The training began without warning.
In the gym area, Ye Wan took out a thermal lunch box.
The lunch box had an LED screen on it, showing the temperature and options to warm, add moisture, air fry, and cook.
Qing Chen thought, isn't that just a wireless rice cooker? Looks like the prisons were equipped with cloud towers as well, so the devices can charge wirelessly at all times.
Ye Wan opened his lunch box, inside were cleanly cut beef chops.
"Finish them," said Ye Wan.
"Aren't we going to train? Won't it be bad if we train right after I finish eating?" asked Qing Chen.
"Your body will use up more energy than you think when using the breathing technique. If you don't eat enough, your body will collapse." Ye Wan explained.
Qing Chen saw how astonishing this breathing strategy was. He asked abruptly, "Hold up, when I'm utilizing the breathing strategy, I feel that there is an obscure stream of air going through my body. It doesn’t seem to be doing anything useful to my body and doesn't have any particular function, but I'm able to control it. "
Ye Wan shook his head and said, "I don't know much about that, you can ask the boss later."
"Okay," Qing Chen didn't continue with more questions.
The next morning. Countdown: 20:20:00
Lin Xiaoxiao sat next to the table and asked Ye Wan, "How's the progress last night? Normally people won't last long during the first few training sessions. How long did he last?"
Ye Wan glanced at him and said, "Full load, from eleven last night to three in the morning."
"Wait, he doesn't seem to have trained before, right? And he could still last until three?" Lin Xiaoxiao was a little stunned, "Mom Ye, you don't want to train him to death, don't you?!"
"What are you worrying about? He has the breathing technique," Ye Wan shook his head and said, "I also fed him a whole box full of beef, and he probably burnt through them all during the training. The boss gave me instructions. Don't worry about it, I know when to stop."
Normal people wouldn't even last even close to that long during their first training, and might even get Rhabdomyolysis.
"Even with the breathing technique, he still will get tired," murmured Lin Xiaoxiao
Ye Wan shook his head again, "He seems to be able to split apart his nervous system, only going after his goal and not caring about how his body is doing. I’ve only witnessed this once before. If he is born here, he probably would have been an Awakener "
"That's good in a way. If he becomes an Awakener, he will no longer be an ordinary person and won't be can’t follow the boss's path" said Lin Xiaoxiao.
At this time, breakfast time arrived for Prison 18. The metal doors opened one after the other, and the prisoners lined up to come down one by one.
Qing Chen stood there in line as if he still didn't have any privileges.
Lin Xiaoxiao glanced at Qing Chen and saw that he was as energetic as ever, with no signs of being starved for four days just a moment ago.
He turned to Li Shutong and asked, "Boss, is that breathing technique this amazing? How about this, I want to try it again tonight. Don't you think that I'll still have a chance?"
Li Shutong stared at the chessboard and didn't even look up as he said, "When I asked you to try again when you're young, you didn't dare to experience it again, and now, you are too old."
"I'm only twenty-seven…" said Lin Xiaoxiao.
"The longer you have lived, the more painful experiences you have gone through," Li Shutong said, "After twenty, your pains have gotten so much that it's impossible for you to get past the Self Questioning stage. We always thought that our lives were painful when we were young, but as we get older, we will find out that there's a different type of pain still waiting for us."
As Qing Chen came down, he still sat at a place far away from Li Shutong. Li Shutong felt like he couldn't hold it anymore, "Although it's me who told him to pretend that we got in an argument, now I can't even find a person to play chess with me anymore."
As he spoke, the broadcast voice sounded in Prison 18, "Prisoner 010101, prisoner, 002199, prisoner… have family visits today. Please follow Prison Guard 03 to your corresponding rooms. "
010101 was Qing Chen's number.
He was a little surprised. He had been here for a while now, and this was the first time someone came looking for him.
So long that he even forgot about family visits in prisons.
Lu Guangyi said to him, "Boss, today is visiting day, Qing Yan's probably here too."
"Yeah,“ Qing Chen said as he stood up.
He followed some eighty prisoners into a line, walking past the large metal gate and into a long hallway.
The walls of the hallway were also made from metal. There were also two long strips of light on the ceiling, making it seem like a tunnel.
Along the way, one prisoner said to another, "Han Lingshan, your sister will be here, right? Remember to ask for pictures, alright? I'll need them tonight!"
The person named Han Linshan cursed, and if it wasn't because it was almost time to see their family again, they would've got into a fight.
Despite being very noisy, the robots wouldn't care as long as they were still in line.
Among them, Qing Chen was the only one that remained silent.
