Chapter 39: 39. Of all the shortcuts, the furthest path (Part 6)

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Lin Xiaoxiao was a clever and agile person but lacked deep cunning.

When the other returned to the restaurant and refused to discuss the results of the interrogation, Qing Chen already had his answer.

Because that information wasn’t something that couldn’t be discussed, the Inner World would know about the transmigrator’s affairs sooner or later.

Unless… the results of the interrogation involved a secret concerning someone present.

Qing Chen wondered how the people of the Inner World would view the Outer World.

Speaking of others, Uncle Li Dong, a very controlling superior, wasn’t someone who would let things spiral out of control.

No matter how much goodwill had been accumulated previously, it was worth nothing in front of a superior.

Qing Chen wasn’t certain that Uncle Li Dong would kill him but had prepared for the worst scenario.

However, Uncle Li Dong was also extremely smart, Lin Xiaoxiao didn’t have to say anything, and he understood.

“Xiao Xiao, take our friend from Spade elsewhere,” Uncle Li Dong instructed.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Guo Huchan suddenly realized there might be big secrets here.

However, Ye Wan abruptly deployed a transparent force field, engulfing Uncle Li Dong and Qing Chen within it.

Guo Huchan, who tried to eavesdrop, was unprepared and was bounced staggeringly away by the force field.

By the time the bald man tried to rush back, he found Ye Wan and Lin Xiaoxiao already blocking his way.

Lin Xiaoxiao said with a smiling face, “If you still want to stay here looking forTaboo item ACE-005, don’t move forward.”

“I won’t listen!” Guo Huchan said angrily.

Right then, Uncle Li Dong calmly looked at Qing Chen and asked, “So, these past few days you had Lu Guangyi interrogate the new prisoners to find them, didn’t you?”

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, “That’s right.”

“You are calmer than I expected,” Uncle Li Dong remarked, “When I was your age, I wasn’t like you.”

“It’s not calmness but that panicking is useless,” Qing Chen said.

“Although Xiao Xiao hasn’t told me the results of the interrogation, I know it must be a big secret,” Uncle Li Dong said, “I’m ruthless when facing uncontrollable situations; have you ever thought that you might not survive tomorrow?”

“I have,” Qing Chen looked up, observing his surroundings.

The fascinating steel dome, the gleaming black metal storm, and the mechanical prison guards standing armed and stationary around the prison.

There were also the prisoners, some limping, grinning, and grimacing newcomers.

Qing Chen wasn’t sure if he would still see all this, so he wanted to take a longer look.

He suddenly looked down at Uncle Li, smiling, and said, “These days have actually been quite pleasant; if possible, I wish we could get to know each other again.”

“You beat me at chess on the first day, so I actually owe you a request. You can make it now,” Uncle Li Dong said.

Qing Chen thought for a moment, “Can I hear the farewell tune one more time?”

“Not trading for your own life?” Uncle Li chuckled.

“My life, it cannot be traded even if I wished to,” Qing Chen said.

“Fine, I’ve always liked your courage. This song is my gift to you, and you can make that request anytime,” Uncle Li Dong had Ye Wan bring a harmonica.

The farewell song seemed like one Qing Chen chose for himself; the melodious tune somewhat calmed the atmosphere of the prison.

“Thank you,” Qing Chen said.

Having said that, he went back to his cell alone and lay on the cold bed silently waiting.

Time ticked away slowly.

From daytime to nighttime.

Qing Chen heard the prison’s broadcast reminding all prisoners to line up and return to their cells, then one by one the alloy gates closed, and the sound of hydraulic transmission marked the end of the day’s noise in Prison 18.

Secluding everything.

The next moment, the entire prison suddenly plunged into total darkness.

Then, the alloy gate of Qing Chen’s cell reopened.

In the darkness, someone put a black hood over his head and carried him to an unknown location.

Minutes later, the two people carrying him left him somewhere and then left one after another.

The hydraulic sound rang again, as if closing something, further isolating it.

Qing Chen silently lay in the darkness; he didn’t even get up to see where he was.

