Chapter 76

Lu Yuan was a bit excited. He had roughly figured out the relationship between Liu Dezhu and Hu Xiaoniu, as well as the sequence of events for the night.

So, he immediately sent his thoughts to Zheng Yuandong: "Hu Xiaoniu invited Liu Dezhu for a transaction first. During the process of Liu Dezhu getting the gold bars, he unintentionally encountered the criminals with Kunlun. Hu Xiaoniu and his three companions are all time travelers, and Liu Dezhu already has the qualifications to trade with others."

However, just as Lu Yuan was eagerly waiting for his boss's praise, Zheng Yuandong's reply poured cold water on him: "Your analysis is incorrect."

Lu Yuan was puzzled: "Boss, where is it incorrect?"

"After Hu Xiaoniu and Liu Dezhu made an appointment, instead of waiting at home, he actually went to visit his neighbors. Would you visit your neighbors before an important transaction?" Zheng Yuandong asked.

"No, that doesn't make sense," Lu Yuan suddenly understood what his boss meant: "Boss, you mean Hu Xiaoniu didn't know Liu Dezhu was coming, and they didn't have any agreement."

"Right," Zheng Yuandong asked again: "If you were in Liu Dezhu's position, and someone asked you for help, would you wait for over twenty minutes without getting angry?"

"No, I would think the other person was too arrogant. I broke up with my ex-girlfriend because she was always late, making me wait for half an hour every time we went out," Lu Yuan replied.

Zheng Yuandong asked: "What if I made you wait for half an hour? Would you wait?"

Lu Yuan felt a bit guilty: "Boss, would I dare not to... You mean there's another boss for Liu Dezhu!"

Zheng Yuandong said: "So, do you think your previous conclusion was correct?"

Lu Yuan suddenly saw the light. Indeed, he had found many clues, but they didn't hold up to closer scrutiny.

The clue about Liu Dezhu getting the gold bars matched with Hu Xiaoniu, but no one knew if Liu Dezhu was faking it or deliberately creating a coincidence to mislead others.

In fact, the reason Liu Dezhu was obsessed with the gold bars was because Qing Chen had mentioned it to him.

At this moment, Zheng Yuandong replied: "Someone deliberately hid a clue, leading to your incorrect conclusion. This clue is the most obscure but also the most critical: Who made Liu Dezhu come to No. 4 Xingshu Road? Who discovered the criminals' trail? Who could make Liu Dezhu wait for over twenty minutes willingly?"

Lu Yuan was stunned: "Tonight... there was someone we didn't know, behind the scenes."

He suddenly felt a chill down his back, as if he had been performing on stage, but there was someone quietly watching from the darkness outside the stage.

You don't know who they are, and you don't even know they are watching you.

Zheng Yuandong replied on WeChat: "This person is likely the third time traveler in Prison No. 18. He controlled Liu Dezhu's actions tonight, weaving us together like a thread. But don't worry, at least they seem friendly for now."

Lu Yuan felt his brain was not enough to handle this. Perhaps only someone like his boss could deal with that mysterious time traveler...

"Boss, should I find an opportunity to interrogate Liu Dezhu? That way, we might know who it is."

Zheng Yuandong replied: "That would turn a friend into an enemy."

...

Countdown: 23:50:00.

At 11:50 PM, Qing Chen couldn't sleep.

He lay quietly on the living room floor, with a mat laid out by Jiang Xue underneath him.

Jiang Xue's home had been ransacked, and five suspects were still at large, so the mother and daughter ended up staying at Qing Chen's place temporarily.

The first-floor room was dilapidated and dim, occasionally emitting a damp smell.

Ants would occasionally crawl out of the kitchen, but Qing Chen never bothered with them.

Jiang Xue had thoroughly cleaned the room in the evening, silently thanking Qing Chen for his protection.

Qing Chen couldn't sleep, and anyone who had gone through so much would have trouble sleeping.

He reviewed everything that had happened tonight, confirming that no one could discover his role in it.

Even if Liu Dezhu was interrogated, others would only know that there was a mysterious figure behind Liu Dezhu, but they wouldn't know who it was.

Tonight's events seemed unrelated to him, yet he was the one who connected all the threads.

This feeling was quite peculiar.

It was like a chess game, where he was more suited to be the player rather than a pawn.

