Special Effects!

Qing Chen had carefully examined all his memories of knightly training and then grasped a key point: to experience all Life and Death Trial as an ordinary person.

Therefore, Lin Xiaoxiao, Ye Wan, and Li Dongze were immature and lacked perseverance when they were young, and were unable to pass the initial Heart's Inquiry in the Breathing Technique.

When they grew up and became Awakened, they lost the necessary conditions to experience Life and Death Trial as ordinary people.

This is something Lin Xiaoxiao once said.

Qing Chen guessed that the knight must have a way to close the Gene Lock, otherwise how could he complete the subsequent challenges? Experiencing the Life and Death Trial as a knight would be too easy and would not achieve the essence of experiencing life and death.

If the Gene Lock is closed again, then he can only rely on his own body, and he must persevere in his cultivation.

Moreover, Qing Chen could clearly feel that his physical fitness was constantly improving during the cultivation process. As long as he did not reach his limit, he would continue to cultivate.

Seeing that he remained silent, Yang Yang said, "Never mind, I won't ask anymore. It seems this is your secret. But I admire you for that. Not everyone can remain clear-headed and work hard after suddenly gaining power, although I don't quite understand why you work so hard."

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "Actually, even without the time travel incident, your, Hu Xiaoniu's, and Zhang Tianzhen's lives would already be exciting enough. To cross the Indian Ocean, you first need to be able to afford a sailboat or yacht. I've seen the prices of those things; they're enough to buy a dozen houses in Los Angeles. Of course, you've worked very hard, but you're already happier than most people."

"I'm different. For a long time, I lived a life where I didn't have enough to eat or wear. Maybe things will get better after I graduate, but that's too long. Now, the world has finally given me a chance to restart my life, so naturally I have to grit my teeth and bleed to forge a path. Yang Yang, it's not that I want to stay up until 3 a. m. every day, but that's all the choices I have."

Qing Chen had some things he didn't say: There was another master in the Inner World who was exceptionally kind to him, but he might be facing danger.

So he had to race against time to become strong enough before that danger arrived.

At this very moment, in the Shenglong residential area, two kilometers away from Xingshu Road.

Nan Gengchen, who was scrolling through his phone in his bedroom, suddenly froze when he saw a text message he had just received:

"Hello Nan Gengchen, to better exchange game experiences, please click the link to join the group chat. —He Xiaoxiao"

Invitation!

It was an invitation!

Nan Gengchen wanted to send Qing Chen a WeChat message, but quickly held back.

He glanced at the time, quickly changed his clothes, and went outside.

In the living room, his father was drinking Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) alone, his eyes almost glazed over. "Where are you going so late? You never study properly, all you do is run around outside, just like your mother, your heart isn't in this house!"

As he spoke, his father stood up and pulled out his belt.

This time, however, Nan Gengchen didn't just stand there dumbly and take the beating. Instead, he ran away at full speed, leaving his alcoholic and gambling father standing there dumbfounded.

The boy ran through the night; it was the first time he had voluntarily escaped his father, and it felt pretty good.

He ran like the wind to Qing Chen's door and knocked heavily. "Open the door! Open the door!"

The door opposite opened, and Qing Chen calmly looked at him and said, "Come in and talk."

Nan Gengchen was a little confused as to why Brother Chen was moving. He followed Qing Chen into the house and excitedly said, "He Xiaoxiao's group chat... hiccup!"

Halfway through his sentence, Nan Gengchen suddenly noticed Yang Yang on the sofa!

The other person was dressed in casual pajamas, wearing Cute and Adorable panda slippers, and staring at me expressionlessly...

There is just too much information in front of us.

Nan Gengchen immediately felt a deep respect for Qing Chen!

To be honest, he really didn't expect that Chen Ge and Yang Yang's relationship would progress so quickly!

Qing Chen looked at Nan Gengchen calmly and asked, "What happened in He Xiaoxiao's group chat? Is there any good news?"

"Aww!" Nan Gengchen snapped out of his daze. "The good news is, I've joined He Xiaoxiao's group chat!"

For a moment, the room fell silent, and the atmosphere gradually became heavy.

Qing Chen pondered for a moment and asked, "... You call this good news?"

Nan Gengchen said enthusiastically, "That's right! Hundreds of millions of people are queuing up but can't get into the group, yet I received a special text message invitation. The message said, 'Welcome Nan Gengchen, to join the group. Click the link to enter,' and I was in as soon as I clicked it!"

Qing Chen was stunned. He Xiaoxiao had actually invited Nan Gengchen by name?

That means He Xiaoxiao has more information than you think.

Previously, the information the other party possessed could be explained by their status as a "pro gamer," since pro gamers are indeed better at exploring the world than ordinary people.

But things are different now; the other side must have a powerful organization backing them to be able to do this.

So who is the organization behind them, Kunlun or Jiuzhou?

Qing Chen sighed. In this light, Nan Gengchen's direct joining of the group chat this time didn't really expose anything extra.

The organization to which He Xiaoxiao belongs must possess technology from the Inner World; it seems as if the entire information network is now open to them.

Before anyone had a chance to build Data Fortress, the other side had already obtained the information by hacking into Nan Gengchen's phone.

No need to wait until now.

