Chapter 40: Secrets Unraveled

Li Shutong left along with the large cat. He said he would teach Qing Chen but never specified what exactly that was.

But Lin Xiaoxiao, who had been with his boss for a long time, understood that his boss was in a good mood right now.

In fact, a very, very good mood.

Li Shutong had yet to select a successor to his position as the Knights' leader. He never said anything about it, but Lin Xiaoxiao saw how he tried to test one person after another, yet time after time they failed.

Lin Xiaoxiao knew that his boss was worried.

The path of the leader was a difficult one, so much so that even he and Ye Wan couldn't complete it.

Qing Chen was completely soaked at this point. He was still panting as water dripped down his hair.

The pain from waterboarding would be quite traumatic for the average person.

"I'm honestly amazed," said Lin Xiaoxiao, "I'm not sure how you lasted 4 days in that room, I myself could only last 36 hours, and Ye Wan only did a little better— 47 hours."

"A little?" Ye Wan glanced at him.

"Fine, a lot. Are you happy now?" said Lin Xiaoxiao sighed impatiently.

Qing Chen's breathing returned to normal, "You got locked in the room too?"

"Yeah," Lin Xiaoxiao nodded, "To others, it's torture, but for us, it's a test, a necessity. From the moment the boss locked you in that room, I knew that he wanted to choose you, but if you couldn't survive, he wouldn't mind seeing you die in there. The boss had witnessed far too many deaths. His heart has hardened because of it."

Lin Xiaoxiao smiled and continued, "But no one will survive with a weak heart. That's simply the way the world works, so please don't blame him for that."

Ye Wan brought a soft, dark blue towel to Qing Chen and said, "It's a rare sight to see someone stay as calm as you while being waterboarded... many pee their pants."

It appeared that Ye Wan used waterboarding on a regular basis.

But now, he acknowledged Qing Chen.

Lin Xiaoxiao came in holding a plate in his hands. On it was a bowl of rice, a serving of sweet and sour ribs, and a bowl of porridge.

Qing Chen hesitated for a moment and took the bowl of porridge. Ye Wan said to Lin Xiaoxiao, "I won. Now, you owe me 1000 yuan."

Qing Chen was startled, "You two are betting?"

"That's right," said Lin Xiaoxiao, "Your blood sugar is extremely low right now, so you must want something sweet first. My bet was that you will go for the sweet and sour ribs first."

"But it's been four days since you've eaten," said Ye Wan, "so as a smart person, you'll resist your cravings and select what's best for your body. I betted that someone who survived the room and waterboarding wouldn't be stupid enough to eat sweet and sour ribs first."

Qing Chen savored the porridge slowly, feeling the warmth from it slowly seeping into his chilled body.

All of the suffering he'd felt in the Outer World seemed insignificant in comparison to what he'd been through in the last few days.

When other people of his age were taking classes, dating, or playing video games, he had already begun a mysterious and new life.

He didn't even know where he would end up.

"So, you don't know you're from the Qing Family, which is why you played chess with the boss to better your situation?" asked Lin Xiaoxiao abruptly.

"Yeah," nodded Qing Chen. There was no point in hiding anything anymore.

"So you have no true connections with the Qing Family, right?" asked Lin Xiaoxiao again.

"Yeah," Qing Chen reaffirmed.

"Not bad," Lin Xiaoxiao said brightly, "The boss probably already considered this and chose to accept you."

"Do not worry." Ye Wan assured Qing Chen, "The boss, Lin Xiaoxiao, and I will keep the secret about your transmigration, we won't even tell Li Dongze."

Qing Chen felt a sense of relief, "Thank you... but who is Li Dongze?"

"Li Dongze of the Heng Group," Lin Xiaoxiao smiled, "The Heng Group is an organization under the Knights' control. Our organization's influence is much stronger than you may believe. Looks like you don't know much about the outside. I'll get you caught up in the next few days."

"Oh, Lu Guangyi is very loyal to you." Ye Wan continued, " He fought hard for your sake and almost even attempted attacking the boss."

"Hmm. Thank you for letting me know." Qing Chen nodded.

"Do you know Liu Dezhu and Huang Qixian? Oh, and Jiang Sheng, the one that likes to curse." Lin Xiaoxiao asked.

"I saw Liu Dezhu and Huang Qixian before. We're just students in the same high school, so we don't know each other very well."

Lin Xiaoxiao was taken aback. "Hold up, you're simply a high school student in the Outer World?" At this point, he knew a little about the Outer World, but if Qing Chen is just a regular student...

Qing Chen's perseverance and self-control were well above those of a typical student.

"The Outer World is a peaceful world in comparison to here." Qing Chen stated, "There are no Extraordinaries, mechanical limbs, nor gangs and organizations. Even regular people can go about their lives without the worry about it being taken away."

"That sounds like a fantastic place," exclaimed Lin Xiaoxiao.

Qing Chen asked, "Where did you lock that person who was speaking a weird dialect?"

"A few rooms down, do you need him?" Lin Xiaoxiao asked.

"Can I ask him about something?" asked Qing Chen.

"Of course," Lin Xiaoxiao said while smiling, "We are on the same team now, so you can do whatever you want. From now on, no one will stop you in Prison 18."

Qing Chen paused for a moment, then hung the towel over his neck and requested an e-reader before entering Jian Sheng's room.

The metal door opened, and Ye Wan went in to control Jian Sheng first.

This fellow Earthling was around thirty years old.

Jian Sheng yelled, "You this bastard! I will..."

Before he could finish, Qing Chen showed what he wrote on the e-reader, and he stopped. "Wide and Narrow Alley1A famous tourist attraction in Sichuan, 宽窄巷子"

Jian Sheng asked in disbelief, "Are you... from Earth?"

"I'm here to ask you something," wrote Qing Chen, "Aren't you from Sichuan? How come you end up here? Do you live in Luo City?"

"I am in Luo City for business. Just one day, I don't even know how I got taken here." Seeing that the person was also from Earth, Jian Sheng became more relaxed.

"What do you do for a living?" Qing Chen wrote on the e-reader again.

"Ticket resale," Jian Sheng said, "Are you also from Luo City?"

Qing Chen, on the other hand, ignored his question and walked away.

Ye Wan finally let go of Jian Sheng when he walked out the door.

Seeing that the metal cell door closed again, Jian Sheng realized that the person from Earth had no intention of saving him, and began yelling once more.

He was ready to start yelling again when he realized something wasn't quite right. Sure, that kid was from Earth, but how could he manage to wield so much authority here?!

Lin Xiaoxiao, the interrogator, and the other big man were both assisting that teenager.

Have certain time travelers gained power in the Inner World already?

Outside, Lin Xiaoxiao looked at Qing Chen.

This teen just went from starving in the dark room for days to waterboarding, and now he is still calmly interrogating another person!