Let's Be Roommates!

"That girl must be the one in the Outer World who can control force fields," Li Shutong said with a smile as he looked at Qing Chen. "I sensed the change in the force field when I entered. This ability is indeed very rare. Moreover, she is polite and beautiful."

"Master, is there something wrong with the second half of the sentence?" Qing Chen asked calmly. "Is this the point you should be focusing on?"

"Alas," Li Shutong sighed, "You probably don't know, but my master is getting old..."

"Stop," Qing Chen raised his hand to stop him, "When you say you're old, what follows is definitely not a serious matter."

Li Shutong raised an eyebrow. "Back in Forbidden Zone No. 002, I was both envious of you and envious of how those old guys spoiled you so unrestrainedly. They didn't care about your character development, they just wanted to give you things and benefits, unlike me who had to think so much. At that time, I really wanted to experience the feeling of being pampered by my grandparents..."

"It really wasn't a serious conversation," Qing Chen said helplessly. "We really don't have any romantic entanglements. At most, we're just using each other. Please don't overthink it."

At this moment, Qing Chen suddenly thought of a question, "Master, everyone's force field is different. She once told me that it's like a person's fingerprint or DNA. After you appeared like this, she will definitely recognize you when she meets the real 'Li Shutong' again."

Yang Yang's ability is like a human radar, completely ignoring changes in a person's appearance.

Therefore, next time Yang Yang sees Li Shutong's true identity, she will definitely be able to recognize Li Shutong.

That's how Qing Chen was recognized back then!

No, no!

Qing Chen stared blankly at Li Shutong: "Master, do you think the force field of an S-class demigod might be different from that of an ordinary cultivator?"

"They should be different," Li Shutong thought for a moment and said, "After all, a demigod is already one foot beyond the realm of humanity, and I think the more powerful a superhuman is, the more ferocious their force field will be. In fact, many conglomerates' instruments for detecting superhumans are for detecting force fields."

"So, Yang Yang was so flustered just now, probably because of your force field, Master," Qing Chen murmured.

Therefore, if Yang Yang can confirm that Li Shutong's force field is one that only a demigod can possess, then the other party actually already knew the truth.

Just like back then, after all that effort—wearing a mask and using Puppet Master to impersonate himself— Yang Yang still managed to discover his true identity.

Now, after Qing Chen's series of actions, Yang Yang has finally learned the truth.

The news that Li Shutong had left Prison No. 18 gradually spread. Now, a demigod has suddenly appeared in City No. 18. Who else could it be but Li Shutong?

Li Shutong ignored Qing Chen's gaze and walked towards the kitchen. "Well... what's wrong with a master wanting to see the girl his disciple brought home?"

"Master," Qing Chen's eyes widened, "I didn't say anything..."

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Qing Chen went to open the door and was surprised to see Yang Yang standing there, holding a basket of fruit.

"What's this?" Qing Chen, somewhat surprised.

"I didn't know Uncle was home, so it was a bit impolite to leave in such a hurry. That's why I went to buy some fruit," Yang Yang said, stuffing the fruit into Qing Chen's arms before turning and running off again.

Qing Chen looked at the girl's back, then at the fruit in her arms, utterly astonished.

After running a short distance, Yang Yang turned back and whispered to Qing Chen, "I won't tell anyone else, only I know!"

Qing Chen returned to the house carrying the fruit and sighed, "She really guessed it."

Li Shutong changed the subject, saying, "Fruit in the city isn't cheap. A pound of fruit costs as much as a pound of synthetic meat. This young lady is quite generous. People outside the Upper Third District, unless they're in business, wouldn't be willing to give fruit away."

"Although fruits in the Outer World are also expensive, they are not so expensive that everyone can't afford them at all," Qing Chen said. "The happiest time when I was a child was summer. I could hold half a watermelon and eat it by myself. Watermelons were also very cheap back then. You could buy a big watermelon for ten yuan."

Li Shutong remarked with emotion, "I hadn't thought about this when we were in the wilderness. It was only later that I realized how generous Xiao Yiyi was to give you so many apples. Her family goes apple picking every autumn, and the cartload of apples they bring back can fetch a good price."

"I see," Qing Chen said.

"By the way," Li Shutong said, "the Qin Family has returned to City No. 18. They went to find Su Xingzhi as I instructed, but Qin Yiyi did not return."

