The Scapegoat, Liu Dezhu

As the darkness receded, Qing Chen was still drenched in sweat. He glanced at the night sky outside the window and his small cabin on Xing Shu Road.

After just a second apart, he already missed that eerie prison.

Qing Chen spat the USB drive out of his mouth, then looked at his palm. The gold bars that should have remained in the Inner World were still in his hand.

This was a welcome discovery, as it meant he had an advantage over others when traveling between the Outer and Inner Worlds.

He looked down at his arm. The countdown read 168:00:00.

Seven more days.

His last return was seven days ago, and this time he would transmigrate seven days later. It seemed the Time Walkers' spans in both worlds were getting longer.

How long would it be next time? What if one day he stayed in the other world forever and never came back?

He didn't know.

Qing Chen smiled. He didn't sleep, but instead spread a bedsheet on the floor and continued training according to the program Ye Wan had taught him.

Even without anyone supervising, cultivation was his own responsibility.

Since he had said he would train until 3 AM every day, he should continue to persevere even after returning to the Outer World.

He took a deep breath, and with that strange breathing frequency, the flame patterns on his cheeks bloomed again!

Whether in the Outer World or the Inner World, self-discipline was the greatest freedom.

Wait, he seemed to have forgotten something very important.

After finishing his training, Qing Chen sat on the floor and drank water, letting his sweat drip down.

He opened his phone and found the simultaneous interpretation software, then tried to recall every word Kamishiro Kono had said.

A soft mumble in Japanese had always made Qing Chen feel that it contained a lot of information.

It was like… if you traveled to a place, and the locals wanted to curse you, they would definitely use a dialect you couldn't understand.

Following his memory, Qing Chen repeated word-for-word into the phone's microphone: "It seems nice to just sit quietly like this, but the silence of this boy is truly beautiful."

The interpretation software quickly displayed the subtitles: "It seems nice to sit so quietly, this boy's silence is truly beautiful."

Qing Chen froze. What did she mean by that?

Also, didn't the Kamishiro Family speak Mandarin? What was with the Japanese?

Was she a Time Walker from the Outer World? Or did the Kamishiro Family still retain their Japanese heritage?

But if she was truly a Time Walker, how could she explain speaking Mandarin so fluently? It was unlikely that many Japanese people could speak such fluent Mandarin.

The next morning, as soon as Qing Chen woke up, he saw his phone flashing with WeChat messages.

He opened it and saw a message from Nan Gengchen: "Qing Chen, Qing Chen, Qing Chen! Do you know how amazing Liu Dezhu from our neighboring class is?"

Qing Chen was stunned for a moment. He immediately sat up in bed: "What do you mean?"

"Come to school quickly!" Nan Gengchen said.

Qing Chen put on his blue and white school uniform and ran to school. Before leaving, he glanced in the mirror and was relieved to see that the side effects of his fasting had disappeared before he went out.

When he arrived at the school, he saw that the entrance to the neighboring class was already packed. Dozens of students were gathered at the door of Class 4, Grade 2, seemingly waiting for something.

"This way," Nan Gengchen's short figure stood on tiptoe in the crowd, stretching his arm, trying hard to wave at Qing Chen.

Qing Chen squeezed through and asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

"Look at the trending searches," Nan Gengchen opened Weibo and showed it to him.

As soon as he saw it, he was shocked.

A man named Jian from Sichuan went on a business trip to Luocheng and accidentally became a Time Walker, transmigrating to Prison No. 18 in the Inner World.

However, his identity as a Time Walker had been recognized, and he was detained in a secluded solitary cell.

He had transmigrated for seven days and had been locked up for seven days.

According to Jian, there was already a Time Walker in Prison No. 18 who had become a highly influential figure, even able to enter and exit the prison cells freely and have Transcendental beings serve him.

Jian hoped to find this Time Walker, whether for negotiation or by paying money, and hoped that the person could persuade Prison No. 18 to release him.

Qing Chen was stunned. He hadn't expected Jian Sheng to be so bold as to directly seek media help and then ask him for assistance in escaping.

It seemed that being locked in solitary confinement for seven days had driven the other party crazy.

It had to be said that Liu Dezhu and Jian Sheng were quite unlucky. They had become Time Walkers, but they were forcibly detained.

