Chapter 69

"Perhaps he is as rude and barbaric as the others from the 'Underworld.'"

"Who knows if he will be as rude and barbaric as the others from the Underworld."

This was the second time Kamine Kaho whispered in Japanese.

Qingchen translated it as soon as he returned to the Surface World.

To be honest, he couldn't quite figure out what the girl was up to.

"I need to learn Japanese properly," Qingchen sighed.

The fact that the other party kept playing these little games right under his nose, and he had to return to the Surface World to understand what they meant, made Qingchen feel somewhat passive.

According to the current news, it seemed that only people from the island nation and Goryeo had crossed over to the Federation where he was.

Other foreigners had directly crossed over to the other side of the Underworld.

They were separated by the Forbidden Sea, and there was no possibility of ship travel between them.

So far, there had been no cases of foreigners crossing over within China. Some self-media outlets reported that many foreigners were planning to return home, hoping to catch the 'public beta test.'

Qingchen searched for news about Kamine Kaho, but no one in the Surface World had yet discovered that she was a time traveler.

This was a bit puzzling. The girl was a celebrity in the island nation, even if a minor one.

How could no one have noticed?

Or perhaps she had been living a secluded life in the Underworld, making it impossible for ordinary people to come into contact with her?

The bedroom was about the same size as the visitation room.

He always felt that the other party wasn't very happy in the Underworld, which was why she chose to visit him.

But the real reason for her visits wasn't for him; it might be to escape the outside world.

Qingchen suddenly felt that sitting opposite the girl in the visitation room was a rare moment of relaxation for him.

There was no need to say anything, no need for any friendship or scheming.

He didn't have to worry about how to survive in the dangerous Underworld. The half-hour in the visitation room was separate from the outside world.

It was like finally getting a chance to catch his breath.

Perhaps that's what the other party was thinking.

Qingchen glanced at his arm: 47:55:01.

Another 2 days, the countdown for crossing over was jumping around without any pattern.

A broken kitchen knife lay on the ground, the remains of the knife he had taken with him on his last trip to the Underworld, leaving only the handle behind.

Qingchen remembered that he hadn't completed his training task for the day, so he searched for a Japanese language course video online and trained while listening.

Around 3 a.m., he had just finished his shower and walked out of the bathroom. When he opened his phone, it felt like the world had exploded, with news constantly refreshing on all platforms.

"Liu Dezhu returns to the Surface World late at night but lets out a scream at home!"

"The scream has lasted for 3 hours. What did the young man, seen by many as the protagonist of the Underworld, experience!?"

By morning, Liu Dezhu's house was swarming with paparazzi.

Liu Dezhu felt like he was walking a red carpet to school, surrounded by cameras.

The paparazzi were more aggressive than usual, trying to get their cameras right in his face.

But he wasn't dressed in a stylish suit; instead, he was pushing an old bicycle.

The back wheel was a bit crooked, damaged during the attack under the overpass that night, giving him no presence at all.

A reporter blocked Liu Dezhu's path: "Hello, I'm Xin Shanglong from the Luocheng Daily. What did you experience last night? Were you injured in the Underworld?"

"No," Liu Dezhu replied hurriedly, pushing the bicycle out.

"If you weren't injured, why did you scream?" Xin Shanglong pressed.

Liu Dezhu fell silent and tried to push his way out.

The crowd grew larger, not just reporters and paparazzi, but also neighbors from the neighborhood.

They watched and commented, "Look at that kid, screaming until 5 a.m. They say he's very powerful in the Underworld."

Liu Dezhu's face turned red. When he finally couldn't take it anymore, he pushed hard, and several reporters and paparazzi were knocked over, some even breaking their cameras.

The crowd was stunned, and even Liu Dezhu himself was surprised.

There were at least seven or eight people in front of him, and even though they were unprepared, his casual push was incredibly powerful.

Liu Dezhu panicked and took advantage of the opening to quickly ride his bicycle to school.

However, after he escaped the crowd, he fell into deep thought.

He wasn't as panicked as he thought, because the time traveler with the cat mask had already told him what might happen today and taught him to display his strength seemingly unintentionally.

Displaying strength was equivalent to indirectly admitting that he had inherited Li Shutong's legacy.

As for what Li Shutong's legacy was, no one knew.

Or perhaps it wasn't an inheritance but an acknowledgment.

Liu Dezhu thought that the time traveler always seemed to be meticulous, which was why they had gained Li Shutong's recognition, while he hadn't.

He had seen many time travelers say that the gene serum was very hard to find, but the time traveler with the cat mask had found it for him just by asking.

Within a day.

This incredible power gave Liu Dezhu a sense of confidence.

It was like playing a game; it didn't matter if you were weak, as long as you had a strong ally and could cheer them on, you could still level up!

However, Liu Dezhu still couldn't determine how powerful this big shot was.

Being isolated in the confinement room, he couldn't get any news from the outside world.

Although the pain almost killed him last night, the effects of the gene serum were already evident. In just an hour, Liu Dezhu felt like he had been fully revived, full of energy.

When he arrived at school, Liu Dezhu felt the atmosphere in the class was off.

But this time, everyone wasn't looking at him; they were looking at their phones.

Someone had posted a news article in the group, from a TikTok account called "Chuang Wang," which suddenly shared a news story about the Underworld:

Li Shutong, after 8 years, stepped out of prison and went to the top floor of the Eternal Tower to eat with a man wearing a cat mask.

Li Shutong had a braised pork, and the man with the cat mask had a bowl of fried sauce noodles.

It was reported that Chen Yehu, the eldest grandson of the Chen family and an A-level expert, personally went to persuade them to return to Prison 18.

At the same time, the Qing and Li military bases responded, with someone witnessing the Qing's "Land Cruiser" airship flying into the sky.

It was well known that the Land Cruiser was used by the Qing to contain the forbidden object ACE-009, but no one had ever seen what this forbidden object was.

Therefore, the Qing might be planning to activate the forbidden object to deal with the sudden appearance of Li Shutong.

To this day, the identity of the man with the cat mask remains a mystery, and the reason for Li Shutong's release from prison is unknown. This incident has caused a stir throughout the Federation.

Liu Dezhu silently read the news, focusing on the sentence, "went to the top floor of the Eternal Tower to eat with a man wearing a cat mask."

He finally realized that his understanding of the big shot was still not clear enough.