ACE-005? I Already Gave It to You

Countdown: 18:00:00.

At six o'clock in the morning, outside the glass window were heavy snowflakes and a dark, dense forest, while inside the house came the crackling sound of firewood burning.

It wasn't that it was actually snowing heavily outside the window, but rather that Yi Qing Chen had switched to white noise sleep mode.

For some reason, Qing Chen slept exceptionally well in this environment.

Knock, knock, knock. There was a knock on the door. He immediately sat up in bed and went to open it.

But when he stepped out of the bedroom, he saw Li Shutong sitting on the sofa with a smile on his face, "I'll go open the door."

Qing Chen didn't know when his master returned; he hadn't heard a sound at all.

But then Li Shutong opened the door, Yang Yang outside looked a little flustered. "Hello, Uncle, I've come to see Qing Chen."

"He just woke up. What do you need him for?" Li Shutong asked with a smile.

"Oh, I asked him to go to the parade with me. Why don't you come along, Uncle?" Yang Yang asked. "The Federation's education system is corrupt now. We need to promote educational reform first, so everyone can acquire knowledge. Only then can we loosen the influence of the conglomerates on the Federation!"

Li Shutong smiled, turned around and asked, "Xiao Chen, why don't you go join the parade? Yang Yang is here to call you."

"I'm not going," Qing Chen said from inside the house. "I have to go to the boxing gym to watch the match today."

"Okay," Yang Yang nodded, "Then Zheng Yi and I will go together. Uncle, you and Qing Chen can come anytime you change your mind. We'll start from Yunshan Plaza and head towards the city center. Don't worry, this is a legally registered parade."

"Hmm," Li Shutong smiled as he watched Yang Yang and Zheng Yi leave before closing the door.

Qing Chen walked out of the bedroom and calmly guessed, "She's staying here, probably so she can use her perception field ability to determine whether you and I are in the Luoshen Building in the final moments."

After all, with a demigod like Li Shutong in charge of Prison No. 18, who would dare to make a move?

"First, confirm whether they have really left?" Li Shutong asked.

"Confirmed, I have boarded the No. 22 light rail train to Yunshan Plaza," Yi replied.

Li Shutong turned to Qing Chen and smiled, "Then she should have given up monitoring us by now. After all, if she really wanted to monitor us, she should have stayed in this Luoshen Building all day long, so she would know when we left. Perhaps she was initially doing it for the Spade Organization, but that's probably not the case anymore."

Qing Chen pondered, "Hmm, that's possible."

Li Shutong smiled and said, "Let's set off too. So many organizations and forces have pulled together a grand show today, but before the show begins, the main characters must also be there."

The master and apprentice changed into clean white tracksuits, put on baseball caps, and walked out of the building.

Li Shutong stood in the glass elevator, quietly appreciating everything before him.

The suspended cloud plaza was densely packed with marchers, their faces painted with red march symbols.

Thousands of students were moving through the crowd, spontaneously organizing themselves and distributing small flags and banners covered with slogans.

The little flags look cheap; they were made by hand by the students working day and night to save money.

Their hands were covered in cheap glue, but their faces were beaming with enthusiastic smiles.

As the students distributed the small flags, they encouraged each other, shouting, "Change the world!"

"Change the world!"

Although they themselves may not have figured out how to change the world, the crowd marched headed toward the Upper Third District in a mighty procession.

Dozens of reporters were broadcasting the grand march live from the roadside, while the marchers faced the media openly and expressed their demands.

A student representative looked at the camera and said, "This is a legal march. The number of participants, our demands, and our route have all been reported. Furthermore, we promise that we will never use force and will resolutely resist the use of force!"

A march is a march, and they want to ensure that it doesn't lose its original purpose in the end.

A hovercar flew over the parade, Qing Chen sat inside, silently watching the scene below, lost in thought.

Li Shutong suddenly asked, "What do you think of this kind of student demonstration?"

Qing Chen said, "This world cannot be changed by protests. The control that conglomerates have over this world is far more terrifying than they imagine."

"Yes," Li Shutong said with a smile, "On the day the parade was reported and registered, although the federal authorities approved it, the Li family began looking for the small businessman who sponsored the parade that very night. That small businessman is one of ours, and he quietly left the Federation the night before last under our arrangement, and he will never come back."

