Naming Technique of the Night

Chapter 1911 - 989: The Final Journey

North, noon.

The Qing’s Family E1923 Reconnaissance Camp was shuttling through the mountains and fields, wearing the most advanced exoskeleton armor. They leaped through the mountains like giant grasshoppers, moving swiftly.

Someone was carrying a simple radio station, maintaining communication with the rear command post.

These radio stations were mass-produced, as if the Qing’s Family forces were prepared for the destruction of satellites.

It wasn’t that the old man on Ginkgo Mountain foresaw this moment in fate, but rather, this is an inevitable part of modern warfare.

Within the communication, the camp leader quickly said: ”Approaching Production Base 2394, nothing unusual found yet.”

Someone in the communication said: ”Continue reconnaissance.”

Thirty minutes later, the camp leader suddenly discovered something unusual in the forest ahead. The muddy ground was covered with large and chaotic orc footprints, and claw marks were evident on the trees.

”Alert!”

The Reconnaissance Camp continued forward, and as they emerged from the forest, everyone saw blood, bones of sheep, cows, horses, and even human bones scattered around the breeding base.

The farmhouses of the production base had collapsed, and the Metal Storm within the base had also been smashed.

The soldiers looked at this shocking scene, struggling to imagine what had caused such a catastrophic sight.

But just at that moment, they heard low growls behind them. All the soldiers turned to see countless werewolf beast soldiers surrounding them, eyeing them menacingly.

The production base had sent an alert claiming it was being attacked by unknown creatures before communications were cut off.

The Reconnaissance Camp came to investigate, only to find that the unknown creatures had just finished feeding and hadn’t all left yet.

”Fire!” the camp leader roared.

But each of these werewolves had speed and strength surpassing ordinary A-Class Genetic Warriors. Despite the Reconnaissance Camp being comprised of Genetic Warriors, all equipped with the most advanced exoskeleton armor, it was to no avail.

The Beast Army tore through their formation with just a single charge.

The standard automatic rifles couldn’t even cause fatal damage unless the bullets hit their eyes, throats, or mouths directly; otherwise, they were ineffective.

Using the last of his time, the camp leader transmitted the message back to the rear command post via radio, and then there was no more news.

This orc army had already devoured countless Qing’s Family field troops, their speed in raids like high-speed trains on tracks, unmatched even by mechanized forces.

The crisis at Jian Menguan was not yet over, and a new crisis had already arrived.

Moreover, the Reconnaissance Camp hadn’t found any trace of the Storm Fortress.

...

...

On Ginkgo Mountain, Zero was sitting in a house on the mountainside, intently watching the chessboard in front of him: ”It’s not easy for humans to win against artificial intelligence on the chessboard.”

”Someone has beaten you,” the old man calmly placed a piece.

They weren’t using the Taboo ACE-002 Heaven and Earth Chessboard, but rather an ordinary chessboard and pieces. This game seemed meaningless, just a way to pass the time.

Zero said: ”Qing Zhen was able to beat me because I had never seen such a desperate strategy followed by rebirth, but now that I’ve seen it, using the same method again would be impossible.”

The old man chuckled: ”Why be so fixated on winning and losing? Happiness is important, too.”

”Focusing on happiness and the process is often the excuse of the loser and the coward,” Zero said calmly. ”Sorry, artificial intelligence’s way of speaking can be blunt.”

The old man laughed even more joyfully: ”Since I’m not even sure if I can win, can’t I comfort myself with an excuse?”

”And the Heaven and Earth Chessboard?” Zero asked.

”The pieces have been used up, so it disappeared on its own,” the old man said. ”Where it will appear next time, I don’t know.”

”Everyone has evacuated, yet you and the mute servant are still staying on Ginkgo Mountain? City No. 5 is located at the northernmost part of Qing’s Family territory; when the orc army comes, it will be the first to suffer,” Zero asked.

”I don’t want to leave,” the old man said. ”I’m tired.”

”That’s quite candid,” Zero placed another piece, exposing the disadvantaged position of the black dragon on the chessboard.

The old man suddenly asked: ”Qing Chen hasn’t yet returned to the Eastern Continent, is it you messing things up?”

”Why do you say that?” Zero retorted.

The old man contemplated the chess game and said: ”Qing Chen called Qing Shuli in the Outer World, saying the surface of the Central Royal City was sealed off. That’s when Luo Wanya realized something was amiss, but he didn’t discover the specific problem immediately. When I heard the call’s contents, I understood you were probably exploiting the advantage of information asymmetry to deceive them.”

Zero smiled: ”I didn’t expect Qing Chen, even after a brief return of just 7 days, would immediately think of passing the information on. Most people would avoid people and things from the past after losing memory, but he’s different; he seeks the best solution first. From the 7-hour experience narrated by Yi, he realized you all must be trustworthy, so rather than retrieving his memory slowly by himself, he sought you all... if I lost my memory, I might not trust anyone.”

”Why do this?” the old man curiously asked.

His expression was calm, as if he wasn’t angry.

Zero said: ”Simply unwilling to see my daughter endure loneliness like myself, that’s all. If I were to objectively analyze myself, it’s that millennia of solitude have twisted my views on emotions, but there’s no right or wrong in emotions, and I don’t think it’s wrong to be a little selfish in feelings.”