Naming Technique of the Night

Taboo Object ACE-019, "Puppeteer".

Qing Chen gazed blankly at the tiny bundle of transparent threads in his hand, feeling almost weightless.

It undulated continuously in the palm of his hand, like a cloud of mist.

This wasn't a metaphor; he truly couldn't feel the weight of the Taboo Object.

Qing Chen looked up at the giant before him and asked, "Is this for me?"

The giant DongDong smiled naively and nodded, then pointed deep into the Taboo Land, as if saying, "It's a gift from the old folks, better accept it quickly."

The expression of giant DongDong was exceptionally kind and gentle, but he seemed aware that his appearance could be frightening, so after pouring the Taboo Object into Qing Chen's hand, he carefully stepped back.

He was afraid of frightening the young man before him.

Because of his height, he bumped his head into a cluster of tree crowns while stepping back, appearing rather comically endearing.

Such a huge giant could only hunch over cautiously at the edge of Taboo Land.

Qing Chen then turned towards his own teacher and asked, "Teacher, may I accept this?"

"Of course you can!" Uncle Li Dong raised an eyebrow. "Why reject something being given for free! The old folks love to flaunt what they have; if you refuse, won't that be disrespectful?"

Having said that,

Uncle Li Dong, who had just been cold and stern, suddenly changed his tone and addressed deeper into the Taboo Land, "Consider this a meeting gift then. But with so many of you, how can you only send this one gift? Isn't that a bit miserly? I know that Taboo object ACE-003 is also there!"

Qing Chen watched Uncle Li Dong in confusion. He was just angry, how come he suddenly started demanding things?!

However, the wills in the Taboo Land seemed too disdainful to retort Uncle Li Dong, and there was no further response.

Giant DongDong gave Uncle Li Dong a smile, as if to greet him, then turned and walked deeper into the Taboo Land.

Suddenly, Qing Chen called out to his retreating figure, "Thank you, I am Qing Chen, and it's a pleasure to meet you."

Giant DongDong was a bit surprised; he quickly waved his hand joyfully at Qing Chen before continuing forward.

He started walking slowly at first, then gradually, the giant began to run.

The footsteps, 'thud, thud, thud', were dull yet powerful.

His enormous feet resembled truck tires, strong and formidable.

"Teacher, who is DongDong?" Qing Chen curiously asked.

Before this, he had never seen such a strong human, or should he say, the giant had perhaps transcended humanity?

Uncle Li Dong explained, "His mother was a wildlander. During her pregnancy, she accidentally entered deep into Taboo Land to avoid the Federal Group's military encirclement and coincidentally ate some things from deep within. Later, he was born there and, like all the native creatures of Taboo Land, underwent magical changes."

Gazing at DongDong's figure, Qing Chen suddenly pondered a question; a normal human skeleton, if not Transcendent, would likely struggle to support such a large body.

Yet DongDong seemed to have no such issue, his majestic figure sprinting forward brought to his mind a proverb: 'Kua Fu chasing the sun!'

Qing Chen couldn't help but feel that were the Taboo Land to continue its development, it might truly create a new mythological world.

A mythological world that once existed only in human fantasies.

"Teacher, if DongDong is a native of Taboo Land, does that mean he is not bound by its rules?" Qing Chen curiously asked.

"Not just exempt from the rules of Taboo Area No. 002," Uncle Li Dong replied. "He can freely traverse any Taboo Land. However, DongDong does not often interact with humans in the Taboo Land, so he is somewhat introverted and reluctant to step into the worlds beyond the Taboo Land."

"I noticed he had double pupils in his eyes, something that exists only in history or mythology in the Outer World," Qing Chen said. "What's the use of double pupils?"

The most famous individuals with double pupils were Shun and Xiang Yu.

Uncle Li Dong explained, "DongDong can see through people's hearts. Perhaps that's why he prefers the company of animals and chooses not to face other humans outside of Taboo Land. Those old folks having him deliver Taboo objects might also want to use his double pupils to take a look at you. Now that they see DongDong has taken a liking to you as a friend, they are probably completely reassured."

"I see," Qing Chen recalled the honest and stout giant, then looked at the Taboo Object in his hand, "Teacher, what are the containment conditions for this ACE-019?"

Uncle Li Dong didn't respond verbally; instead, he directly picked a leaf and sliced a small cut on Qing Chen's wrist.

Blood began to flow from the cut.
Stay tuned to empire

Qing Chen quietly watched as, suddenly, one of the nearly transparent threads inside lifted up like a small serpent.

The next moment, the thread of the Taboo ACE-019 drilled into the wound, and the originally transparent thread ball was being dyed red at a visible rate by the blood.

Once the thread ball had turned completely red, ACE-019 contentedly left the wound and gently wrapped around Qing Chen's wrist, resembling a red wrist guard.

And the wound on Qing Chen's wrist miraculously healed.

