The Longest Road Among All Shortcuts

Lin Xiaoxiao was a bright and clever person, but he didn't have much depth or guile.

When the other party returned to the restaurant but remained silent about the results of the interrogation, Qing Chen already had his answer.

Because there was nothing that couldn't be said about that information; the Inner World would eventually know everything about the Transmigrators.

Unless... the interrogation results contained a secret that involved someone present.

Qing Chen wondered how the people of the Inner World viewed the Outer World.

Not to mention anyone else, Li Shutong was a superior with a very strong sense of control. How could such a person allow things to spiral out of control?

No matter how much goodwill had been accumulated before, it was insignificant in the face of a superior.

Qing Chen wasn't certain Li Shutong would kill him, but he had prepared for the worst.

However, Li Shutong was also an extremely intelligent person. Lin Xiaoxiao didn't need to say anything; he understood.

"Xiaoxiao, take our Black Spade friends somewhere else," Li Shutong instructed.

"I'm not going anywhere," Guo Huzhan suddenly realized there might be a big secret here.

However, Ye Wan suddenly activated his transparent force field, enveloping Li Shutong and Qing Chen.

Guo Huzhan, who had been trying to eavesdrop, was caught off guard and stumbled back, repelled by the force field.

When the bald man tried to rush back, he found Ye Wan and Lin Xiaoxiao blocking his path.

Lin Xiaoxiao said with a smile, "If you still want to stay here and look for Forbidden Item ACE-005, don't come any closer."

"If you don't listen, I won't listen!" Guo Huzhan said angrily.

At this moment, Li Shutong calmly looked at Qing Chen and asked, "So, you had Lu Guangyi interrogate the new prisoners these past few days because you were looking for them?"

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "That's right."

"You're more composed than I imagined," Li Shutong sighed. "When I was your age, I wasn't as capable as you."

"It's not composure, it's that panic is useless," Qing Chen said.

"Although Xiaoxiao hasn't told me the interrogation results yet, I know it must be a big secret," Li Shutong said. "I've always been ruthless when facing uncontrollable situations. Have you ever considered that you might not live to see tomorrow?"

"I have," Qing Chen looked up at his surroundings.

The novel steel dome, the glossy black metal storm, and the mechanical prison guards standing rigidly with their guns scattered throughout the prison.

And the grinning prisoners, the limping newcomers baring their teeth.

Qing Chen wasn't sure if he would see all of this again, so he wanted to look a little longer.

He suddenly lowered his head and smiled at Li Shutong, saying, "It's been quite pleasant getting to know you these past few days. If possible, I'd like to get to know you again."

"You beat me at chess on the first day, so I actually owe you a favor. You can make your request now," Li Shutong said.

Qing Chen thought for a moment, "Can you play 'Farewell' one more time?"

"You're not trading it for your own life?" Li Shutong chuckled.

"My life cannot be exchanged, nor can it be bought," Qing Chen said.

"Alright, I've always admired your courage. Consider this song a gift from me. You can make that request anytime," Li Shutong said, gesturing for Ye Wan to bring the harmonica.

The song "Farewell" was like something Qing Chen had requested for himself. The melodious tune brought a sense of tranquility to the prison atmosphere.

"Thank you," Qing Chen said.

Afterward, he returned to his cell alone, lying on the cold bunk and waiting quietly.

Time passed, bit by bit.

From day to night.

Qing Chen heard the prison broadcast reminding all inmates to line up and return to their cells. Then, the alloy gates closed one by one, and the sound of hydraulic mechanisms signaled the end of Prison No. 18's daily hustle and bustle.

Shutting everything out.

The next moment, the entire prison plunged into complete darkness.

Then, the alloy gate to Qing Chen's cell opened again.

In the darkness, someone placed a black hood over his head and escorted him away to an unknown location.

A few minutes later, the two people escorting him placed him somewhere and then left.

The sound of hydraulics echoed again, as if closing something off, isolating something else.

Qing Chen lay silently in the darkness. He didn't even bother to get up and see where he was.

The only sounds were his own breathing, and the only light was a countdown visible only to him, unable to illuminate anything else.

Time passed slowly and heavily.

Qing Chen knew what reactions a person would have when trapped in a confined, dark environment.

