This time, instead of a formal suit, the girl wore something more casual.
She was wearing a loose white sweater with a long pleated skirt at the bottom, as well as a pair of leather shoes.
When she sat down, Qing Chen could see the white socks wrapped around her thin calves.
Perhaps she altered her usual attire, but Kamidai Sorane no longer sat on pins and needles, and quietly observed Qing Chen, earnestly measuring the young man with her big eyes that seemed as though they could speak.
Qing Chen sat opposite to her, both sides separated by an iron table.
Over them, dim LED lights loomed above the gray metal walls. For some inexplicable reason, however, the arrival of Kamidai Sorane colored the somber atmosphere with a touch of freshness.
In reality, the girl wasn’t strikingly beautiful, but one would feel very comfortable after staring at her for a long time, akin to the sensation of basking in sunshine.
Qing Chen hesitated for a moment before saying, “Why did you come here?”
"I've come to see you and bring you some food. I made it myself," said the visitor. From beside the chair, Kamidai Sorane took a little cloth bag. Inside, it held a more refined thermal fresh-keeping lunch box than the one Ye Wan had given him.
Qing Chen silently opened the lunch box; there were three pieces of neatly arranged nigiri sushi, with a side of beef rice.
“I asked around, the prison meals don't seem to be very nice,” Kamidai Sorane explained. “So I cooked some for you.”
Qing Chen was puzzled, “I am a prisoner. Are you not afraid?”
Kamidai Sorane smiled, “I know you’re here to carry out a task,”
"I'm curious," Qing Chen said quietly. "We shouldn't be that acquainted, at least not familiar enough for you to come to see me every day."
Although it was nice to have someone who cared about you, Qing Chen never believed in unconditional love.
This was the Inner World after all, and the other person was a time traveler. From these two points, it was determined that the moment Qing Chen met her, the first thing to come to mind was not good feelings, but rather vigilance.
Kamidai Sorane contemplated this and whispered, “This time I came to City 18 with my elders. They asked me to get in touch with you more, and also… I’m not very used to staying together with them.”
The two sides fell into silence. Qing Chen picked up the chopsticks prepared by the girl and silently ate all the food in the lunch box.
He had to admit that the girl’s culinary skills were quite impressive.
Then, the two sides fell silent once more.
Throughout this time, Kamidai Sorane's gaze never left the boy until the 30-minute visiting period ended.
As a result, even Qing Chen – who had remained unfazed even in the face of last night's spectacle – was becoming a little restless.
This time, Kamidai Sorane once again muttered in a low voice, “他 の「裏世界」の人と同じように、粗野で野蛮なのではないでしょうか.”1The dialogue will be translated in later chapters
“What did you say?” asked Qing Chen.
“It's nothing, this is a language that can only be understood by our family,” Kamidai Sorane said with a slight smile and stood up. “Then Qing Chen-kun2Japanese honorific suffix used for males. Belongs to the more casual type and indicates a certain degree of familiarity., see you next time.”
…
At the same time.
Lin Xiaoxiao was lamenting, sitting in the reading area bored out of his mind. Ever since the boss had Qing Chen conceal his identity, this prison had once again lost its fun.
He wanted to chat with Qing Chen, but both of them must act with a pretense of indifference.
He wanted to chat with Ye Wan, but considering Mom Ye’s personality, he wouldn’t even be able to get a fart sound.
This made Lin Xiaoxiao feel a pang of loneliness…
As for Guo Huchan… he desperately wished for that baldhead to stay farther away from him.
It was at this moment that the alloy gate next to the square unexpectedly rose, showing two robot prison guards escorting Liu Dezhu inside.
“Fuck,” Lin Xiaoxiao smacked his forehead. He always felt like he had forgotten something.
According to prison rules, today was the day Liu Dezhu’s solitary confinement ended.
But the problem was that Liu Dezhu couldn’t come back, because Lin Xiaoxiao knew he couldn’t let him see Qing Chen’s face!
He informed Li Shutong, "Boss, this person shouldn't be released."
Li Shutong lifted his gaze from the chessboard, and then said, “Then lock him up again and see how it goes tonight.”
As soon as the voice fell, the two robot guards actually dragged Liu Dezhu back outside the alloy gate to walk towards the confinement room.
No one knew how Li Shutong did this, and no one knew who on earth heard Li Shutong's order and commanded the robot guards to carry it out.
Just like how no one knew how he walked out of Prison 18.
Liu Dezhu was roaring as the robot guards carried him away, his feet lifted off the ground, "Wait, aren’t you taking me to the square? What's happening, why are you putting me back in confinement? What did I do wrong?”
But no matter how hard he struggled, he was still brought back into the confinement room…
Liu Dezhu felt miserable.