He was also unwilling to be a pawn.

Soft sounds came from the bedroom, and Li Tongyun, wearing a small nightgown, quietly slipped out and sat beside Qing Chen: "Big Brother Qing Chen, you're not sleeping either?"

Qing Chen, propped up on his elbow, looked at her: "Why aren't you sleeping? Where's your mom?"

Li Tongyun whispered: "My mom is sleeping. What about the thing you asked me last time?"

Qing Chen asked: "What thing?"

"Stop pretending, you have such a good memory, you must know what I'm talking about," Li Tongyun counted on her fingers: "Today is September 29th, tomorrow is the 30th, and the day after tomorrow is National Day!"

Qing Chen, as if just remembering, said: "Oh, that thing..."

"Let's go out and play! So much has happened, we need to relax a bit!" Li Tongyun, with a child's heart, had bright eyes even in the dark.

"If you want to go out and play, why do you need me?" Qing Chen was both amused and exasperated.

Li Tongyun lowered her head: "If you don't go, my mom won't go. She says it's too dangerous to go out now, but I think staying in the city is more dangerous. The news says that five members of the organization are still at large, and they are definitely targeting the time travelers in the city!"

Qing Chen thought this made sense, but he asked: "You just want to go out and play?"

"Not really," Li Tongyun lowered her head: "If I don't go out during National Day, I'll have to go to tutoring classes... I already have a lot of homework, and tutoring classes add even more. It's so annoying! Every time there's a parent-teacher meeting, Zhang Chaoyun's mom brags about how many tutoring classes she signed him up for, making my mom insist I go too."

Qing Chen was taken aback. Compared to Li Tongyun's intelligence, wit, and maturity, this was more like a child's worry.

Even with the time traveler incident, children couldn't escape tutoring classes, even if they were from the Li family's direct lineage in the Inner World...

He smiled and said: "Where do you want to go? I can't guarantee I can convince your mom."

"No, if you agree, I can convince her!" Li Tongyun looked at Qing Chen with determined eyes: "She just thinks it's not safe to go out, but it will be safe with you!"

Logical.

Li Tongyun continued: "We won't go far, just to the outskirts of Luocheng, like Laojun Mountain. I heard the sunrise there is beautiful."

For Li Tongyun, the destination didn't matter; escaping the city and tutoring classes was the most important.

Qing Chen looked at her hopeful eyes and smiled: "Okay, I agree, but if your mom doesn't agree, I can't help you."

"Deal!" Li Tongyun, satisfied, went back to her room with her small nightgown.

At that moment, Nan Gengchen's message suddenly came: "Qing Chen, Qing Chen, Qing Chen, are you there?"

Qing Chen asked: "What's up in the middle of the night?"

"It's National Day the day after tomorrow. Wang Yun invited some classmates to Laojun Mountain to watch the sunrise. Are you going?" Nan Gengchen said on WeChat: "I heard Hu Xiaoniu, Zhang Tianzhen, and Liu Dezhu from the neighboring class are also going. Everyone wants to go because of Liu Dezhu."

Nan Gengchen added: "I heard Hu Xiaoniu is treating everyone, so no one has to pay a cent."

Qing Chen was stunned. What a coincidence, it's also Laojun Mountain.

The four of them suddenly organizing this trip was likely to deepen their friendship with Liu Dezhu, who had just saved their lives.

However, Wang Yun invited Nan Gengchen but not him.

This was a bit strange.

Logically, after they connected with Liu Dezhu, Qing Chen and Nan Gengchen would lose their value.

But while they were cold to Qing Chen, they were still very enthusiastic with Nan Gengchen...

It didn't make sense.

He sent a WeChat to Nan Gengchen: "Does she know your time traveler identity?"

Nan Gengchen replied: "I'm not a time traveler!"

Qing Chen, helpless: "Okay, you're not."

This guy usually wears the label "time traveler" on his face, so Wang Yun must have already discovered Nan Gengchen's secret.

So, they invited the fool, Nan Gengchen.

...

Thank you to the new alliance member, Lulu from the Elbow Black Stupidity Group. The boss is generous, and the boss successfully found a partner this year!

Also, it's the last day of the double points. Please vote for the monthly ticket!

There are also some gold and silver alliance updates, which will be released on the day of the new book launch. Rest assured, bosses!