Naming Technique of the Night

Chapter 781: 466, The Real Goal

“Commander, is it worth doing this?” a subordinate asked in a low voice.

Qing Li replied calmly, “In this world, there’s no constant measure of worth. Soldiers are trained for a thousand days to be used in a single moment. Our purpose is just that.”

The subordinate fell silent as they all observed the blizzard outside of Yamaguchi.

A handful of people could not possibly survive in a pack of wolves, and even if a B-Class Expert came, they would have no choice but to flee in the face of such a formidable wolf pack.

Unless there was an army present.

“Those of you whose parents are still alive, raise your hands,” Qing Li said in a hollow.

Six subordinates slowly raised their hands. Qing Li, with the light of dawn, looked at them: “You stay behind to protect the young master. The rest will follow me.”

After speaking, Qing Li turned to the subordinates who were ready to follow him and said, “You all have your cell phones, right? Write a will in the memo, then hand it to the brothers who stay behind. They will help deliver it to the clan.”

As soon as the words were spoken, he took out his phone, turned it on, and wrote a message.

A subordinate whispered, “Commander, your parents are still alive.”

Qing Li was startled for a moment, then looked at the subordinate: “I am the young master’s Protector. No matter what reasons I have for needing to survive, now I must fulfill my duty. This is also the purpose the old master had in assigning me to be the Protector.”

Qing Li was not particularly outstanding among all the Protectors of the Shadow Candidates.

Other Protectors were either Awakeners or Cultivators, while he was just a Genetic Warrior, selected only because of his excellent performance in the Federation Group’s army.

He had been a bodyguard for Qing Yi’s father for seven years, during which time he had not experienced any intense combat.

The reason Qing Yi’s father placed him as a Protector was simply because of his loyalty.

Does a Protector need to be very powerful? Of course.

But which is the higher priority between ‘powerful’ and ‘loyal’? Qing Yi’s father believed it was loyalty.

Only someone with sufficient loyalty, when faced with a desperate situation, would be willing to sacrifice their own life to ensure Qing Yi’s survival.

All this was secretly arranged at Qing Li’s gesture.

Qing Li continued, “Later, I’ll incite everyone in the hollow to rush out together, making a larger target. Remember to seize the opportunity… Don’t waste this chance.”

The subordinates exchanged glances, realizing that Qing Li planned to have everyone else in the hollow draw the wolves’ attention.

But that meant everyone else, except for Qing Yi and his group, would die.

Qing Li glanced at them and said, “As long as the young master survives, it doesn’t matter if everyone else dies, including me. It would be best if those crows could follow me; they are strong and might be able to hold off the wolf pack.”

At that moment, he turned to everyone in the hollow and said, “We are about to break out. We’ve run out of food, and if we stay trapped here, we’re on a path to death. We’ll be in charge of the charge, and it’s not our concern whether those behind can keep up. Whether you can survive is entirely up to you.”

This was one of the most ruthless aspects of the consortium. Qing Li didn’t blink an eye at the thought of sacrificing everyone in the hollow to keep Qing Yi safe.

In his view, it was only natural.

However, in the next second, crows sitting in the corner glanced at each other, and in April, someone stuffed a handful of snow into their mouth: “Let’s go.”

Saying this, those in black cloaks stood up as if ignoring everyone else and walked towards the mouth of Yamaguchi.

Some people in the hollow silently got up, watching as the crows one by one vanished into the blizzard.

A curious thing happened, the pack of wolves that had been surrounding them silently opened a path for the crows to leave.

Until that moment, Qing Li and Qing Chen had speculated that the wolf pack was controlled by someone, but only now did they finally have evidence.

In human society, the Contraindicated Tribunal is always neutral, so no one ever rashly involves them in a battlefield.

But what do the wolves in the wilderness know of these things?

Qing Li watched the departing crows and sighed. He even wondered if they had heard what he had just said, which was why they suddenly left.

At this time, Sun Chu Ci, who had been quietly listening to Qing Li’s orders, suddenly stood up and said, “I’ll join you in breaking out to attract attention, but can your companion also take mine with them?”

Qing Li was taken aback: “You’re a real man, you don’t need to go with us. You are the gentleman’s man and can go with the young master.”

Sun Chu Ci shook his head: “Someone needs to play along with your act. If only you leave and we all stay behind, there will definitely be suspicion. Then, if the wolves’ attention isn’t divided, no one will escape.”

A few boys nearby said, “Senior, we’ll go with you, let the two girls go with them.”

Sun Chu Ci smiled: “Alright.”

Tuan Zi and another girl named Zhou Yu looked at them: “Why should just the two of us escape? We’re not staying.”

Sun Chu Ci suddenly became serious: “There’s no time to waste on this argument at such a moment. We’ve finally made some money in the Inner World, and you two can help us slowly transfer it to the Outer World. At least give our parents a safety net for their old age. For everyone’s parents… someone has to survive.”

Tuan Zi and the other girl, Zhou Yu, fell silent.

Seeing that these people had come to an agreement, Qing Li did not hesitate any longer.

He checked his firearms, then led the group to disable the safety of their guns and charged out in a tactical formation.

Behind them, Sun Chu Ci shouted, “Wait for us!”

