Chapter 82

At night, Cell 18 Prison was as quiet as ever.

When Qingchen returned to the training area, Uncle Li was standing steadily on the horizontal bar, quietly reading the tablet that Lin Xiaoxiao had helped him extract the surface world chess endgame from.

Seeing Qingchen return, the teacher smiled and said, "Judging by your expression, it seems you've encountered some difficulties?"

Qingchen threw the USB drive in his hand to Lin Xiaoxiao and said to Uncle Li, "This contains all the classical music scores I could find in the surface world. It should be enough to exchange for one transaction opportunity from you, Teacher."

"Oh?" Uncle Li became interested. "So what do you want to exchange for this time? Help you get through this difficulty?"

Qingchen shook his head. "I said I would walk my own path, so this time, you can owe me the transaction opportunity."

Uncle Li leaped down from the horizontal bar, his body light as a feather, weightless in the air.

He landed silently on the ground.

With a smile, he said, "I haven't owed anyone much in my life, so the feeling of owing someone is really not pleasant. You should think about what you need soon and let me repay this opportunity."

"Have you ever owed anyone, Teacher?" Qingchen asked curiously.

"I have," Uncle Li smiled. "The person now hates me to the bone, so it's not good to meet again. I'll repay them in the next life."

Qingchen always felt there was a story behind this.

Uncle Li continued, "This time, I can see you've encountered a big problem. But I won't help you, even if you exchange this transaction opportunity with me. The fact that you didn't beg for my help shows I didn't misjudge you before."

Qingchen understood that helping him establish and expand his foundation in the surface and hidden worlds was something Uncle Li would do.

But once he truly faced danger, Uncle Li would not intervene.

Lin Xiaoxiao muttered, "Boss, you really don't care. If he dies in the surface world, I wonder if you'll be sad."

Uncle Li laughed. "There's a type of eagle called the Green Mountain Falcon. When they grow up, even airships can't do anything to them. But when they are young, they are very timid and dare not fly on their own. So, when the time is right, adult Green Mountain Falcons will take their young to the edge of a cliff and push them down one by one. A nest of seven, each pushed down the cliff."

"Those who spread their wings survive, those who continue to cower die at the bottom of the cliff. On average, Green Mountain Falcons need to hatch two nests to have one survive," Uncle Li continued. "But the one that survives, from the moment it can fly, becomes the master of the sky."

Qingchen was curious. "The surface world doesn't have these Green Mountain Falcons, are they very powerful?"

"Of course," Uncle Li recalled. "Even humans, without the protection of a Class A airship, wouldn't dare provoke them. A few years ago, when I was going through my third life-and-death trial, I accidentally entered their territory and was chased for over thirty miles by one of them, almost dying there."

Qingchen found it very interesting to think that someone like Uncle Li, in his youth, would be chased around.

At this moment, Uncle Li suddenly said, "It's not only after the death of extraordinary beings that forbidden zones are born; even some powerful creatures can create them. For example, when a Green Mountain Falcon dies, the plants around its body become stronger, even developing offensive capabilities, because powerful plants need more nutrients."

"Is there a way to suppress forbidden zones now?" Qingchen asked. "This seems like a state of increasing entropy. If forbidden zones are allowed to spread, won't there be no place for humans to live in a few hundred years?"

Entropy, when applied to forbidden zones in the hidden world, means they are always increasing in disorder and will not decrease due to natural laws.

Until one day, they swallow the entire world.

The Forbidden Tribunal can only slow their growth but cannot eliminate them.

"There is no way to suppress them," Uncle Li said. "This might be the Earth's purification principle. Perhaps one day, massive creatures like dinosaurs will reappear on Earth, and birds of prey like the Green Mountain Falcon will be like the pterosaurs of ancient times. At that time, Earth will look very different."

"How will humans survive?" Qingchen asked.

"Perhaps only extraordinary beings will be able to survive then," Uncle Li smiled. "Humans always think they are the masters here, but the world will use time to tell you that there is no true master. Do you want to go out and see a real forbidden zone? I can take you."

Qingchen shook his head. "Next time, Teacher. I need to think about how to deal with the situation after I return."

Lin Xiaoxiao noticed a look of regret on Uncle Li's face.

But Uncle Li said, "Have you thought about how to deal with it?"

Qingchen thought for a moment and said, "Killing."

"Do you know how to kill?" Uncle Li asked.

"No, but I can learn," Qingchen replied.

Lin Xiaoxiao and Ye Wan sighed, finding the conversation between the two of them to be very straightforward.

Qingchen said, "I thought of a method. For the next two days, Ye Wan will practice with me, allowing me to memorize all the combat techniques and all the possible reactions of the enemy during a fight. By using an exhaustive method, I can gain the upper hand in battle. But later, I found that the method is feasible, but the time is not enough."

"Like playing chess, right?" Uncle Li mused. Exhaustive methods are a brute-force way to solve problems.

When the opponent makes a move, you think of "all" possible responses and all the subsequent changes, then choose the best solution.

Qingchen plays chess by memorizing all the possible changes in the endgame. The moment the opponent makes a move, he knows how many ways to respond.

Ye Wan asked, "With the breathing technique and your continuous practice, your physical condition is already at the level of a soldier. But if the opponent has mechanical limbs, you still have no advantage."

"Is it enough?" Qingchen asked.

"It's enough," Ye Wan replied. "But can your reaction keep up? I mean, when your mind already knows how many choices you have, can you quickly choose the best one and make your body react?"

At this moment, Uncle Li interrupted, "The human body has many bones: 29 skull bones, 51 trunk bones, including 26 vertebrae. 64 upper limb bones, 62 lower limb bones."

"The human body has 12 major joints and 210 minor joints."

"The human body has about 639 muscles, composed of about 6 billion muscle fibers," Uncle Li said. "The human body has more variations than chess, so don't try to exhaust all changes in two days. In fact, one move is enough to kill."

Qingchen listened as Uncle Li continued, "Ye Wan, you only need to teach him one move and tell him how many reactions the enemy might have. This will be much simpler."

Ye Wan thought for a moment. "Boss, is one move enough?"

Uncle Li laughed. "Enough, after all... life is very fragile."

Qingchen thought for a moment and said, "Two nights, the time might still not be enough."

Uncle Li waved his hand indifferently. "Then lock the prisoners in their cells, only allowing them to come out for meals. The rest of the time, they should stay in their cells. This way, you can train during the day as well."

Qingchen was stunned. Although Uncle Li said he wouldn't help him, he still went to such lengths.

...

Thank you, Zeyuan, for becoming a new supporter of the book. Boss, you're so generous! (I'm a bit curious who Zeyuan is...)

Thank you, Yizhi Dou L, and Zhen Guai Shushu for the generous donations. Boss, you're so generous!

Bosses, may you all get rich!