"It looks like I can't leave Los Angeles City," Jiang Xue said after failing to buy train tickets and trying for plane tickets with the same outcome.
Both ticketing attempts failed.
This mysterious organization has eyes and ears everywhere, and Qing Chen didn't want to be confined to one city, so no matter the opponent's purpose, it was better to keep a low profile for now.
Suddenly, Jiang Xue asked, "By the way, Qing Chen, why haven't I seen your parents around in the past two years? Do you live here alone?"
"Yeah," Qing Chen nodded. "They got divorced, and I live here alone. By the way, Aunt Jiang Xue, what do you do for work?"
"I'm an art teacher at the nearby White Horse Primary School," Jiang Xue didn't elaborate further and stood up to gather the dishes from the table: "I'll go wash these dishes."
"No need, just leave them there. I'll wash them later," Qing Chen said.
"That won't do. You already cooked, I can't let you do the dishes too," Jiang Xue insisted as she headed into the kitchen, leaving Qing Chen and Li Tongyun in the living room.
At this moment, the young girl Li Tongyun suddenly lowered her voice and said, "Brother, you used to not even look my mom in the eye. You didn't invite her over just because she's pretty, did you?"
Qing Chen speechlessly replied, "What are you even talking about? Don't think nonsense."
"My mom is indeed very pretty," Li Tongyun muttered softly.
Qing Chen was torn between laughter and tears, thinking the kids nowadays are too cunning.
However, it wasn't because Jiang Xue was pretty; it was because she had information he wanted to know about, like the mysterious organization and the Inner World.
Jiang Xue was quick at chores, soon washing all the dishes in the sink. Noticing dirty clothes in the bathroom, she scooped them up, "Qing Chen, it's not easy living alone. From now on, just bring me your dirty clothes, and I'll wash them. Come on, Xiao Yun, let's go home. Brother Qing Chen still needs to study."
"Wait, I can wash them myself..."
Qing Chen hadn't finished speaking when Jiang Xue, pulling Li Tongyun along, left without giving him a chance to respond.
Qing Chen stood stunned in the dimly lit small house, completely unprepared for her actions.
He returned to his bedroom and slowly lay down on the bed, pondering what he should do next.
In his class WeChat group, there were already 999 unread messages, all discussing the matter of transmigrators.
Even the incidents involving Jiang Xue tonight were slowly becoming a topic of discussion among the people of Los Angeles City and might even hit the trending topics tomorrow.
Students, office workers, and even the real power players were all constantly paying attention to the word "transmigrator."
He glanced at the class group chat records. Whenever someone discussed the characteristics of transmigrators, Nan Gengchen would chime in saying that these transmigrators must be inherently exceptional...
At that moment, to be honest, Qing Chen somewhat hoped that Nan Gengchen would transmigrate into Prison No. 18.
Although that would mean he couldn't conceal his identity anymore, Nan Gengchen's expression then would probably be priceless.
Qing Chen opened the search engine, hoping to see if He Xiaoxiao had released any new guides, but her live streaming room was still dark with no new updates.
He glanced at his WeChat, and his mother hadn't sent any messages.
Just as he was about to go to sleep, his phone suddenly rang.
The caller ID showed: Mom.
Qing Chen sat up and answered, "Hello?"
On the other end, Zhang Wanfang said, "Xiao Chen, I've already sent your father the living expenses."
However, Qing Chen hadn't seen any living expenses for a long time.
"Mom, this week..."
Qing Chen wanted to mention that he needed to pay for his textbooks, but before he could finish, Zhang Wanfang already interjected over the phone: "Hao Hao suddenly has a fever, so we won't visit you this weekend. Okay, go to sleep early, and don't fall behind on your studies."
"Yeah, okay," Qing Chen replied and then hung up.
He had finally received a call, but it seemed as if she had already forgotten about him skipping classes.
But it didn't matter anymore.
At this time.
"Qing Chen Qing Chen, are you there, are you there, are you there," Nan Gengchen messaged in the middle of the night.
"What's up?" Qing Chen asked.
"I just found a group online that welcomes all transmigrators for interaction. Are you going? I'll send you the group number," Nan Gengchen said excitedly, already acting like a transmigrator himself.
"We are not transmigrators, what's the point of joining?" Qing Chen said.
There was a pause from Nan Gengchen's end: "Why not join in on the fun? Maybe we can find out something new. Just in case one day we both transmigrate, wouldn't it be good to have some information ahead of time?"
"I'm not going, you go," Qing Chen said.
He wasn't the least bit interested in the transmigrators group now. What if it was a trap set by the mysterious organization, just waiting for everyone to fall into the net?
It might not be dangerous, but he didn't want his freedom to be restricted.
Only a simpleton like Nan Gengchen would barge into every bustling scene.
"If you're not going, okay then, I'll go check it out," Nan Gengchen said.
After that, Nan Gengchen went silent.
A little while later, just as Qing Chen was beginning to feel sleepy, Nan Gengchen reappeared: "Qing Chen..."
"What now?" Qing Chen asked resignedly.
"The group admin said they were a transmigrator and even claimed they brought back hundreds of pairs of high-tech socks from the Inner World. These socks are not only odor-resistant and sweatproof, but they also enable brisk walking, extend life, and supposedly can stimulate acupoints using nanotechnology... Do you want a couple of pairs?" Nan Gengchen asked.
Qing Chen: "???"
Socks from the damn Inner World!
Scammers these days were getting ridiculously outrageous; they latch onto any trending topic!
He knew the transmigrators group was unreliable, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad.
Qing Chen asked, "Did you buy any?"
Nan Gengchen answered, "I don't have any money, otherwise I might have bought a pair and tried them out..."
Qing Chen managed to say after holding back: "…Impressive."
Nan Gengchen continued, "There's also a transmigrator in the group who claims they got their hands on a Genetic Potion from the Inner World, which can turn a person into a Transcendent."
"Hmm, what else are the people in the group saying?"
"There's another transmigrator who said they know a few wealthy matrons in the Inner World who are desperately seeking children, and he can help introduce people to them."
"Hmm... What else are the people in the group saying?" Qing Chen roughly understood now, this group was truly a gathering spot for scammers.
He even suspected that except for Nan Gengchen, everyone in the group was a scammer, with Nan Gengchen being the only fool.