This war without gunfire has already begun, without the students even realizing it.

Qing Chen looked at Li Shutong in astonishment. It turned out that his master had been busy with this matter these past two days. He had never expected that his master was the one sponsoring this parade.

Li Shutong laughed and said, "I just gave them a small donation. I really couldn't bear to see them so poor. At least, we can't let the children shout slogans on an empty stomach."

"Master, this road will be very dangerous," Qing Chen said.

Li Shutong said, "While other conglomerates and forces were searching for, capturing, and executing Time Walker, I talked a lot with those Time Walker, such as about the history of your Outer World."

"Why is Master talking about this?" Qing Chen, puzzled.

"Even teachers don't know everything, so it's always good to listen, observe, and learn more," Li Shutong said with emotion. "I spent half my life practicing martial arts, only to be dragged into something by a group of like-minded friends, and then I watched them die one by one along the way. Actually, I'm just a martial artist, Xiao Chen, so I don't have any lofty ideals. The reason I've come this far is that I don't want those friends to die in vain. I want to spend the rest of my life helping them accomplish what they were so eager to achieve."

Qing Chen stared blankly at Li Shutong, never expecting the other party to define him as a martial artist.

He asked, "What period of history did Master discuss with the Time Walker?"

"The period of the birth of the New World," Li Shutong said with a smile, "I had them bring back a USB drive for me. I read countless documents and materials until my eyes were almost blind. But what I liked most was the process of the establishment of the New World. In that history, so many sages sacrificed themselves one after another on the eve of dawn."

To be honest, the technology in the Inner World is far superior to that in the Outer World, so many people feel that there seems to be nothing in the Outer World that is of any benefit to the Inner World.

But many people are wrong; the brilliance of ideas will not be tarnished by whether technology is advanced or backward.

"Teacher," Qing Chen repeated softly, "This road is dangerous."

Li Shutong smiled and looked at him, saying, "Qing Chen, have you ever thought about how you were able to live such a comfortable life in the Outer World, how your ancestors achieved their victories, and what they went through back then?"

Qing Chen fell silent.

Li Shutong continued, "Many Time Walker admire them, but in fact, your ancestors are more worthy of respect than anyone imagines. From the perspective of those who come after, you certainly know that there will be New World, and you also know that you will eventually triumph, but your ancestors did not know that."

"When they said, 'We will definitely achieve final victory,' they weren't really that certain. They were just trying to give themselves some courage. Your ancestors at that time didn't really know if their sacrifices could bring victory, or even if their sacrifices were truly meaningful, but they still persevered. With trepidation and fear, they followed one after another for their ideals, bringing dawn from the long night. That is true faith."

Qing Chen remained silent, believing that the correct view of history is to not examine it through the lens of modern people.

He always knew that his predecessors were great, but he still underestimated their greatness.

"Don't think about that too much for now," Li Shutong chuckled. "These things don't concern you for the time being. What you need to do is enrich yourself, solidify your foundation, and make sure every step you take is firm and solid. I heard from Yi that you were watching the matches at Begonia Boxing Gym yesterday, so you should understand what I mean."

"Yes, Master, do you think my foundation is too shallow? If one day I encounter a master of equal strength, I am very likely to be defeated by their skills and experience," Qing Chen said.

"Yes, many extraordinary individuals feel that they no longer need to learn ordinary skills after they become famous, but that's not the case," Li Shutong said. "In life-and-death battles, a difference in skill can mean the difference between life and death. It's a good thing that you can be so pragmatic."

"I will master all the fighting techniques as soon as possible," Qing Chen said.

"I've always found it a bit strange," Li Shutong said with a smile, "Why are you so patient, knowing that I have Forbidden Item ACE-002 and ACE-005 here, but you never ask me what they are, where they are, or what they are used for?"

Qing Chen said sincerely, "Master, you will tell me when you want to."

"This makes me feel very bored," Li Shutong sighed. "Usually, it's the students who take the initiative to ask for something, so that I can feel a sense of accomplishment. But you don't ask for anything, which makes me feel very bored."

"Then Master, please give me ACE-005."

Li Shutong laughed and said, "I already gave it to you."

I owed you all an update yesterday, so I'm making up for it today. Today's three chapters total 12,000 words. Thank you all for your understanding yesterday.