As he spoke, he followed them, and suddenly there was chaos in the hollow.

In the commotion, the other people in the hollow didn’t notice Qing Yi, who was left behind.

Many people saw a path to survival and rushed forward, afraid of being left behind.

After all, the last time they left the lake, many had died in the Great Snow because they were too slow.

The accumulated snow outside the hollow had become very deep. With each step Qing Li and his group took, they had to trudge through snow past their knees.

But Qing Li’s actions were still decisive. He led the way, firing in short bursts to push back the wolf pack.

This fierce squad managed to forcefully carve a gap through the wolf pack from the very start with their momentum.

When the magazine was empty, he exchanged it for a new one; when someone by his side fell behind, he didn’t look back.

The people fleeing saw Qing Li and his group tearing through the enemies like gods of war and immediately became elated. Even those still hesitating in the gully followed suit.

Liu Liqun and the others tried to get up, but Qing Chen held them down, “Wait a bit longer.”

Liu Liqun was stunned, “Wait for what? If we wait any longer they’ll be too far ahead!”

However, Qing Chen still pressed down on Liu Liqun’s arm, “Wait.”

At this moment, the field workers suddenly noticed that Qing Chen, who had been weak for three days, now looked as if he had fully recovered, his eyes filled with nothing but sharpness and determination.

In the gully now, only the field workers, Qing Yi and his entourage, Yan Chunmi, and a few others remained.

Qing Chen looked at these people.

If there really was an insider in the gully, then their attention would surely be on Qing Yi, not those who had rushed out.

Therefore, the insider could only be among those who remained.

The next moment, one of Qing Yi’s followers picked up the unconscious young master and charged towards the outside.

The pack of wolves had already followed Qing Li and left; if they were to leave, now was the best opportunity.

Qing Chen remained seated, wanting to see who would be the first to follow.

However, just as Qing Yi’s side started to move, the rest followed suit.

It was then that Qing Chen noticed someone still sitting on the ground, appearing as if they had fallen ill.

Qing Chen pulled Liu Liqun and the others to get going, “Hurry, or it will be too late.”

Something strange happened; no sooner had they started moving than the person who had seemed ill stood up quickly and followed.

Qing Chen’s expression became grave; these people were not after Qing Yi, they were after him!

Strange.

At this time, he clearly had Zhou Cang’s appearance, yet the other party had precisely located him, even though even Yan Chunmi didn’t know his real identity.

Shadow?

Was it the Shadow wanting to kill him, or was there also a problem with someone close to the Shadow?

No, that’s not right; the Shadow wouldn’t need to go through such complications to kill him.

…

…

By now, Qing Li’s arms and chest were stained with blood, and their ammunition had run out, so they could only draw their daggers to hack away.

The speed and strength of a C-Class Expert were not something wild wolves could overcome, but the number of wolves was simply too great.

In the beginning, those who followed Qing Li thought they could escape once they tore through the wolves, badly misjudging the situation.

After ripping a hole in the pack, the wolves continued to follow at a relentless pace.

Wolves are tenacious, and humans simply can’t outrun them in the snow; they will eventually be worn down.

Qing Li was breathing heavily; suddenly, he stopped running and turned around with a smile, “Stop running. The scenery here isn’t bad. Dying here wouldn’t be too shabby. Qing’s Soldiers can’t die on the run; that would be too shameful.”

The people around Qing Li gradually came to a halt and, together with Sun Chu Ci and others, formed a circle waiting for the wolves to attack.

But something unexpected happened.

Half of the pack behind them split off and, instead of pursuing further, turned abruptly and ran toward the gully.

Qing Li’s expression changed, “No good!”

It was only at that moment that he realized that the person controlling the pack had seen through their tactics and found the real target.

Qing Li and his group tried to rush back, but the remaining half of the pack firmly blocked the way, preventing them from returning.

On the other side, Qing Chen sprinted across the snowfield, pulling Liu Liqun with him.

Qing Yi was slowly coming to his senses amid the turmoil; he knew what had happened, his eyes bloodshot as he stayed silent on his follower’s back.

A follower looked back and shouted in alarm, “The wolves are catching up; is Qing Li dead already!?”

Qing Yi was momentarily shocked; for some reason, he suddenly felt enveloped by profound sadness.

All of Qing Yi’s followers panicked, “What do we do?! We can’t outrun the pack!”

As the wolves drew closer, the group, including Song Niannian, Tuan Zi, Yan Chunmi, and several other women, had no chance of escape.

Qing Yi calmly said, “Put me down and prepare to fight.”

But just as he spoke, the field worker ‘Zhou Cang’ came before him.

With a familiar voice and a smile, he said, “Continue running north; I’ll lead them away. You must survive; don’t waste the chance Qing Li bought for you with his life.”

After speaking, ‘Zhou Cang’ then turned to look at Yan Chunmi, “Escort Qing Yi away.”

Yan Chunmi was startled; she, too, had recognized Qing Chen’s voice.

The next moment, Qing Chen was leaving everyone behind, running to the northeast once again.

Everyone saw that one of them, and the wolves far away, suddenly changed direction, following Qing Chen towards the northeast.

Qing Yi watched that resolute figure and murmured, “Master… “