"Where did she go?" Qing Chen asked, puzzled.

"Her father, Qin Cheng, told Su Xingzhi that Qin Yiyi her way back, took advantage of the night when everyone else was asleep and broke away from the group," Li Shutong explained. "Before returning, she said she was going to find a hearth to gain power. This disappearance is probably to go to the snowy mountains in the southwest to find a hearth."

"Master, is this what you went to do today?" Qing Chen asked.

"No," Li Shutong shook his head and said, "Su Xingzhi can arrange things very well for them, so I don't need to worry about anything."

"Then where did you go, Master?" Qing Chen asked, puzzled.

"I've gone to look at cars for you," Li Shutong said. "They can't be too flashy, and they have to perform well. It's a tough choice. To be honest, at my age, this is the first time I've ever bought a car in person."

Qing Chen asked in confusion, "What did those Time Walker say to you, Master? They also asked what a father needs to do?"

"Oh," Li Shutong thought for a moment and replied, "They said quite a lot, and many people had different opinions. Besides most people saying they needed to buy a house for their son, some said they needed to buy a cell phone, and some said they needed to buy a car."

Qing Chen nodded. "That does fit the current state of the Outer World quite well."

Li Shutong glanced at him. "There are also those who say they want to beat their sons. They say there's an old saying in your Outer World: 'Spare the rod and spoil the child.'"

Qing Chen: "???"

Who the hell told Li Shutong this?!

Qing Chen pondered for a moment, "This Time Walker... what's his name?"

Li Shutong was silent for a moment. "Are you planning to go back to the Outer World and kill him?"

"It's not impossible."

"By the way," Li Shutong said, "It has been confirmed that Liu Dezhu has become Awakened. Can you confirm that he has submitted to you? If you can't confirm it, then I will instruct Lin Xiaoxiao and Ye Wan to get rid of him as soon as possible. After all, the overall level of the Outer World is still very low, and such Awakened will cause backlash to you after returning."

"There's no need to get rid of him; he's already won over," Qing Chen shook his head. "Master, even if he couldn't win over, I shouldn't kill him over something like this."

"Kindness is certainly a good thing, but being too kind is not," Li Shutong said.

"Master, what level is Liu Dezhu after he awakens?" Qing Chen asked.

"C-Class?" Qing Chen exclaimed in astonishment, "He's already C-Class? How could he skip directly from F, E, and D levels?"

"The level of Awakened is inherently a leapfrog increase," Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "Cultivators release their potential in a targeted and slow way, but their path is more stable and longer. Awakened are different. They might awaken at C-Class and remain at C-Class until they die because they don't have a stable way of growing. If they want to continue advancing, they don't even know how to do it."

Qing Chen thought to himself that it seemed to be true. If he wanted to advance, he could directly cultivate and accumulate enough skills and experience to go through the next Life and Death Trial.

But Liu Dezhu was different; he couldn't very well take another risk behind his mother's back.

"Will Liu Dezhu stop at C-Class?" Qing Chen asked.

"Unless he encounters a situation with extremely large fluctuations in his mood, his potential will only reach C-Class," Li Shutong said. "C-Class is not bad either; Lin Xiaoxiao and Ye Wan are only B-Class."

"Is there a stable way for Awakened to advance?" Qing Chen asked.

"Yes, there are," Li Shutong sighed. "There was a very ruthless family. They noticed something unusual about their youngest son at birth and thought he would definitely become an extremely powerful superhuman. So they devised a plan: they hired assassins to kill a family member every so often. The youngest son was unaware of this and harbored hatred as he searched for the killer. As a result, his family members died one after another, and he rose to B-Class in just three years. Later, he found the killer and learned the truth, but because he couldn't accept this reality, he was promoted to Rank A."

Qing Chen silently turned to look at Li Shutong.

Li Shutong said, "Why are you looking at me like that! Don't suddenly look at me when I'm talking about this kind of thing... How about we go through the 'spare the rod and spoil the child' procedure?!"

"Ahem, Master, don't misunderstand. I didn't think that much. It's just that this promotion method involves a lot of favors from relatives and friends," Qing Chen said. "Are there any exceptionally talented people here?"

"Yes, there are," Li Shutong said with a sigh. "Some people are indeed exceptionally talented. I've even seen people who reach A-level status as soon as they wake up."

