7:20 a.m., countdown 20:40:00.
Qing Chen ran three laps around the residential complex. When he got home, he saw Jiang Xue hanging clothes on the drying rack from the balcony upstairs. Every piece was his.
He had been so busy with the crossing that he had piled up a lot of unwashed clothes. He had meant to wash them yesterday, but Jiang Xue had beaten him to it.
When Jiang Xue saw him, she smiled and opened the window to greet him. "Qing Chen, I made plain congee. Come up and have some."
"No, no," Qing Chen quickly waved his hands, then headed off to school while chewing on compressed biscuits.
He had not had anyone treat him so well in many years, so he was not used to it for the moment.
The moment he entered the school gates, Qing Chen saw many people running toward the high school building. He happened to run into Nan Gengchen, who was sprinting as well. Curious, he asked, "What's going on?"
"Didn't you check the class group chat? Someone in the class next to ours has a crosser in their class. That guy's in the classroom right now," Nan Gengchen said breathlessly.
"Wait, how did they find out he was a crosser?" Qing Chen wondered. No one in the neighboring class had shown up with mechanical limbs yesterday.
Nan Gengchen said, "He bragged about it himself. He held it in for a day, but when he was chatting with his classmates last night, he couldn't keep it in anymore."
Qing Chen frowned. What was going on? There were so many crossers at Luocheng Foreign Language School?
The school had around two thousand students. Among the known crossers, four had already come from this school alone. How many would there be nationwide?
Even if crossers had only appeared in a dozen or so cities across the country, the total number of crossers would not be small.
At that moment, Qing Chen realized that other people would probably discover the pattern he had summarized as well.
Would huge numbers of people from across the country flood into those dozen or so cities, hoping to become members of the third, fourth, or fifth wave of crossers?
Perhaps not yet, but if a third wave of crossers appeared to confirm the theory, then speculation would become reality.
In the future, the dozen or so cities, including Luocheng, would probably become more and more lively.
Qing Chen and Nan Gengchen ran toward the classroom, but before they could squeeze in and see what was happening, the dean arrived with a group of teachers and took away the student who claimed to be a crosser.
"We got here too late!" Nan Gengchen muttered.
Qing Chen did not bother with it any further. He turned around, grabbed Nan Gengchen, and headed for their own classroom.
By his estimation, people from that mysterious organization would probably arrive at the school soon. With the crossing coming tonight, he did not want any complications.
He was not sure whether that mysterious organization had seen his face. If they could restrict Jiang Xue's movements, they could probably access road surveillance footage too, right?
Although the area where he lived was relatively old and had few cameras, and he had deliberately taken routes without surveillance that day, Qing Chen did not dare guarantee that they had failed to find him.
For the entire day, Qing Chen stayed obediently in the classroom, avoiding any chance of running into that mysterious organization.
Unless he needed to use the bathroom, he did not leave the classroom for even a step.
It was worth mentioning that their English teacher, Du Yihong, had taken leave again today. That gave Qing Chen an even firmer suspicion.
"Qing Chen, Qing Chen, look!" Nan Gengchen said. "He Xiaoxiao's guide has been updated!"
Qing Chen's eyes immediately lit up. So many crossers had introduced the Inner World so far, but the most captivating thing was probably still He Xiaoxiao's guide.
The others merely gave broad overviews of the world or scattered fragments of information.
But He Xiaoxiao, a top gamer, shared genuinely useful information.
Things like the Tribunal of Taboos, Li Shutong, and genetic serums were things most crossers had not even encountered yet.
Still, He Xiaoxiao had suddenly disappeared and then reappeared. What had happened in between?
Qing Chen opened the video on his phone.
"Hello, everyone. I'm He Xiaoxiao. For certain special reasons, I was unable to bring you a new guide yesterday."
"Today's guide will give an overview of the current expansion of the Inner World game: the Qing Clan Shadow Struggle."
"The Qing Clan Group is one of the Five Great Companies in the Inner World..."