The only sounds were his breathing, and the only light was the countdown only he could see, which couldn’t illuminate anything.

Time was slow and heavy.

Qing Chen knew what reaction a person might have when confined in a dark, enclosed space.

You don’t know where you are, can’t talk to anyone, and in these moments, loneliness and fear can completely consume a person.

And make them lose their sense of time.

The absence of time is the most terrifying.

Many can’t even withstand 24 hours. There was an experiment offering a million to stay there for five days, but no one could claim that million.

Money is tempting, but 99% fall before 72 hours arrive.

However.

Perhaps Uncle Li and others didn’t realize that Qing Chen had never feared loneliness.

Ever since his parents divorced, he had been accompanied by loneliness.

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

Return countdown 146:09:02.

The countdown on his arm could help him keep track of time.

The first day.

Qing Chen slowed his breathing rate; he started recalling movies in his mind, first watching “The Shawshank Redemption,” then “Babilon,” all about prison break and faith.

Those were all films he had memorized in his mind, yet no device was needed to replay them.

Due to the lack of water, his neurons confused the need for food and water, and he began to feel fatigued.

Return countdown 122:09:02.

The second day.

Qing Chen slept and rewatched eight movies in his mind.

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

Hunger and thirst began to creep in, but he was like someone who had discarded his senses, unmoved.

Return countdown 98:09:02.

The third day

Hunger began to burn his will, eroding his spirit.

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

The loss of water content tortured him, as his body suddenly went from cold to hot; his skin also began to dry out.

His memory power started to decline, and the movies in his mind turned into intermittent slideshows.

Memories of old times began to shine through.

Qing Chen couldn’t sleep anymore.

Return countdown: 74:09:02.

The fourth day.

Qing Chen’s hunger began to subside, and he opened his eyes to look at the endless void and darkness, not knowing what he was thinking.

He hadn’t checked the time for a long time; it seemed pointless to do so.

However, from start to finish, Qing Chen had not uttered a word nor let out a shout.

In the darkness, the world remained silent.

He hadn’t counted how long he had been without sleep, but it seemed unimportant.

With his silence, Qing Chen fought against the world’s silence and darkness.

…

It was already a dim night in Prison No. 18, with the lights inside the fortress turning into a faint glow.

Even the drones on the Hive seemed to have fallen into a slumber.

Uncle Li Dong sat at the end of the dim reading area’s long table with his eyes closed, meditating, and Lin Xiaoxiao glanced at the time and said, “Boss, it’s been four days.”

“Hmm,” Uncle Li Dong nodded.

At that moment, a weak knocking sound came from afar, and Lu Guangyi muttered continuously from behind a door, “Uncle Li Dong, where have you confined my boss? I, Lu Guangyi, won’t let you off, neither will Qing’s Family.”

From the first day of Qing Chen’s disappearance, Lu Guangyi noticed something was wrong, caused a commotion in Prison No. 18, and nearly triggered a second Metal Storm.

So, Qing Chen had been missing for four days, and Lu Guangyi had been confined in his cell for those four days.

Only on this fourth day did Lu Guangyi finally quiet down a bit.

Lin Xiaoxiao ignored Lu Guangyi’s cursing and continued, “Boss, Qing Chen has been inside for four days, hasn’t said a word, and shows no signs of breaking.”

“He is an extremely intelligent man. He began by slowing his breathing rate to avoid rapid loss of water, it’s not surprising he lasted through the fourth day,” Uncle Li Dong said.

“Even so, enduring quietly for four days is rare, he doesn’t seem to be suffering punishment, rather, it looks like he is waiting. But he hasn’t had water for four days now, he’ll die without it,” Lin Xiaoxiao said anxiously, “Boss, you value talent, let him off the hook, please.”

Lin Xiaoxiao, who originally couldn’t stand the arrogance exuded by Qing Chen, was now pleading on behalf of the young man.

Because he too knew what Qing Chen was experiencing.

Ye Wan suddenly said, “Boss, the Black Cell might not be able to handle him, let him out.”

However, after thinking it over, Uncle Li Dong said, “Switch to water torture.”