For a person from modern times, the days with no mobile phones, games, and instant communication were just unbearable.
Liu Dezhu really wanted to end all of this, but he couldn't.
Every time the countdown ended, the world's rule forced him to transmigrate to the Inner World and spend a few days in prison.
He didn’t expect that he would have to bear things he shouldn’t have at a young age.
Suddenly, the alloy gate in front of him opened. In the empty and gloomy corridor stood a lone man quietly inspecting him, his face adorned with a cat face mask
“Who… are you?” Liu Dezhu asked, full of doubts. He was a little scared, but upon taking a closer look he found that the other person did not bring any weapon and only held an e-reader in his hand.
He was the third time traveler in this prison, Liu Dezhu realized.
Qing Chen slowly walked into the confinement room. With the churning sound of hydraulic drive, the alloy gate gradually closed behind him.
“What are you going to do!?” The closed space made Liu Dezhu begin to panic..
After a few seconds of silence, Qing Chen wrote a sentence on the e-reader: I saw the news, you were mistaken by others as me.
Liu Dezhu's eyes widened, “Brother, I didn't mean to steal your limelight. I’ve already thought well about it, I’ll never brag around anymore. When I come out this time, I’ll admit that I’m not the time traveler Jian Sheng met.”
No need, typed Qing Chen on the e-reader
“Huh?” Based on his own logic, Liu Dezhu speculated that this mysterious big shot was unhappy because he stole his limelight, but this didn't seem to be the case.
He thought for a while, and then weakly asked, "Then what should I do, boss?"
Admit their conjectures publically, Qing Chen replied with the e-reader.
“I can’t, I can’t,” Liu Dezhu shook his head like a rattle. “All the harassment has already scared me silly now. Boss, you don’t know, my family lives on the second floor. The day before, I forgot to close the blinds when I was taking a shower, and when I turned around I saw someone on the opposite building recording me with a camera! Also, when I was cycling home, there was actually a paparazzi tailing me with a car. He was annoyed coz’ I rode too slowly, so he drove up and told me to ride faster so that it would look good on camera!”
Qing Chen ignored his complaint and used the e-reader to type out: Do you know how long your sentence is? This isn’t my judgment, it was decided through the court trial of the Inner World’s City 18.
Liu Dezhu was stunned. He really didn't know the details of his sentence; he was already in prison after transmigrating.
Qing Chen wrote: 99 years and 7 months.
Liu Dezhu: “???”
According to the news, you have committed robbery, theft, smuggling, drug trafficking, and attempted homicide, and received concurrent punishment for multiple crimes, explained Qing Chen.
“Fuck!” Liu Dezhu felt like he was about to puke.
Qing Chen clicked on the article of his trial from the e-reader. This was Li Shutong's e-reader, so it possessed enough authority to access the news.
Liu Dezhu stared blankly at the screen. His deeds were clearly written on it, and there was even a statement on how this was the longest sentence given out in City 18 within the past two years.
He was starting to despair. Previously he had kept some hope that by a stroke of luck, he would just have to hold on for a while and wait until his sentence ended.
Qing Chen continued to type: Of course, I think that–
Suddenly, Liu Dezhu asked him, “Boss, you keep communicating with me through writing because you’re afraid I’d recognize your voice, right? So, are you someone I know? Or someone close to me?”
At this moment, Liu Dezhu finally showcased his intelligence after calming down in the confinement room, a normal human IQ that hadn’t been muddled inside out by transmigration.
Qing Chen looked at him coldly. He then spoke under the mask, “That isn’t important. What’s important is that both Li Shutong and I believe you were used as a scapegoat by an organization. The organizations in the Inner World often do this kind of thing. After getting targeted by the Federation’s security committee, they would randomly choose an unlucky person to take all of the blame.”
In an instant, Liu Dezhu felt the person’s aura and momentum changed.
An unseen sense of oppression had made it suddenly difficult to breathe.
The voice seemed androgynous, yet it was deep and captivating.
Liu Dezhu pondered; if he had heard this voice before, he would have definitely remembered it.
But there was no such recollection in his memory.
Qing Chen asked, “You’ve heard my voice, now can we continue our talk?”
“I’m sorry boss, I was mistaken,” Liu Dezhu's will was further weakened.
Qing Chen looked down at Liu Dezhu, “The reason I came to see you is to strike a deal. You’ll pretend to be me, and I’ll help to exonerate you.”
First he destroyed Liu Dezhu's hope, and then he gave it back to him.
He did this so that from now on, Liu Dezhu would completely become his link to contact the Outer World.
1The dialogue will be translated in later chapters2Japanese honorific suffix used for males. Belongs to the more casual type and indicates a certain degree of familiarity.