Other Time Walkers lived colorful lives, watching holographic images in the city, or traveling through cyber cities. But these two, they went to a different place to squat in prison…

It would have been better if they hadn't transmigrated at all.

At this moment, Qing Chen suddenly realized why everyone was gathering at Liu Dezhu's classroom door.

Even though Liu Dezhu hadn't arrived at school yet, everyone was willing to wait.

During his last return, Liu Dezhu, out of pride, admitted that he had transmigrated to Prison No. 18. He had even told everyone that he had spoken with Li Shutong!

Later, when classmates inquired, Liu Dezhu always said nothing with a profound expression, implying: It's classified, don't ask.

The less he explained, the more people liked to guess.

Many people thus assumed Liu Dezhu was about to receive Li Shutong's inheritance and become a Transmigrator.

Now that Jian Sheng's situation had blown up, classmates who saw this trending topic on Weibo immediately thought of Liu Dezhu!

Because in everyone's understanding, there was no other Time Walker in Prison No. 18 besides Liu Dezhu!

As the trending topic climbed, a classmate finally replied in the comments: "My classmate is the Time Walker he mentioned, and he's about to receive Li Shutong's inheritance!"

Jian Sheng's trending topic was only around fortieth place initially, but after this comment, it shot into the top ten within three minutes.

The popularity was still increasing.

In the current public opinion of the Outer World, apart from mysterious figures like He Xiaoxiao, there weren't many known Transcendental beings.

And this was Li Shutong, the most potential career path in He Xiaoxiao's guide.

Now, almost everyone who saw this trending topic and its comments was convinced that Liu Dezhu was the mysterious big shot Jian Sheng was talking about...

Just as everyone was whispering amongst themselves, Liu Dezhu went upstairs carrying his schoolbag. As he turned into the corridor and saw the crowd in front of him, he was so startled his face turned pale: "What's going on?"

The crowd was helpless; the person in question didn't even know what was happening.

"Haven't you checked the trending topics? If not the trending topics, at least check your phone," one classmate said.

"There's someone named Jian Sheng who said he saw you in Prison No. 18 and hopes you can put in a good word with Li Shutong to get him released from solitary confinement."

Liu Dezhu's mind went blank. He had been confined for seven days, and even after returning, he was still exhausted. He had finally slept on a soft bed, woken up late, and cycled to school, not having had time to check his phone.

He quickly opened his phone to check the trending topics.

But the more he read, the more he felt something was wrong. According to Jian Sheng, the mysterious big shot had visited him alone and asked a few questions.

But that person wasn't him.

Therefore, besides himself and Jian Sheng, there was a third Time Walker in Prison No. 18, and that person was the real big shot while he was just a scapegoat!

"I wish I could beg this big shot to release me and Jian Sheng together, alright?!" Liu Dezhu cried inwardly.

At this moment, he wanted to deny his identity because the situation had escalated.

Liu Dezhu tried to say, "Actually, the person Jian Sheng mentioned isn't me; it's someone else."

A classmate asked doubtfully, "Yesterday, when I asked if there were any other Transmigrators in Prison No. 18, you said no."

Having Transmigrated for seven days, yesterday in the Outer World was seven days ago for Liu Dezhu.

Qing Chen watched this scene silently. He thought it wouldn't be bad to have someone attract attention for him.

However, it wasn't a solution for these two to be confined for a long time. Perhaps he should ask Li Shutong to transfer them to another prison.

At this very moment, four news vans drove up outside Luocheng Foreign Language School. After the reporters got out, they rushed into the school.

The two security guards at the school gate tried to stop them but couldn't.

Seeing this, Qing Chen immediately grabbed Nan Gengchen and turned back to their classroom. At times like these, avoiding the camera was most important.

Time Walkers had the same appearance in the Outer and Inner Worlds; if they appeared on TV, they would be remembered.

More tonight! May Day first day, asking for monthly votes, I want to get into the top ten!

Thanks to Hu Er Niu's great support becoming a Silver Great Ally of this book, the boss is generous!

Thanks to Silver: Xiao Zhu Bao Yao Kai Xin Ya, Fu Hei Da Li, Liu Yun Sui Feng 1212, Feng Xiao, Shu You 20210301106583826684, Hua Bi Xuan becoming an Ally of this book. Thanks to the bosses, the bosses are generous! Wishing the bosses great fortune in May!