The familiar cell, the familiar alloy walls, the familiar cold bed planks.
Qing Chen had never been so delighted, fearing that his second transmigration might land him somewhere different, which would render all his previous efforts wasted. The hard-earned goodwill he had gathered from Uncle Li Dong would also go down the drain.
It now seemed that each transmigration would be a continuation of the last, meaning the Canon scores he had memorized would still come in handy.
Regardless of what role Uncle Li Dong played, it was confirmed through He Xiaoxiao's strategy that he was a figure of great importance in the Inner World.
At this moment, Qing Chen believed that 90% of transmigrators were still somewhat perplexed, not knowing how to obtain what they desired in this Inner World.
Yet, he had already transmigrated next to Uncle Li Dong.
Perhaps other transmigrators had already witnessed the magnificent wonder of the outside world, but that was unimportant.
Qing Chen spat out the USB drive from his mouth into his palm, a successful experiment.
The fact that he could bring the USB drive along meant that as long as the item was inside the "body," it could pass through the wall of time.
He then looked at the purple and green bruises on his arm, similarly, injuries from the Outer World that had transmigrated along with him.
This proved that the body, indeed, was the same one that had traveled through time, no mistake.
Qing Chen, relying on his methods, was gradually completing his understanding of this world and the transmigration mechanism.
Time ticked away slowly, and the noisy sounds of prisoners banging on the alloy gates gradually rose in Prison No. 18.
For some reason, Qing Chen found the clamor he hadn't heard for two days strangely comforting, compared to the "totally uncharted" Outer World.
He was back.
Qing Chen gazed at his arm where the white pattern of meshed mechanics counted down in a different fashion:
Return Countdown 47:55:50.
The countdown to return was still two days, very brief.
However, Qing Chen wondered, would the countdown's time limit change? Would it become longer or shorter in the future?
When mealtime arrived, the alloy gate opened on schedule. Qing Chen no longer acted as cautiously as he did on his first arrival, he simply stepped over the threshold and gazed down below, where Uncle Li Dong, Ye Wan, and Lin Xiaoxiao were already downstairs, with Lin Xiaoxiao even waving at him.
And the envying gazes of other prisoners still surrounded him.
Qing Chen smiled and greeted the prisoners, some of them hurriedly returning the gesture as if flattered.
At some point, the 17-year-old boy had also become a "big shot" in the prison.
However, Qing Chen was in no hurry to go downstairs; he stood in the shadow of the corridor on the fifth floor, silently observing the prison.
Last night at midnight in the Inner World, all prisoners had been locked up in cells, and a group of newcomers had also been brought in.
By now, the second batch of transmigrators in the Outer World should have arrived in the Inner World.
Qing Chen intended to stand upstairs to see if he could detect any trace of "transmigrators" and pondered how to conceal his identity should actual transmigrators appear.
At that moment, eight newcomers stood bewildered along the second-floor corridor, timidly surveying their surroundings.
Qing Chen was startled for a moment because among them was none other than Liu Dezhu, the classmate from the next class who had claimed to be a transmigrator yesterday!
He couldn't go down now; the other person would surely recognize him.
Amid the noise, Lu Guangyi on the sixth floor laughed and shouted to the newcomers, "Got new folks, eh? We'll have a good time later!"
Qing Chen had been somewhat annoyed by Lu Guangyi before, but now that he had returned to Prison No. 18, even seeing this guy felt somewhat comforting.
Suddenly, someone greeted the new prisoners with a smile: "Welcome to Prison No. 18!"
Qing Chen observed the expressions of the newcomers and saw Liu Dezhu's expression gradually change when he heard the term "Prison No. 18."
Fear in his eyes momentarily gave way to a hint of glee.
It seemed that the phrase "Prison No. 18" was exceptionally special.
However, Liu Dezhu didn't make any hasty moves; he silently followed the other prisoners in line downstairs to get food, and along the way, he quietly asked the inmate in front: "Excuse me, which one is Uncle Li Dong?"
The prisoners around him were taken aback upon hearing this, all wondering to themselves: Is this guy some sort of special connection?
After pondering for a moment, one of the inmates pointed him out: "There, the one downstairs."
Looking down from the upper floor, Liu Dezhu recognized the unique trait of Uncle Li Dong, thinking to himself that He Xiaoxiao sure hadn't lied to him. This middle-aged man's demeanor was clearly that of a boss!
After obtaining his meal, he noticed that other inmates were free to move around, and they began to surround him with ill-intent, smiling menacingly.
Liu Dezhu had a bad feeling and decisively carried his tray towards Uncle Li's direction.
Yet before he could get close, he was already blocked by Lin Xiaoxiao.
Lin Xiaoxiao stood in front of him with a smile and said, "Things have been really strange these past two days. Why is it that every newcomer dares come straight to my boss?"
Liu Dezhu turned his head to glance at the inmates who wanted to catch him, then whispered mysteriously to Lin Xiaoxiao, "I'm here to receive a task, one of our own."
Lin Xiaoxiao: "???"
What the heck? Lin Xiaoxiao was utterly baffled by Liu Dezhu's words!
Tasks? He had never seen this man in the organization! And this guy was behaving as if he was executing some spy rendezvous.
Seeing that Lin Xiaoxiao didn't respond, Liu Dezhu grew impatient, "I really am here to receive a task, a class change mission!"
"Get lost!" Lin Xiaoxiao said impatiently, then waved to the inmates nearby, "What are you standing there for? Take him away!"
Liu Dezhu was really in a panic now. He shouted toward Uncle Li Dong, "Uncle Li Dong, I'm here for the class change mission!"
In an instant, the entire Prison No. 18 fell silent.
It was as if someone had suddenly pressed the mute button on Prison No. 18; the inmates stood rooted to the spot, looking at each other.
They didn't know what had happened, but they all felt something eerie was going on!
At this moment, Uncle Li Dong was still not lifting his head, staring at the game in front of him. But the big cat sprawled on a table and Ye Wan sitting next to him both instantly looked towards Liu Dezhu.
Lin Xiaoxiao squinted his eyes and snickered, "What's this? Another weirdo showing up?"
Truth be told, even Liu Dezhu didn't understand where things had gone wrong.
The guide from He Xiaoxiao had only mentioned three career paths, the first two were quite vague, but the Prison No. 18 seemed most feasible.
Now that he had transmigrated directly to Prison No. 18, wasn't this the legendary start for the chosen one?
But... this didn't seem like a place suitable for a class change mission. Had he made some kind of mistake?
Liu Dezhu didn't have the chance to think it through, as the inmate beside him was about to forcefully drag him to the cell for a 'lesson' upon Lin Xiaoxiao's gesture.
All of a sudden, Liu Dezhu saw an opening and darted out of the crowd. He ran to the Alloy Gate next to the square and started banging frantically: "Let me out! They are going to torture me, let me out!"
At this time, drones above the firmament began to descend, and the nine Mechanical Prison Guards down below started to move as well.
Qing Chen watched Liu Dezhu speechlessly, thinking this kid must have lost his mind.
Having just arrived in a New World, shouldn't he observe the situation first?