"The Shadow is the person within the Qing Clan Group who holds all power over the underground world."
"This is said to be a tradition the Qing Clan has continued for over a thousand years. Every so often, they choose a new Shadow and stage a battle like the Nine Dragons Fighting for the Throne. Every Shadow Candidate must undergo the cruelest trials. At the same time, the selection of a new Shadow throws the entire Inner World into turmoil."
"There are currently eight known Shadow Candidates, and every one of them is extraordinarily gifted. These eight Shadow Candidates are Qing Huai, Qing Wen, Qing Shi... but there is one who is extremely mysterious. To this day, I have not uncovered his identity."
Qing Chen watched silently. An expansion meant opening up new storylines and new characters on the foundation of an existing game, like Red Alert 3: Yuri's Revenge.
He did not know that Li Shutong had once suspected him of being a Shadow Candidate. He did not even know himself that he was one of the Shadow Candidates, and Lu Guangyi had never told him.
But now, he suddenly understood why he had appeared in Prison No. 18.
It had to be said that He Xiaoxiao's guides had helped him enormously every single time.
Countdown 6:19:29.
By the time afternoon came, Qing Chen still had not seen anyone from the mysterious organization arrive at the school. The student from the neighboring class had not returned either. Apparently, his parents had taken him home to reflect on his actions.
As the crossing drew closer, Qing Chen could clearly sense Nan Gengchen growing increasingly nervous.
He did not know what he could say to comfort him. If that guy really crossed into Prison No. 18 as well, Qing Chen would take the risk of being discovered and help him out.
"If, and I mean if, you cross tonight, be careful. You've seen what those people online said. The Inner World isn't safe," Qing Chen warned Nan Gengchen.
Nan Gengchen's expression was a little unnatural. "I-I'm not a crosser."
"As long as you know," Qing Chen said no more. The fact that Nan Gengchen had kept the secret until now showed that he had some sense.
That evening, Qing Chen skipped class and went home, then waited peacefully at home for the crossing countdown.
He closed his eyes to rest. He did not know how long had passed when knocking sounded outside. Qing Chen opened the door and saw Jiang Xue standing there. "Is something wrong, Auntie Jiang Xue?"
Jiang Xue hesitated before saying, "You know I'm a crosser too. The countdown will end soon. The Inner World is dangerous, and I'm not sure whether I'll be able to come back. If I don't return safely tomorrow, could you take care of Xiaoyun for a day in my place?"
Qing Chen froze for a moment. "Why would you say something like that? You'll definitely come back safely."
Jiang Xue shook her head. "You only say that to comfort me because you don't know how dangerous that world is. But I know very well. Over there, if you don't have the backing of one of the Five Great Companies, human lives are worthless. I'm not asking you to take care of Xiaoyun for long. Her grandmother will come over from Zhengcheng tomorrow..."
"Okay, I promise. But I still hope nothing happens to you," Qing Chen said with a nod.
"Thank you." As she spoke, Jiang Xue handed Qing Chen a key. "Keep one of the keys here. If something really happens, it'll be easier for you to get in."
After saying that, Jiang Xue turned and left.
Qing Chen stood stunned for several seconds. He had not expected her to give him the key to her home.
That counted as a kind of trust, didn't it?
Countdown 00:9:59.
With the last bit of time remaining, Qing Chen put a tiny USB drive in his mouth.
He wanted to test whether something hidden inside his body could pass through that wall of time.
Then, he twisted his arm purple again.
Once everything was ready, Qing Chen took a deep breath.
Countdown: 00:00:10.
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The world shattered.
Then reassembled.
The monthly votes had already reached the top ten! Top ten with 45,000 words! If we can make the top five this month, I'll immediately add three extra chapters!
Thanks to Zhou Hei Zhizhang Tuan Zhi Xionghaizi, Qiu Dandan, and Beetle Beetle for becoming Alliance Leaders of this book. Generous bosses—may your fortunes be as vast as the Eastern Sea and your lives as long as the Southern Mountains!
Before you continue