Truth and Lies

When Liu Dezhu said that he had traveled to Prison No. 18 and had already met Li Shutong.

It sounded to everyone like he was saying: I've already played the non-wipe beta of this game, obtained the game's only legendary orange weapon, and unlocked its strongest hidden class.

In an instant, Liu Dezhu became a godlike figure in the students' eyes.

Qing Chen watched everyone's reactions in silent disbelief, but it had nothing to do with him, so there was no need to expose Liu Dezhu.

The students asked, "What does Li Shutong look like?"

Liu Dezhu thought for a moment before answering, "He's pretty special in the prison. Everyone else wears prison uniforms, but he's the only one dressed in those martial arts clothes for practicing tai chi. I guessed he might be the warden or something? He also had two attendants with him. One was skinny and always smiling, while the other was rather burly and rarely spoke."

"He already sounds like a big shot..." a student sighed.

"Oh, right," Liu Dezhu said. "He also keeps a cat, a really huge one. It has tufts of fur sticking up from both ears and looks like a lynx."

Seeing how detailed Liu Dezhu's account was, everyone gradually began to believe him.

Then someone asked, "Did you get a method for changing classes from him?"

Influenced by He Xiaoxiao, quite a few students had begun using gaming terms to describe the Inner World.

But at that question, Liu Dezhu began to stammer. "How could changing classes be that easy? You heard He Xiaoxiao say that Li Shutong isn't an ordinary person. Winning his trust definitely won't be easy."

The students nodded when they heard that. That was more reasonable.

When they thought about it, Liu Dezhu might not necessarily get a chance to change classes after all.

"But," Liu Dezhu immediately added, "since I've already traveled to Prison No. 18, I definitely won't let this chance slip away. Besides, I've already spoken with Li Shutong!"

Everyone's interest rose again. "What did you say?"

Liu Dezhu continued to bluff. "We just exchanged a few pleasantries..."

At that moment, only Qing Chen knew what Liu Dezhu had said to Li Shutong: Give me a class-change quest.

Another student asked, "Since you traveled to Prison No. 18, are you a prisoner there? Is it dangerous? Is it hard?"

Liu Dezhu said, "No. I'm different from the other prisoners."

Qing Chen knew that part was true. Liu Dezhu really was different from the other prisoners. After all, the other prisoners hadn't been put in solitary confinement.

At that point, he turned around and returned to his classroom. It seemed unlikely that he would get any useful information out of Liu Dezhu.

The reason Liu Dezhu was acting like this now was probably the vanity of youth.

Some said that when God created humanity, His attendants worried, "You gave humans curiosity, wisdom, and courage. They will become too powerful."

So God thought for a moment and replied, "Then give them some vanity and jealousy as well."

Qing Chen felt that vanity was not necessarily a bad thing, but in the current environment, exposing oneself as a traveler was an extremely foolish choice.

Especially when claiming to know one of the most important figures in the Inner World.

At least, based on He Xiaoxiao's guide, Li Shutong was indeed such a person.

However, obtaining a method of transcending the ordinary from Li Shutong was nowhere near as easy as the guide made it seem.

Qing Chen had put in so much effort, yet he had only managed to get close to him.

Amid the students' cries of amazement and envy, Qing Chen brushed past the classmates who had just arrived to join the excitement. He had no intention of enjoying this sort of glory. Other people's attention had nothing to do with him.

Besides, the mysterious organization would probably arrive soon.

They had not appeared last time, but this time, they definitely would.

Yet just as he was moving against the flow of people, he suddenly saw Nan Gengchen at the back of the crowd, shrinking timidly with his head lowered.

"Nan Gengchen," Qing Chen called.

"Huh? Who called me?" Nan Gengchen looked up.

Only then did Qing Chen see that Nan Gengchen looked utterly dispirited.

"What happened to you?" Qing Chen asked in confusion. "Did someone beat you up?"

"No, no," Nan Gengchen quickly lowered his head and shook it. "I just didn't sleep well."

Qing Chen studied him. There were no mechanical limbs or any other abnormalities. He simply did not look mentally well.

He pulled Nan Gengchen back into the classroom and asked in a low voice, "Did someone torture you after you traveled over there?"

"Traveled? What traveling?" Nan Gengchen pretended to be confused.

Now Qing Chen began to have doubts. What he could be certain of was that Nan Gengchen had definitely traveled.

But what exactly had this guy experienced in the Inner World to go from his previous smug self to this pathetic state?

"What the hell did you do after traveling over there?" Qing Chen muttered.

"I didn't travel! Whoever says I did, I'll fight them!" Nan Gengchen said.

Fine. Seeing that he could get nothing out of him, Qing Chen stopped asking.

He did not even know where Nan Gengchen had traveled to or what identity he had there, so he could not help even if he wanted to.

It was not until class was about to begin that Nan Gengchen finally said in a low voice, "Didn't I tell you before that there was a group chat for travelers?"

"Yeah, you did," Qing Chen nodded.

This kid was not particularly guarded. Something as major as traveling, with no one to confide in, was surely too much for him to keep bottled up.

Then Nan Gengchen said, "Did I tell you that someone was selling socks from the Inner World?"

"Yeah," Qing Chen nodded.

"That was fake," Nan Gengchen said. "Don't ask me how I know. Anyway, he wasn't a traveler. He couldn't bring socks back from there at all."

"Yeah," Qing Chen nodded.

Nan Gengchen continued, "Did I tell you that one traveler said he could help people get in touch with rich older women after going over there?"

"Yeah," Qing Chen nodded.

"That traveler was real."

Qing Chen was instantly filled with respect. "!!!"

He stared at Nan Gengchen in shock, unable to speak for a long while.

Honestly, even when he had traveled for the first time, he had not been this shocked.

So this guy's dispirited state was because someone had helped him get in touch with a rich older woman after he got there?

After Nan Gengchen blurted it out, he realized that he had said too much and hurriedly tried to backpedal. "I only saw other people talking about it in the group chat. I'm not a traveler."

"Mm, I understand," Qing Chen nodded, acknowledging his excuse.

The two fell into a long silence.

Qing Chen suddenly asked, "...Did she pay well?"

Nan Gengchen's expression changed drastically. "I already told you I'm not a traveler."

Just then, the class bell rang.

But the students' attention was not on the teacher who had just entered the classroom. It was on the four men in black in the hallway outside the window.

Qing Chen used Nan Gengchen's body to conceal himself as he silently watched the scene outside.

The men in black were accompanied by the head of academic affairs as they walked toward the classroom next door.

The students discussed it in surprise, and even the math teacher could not help stepping into the hallway to take a look.

Only Qing Chen was not surprised, because he had seen these people before.