“Boss, he’s extremely dehydrated now. The sight of water will cause him to instinctively drink, and he will die,” Lin Xiaoxiao panicked.

Water torture involved placing a towel over the prisoner’s face and then pouring water onto the towel.

It acted like a one-way valve. Water poured in continuously while the towel prevented spitting it out, forcing you to breathe once. Even if you held your breath, it still felt like the air was being sucked away, like a vacuum cleaner.

Lin Xiaoxiao knew well that no ordinary person could withstand water torture, let alone someone who had been thirsty for four days?

The moment water torture began, a severely dehydrated person would desperately drink.

However, the water filtering through the towel would not only quench Qing Chen’s thirst in his stomach but would also flood his lungs, crushing his last bit of life.

Yet, it seemed Uncle Li Dong had made up his mind.

“Whether he lives or dies is up to him. Without seeing real death, how can he walk my path,” Uncle Li Dong said calmly.

…

Countdown 50:09:02.

The fifth day.

The Black Cell was opened, and Qing Chen, showing no signs of distress, was carried out.

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

Cold water was poured onto the towel, blocking all oxygen and vitality.

Qing Chen sat quietly on the chair without moving, pursing his lips.

He struggled against his own urge to drink water, not allowing himself to be destroyed by the temptation before him.

Aside, Lin Xiaoxiao and Ye Wan exchanged glances, surprised that at this time, Qing Chen could still maintain a clear will, aware of what he was facing, using his last bit of willpower to fight for a chance to live.

Qing Chen felt water flowing into his nostrils, filling up his body.

He felt as if he had had a dream.

In the dream, his young self was led by the hand, which was warm and soft.

In the park.

It felt as if the warm seawater enveloped his body under the sun, with the golden sunlight slowly undulating.

The woman holding his hand suddenly asked without turning her head back, “Xiao Chen, your dad has someone else now; he doesn’t want us anymore.”

“Mom, I want candied hawthorn,” the young him quietly said to the woman in front of him.

The woman turned around and stared at him for a long time, “Alright, mom will buy you candied hawthorn.”

Her eyes reddened as she bought candied hawthorn for him, “Xiao Chen, eat your candied hawthorn here, mom will go to the restroom.”

But she never came back after that.

Qing Chen waited from noon until dusk.

He started crying, but crying was of no use.

Someone helped him to get the police, but Qing Chen didn’t want to go with them because he believed his mom would come back.

Until it turned dark, the woman came back, holding him and sobbing loudly.

The young Qing Chen thought she had just got lost and finally found him now.

Amid the water torture, Qing Chen’s mind gradually became clear; it turned out this wasn’t the first time he was abandoned.

It seemed his peculiar memory power also began from that time.

But, having a good memory was not necessarily a good thing, for he remembered every type of pain.

Clearly and distinctly.

Qing Chen felt his brain suffocating, and his limbs convulsing while the water began to pour into his lungs, but he stayed sitting there like a statue.

He neither struggled nor pleaded.

In the darkness, someone said, “Come with mom.”

Qing Chen responded softly, “No need, mom.”

The voice in the darkness said again, “Come with mom.”

Qing Chen’s voice became firm, “No need, I said no need, mom.”

Suddenly, the wet towel over his face was removed.

The dim light now seemed somewhat glaring; he hazily saw Lin Xiaoxiao, anxiously patting his back.

Uncle Li Dong quietly stood in front of him and asked, “Why didn’t you plead; I still owe you a request.”

Qing Chen, facing the blinding light, defiantly looked at him, coughed out the water in his windpipe, and then firmly said, “Because you don’t need a weak person.”

At a certain moment, Uncle Li Dong suddenly recalled the first time the other played chess. It was similarly fearless and obstinate, like a lone wolf wandering in the wilderness.

He knew then, this was the person he was looking for.

Uncle Li Dong 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, good,” Uncle Li Dong turned and walked towards the outside of the interrogation room, “Starting tomorrow, I will teach you myself, I will take you on the longest of all the shortcuts in this world.”