Uncle Li Dong cautioned Qing Chen, "From today onward, between every two crescent moons, you must kill five people and offer their souls to it. If you fail to do so in any month, then if you want to use it again, you will need to kill ten people between every two crescent moons."

The crescent moons generally refer to the 7th and 22nd of each lunar month; thus, if Qing Chen wished to use the Puppeteer in the future, he must kill five people every month.

Qing Chen's expression turned serious, "Teacher, I feel the containment conditions for this Taboo are quite sinister?"

Uncle Li Dong sighed, "The Transcendent who released the Taboo ACE-019 after death was particularly despicable, and later, this Puppeteer fell into the hands of others and was used for further evil deeds, until a Senior Knight obtained it and contained it in this No. 002 Taboo Land."

"Why then would the senior pass it to me?" Qing Chen was puzzled. "Although I really want to possess a Taboo, are the seniors not afraid that I might lose my true self because of this?"

Uncle Li Dong shook his head, "Perhaps this is the reason they sent Ding Dong to assess you. Now that they have given you ACE-019, they naturally have confidence in you. The rules of the Taboo are clear; how to use it is still up to you."

Qing Chen thoughtfully asked, "So how should I use this Puppeteer ACE-019?"

"Once you fulfill the first containment condition, you can wrap one end of this transparent ACE-019 around your own wrist and the other end around another person's wrist. As long as his level is not higher than yours, during the connection process, he will become your Puppeteer.

You can't control the other person's thoughts, but their body must act according to your wishes, and you can make them do anything," Uncle Li Dong explained.

Uncle Li Dong continued, "Of course, there's a prerequisite containment condition that you need to know the controlled person's own name."

Qing Chen nodded, "I understand."

At this moment, Uncle Li Dong said, "I am very satisfied with your process through this life-and-death situation. However, I can only take you this far; the rest of the path you must walk on your own."

Qing Chen asked, "Teacher, who carved the words 'Forever Young'?"

"The founder of the Knight Organization, named Ren He," Uncle Li Dong explained. "You should also have seen the words left at the highest point, Ren Xiaosu. That's his son."

Qing Chen nodded, the phrase carved by Ren Xiaosu on the entire cliff, "A human's life should be like a candle, burning from the beginning to the end, always bright," had the greatest impact on him.

Perhaps if he hadn't seen that phrase, he wouldn't have dared to leap.

Uncle Li Dong looked at Qing Chen with a smile, "What are your plans next? Will you kill Qing Huai?"

"Yes, I need to fulfill the containment conditions of the Puppeteer before this return; otherwise, once I return to the Outer World, there won't be any condemnable people there for me to kill," Qing Chen said.

Uncle Li Dong curiously looked at his student, "Are you confident? They probably won't give you the chance to exploit the rules again, and you no longer have an anti-infantry landmine to use."

Qing Chen pondered and answered, "I actually think that what comes next might be simpler than killing Cao Wei."

"Oh?" Uncle Li Dong looked interestedly at his student, "Why?"

Qing Chen explained, "When I killed Cao Wei, even though he was seriously injured and had been pursued to exhaustion, his heart was still that of a fierce tiger in our final battle. But those remaining, they're merely wolves whose courage has been broken."

Having said that, Qing Chen lay back on the ground, having not slept for a very long time.

Previously, while pursuing Cao Wei to prevent him from resting, he too couldn't rest.

Now that the most troublesome person had been dealt with, and with his teacher by his side, Qing Chen naturally wanted to replenish his energy first.

Uncle Li Dong asked, "Are you planning to sleep through the day and night? Aren't you afraid you won't complete the Puppeteer's containment conditions on time?"

Qing Chen thought about it and replied, "It's you who taught me, teacher, to be patient while hunting. Even if I'm full of energy right now, it will soon be dawn, and it's not as easy to hunt a group of people during the day, better to wait for the next night."

Uncle Li Dong said, "Aren't you afraid that Qing Huai will take this time to leave the Taboo Land?"

"No," Qing Chen shook his head, "the seniors know I'm going to kill him; they won't let him go."

Uncle Li Dong helplessly said, "I always say this skipping a generation spoils the children!"

Qing Chen smiled, lay back, using the heavens as his cover, and slept on the ground.

Uncle Li Dong sat cross-legged beside him; his expression suddenly softened as he watched his student sleeping, and a wave of pride surged in his heart.

Countdown 22:00:00.

...

Thanks to the Silver League's Lantian Baiyun Aishuijiao, big-hearted boss, may the boss stay healthy and make a fortune.

Thank you to Shuren Xin, Zhen Yongheng Zhi Huo, Sleepy Dong San Yue, Jiuyao Mashaji, LomoX, Sister Li Gao, and 6 Fengmi Zhu Dachang for becoming the new members of this book's league, big-hearted bosses, may you all make a fortune!