28. Return Again

The Mechanical Prison Guard in prison 18 carried away the bodies of three Death warriors.

The prison was somewhat quiet, everyone silent.

Qing Chen sat by the dining table, his face somewhat pale, lost in thought.

This was the first time he had felt fear. The unease in his heart slowly turned into physical discomfort, even the breakfast he had just eaten couldn't be digested.

At school, the teachers had taught him what a function was, what a subject and predicate were.

At home, his parents had taught him how to use chopsticks, how to wash clothes, how to take care of himself.

But no one had ever taught him what death really was.

This kind of thing, you only understand how shocking it is to see life fade away before your eyes if you witness it yourself.

As for witnessing Death warriors biting into poison capsules to commit suicide, if he told others back in the Outer World, they would probably think he was making it up.

Uncle Li Dong looked at Qing Chen and asked, "Witnessing death for the first time?"

"Yes," Qing Chen pursed his lips in response.

"Are you scared?" Uncle Li Dong asked.

"A little," Qing Chen nodded.

"You know, every person has two lives," Uncle Li Dong said with a smile, "The second life begins when you realize you only have one."

From that moment, you start to tell yourself about the importance of time and clearly realize how much time you have wasted.

For some reason, the more fearful Qing Chen was at this moment, the calmer he became inside.

He scrutinized his past and envisioned his future.

Uncle Li Dong looked at him and asked, "These three Death warriors were likely targeting me, so by helping me find them, you've earned a favor from me. You can exchange it for something here, what would you like?"

Ever since they had started playing chess, Uncle Li Dong had asked him several times what he wanted in exchange.

Qing Chen said, "I want a list of members of Li's Financial Group."

"Strange," Uncle Li Dong remarked. "Why didn't you ask for the method to become a Transcendent? There aren't many people in the world who can owe me a favor, but you're the only one who doesn't seem to cherish such an opportunity."

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, "Because such a small matter is not equivalent to the value of your secret. It's impossible to exchange such a thing for a chance to become Transcendent."

Uncle Li Dong smiled, "How will you know if you don't try?"

Qing Chen continued, "Besides, when the time is right, you'll give it to me on your own. I won't need to exchange it."

Uncle Li Dong's smile deepened, "You're smarter than I thought, and more patient and prudent. You're right, some things aren't for trading; when the time is right, they naturally come to you. Although I'm a bit disappointed that you haven't seen blood, I thought it over and realized that if you were indifferent to life, I would actually find it boring."

After finishing his words, he had Lin Xiaoxiao fetch the list of members from Li's Financial Group, "I'm very curious, what do you want with this document?"

"I suppose I don't need to explain its use, do I?" Qing Chen asked.

"Never mind, I won't ask," Uncle Li Dong said with a resigned laugh and waved his hand. "This favor is yours to use as you wish."

...

At night, Qing Chen awaited the countdown to his return in his cell.

He had thought Lin Xiaoxiao would come today for the nightmare test, but that didn't happen.

Perhaps the other party felt he was no longer bound by nightmares, so the test was unnecessary.

Or perhaps, Uncle Li Dong felt it was no longer necessary to test him.

Somewhere deep down, Qing Chen felt that the path to becoming a Transcendent was getting closer.

The countdown hadn't reached zero, yet he lay down on the cold bed and closed his eyes to sleep. Unlike the previous anxious waits for his return, this time Qing Chen had witnessed death and his mindset had become even more serene.

By the time he opened his eyes again, he was already lying in his little house on Xingshu Road, with the chirping of birds coming from outside the window, and daylight had broken.

He glanced at the white pattern on his arm, countdown 40:20:21.

It looked like another two days had passed.

"The process of transmigration is silent, so silent that not even a sleeping person could be woken," Qing Chen mused to himself.

After a tense two days, Qing Chen felt a release of pressure upon returning to the Outer World, much more relaxed.

However, he already started to look forward to transmigrating again, as there were still more opportunities waiting for him there.

He dressed in his school uniform, ready to leave, but upon opening the door, he immediately saw Jiang Xue leading Li Tongyun.

"Good morning, Aunt Jiang Xue, was the transmigration... okay?" Qing Chen asked.

"It's fine," Jiang Xue laughed, "I was just about to take Xiao Yun to school. Come over to our house after school tonight, I'll buy some fish and ribs to celebrate."

"Celebrate what?" Qing Chen wondered.

"I'll tell you tonight; you'll understand when the time comes," Jiang Xue said with a smile before leaving, leaving Qing Chen pensive.

On the way, Qing Chen opened his cellphone to browse the trending searches, eager to see what novelties had emerged after this transmigration.

Indeed, a trending search caught his attention: foreign news reports stated that the Dark Web claimed that killing a transmigrator would not grant one the opportunity to transmigrate.

Qing Chen was stunned upon seeing this news, for those few words implied the end of a vibrant life.

Reality often proved bloodier than what words could convey.

When he got to school, he noticed that the adjacent class had again gathered a large crowd.

Qing Chen pulled over Yu Junyi, a busybody class representative, and asked, "What's happening? What is everyone looking at?"

Yu Junyi explained, "Didn't they say a transmigrator was in the class next door? Liu Dezhu. He just arrived at school, and everyone is asking him about his transmigration experiences."

Qing Chen was startled; he hadn't expected the other to come to school.

He knew that the guy had been taken away by the Mechanical Prison Guard as soon as he arrived, and during the two days of transmigration, he had never seen him again.

Qing Chen had guessed he might end up with a psychological scar and take a leave of absence like Huang Jixian. Unexpectedly, he was now sitting in the classroom as if nothing had happened.

At that moment, Liu Dezhu was surrounded by classmates, and someone loudly asked, "Where did you appear after you transmigrated?"

"Yeah, what identity did you assume when you transmigrated?"

"How come you don't have a mechanical limb? I've seen that many transmigrators have them."

"Did you really transmigrate, or are you just joking?"

Everyone bombarded him with questions, and Qing Chen elbowed his way forward, eager to hear what had happened to the other guy after the Mechanical Prison Guard took him and what he had experienced since then.

However, Liu Dezhu seemed pressured by the barrage of questions: "I really did transmigrate!"

"Then how come you don't have a mechanical limb?"

Liu Dezhu stiffened his neck, "There are still many people without mechanical limbs, and having mechanical limbs is a good thing? Let me tell you, I was transmigrated to Prison Number 18 and met Uncle Li Dong!"

The classroom suddenly quieted down.

He Xiaoxiao was a very famous game streamer, whose reputation soared especially among students after the transmigration incidents.

So everyone knew that Prison Number 18 was a significant place, and Uncle Li Dong was a very important person in the Inner World.