Or, in a sense, He Xiaoxiao's direct and precise text message was conveying the message: Don't hesitate any longer, you've already been exposed.

Qing Chen suddenly realized that this kind of organization was much more terrifying than Kunlun.

Fortunately, when he talked to Nan Gengchen, they were either in a noisy environment with their phones in their pockets, or in a quiet environment where Qing Chen would remove the other person's SIM card and turn off the phone.

It must be said that caution is definitely a good habit in a dangerous environment.

Seeing Qing Chen's solemn expression, Nan Gengchen hesitated for a moment before asking, "Isn't this good news...?"

"Yes," Yang Yang nodded calmly, "The last time you beat hundreds of millions of people was eighteen years ago, so it's definitely something to be happy about."

Qing Chen: "???"

He felt like someone had run over his face with a car.

Qing Chen silently took out Nan Gengchen's phone, carefully taped all the cameras with black tape, and then taped several layers to the microphone.

Not only did Nan Gengchen's phone have tape on it, but Qing Chen also handed tape to Yang Yang, indicating that she should also attach the camera and microphone.

Yang Yang looked at Qing Chen's phone and was surprised to find that it had already been glued back on.

She asked, "Have you always been this cautious?"

"It's just a habit," Qing Chen said.

Nan Gengchen asked, "Our phones have long since lost their secrets, isn't this a bit redundant?"

Qing Chen met his gaze and explained, "I rarely use my phone anymore except to read the news, so there aren't any secrets on it. I do this simply because I don't want my personal information to be exposed to others."

Yang Yang said, "It's all glued on."

Only then did Qing Chen continue to say to Nan Gengchen, "Open that text message and let me see the original words."

Nan Gengchen opened a text message and whispered, "Just click the link and it will automatically download a group chat app. I saw that you can even recharge to buy decorative frames for your profile picture... Oh, and there are also special effects when you enter the group chat. They're not expensive, and there's a limited-time special price for the first three days."

What the hell is this three-day limited-time special offer...?

Qing Chen looked at Nan Gengchen expressionlessly. "Did you buy it?"

"I bought it, and it looks pretty good," Nan Gengchen answered honestly.

As he spoke, he opened a green app, and the phone immediately went to the group chat interface. This thing was not much different from the WeChat group chat interface, except that it had an additional shopping mall entrance.

Immediately afterwards, a string of tiny bubbles bounced around on the screen.

Qing Chen instantly realized that this was the group entry effect that Nan Gengchen had purchased...

This is incredible!

"Is this something only you can see, or can everyone see it?" Qing Chen asked.

"Only I can see it; it's just for show," Nan Gengchen replied.

Qing Chen sighed. This guy really is still the same idiot who's willing to buy nano socks.

But he just couldn't understand why He Xiaoxiao would make such a small amount of money by creating this group. Shouldn't it be a very serious group?

This is so weird!

Qing Chen opened the group chat and found that there were only 27 people in the group.

Compared to the hundreds of millions of people queuing up, these 27 people seem particularly lonely.

Qing Chen pondered, "I wonder if He Xiaoxiao divided everyone into multiple groups, or if there really are only these 27 people in the group chat system?"

Yang Yang chimed in, "I prefer the former. If I were He Xiaoxiao, I would also shuffle all the Time Walker from different regions and distribute them across many groups. This would help Time Walker from all over the country get to know each other. Because everyone's location in the Inner World corresponds to their location in the Outer World, people from different regions have value in exchanging information."

Just then, a user named "Zhang San" sent a message in the group chat. "Has anyone ever suddenly received a letter, like waking up to find it right next to your pillow? How scary!"

An ID named "Chuang Wang" replied, "No."

Immediately afterwards, another Li Si" replied: "I also received one once, it appeared under my pillow, I don't know how the other person did it."

Qing Chen was stunned. He hadn't expected that Nan Gengchen was in the same group as Chuang Wang.

It was only at this time that he realized that most people were unaware of the existence of the Forbidden Item, the "Demon Stamp."

Immediately after Wang Yun revealed the mysterious letter, Li Shutong and Lin Xiaoxiao introduced Qing Chen to this Forbidden Item, the ACE-017 Demon Stamp.

Therefore, Qing Chen naturally assumed that everyone knew this.

However, he overlooked one point: Li Shutong could be considered one of the top superhumans in the Inner World, and the Knights were one of the oldest organizations with a long history. They knew most of the information that others did not.

At this moment, Qing Chen remembered the information on people, animals, and plants that Lin Xiaoxiao had specially compiled for him. There were also two more documents on Forbidden Item and Forbidden Zone that were being compiled, which he would only be able to see when he returned to Prison No. 18.

It turns out that this was a precious treasure that Li Shutong had specially prepared for him!

In this era, information itself means wealth!

Chuang Wang said in the group, "'A Little Duck' hasn't said a word since joining the group. He seems a little shy. Come out and chat!"

Qing Chen slowly looked at Nan Gengchen: "That A Little Duck isn't you, is it?"

Nan Gengchen's face turned red. "I just randomly entered a nickname, I didn't know that the group chat ID couldn't be changed..."

Thank you to Chili Stir-fry is Delicious, Three Lives Hunter, and Flying Chin for becoming new patrons of this book. Thank you, boss! You're so generous! May you make a fortune!