Chapter 27

Early morning.

Countdown: 16:20:00.

Last night, a new batch of inmates arrived at Prison 18.

Under Qing Chen's instructions, Lu Guangyi went to individually question the new arrivals about their backgrounds.

In the end, Qing Chen confirmed that none of the new inmates were time travelers.

He deduced that all time travelers entered and exited together, and no one would suddenly appear during the process of others traveling through time.

This meant that all time travelers were on the same timeline.

At this moment, Uncle Li and Qing Chen were already seated at the dining table, playing chess.

"You had Lu Guangyi be more restrained, and now there are fewer new inmates screaming and howling in the prison," Uncle Li said, looking at the chessboard. "But have you noticed that the other two factions in the prison are already very dissatisfied with Lu Guangyi?"

Usually, the three factions took turns hosting the welcoming ceremonies for new inmates, which was a form of entertainment for everyone.

Now that Lu Guangyi had monopolized this task, it was inevitable that others would be dissatisfied.

Qing Chen moved a red piece and replied, "I noticed, but I believe Lu Guangyi can handle it himself."

"Have you considered that the new inmates might not be grateful to you?" Uncle Li smiled.

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "When you encounter a beggar on the street and give him some loose change, that money isn't enough to lift him out of poverty, but you buy some peace of mind and pleasure for yourself."

Uncle Li smiled and said no more.

Today's chess problem was called "Wild Horse in the Field," but Qing Chen, playing red, did not win; he ended up in a draw.

In fact, in a chess endgame, when the black side has a significant advantage, a draw is already considered a win.

Unlike the usual spectators, in addition to the group of prisoners who looked on with awe, there was now Guo Huchan.

Yesterday, this large man had sat politely at a distance, but today he sat right next to Qing Chen, opposite Uncle Li.

The two-meter-tall man made the chair look like a small stool, which was quite awkward to see.

But Guo Huchan didn't care; he wanted to be by Uncle Li's side.

Since he couldn't beat them, he decided to join them!

Moreover, he noticed that Qing Chen's meal contained real meat, while his did not, so he boldly said to Uncle Li, "I'm at least a person of some standing in the Spades. You eat real meat, but I get synthetic meat. That's not how you treat a guest, is it?"

Lin Xiaoxiao, seeing his shameless behavior, sneered, "Are you the same as us? Why don't you fight the boss again? If you win, you can eat real meat."

"Don't always resort to violence; that's not good," Guo Huchan said, rubbing his bald head. "Besides, it's fine that you three eat real meat, but why is this kid eating real meat too? He's just an ordinary person. Hey, kid, go get another serving, and give me yours."

Everyone was taken aback; they hadn't expected Guo Huchan to be so cunning, picking on Qing Chen, who seemed easier to bully.

At this moment, Qing Chen looked up at Guo Huchan and then at Lin Xiaoxiao and the others.

He noticed that Lin Xiaoxiao didn't say anything to rebuke Guo Huchan but was smiling at him, seemingly curious to see how he would handle the situation.

Qing Chen closed his eyes and ignored him.

Guo Huchan, thinking the young man was afraid of him, boldly took Qing Chen's plate and placed it in front of himself. "You all saw that; he gave up on his own."

At that moment, Qing Chen's mind seemed to return to the previous day.

The instant Guo Huchan threw his punch.

The world froze.

The prisoners were pummeled by a metal storm, their prison uniforms hit by rubber bullets, creating ripples like rain on a pond.

The alloy gate slowly lifted, and the mechanical guards quickly entered, the sounds of gunfire, rubber bullets, and hydraulic systems intertwining.

At that moment, only Qing Chen was calmly observing everyone.

No, that wasn't the moment he was looking for.

Qing Chen stood in the center of his memories and waved his hand, and the entire scene played backward.

The rubber bullets that had shot from the sky back to the gun barrels.

The fallen prisoners stood up in strange poses.

Time passed, and the scenes from the past played backward in Qing Chen's mind.

Until... the moment Guo Huchan first entered Prison 18.

Qing Chen slowly walked through the crowd, listening to everyone's voices.

The people in his memories didn't speak, but the details on their bodies revealed the truth.

