He Xiaoxiao's identity was a mystery.
But what Qing Chen was most curious about was how the other party had managed to do this.
He also wanted to hide his identity, but for now, he could only rely on clumsy methods. Perhaps after crossing into the Inner World tonight, he could cautiously ask Lu Guangyi?
Without dwelling on it, Qing Chen opened Douyin and searched for He Xiaoxiao's video.
It was still a black background with white subtitles, without any other information.
A young man's voice slowly said, "Since many people in the comments have asked how to reach the Inner World, this episode will focus on how to obtain qualifications for this game's open beta."
"Everyone collectively calls players crossers, but I prefer to call those who have obtained open beta qualifications Time Walkers. Because when you enter the Inner World, time in the Outer World stops for you. When you return, time in the Inner World stops for you as well. No—it stops for all Time Walkers."
"At present, known Time Walkers are concentrated in nineteen cities: Wucheng, Jingcheng, Nancheng, Luo City, Chuan Cheng, Chongcheng, Shencheng, Kuncheng, Hai City, Jicheng, Zheng City, Hangcheng, Fucheng, Guangcheng, Lancheng, Xiancheng, Hucheng, Jincheng, and Taicheng."
"There may be scattered Time Walkers in other regions, but the odds are low."
"Therefore, I personally suggest that players who want to obtain open beta qualifications should head to one of those nineteen cities as soon as possible before the open beta channel closes. It may increase your chances of becoming a Time Walker. The increase may not be great, but at least it gives you hope."
"It is known that the third batch of Time Walkers will appear tonight. It is still impossible to determine when the open beta channel will close, so cherish this opportunity."
"Also, the Inner World game is extremely difficult. Therefore, I suggest that all Time Walkers form teams and explore on their own in the Inner World to increase their odds of survival."
"As usual, you may leave comments about the guides you most want to know. I will select the most popular topics and make them in the next video."
"Finally, do not reveal your identity in the Inner World. Do not reveal your identity in the Inner World. Dangerous!"
The video ended there.
The final warning subtitle had specifically been written in bold red text, making it especially eye-catching.
Qing Chen suspected that the other party might already know that some crossers... Time Walkers had exposed themselves and suffered extremely serious consequences.
That was why he had specifically warned everyone.
This was also within Qing Chen's expectations. After all, not every Time Walker was that smart.
Qing Chen felt a sense of crisis, because Prison No. 18 had a hidden danger like Liu Dezhu, someone who simply could not withstand interrogation.
Where should he go from here?
And this time, the guide He Xiaoxiao had mentioned happened to align with Qing Chen's own conjecture.
Qing Chen also knew that once large numbers of crossers... Time Walkers appeared, someone would inevitably figure out this pattern.
He just had not expected the other party to still insist on treating the Inner World as a game world, or to keep using gaming terminology for these guides.
Moreover, this He Xiaoxiao had single-handedly accelerated the process of people eager to cross over gathering in those nineteen cities!
It was foreseeable what kind of uproar this guide would cause across the country, with He Xiaoxiao as the "most famous" Time Walker.
Qing Chen opened the comments section and was startled to find that the most-liked comment was actually: I want to know exactly how to obtain a career path from Prison No. 18.
It seemed everyone was especially interested in Prison No. 18.
The commenter's ID was a string of numbers.
Qing Chen opened the person's profile and found that many of the videos they had liked were related to Luo City. One was even a video of the Luo City Foreign Languages School sports meet.
Qing Chen thought, It can't be this much of a coincidence, can it? Could this damn well be Liu Dezhu?!
But Liu Dezhu was not actually important to him. What mattered was whether He Xiaoxiao would go to Prison No. 18 because of this comment.
Hard to say. At present, the only known way to enter Prison No. 18 was to commit a crime...
He Xiaoxiao probably would not take that kind of risk.
Qing Chen glanced through the other comments.
Under the comments for this Douyin post, quite a few people asked He Xiaoxiao to show his face, while others wanted to know what identity He Xiaoxiao had in the Inner World.