You don't know where you are, you can't talk to anyone, and at that moment, loneliness and fear would completely consume you.

And you would lose your sense of time.

The absence of time was the most terrifying thing.

Many people can't even last 24 hours. There was once an experiment offering a million-dollar reward for someone to stay inside for five days, but no one managed to claim the money.

Money is indeed tempting, but 99% of people collapse before the 72-hour mark.

However.

Li Shutong and the others probably never imagined that Qing Chen had never been afraid of loneliness.

He had been accompanied by solitude since his parents' divorce.

Qing Chen was acutely aware that the lack of water would be his greatest enemy.

Return countdown 146:09:02.

The countdown on his arm helped him keep track of time.

Day one.

Qing Chen slowed his breathing rate and began recalling movies in his mind. He first watched "The Shawshank Redemption," then "Papillon," both about prison breaks and faith.

These were films he had memorized, and they didn't require any equipment to replay.

Because there was no water to drink, his neurons confused the need for food with the need for water, and he began to feel fatigued.

Return countdown 122:09:02.

Day two.

Qing Chen slept and rewatched eight movies in his mind.

He lay silently on the floor with his eyes closed, enjoying the darkness.

Hunger and thirst began to assail him, but he was unmoved, as if he had abandoned his external senses.

Return countdown 98:09:02.

Day three.

Hunger began to burn his will and erode his spirit.

Qing Chen watched 12 movies this time, not sleeping for a single minute.

The loss of water in his body tormented him. Due to dehydration, his body experienced alternating chills and heat, and his skin began to dry out.

His memory started to deteriorate, and the movies in his mind became fragmented slideshows.

Memories from the past began to flash together.

Qing Chen couldn't sleep anymore.

Return countdown: 74:09:02.

Day four.

Qing Chen's hunger began to subside. He opened his eyes and stared into the endless void and darkness, lost in thought.

He hadn't checked the time in a long while; it seemed pointless to do so.

However, from beginning to end, Qing Chen had not uttered a single word or cry.

In the darkness, the world remained silent.

He hadn't calculated how long it had been since he last slept, but it didn't seem to matter much.

Qing Chen used his silence to fight against the world's silence and darkness.

It was already dim night in Prison No. 18. The lights inside the fortress had been dimmed to a faint glow.

Even the drones on the honeycomb seemed to have fallen asleep.

Li Shutong sat at the end of the long table in the dim reading area, resting with his eyes closed. Lin Xiaoxiao glanced at the time beside him. "Boss, it's been four days."

"Mm," Li Shutong nodded.

Just then, a weak knocking sound came from a distance. Lu Guangyi cursed from behind a door, speaking intermittently, "Li Shutong, where did you lock my boss? I, Lu Guangyi, will not let you go, and neither will the Qing Clan."

From the first day Qing Chen disappeared, Lu Guangyi had sensed something was wrong. He had caused a huge disturbance in Prison No. 18, nearly triggering a second metal storm.

Consequently, for the four days Qing Chen was missing, Lu Guangyi had also been confined to his cell for four days.

It was only on this fourth day that Lu Guangyi finally calmed down a bit.

Lin Xiaoxiao ignored Lu Guangyi's ranting and continued, "Boss, Qing Chen hasn't said a word in the four days he's been in there, and there's no sign of him breaking."

"He is an extremely intelligent person. Slowing his breathing rate from the first day to avoid rapid water loss, so it's not surprising he's made it through the fourth day," Li Shutong said.

"Even so, being able to endure four days without a sound is rare. He doesn't seem to be undergoing torture; he seems more like he's waiting. But he hasn't had any water for four days. If he doesn't drink soon, he'll die," Lin Xiaoxiao said anxiously. "Boss, you value talent. Please let him off the hook."

Lin Xiaoxiao, who had initially disliked Qing Chen's proud demeanor, was now pleading for the young man.

He knew what Qing Chen was going through.

Ye Wan suddenly said, "Boss, the dark room might not be able to do anything to him. Let him out."

However, after a moment's thought, Li Shutong said, "Switch to waterboarding."

"Boss, he's extremely dehydrated right now. The moment he sees water, he'll instinctively drink it, and that will kill him," Lin Xiaoxiao said urgently.

