Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Great Suffering begets Great Fortune

Lin Xiaoxiao asked, “If you are able to resist my nightmares, then why did you still choose to come in? After five minutes of staying awake, you would be able to escape the nightmare. ”

“I came in because I thought you had something to say,”  said Qing Chen, “What do you want to test me on this time? “

“I won’t be testing you anymore,” Lin Xiaoxiao stated, “but the boss will take you down a path.”

“A path?” asked Qing Chen, “What do you mean? “

”Boss wanted to use nightmares to see your true character and let you experience some suffering, ” said Lin Xiaoxiao,” But since you can resist nightmares so easily, it seems that they won’t be very effective in the future, so the boss will take you on a path himself. “

Qing Chen thought about it.

This nightmare seemed to be different from before. It was like a classroom set up by a teacher.

Lin Xiaoxiao now says, “You do not need to be concerned. I can see Boss still likes you a lot, but whether or not you can become his student is still up to you.”

“Are you jealous of me?” asked Qing Chen.

“Yes, Not everyone can become the boss’s student,” Lin Xiaoxiao conceded, “at least not Ye Wan and me.”

“Why?” Qing Chen seemed perplexed.

“Because none of us could pass the first test,” said Lin Xiaoxiao, “But the boss said that you will have a good chance to survive. “

“Survive?” Qing Chen was dumbfounded for a moment.

Lin Xiaoxiao smiled ominously, “The path of life and death. Every time you enhance your abilities, you will have to go through extreme pain and suffering. “

“Then why choose me? “

“Because the boss saw that you have the courage to achieve your goals regardless of the cost, even if it meant death. “

“If you said it’s so painful, why are you still jealous of me?” asked Qing Chen.

Because that is a route of cultivation, a path with endless possibilities, and that night decided Ye Wan’s and my lives.” “Although that journey is terrible,” Lin Xiaoxiao added, “you must understand that a better life only comes after significant sufferings.”

Qing Chen stopped clinging to that question but moved onto his next one, “How old is Li Shutong? “

“Why do you ask that?” Lin Xiaoxiao felt that this question was very odd.

“No reason in particular, just curious,” said Qing Chen.

He asked this because he knew the time stopped for him when he traveled between the worlds, which also would mean that he would age twice as fast as a normal person.

Actually, aging faster would not be the correct term, as he split his life into the two worlds equally.

By the time others around him were in their forties, he would be in his sixties.

So he wanted to know if being a demigod like Li Shutong could extend his life a little longer.

Lin Xiaoxiao looked at him and said, “Take a guess. The boss’s age is not an easy one to guess. “

Qing Chen thought about it and said, “40? “

“Too small,” said Lin Xiaoxiao.

“60? “

“Nope. “

“120 years old? “

“Hold up, hold up, just stop right there. The boss will be dead soon like that,” said Lin Xiaoxiao, “Boss is 52 years old. “

Despite knowing that Li Shutong must not be young, Qing Chen was still surprised upon hearing this, because Li Shutong’s appearance looked nothing like a 52-year-old.

“Look at how ignorant you are.  I started following him at a very young age, and through the years, I never saw him noticeably older,” said Lin Xiaoxiao. “Extraordinary people like the boss can easily live more than a century.”

“Why do you work for him?” asked Qing Chen.

“For no specific reason. Ye Wan, I, and many others were all orphans.” Lin Xiaoxiao lay down on the sand and rested his head on top of his arms. The sky was darkening and the air was becoming cooler. “Because you were born into the Qing Family, you have no idea how much sorrow exists outside. It’s a lot easier than you think to become an orphan.”

“Perhaps your parents joined a gang and got into a fight; perhaps your parents just got their paychecks and were slain for the money; perhaps there was a chemical plant spill; perhaps they were hacked while playing in a virtual world connected to their brains. Regardless, individuals die for the most trivial of reasons.”

“Then you won’t be able to pay your property taxes, and your parent’s insurance company will find excuse after excuse to refuse compensation. The bank will take away your house and drive you to the streets. No one will care if you are alive or dead after that.. “

“Your life will be dark and gloomy. The gangs will want to kidnap you to become their mule to transport drugs, or sometimes they will take a video of abusing you half to death and sell the video to a virtual entertainment world for money. “

“At the time, someone approached you and said, ‘If you come with me, I’ll offer you a new life.’”

“You will accompany him regardless of who he is.”

Silently, Qing Chen glanced at Lin Xiaoxiao. He realized at this point that, in comparison to the people in this world, his life in the Outer World could hardly be considered misery.

“What made him want to adopt you?” Qing Chen wondered.

“He can’t do the things he wants to achieve all by himself,” Lin Xiaoxiao explained, “because we are valuable people.”

Qing Chen pondered the situation. He had no idea why the Knights and Black Spades were here to this day.

Qing Chen could tell Li Shutong was planning something by the fact that he was gathering people like Lin Xiaoxiao and Ye Wan, and Lin Xiaoxiao agreed.

“Alright, go get some rest,” Lin Xiaoxiao replied as he stood up to speak about this.

As he said that the nightmare faded away, leaving Qing Chen lying on the bed in the dark.

He was wondering if the Cannon sheet music in his hands would still be useful as a deal to open the doors to this planet now that he knew how mysteriously powerful Li Shutong could be.

Qing Chen was worried about how much of an impact the song would have, and he had no idea where he acquired it.

He had to wait a little longer…

Wait and hope. All human wisdom was included by these two words.

……

Countdown 24: 00: 00.

In a corner of Prison 18.

“Anyone here? Let me out! Why did you lock me here?!” Someone was slamming on the metal doors and shouting aimlessly.

The Luo City transmigrator, Liu Dezhu, was locked in an isolated cell, and unlike other cells, there was a security camera in the cell to monitor the prisoner at all times.

After trying to obtain a “quest” from Li Shutong, he was locked in here and hadn’t seen another human since.

In this restricted place, there was no feeling of time, and he couldn’t see any sunshine. The meals that were given to him by robots were all he had to go on to figure out what time it was.

The level of his slamming progressively dropped till he was finally entirely excused.

It was as if the entire prison had been cleared out except for him. His pleadings and rage were unanswered.

Liu Dezhu couldn’t understand why certain people in the Inner World were doing so well, despite having mechanical limbs, being a powerful gang member, and other advantages. How did he wind up in this situation?

He even bragged to his classmates that he was a transmigrator.

In 24 hours, he would be transmigrated back to the Outer World. But then, how could he explain it to his classmates?

If someone asked what he was doing in the Inner World…

How should he reply?

Say that he has a government job in the Inner World and has comfortable steady pay?

He couldn’t tell the others what career he actually got: the career of a prisoner.

Translated by: Nite

Edited by: Tempest