There were even several people claiming to be Time Walkers themselves and wanting to team up with He Xiaoxiao...
However, none of the comments received a response.
What was even more outrageous was that beneath those comments from Time Walkers asking to team up with He Xiaoxiao, people were actually asking whether they had boyfriends or girlfriends.
Even more outrageous, some people were asking whether they needed a son...
Qing Chen frowned as he finished reading the comments, thinking that internet users these days were really something.
Still, it also showed how passionate everyone was about crossing over.
Perhaps most people could not leave the cities where they lived because of their lives, work, and studies. They could listen to online talk, laugh it off, then go back to work and life after scrolling through Douyin.
Everything was still following its original course.
But among more than a billion people across the country, there would definitely be some willing to wait for an opportunity in those nineteen cities.
Because transcending the ordinary was humanity's ultimate romantic dream.
Of course, the Inner World incident had also spawned plenty of scammers.
After the incident in which a mysterious foreign organization offered a bounty for anti-aging gene medicine, someone openly began selling anti-aging drugs domestically: What Qin Shi Huang failed to accomplish after sending Xu Fu away with three thousand boys and girls, you can now buy with just a little money...
Just a moment ago, Nan Gengchen had messaged Qing Chen on WeChat, saying that someone in the crossing group was selling an immortality medicine developed by Xu Fu. The price was not too high; it was wholesale pricing.
Qing Chen was baffled. "How do you know whether the medicine is real or fake? And Xu Fu was from our side. What does he have to do with the Inner World?"
Nan Gengchen replied, "He said he is Xu Fu."
Qing Chen: "???"
He had felt terrible all over at that moment.
What the hell, Xu Fu had crossed over with the boys and girls.
Nan Gengchen kept sending WeChat messages. "He said that back then, he didn't go to the island nation. He directly crossed over with three thousand boys and girls!"
"As long as you're happy," Qing Chen said, closing his phone screen.
Honestly, he was starting to wonder whether Nan Gengchen was genuinely stupid or only pretending to be.
Countdown 13:08:19.
When Qing Chen returned to the residential complex after buying groceries, the black SUV was already gone.
After making food for Jiang Xue and Li Tongyun, he watched Li Tongyun obediently feed her mother.
For some reason, he felt a little envious of the mother and daughter.
Jiang Xue, who had originally been somewhat timid and weak, had chosen to become strong in order to protect Li Tongyun.
Li Tongyun had chosen to become more mature and sensible in order to care for her mother.
Qing Chen believed that during this crossing, Li Tongyun would surely arrange the best mechanical limbs for her mother, the kind whose energy would last the longest.
But Qing Chen only had himself.
If someone asked Qing Chen to choose now: you can only choose one between the Inner World and the Outer World to continue living in.
Qing Chen felt that he might choose the Inner World.
Just then, Jiang Xue asked, "Little Chen, I rarely see your parents. Are they very busy?"
"Mm, probably pretty busy," Qing Chen replied.
Jiang Xue thought for a moment, then said, "I noticed your washing machine is broken. We're already so familiar with each other, so bring your dirty clothes over from now on and Auntie will wash them for you. Don't be polite with Auntie anymore. And don't cook for yourself after school. Just come eat at Auntie's place. Even if you don't come, I still have to cook for Little Yun anyway. It's just one extra pair of chopsticks."
Qing Chen thought for a moment, then smiled and agreed. "Mm, okay. Thank you, Auntie Jiang Xue."
Night.
Before the countdown even reached zero, Qing Chen lay down on his bed and fell asleep early.
He was becoming more and more practiced at crossing over.
No more dragging this out. I'll directly unleash more chapters and ask for votes. There are three more chapters tonight! Six updates today, all for monthly votes!
The rest is up to everyone!
Thank you to Li Dongze for becoming this book's Silver Alliance Leader. Boss, so generous!
Thank you to Paying Makes You Stronger and Star Dream Heavenly Trace for becoming Alliance Leaders of this book. Bosses, so generous!
May the bosses enjoy boundless fortune like the Eastern Sea and longevity like the Southern Mountains!
Before you continue