Just as Guo Huchan was about to eat all the meat in Qing Chen's plate, Qing Chen opened his eyes.

"Lu Guangyi."

"Here, here, boss, what's up?" Lu Guangyi, no longer hiding his identity, quickly responded.

Qing Chen said, "I'll point out a few people; you pull them out."

He then turned to face the prisoners and began pointing, identifying eight of them in one go.

As those people were pulled out by Lu Guangyi, Guo Huchan's expression grew increasingly grim, and he stopped eating the meat.

Qing Chen sat back down and said to Guo Huchan, "Are these eight your people?"

"Not all of them," Guo Huchan said, his face darkening.

"Um," Qing Chen nodded. "After you were brought in, your gaze lingered on five of them, and they all made a gesture with their index fingers. I don't know what the gesture means, but I'm sure they were doing it for you. The other three exchanged glances immediately."

Lin Xiaoxiao and Ye Wan's expressions changed; even they had been too busy dodging the gunfire to notice everyone's reactions.

It seemed that, in that chaotic moment, only Qing Chen was a clear-headed observer.

Uncle Li smiled. "Prison 18 is a mix of all sorts, so it's normal for other factions to have people here watching me."

Lin Xiaoxiao, feeling smug, asked, "Boss, should we transfer these people to other prisons?"

"No need," Uncle Li shook his head. "Transferring eight people without reason would just make people speculate. Ye Wan, isolate these eight and interrogate them one by one to find out who sent the other three."

At this moment, Qing Chen, seeing Lin Xiaoxiao's smug look and remembering his earlier indifference, stood up again and pointed out over twenty more people.

This time, he said nothing, but Lin Xiaoxiao immediately felt a toothache and whispered to Uncle Li, "Boss, this kid has also identified our people..."

Uncle Li looked at Qing Chen and praised, "You may not be a superhuman, but your memory and analytical skills are better than many superhumans."

Guo Huchan, seeing that Qing Chen had identified the Knights' people, suddenly realized that this young man wasn't one of them. "What should I call you, young brother?"

Qing Chen glanced at him. "Qing Chen."

"Qing family?" Guo Huchan was taken aback. "How did the Knights get involved with the Qing family?"

"Does being surnamed Qing mean you must be from the Qing family? Even if you are, you don't have to stay there forever," Uncle Li smiled. "Isn't there a famous person in the wilderness surnamed Qing?"

Guo Huchan's eyes flickered, and his attitude changed completely.

He silently pushed the plate back to Qing Chen and said warmly, "Young brother Qing Chen, what do you think of the Spades?"

"Not much," Qing Chen said coldly.

He still couldn't figure out what kind of person Guo Huchan was. Despite his imposing size, he had a very agile mind and no sense of honor.

Moreover, Guo Huchan was there to compete for the forbidden item, so Qing Chen naturally didn't have a good attitude toward him.

Today, with Uncle Li's help, he had eliminated some of Guo Huchan's advance agents, which was a significant gain.

As they spoke, a commotion broke out nearby.

Qing Chen looked over and saw Ye Wan frowning.

The three non-Spades members he had identified were lying on the ground, their lips and faces turning blue and purple.

This was a typical symptom of suffocation.

Ye Wan took off his shirt, wrapped his hand, and squatted down to gently open the mouth of one of the dead. He looked up at Uncle Li. "Boss, it's a poison sac hidden in the back molar. After opening the mouth, there's a faint taste of bitter almonds, which is cyanide."

Guo Huchan said, "These three are not from my Spades."

"Suicide soldiers," Uncle Li said calmly. "This is quite surprising."

No one knew who had sent them or why they had entered Prison 18.

Qing Chen watched silently, his face showing no reaction.

Only his tightly clenched fists revealed his tension.

He opened his hand and saw the red marks from his nails and the sweat on his palm.

This was the first time he had faced death, both in the real world and the hidden world.

The idea of hiding poison in a tooth was something he had only seen in movies.

The three suicide soldiers' ruthless methods brought Qing Chen back to reality, reminding him that this was a world of fierce beasts.

Countdown: 15:21:59.

The return was imminent, and he couldn't afford any more complications.

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