradually swelled up, looking like real spiders. It seemed that a slight squeeze would cause a burst of colorful liquid.

Qing Chen sighed, "The designer's peculiar hobby. I'd be scared if I saw this thing on the ceiling in the middle of the night." Ling laughed, "I think it's pretty good."

Qing Chen looked at Ling: "This wasn't your design, was it?" Ling: "It was mine." "" Qing Chen: "Can I go out on the street now? Will I be recognized?"

"As long as the Roosevelt Kingdom hasn't discovered I'm helping you, it's still possible," Ling said: "But I still advise you not to walk the streets in your own appearance." "Has the Roosevelt Kingdom issued a warrant for my arrest?" Qing Chen asked. "No," Ling shook her head: "You have too many fans." Qing Chen was astonished; he was considered an enemy, yet he had fans.

Ling walked back to the Gods' Air Fortress behind the key gate: "From now on, the Qing Family army will be under my command. No regrets?" Qing Chen thought seriously for a moment, "No regrets."

Ling smiled and walked through the door: "Of course, if you feel that I've made a wrong decision, you can tell me directly and can revoke my command authority at any time. I understand humans, so I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

Ling still didn't trust humans; it was more like a game to her: She would choose her optimal solution and then wait for humans to question her, to prove that humans were still the same as a thousand years ago, unchanged, that artificial intelligence still couldn't coexist with humans.

Qing Ji also left; only Yi, Qing Chen, and Black Widow remained in the house. Before leaving, he specifically warned Black Widow: "Don't have any ulterior motives; otherwise, I'll chase you to the ends of the earth."

Black Widow didn't speak; she just returned to her childhood room, sat on the clean bed, staring blankly out the window.

She saw that the photo frames in the room were also treated as garbage by the cleaning robots and packed away, so she hurriedly stopped the robots, holding the photo of herself and her mother in her arms, continuing to sit on the bed in a daze.

Downstairs, Qing Chen's voice came: "Yi, help me gather all news reports and interviews from the internet, collect all the photos and information of the people involved." "Only the civilian network," Yi said: "Other places have Data Fortresses; without a powerful server, it's impossible to get in." "It's fine, the civilian network is enough," Qing Chen said: "This time, we'll defeat magic with magic."

Yi connected the data cable to the LCD screen with her hand. As she searched the civilian network reports, the LCD screen would keep flashing through people's photos. Qing Chen watched intently; the speed at which those fleeting photos flashed by was extremely fast. Normal people would probably only see a blur. Yi suddenly asked: "Qing Chen, have you and Yang Yang confirmed your relationship?" The image on the LCD screen paused; Qing Chen looked up at Yi: "Yes, what's wrong?" "Nothing," Yi shook her head; the image on the LCD screen started flashing again. Yi curled up on the sofa watching the fireplace, thinking about something.

At night, when Black Widow was in bed daydreaming, there was a knock at the door. She woke up, got out of bed, opened the door, and saw Qing Chen standing outside.

Black Widow saw Qing Chen's smiling face; subconsciously she pursed her lips, and after two seconds, she said, "Can we not do this here? Let's change places. And I have scars on my body; you might want to turn off the lights. Of course, if you like scars, then it's fine."

Qing Chen was stunned: "What are you thinking? Help me buy some groceries and make something to eat."

Black Widow's face suddenly turned red, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'll go right now... wait, can I go out alone?"

"Why not?" Qing Chen asked back.

"Aren't you worried that I'll go and rat you out, for example, report your location to the Roosevelt Royal Family?" Black Widow asked.

Qing Chen shook his head: "Don't worry, go ahead. By the way, buy a new set of clothes; I don't think you like that black leather outfit." "Okay," Black Widow smoothed her hair and hurried downstairs.

Qing Chen suddenly said from the stairs behind her: "In the future, you don't have to sell your body to please anyone, at least not with me."

Black Widow looked back at the young man on the stairs below: "But this is the fastest way to gain intelligence and trust. This is my advantage. I'm beautiful, am I not?" "Yes, you're beautiful, but there are many ways to obtain information; you don't have to choose this one," Qing Chen said, "Go buy groceries."

In fact, even the Kestrels of the Qing Family's Secret Service often used similar beauty tactics; it was one of the main methods for subverting enemy core personnel. Nobody thought there was anything wrong with it. Female Kestrels would even receive special training, and in intelligence classes, male and female spies would undress, learning how to abandon their personalities and how to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.

This was the era's mindset; chastity, life, and personality weren't that valuable.

The Li Clan and the Qing Family had good and bad sides because they were also conglomerates standing on the flesh and blood of the people.

Qing Chen believed that they, the time travelers, had to change something now that they had come to this Inner World, so the Secret Service had already strictly prohibited this kind of subversive method. Perhaps Qing Chen was somewhat idealistic, but he believed it was necessary. By the day of world peace, the conglomerates should also disappear with the war.

Black Widow walked blankly on the street, under the colorful holographic neon lights.

She looked up and saw the giant holographic neon lights on her left dancing above her head; a woman gasped, "Pink Building, here you'll find everything you need." To the right was a recruitment advertisement; a baron in a suit held a cigar: "Merit, money, women, want it? Join the army, get everything with your own hands." Behind it was a gambling advertisement; further ahead were openly sold dopamine chips.

Everywhere on the street were cameras, emaciated slaves, strangely dressed white citizens and nobles. Black Widow stood in front of a shop window, looking at a beautiful white dress.

She went in, took the dress, went into the fitting room, and put it on. However, looking at the exposed skin outside the off-shoulder dress, the crisscrossing whip marks, she silently took off the dress again, changing back into her black leather jacket.

The saleswoman looked at her curiously, "Is the size wrong?" "It's fine," Black Widow replied: "But I don't want to buy it."

To the saleswoman's astonishment, she walked out of the store and went straight to the supermarket. Some aspects of her past life seemed to have faded away, but the scars left on her seemed like they would never fade.

She could get nanobionic skin, but it was too expensive. Her previous accounts, along with seven anonymous accounts, were frozen by Storm Duke, leaving only one anonymous account undiscovered, but it didn't have much money, so she couldn't afford it.

However, Black Widow had never thought about this before; it was different now.

When Black Widow returned to 78 Victor Avenue with the vegetables, she said straight away as soon as she entered: "Boss, I want my salary." Qing Chen turned to her, "How much do you want?" Black Widow calculated for a moment, "1.2 million a month." Working for ten years, she could replace her entire body with nanobionic skin.

Qing Chen thought for a moment, "You never asked for a salary before." Black Widow hesitated: "If you don't want to give it, it's okay." Qing Chen smiled and shook his head: "I'm not that stingy. Don't worry, I'll pay you your salary, and during wartime, I'll pay you double." "Why?" Black Widow wondered: "This is no small sum." Qing Chen smiled and said: "Because only now do I feel like you are a living person."