"In the history of the Federation, which Awakened had the strongest talent? Or rather, I want to know how powerful an Awakened can be?" Qing Chen asked.

"The fastest recorded awakening in the history of extraordinary beings is that they jumped from D-Class to S-level and entered the demigod realm in one day," Li Shutong said.

"Awakened can actually become a demigod in one step?" Qing Chen exclaimed in astonishment.

"Strictly speaking, it's two steps," Li Shutong nodded, "But there's only one in history, named Chen Wudi."

Qing Chen silently processed this information, then suddenly asked, "Master, you want me to go to school because you want me to live a few more carefree years, right?"

"Hmm," Li Shutong replied calmly, "I'm afraid you'll always be on edge and won't be able to enjoy the pleasures of life. When I was your age, I didn't do anything serious, but looking back, those were the happiest times."

But Qing Chen shook his head. "Master, school is only half a day. If you don't let me do anything, I'll go crazy with boredom. Besides, I can't be carefree anymore."

Li Shutong said, "Young people shouldn't set too many goals for themselves. When I was your age, I was fighting with people in the city every day. My senior brother and I were two knights. He had just gone through his second Life and Death Trial, and I had just gone through my first. After returning to the city from the Green Mountain Cliff, he insisted on taking me to test my physical fitness. As a result, he took me to beat up the heir of the Black Dragon Society in the dark. As a result, the Black Dragon Society chased us for more than seventy miles, all the way from the District 9 to the District 7."

The cities in the Inner World are much larger, and because of the high concentration of population, each city is like a supercity in the Outer World.

City No. 18 and City No. 10 are even larger, as they are the twin stars of the Federation.

Qing Chen reminisced about those days, realizing that even his master had such a miserable time in the city.

He asked, "Why did you attack the Black Dragon Society's crown prince?"

"Back then, our master sent us to the black market to fight in underground boxing matches to gain more practical experience. As a result, the Black Dragon Society fighters poured plaster into their gloves, making our senior brothers scream in pain," Li Shutong remarked.

Qing Chen was astonished. "Are underground boxing matches in the black market allowed to include superhumans? My master had survived his second Life and Death Trial, he should have been at E-Class by now, yet he still couldn't beat someone?"

For some reason, he always found it fascinating to hear about the stories of these big shots getting beaten up and being unreliable when they were young.

That's the kind of master who truly embodies the spirit of everyday life.

"Of course you can participate. It's more exciting for superhumans to participate in boxing matches, and the prize money and betting odds are higher. There are even D-Class participants," Li Shutong continued to explain. "Boxing matches are divided into levels. If you are E-Class, you will encounter E-Class opponents."

The highest level in boxing is the Land Cruiser Class, which corresponds to the Superhuman level D.

The next level is Tigerweight, corresponding to the Extraordinary Level E.

Below that are middleweight, lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight.

The rankings here don't consider weight; they focus on skill and performance.

However, there is one rule: freestyle boxers must start from the bantamweight division and work their way up. If they lose a weight class, they will be stuck in that weight class for one night only.

The prize money varies drastically between each weight class. Bantamweight appearance fees might only be a few hundred dollars, with no share of the betting pool. In contrast, middleweight appearance fees can be tens of thousands, plus a share of the betting pool.

Of course, the price of losing once could be death.

Speaking of which...

Li Shutong got up from the sofa and said, "Come on, come with me to a place, I'll show you the real nightlife of City No. 18."

Qing Chen followed behind his master and suddenly felt that his master had taken him to the Green Mountain Cliff, and now he was going to take him to the black market boxing match to experience the nightlife.

In fact, it all seems more like the other person is retracing the path they walked in their youth. As they walk this path, the master's mindset also becomes much younger.

Yang Yang, who was hiding downstairs, watched Li Shutong Qing Chen leave.

She then silently slipped into the Luoshen Building and headed straight for the 132nd floor.

Knock, knock, Yang Yang knocked on the door of the silver-haired girl Zheng Yi's room.

Inside was Zheng Yi, who was about to leave for tutoring. When she saw Yang Yang, she was taken aback. "Yang Yang, what brings you here?"

As she spoke, she turned her head to look at the door behind Yang Yang, which was tightly closed.

Yang Yang smiled and said, "Let's share an apartment!"