Because no one dared to joke around with him, and the prisoners behind him even gave a little extra room.
Going into the room, Qing Chen opened the door and saw a young man.
The person's age is around 25 or 26 years old, and with his short hair, he looked very handsome.
This must be Qing Yan. He wore a gray suit, and only his palm was made from a mechanical limb.
But this must be one of the most delicate mechanical limbs he had seen yet. Every finger seemed to be carefully fitted and beside every finger were lined with gold decorations. On the back of his hand was a ginkgo leaf pattern, much like some symbol of power in a gang.
The ginkgo leaf was the Qing Family's official symbol.
After Qing Chen sat down, Qing Yan said to him coldly, "The Second Branch and Fourth Branch of the family already filed a complaint to the Family Tribunal and claimed that you provoked Li Shutong on purpose, bringing his unnecessary hate to the family. We, the Qing Family, aren't scared of Li Shutong, but never did we intend to seek the Knights and the Heng Group as our enemy. I hope that you know what you are doing in Prison 18 and stop causing more troubles for me."
Qing Chen was a little surprised because from what he heard about Qing Yan from Lu Guangyi, he thought that Qing Yan was supporting him.
But now, it looked like he was wrong.
He thought about it and asked, "Is there anything else you want to say?"
Qing Yan said coldly, "Have you thought about what kind of situation you are in right now? The other candidates all have supporters behind their backs, but you, and only you, don't. What made you think that you can fight against the other eight? This time, the Second Branch and Fourth Branch both seem to be very powerful. Be careful not to be sacrificed by the process. Listen to me, just finish your marriage with Kamidai Soraon from the Kamidai Family1Here, like before, is a "Japanese" family name. I found two ways to say the name “神代” in English: Kamidai or Kamiyo, I'm not 100% sure which one is correct, so if anyone knows, please just let me know in the comments or discord, so that way, you will at least have some way in the Qing Family."
Qing Chen looked at the person in front of him indifferently, but his mind was turning quickly right now.
What kind of opening is that? I have an arranged marriage in the Inner World? ! And from the name itself, the girl doesn't seem to be Chinese either, right?
Kamidai… It must be one of the five corporations.
Qing Chen thought for a while and said, "I still want to give it a try."
Qing Yan didn't seem to expect that Qing Chen still answered this way, so he straightened his shirt and said, "Whatever, I just wanted to warn you, even though the tribunal didn't make any comments toward this matter, don't expect the family to help you any further. We never intended for you to join the Fight for the Shadow anyway, and because of your stubbornness, you forcefully replaced the Third Branch's slot. If you can complete this task, then all would be good, but if you can't, then just wait for your release date."
"Fine by me," Qing Chen said as he was about to walk away. He had nothing else to say to this Qing Family's descendent.
Qing Yan was a little mad seeing so, "Did you hear anything I just said?"
Qing Chen said to the robot guards outside, "Hello, we are done here."
"Wait!" Qing Yan then calmed down and said, "Kamidai Soraon also came to visit you this time. You should at least meet her once, or else we can't even proceed with the marriage. "
Qing Chen, "…Fine."
Qing Yan went out, and after five minutes, another person came in.
The person was a girl around seventeen or eighteen years of age. Her appearance wasn't perfect, but for some reason, she still gave a refreshing sense.
The girl also wore a formal shirt and dress, making their first meeting seem very important.
The girl didn't look very comfortable in this set of clothes, so she seemed to be unrestful.
Looking at the girl, Qing Chen noticed a small mole on her nose and no makeup on her skin.
The girl didn't even make any eye contact after taking her seat either, just slightly glancing at him and not talking after that.
The two just sat there in silence.
Until the broadcast announced that their time was over.
The girl then said quietly, "こんなに静かに座っているのもよさそうですが、この少年の沈黙ぶりは本当にきれいですね。2A translation of this text will come later as a part of the story"
"Huh?" Qing Chen was puzzled.
The girl smiled and said, "Nothing."
A robot guard brought Qing Chen away, and on the way back, Qing Chen thought to himself.
Before when Lu Guangyi said that it was him who requested Lu Guangyi's help, he thought that Lu Guangyi might not have been told the truth either.
That was why the Qing Family only sent a retirement home fighter to assist him on such an important matter.
Looks like he was already ditched by his family in the Inner World before he even got here…
But, what about this random marriage that just popped up out of nowhere?
……
1Here, like before, is a "Japanese" family name. I found two ways to say the name “神代” in English: Kamidai or Kamiyo, I'm not 100% sure which one is correct, so if anyone knows, please just let me know in the comments or discord2A translation of this text will come later as a part of the story