Waterboarding involves covering the victim's face with a towel and then pouring water onto it.

Waterboarding is like a one-way valve. Water constantly pours in, but the towel prevents you from spitting it out, so you can only take one breath. Even if you hold your breath, you feel like air is being sucked away, like a vacuum cleaner.

Lin Xiaoxiao knew very well that normal people couldn't withstand waterboarding, let alone Qing Chen, who had been thirsty for four days.

The moment the waterboarding began, someone severely dehydrated would desperately try to drink.

However, the water flowing through the towel not only quenched Qing Chen's thirst but also flooded his lungs, destroying his last spark of life.

Yet, Li Shutong seemed to have made up his mind.

"Life and death are his own choices. How can he walk my path if he hasn't seen true death?" Li Shutong asked calmly.

Countdown 50:09:02.

The fifth day.

The dark room was opened, and Qing Chen was carried out without any reaction.

Someone placed him on a chair and covered his face with a thick towel.

Icy water was poured onto the towel, blocking all oxygen and life.

Qing Chen sat motionlessly on the chair, his lips pressed together.

He struggled against the urge to drink, refusing to be destroyed by the temptation before him.

Beside him, Lin Xiaoxiao and Ye Wan exchanged glances. They hadn't expected Qing Chen to maintain such clear willpower at this point, knowing what he was facing and using his last ounce of resolve to fight for a chance to live.

Qing Chen felt the water flowing into his nasal cavity, filling his body.

He felt as if he were dreaming.

In his dream, as a child, his hand was held by someone, a warm and soft hand.

In the park.

It felt like warm seawater enveloped his body under the sunlight, golden rays gently surging.

The woman holding his hand suddenly asked without looking back, "Xiao Chen, your father has someone else outside and doesn't want us anymore."

"Mom, I want tanghulu," the young him whispered to the woman in front.

The woman turned to look at him, standing there for a long time. "Okay, Mom will buy you tanghulu."

The woman's eyes were red as she bought him tanghulu. "Xiao Chen, eat your tanghulu here. Mom is going to the restroom."

However, after leaving, the woman never returned.

Qing Chen waited from noon until dusk.

He started to cry, but crying was useless.

Someone helped him find the police, but Qing Chen refused to go with them. He believed his mother would return.

It wasn't until dark that the woman returned, hugging him and crying uncontrollably.

Young Qing Chen simply thought she had gotten lost and had only just found him.

During the waterboarding, Qing Chen's mind gradually cleared. He realized this wasn't the first time he had been abandoned.

It seemed his peculiar memory ability also began then.

But having too good a memory wasn't a good thing; he remembered every bit of pain.

Clearly.

Qing Chen felt his oxygen-deprived brain and twitching limbs. Water began to pour into his lungs, yet he still sat there like a sculpture.

No struggle, no begging.

Someone in the darkness said, "Come with Mom."

Qing Chen softly replied, "No need, Mom."

The voice in the darkness spoke again, "Come with Mom."

Qing Chen's voice became firm, "No need, I said no need, Mom."

In an instant, the wet towel on his face was removed.

The dim light now seemed somewhat glaring. He vaguely saw Lin Xiaoxiao anxiously patting his back.

Li Shutong stood quietly before him and asked, "Why didn't you beg? I still owe you a request."

Qing Chen, facing the blinding light, looked up defiantly. He coughed out the water in his trachea and then said firmly, "Because you don't need a weak person."

At that moment, Li Shutong suddenly remembered how Qing Chen looked the first time they played chess – fierce and stubborn with no way back, like a lone wolf in the wilderness.

He knew this was the person he was looking for.

Li Shutong asked again, "Can you forget everything I did to you today?"

"I can't forget," Qing Chen said, "but I don't mind."

"Very honest, very good," Li Shutong turned and walked out of the interrogation room. "Starting tomorrow, I will teach you personally. I will lead you down the longest path among all the shortcuts in this world."

Sixth update! Requesting monthly votes!

Thanks to student Shang Tianfeng for becoming a new ally of this book. The boss is generous, and the boss has boundless sea and longevity!

The monthly vote rankings are back in the top ten. I love you all! I hope you enjoyed today's read!