Chapter 65

Countdown 44:30:00, 3:30 AM.

City 2, District 9.

On a small street at the bottom of the city, a young man in a gray suit was walking leisurely.

The puddles on the ground were like mirrors, reflecting his composed demeanor.

There was no bustling scene as imagined; the street was littered with puddles and garbage, and the walls were covered with colorful graffiti and protest slogans.

This didn't look like the futuristic city one might imagine; it more resembled a slum.

However, as the young man walked here, it was as if he were strolling down a street in London, casual and gentlemanly.

He arrived at a clothing store.

The middle-aged shop owner was sitting with her legs crossed, engrossed in watching the news from the Underworld on a transparent phone.

Actually, there were many such odd little clothing stores in the Surface World, always selling outdated clothes with few customers.

You couldn't tell how these stores survived, but they never went out of business.

The owner didn't seem to care whether there were customers or not.

But no one would have thought that these small stores had hidden secrets.

And now they had been brought to the Underworld.

The young man entered the store, but the shop owner didn't react, seemingly unaware of his presence.

He stood in front of the counter, tapping his fingers on the table with a smile.

Behind the smile, there was a sharpness.

The shop owner looked up and hurriedly stood up, somewhat flustered, saying, "Boss He, I'm sorry, I didn't notice you come in."

He Jinqiu smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. I have two pieces of news that need to be conveyed quickly. First, Dong Suyue and Tian Xiaomiao have been discovered by the syndicate as time travelers. Tell Xiao Xiao to temporarily cut off contact with them. Everything will be discussed after we return."

"Understood," the shop owner quickly memorized the instructions.

"The second piece of news is to inform Xiao Xiao to collect as much information on Li Shitong as possible. I've found that his power is even stronger than previously investigated. It's unbelievable that he could escape such a major incident unscathed."

"Understood," the shop owner responded again.

He Jinqiu murmured to himself, "It seems we need to win over Liu Dezhu before Kunlun makes a move. We need him."

At this moment, He Jinqiu turned with a smile and said, "I hope you understand the mission we are now responsible for. If such a lack of vigilance happens again, the organization will punish you. Once we find a suitable replacement, someone will take over your position. After we return, go to Coach Zhang Zongyu for additional training. Any objections?"

The shop owner lowered her head and said, "No objections."

"Good, then it's settled!"

With that, He Jinqiu turned and left.

The shop owner then went into the storage room, using some unknown method to pass on the message.

The slums were one of the few places in the cyber city without surveillance. No one would notice a special visitor here.

He Jinqiu looked back at the clothing store. Such a hidden place was perfect for passing messages and concealing identities, but there were too few people in Jiuzhou, and even fewer who were useful.

It seemed they needed to speed up their efforts.

...

In the morning, the familiar knocking on the door sounded.

The metal gate was being pounded by the prisoners, resonating loudly.

These people always had boundless energy with no outlet.

Qing Chen didn't go out. He was waiting for Lu Guangyi to find the time travelers among the new arrivals.

Surprisingly, no new prisoners were brought to Prison 18 last night.

He turned over and continued sleeping, completely ignoring the noise outside.

At this moment, Li Shitong was calmly sitting at the dining table, looking at the chess endgame he had just received, showing no signs of fatigue.

At one point, even Lin Xiaoxiao marveled that the outside world was in an uproar over last night's events, yet their boss seemed completely unaffected.

The bald and shiny Guo Huchan quietly approached and whispered to Lin Xiaoxiao, "What did you and your boss do last night? If there was any excitement, you should have brought me along. I'm a good fighter."

"Huh, how did you know?" Lin Xiaoxiao looked at him curiously.

Although the news was spreading outside, Guo Huchan had no means of communication here. How did he know what was happening?

He glanced at the bald head and asked, "Did the mental-type extraordinary beings from the Spades come? How many of you are here? Aren't you afraid the syndicate will take you all out?"

"Save me one," Guo Huchan responded with a forced smile. "Seriously, next time you have a mission, let me know in advance."

Lin Xiaoxiao sneered, "Do you think I don't know what you're up to? You just want to wait for us to leave so you can search for ACE-005, right?"

"No, that's not it," Guo Huchan laughed, "Why do you always think so much? I just want to know what Boss Li did last night."

Lin Xiaoxiao looked at him, "If I tell you he just wanted to eat braised pork, would you believe me?"

"No, with all that commotion, there must have been something important," Guo Huchan replied with a look of disbelief.

Lin Xiaoxiao sighed. He knew no one would believe that the boss had no real business last night.

The boss just wanted to take Qing Chen out for a walk.

People only remembered that the boss was a dangerous contemporary demigod, but they forgot that he was also a very whimsical and carefree person.

Of course, Lin Xiaoxiao also marveled that the other main character, Qing Chen, was still sound asleep at noon, as if nothing had happened.

It was one thing for the boss to be so calm, but for a 17-year-old to be so calm was another matter.

...

While Qing Chen was dozing, he suddenly heard the prison's announcement: "Inmate 010101, you have a family visit."

He slowly sat up, somewhat confused.

By the Underworld's time, Qing Yan had just visited yesterday. Why was he here again today?

On the square, Guo Huchan was asking Lin Xiaoxiao, "Wait, isn't the regular visit every three months? I remember someone visited this kid yesterday."

Lin Xiaoxiao replied nonchalantly, "Our boss doesn't like him, so I suggest you don't get too close. Also, don't ask too many questions. Besides, he's from the Qing family, and the syndicate has its privileges."

Qing Chen didn't immediately go out. He took his time washing up, as if he didn't care about the visit.

In his view, since Qing Yan was not an ally, it didn't matter if he was kept waiting.

Half an hour later, accompanied by a mechanical guard, Qing Chen slowly pushed open the door to the visitation room. He was stunned because the person inside was not Qing Yan.

It was Kamiko Kamishiro.