"Boss, boss, boss, calling the boss!"
In the middle of the night, Qing Chen was awakened by the vibrating sound of the base station communicator.
He took it out from under his pillow and saw that it was Liu Dezhu sending frequent messages, and this guy had suddenly started addressing Qing Chen as the boss.
Qing Chen was somewhat puzzled, what could be so important that the other person would disturb him in the middle of the night?
He replied, "If you've got something to say, say it."
Liu Dezhu sent a message, "I've followed your orders and stabilised the few Time Travelers in prison No. 18. Among them, my classmate from the next class, Yu Junyi, now completely believes in my status in the prison."
Qing Chen replied: Hmm.
Liu Dezhu sent another message, "Hu Xiaoniu just contacted me to say that to express gratitude for eliminating the mole, they're willing to pay an additional two gold bars as a reward and also promised never to reveal the content of the transaction to anyone else. Boss, I swear I haven't embezzled a cent this time, please believe in my loyalty now, there's not a single lie!"
Qing Chen thought it over. Hu Xiaoniu was the one who had made a move on Li Dongze that time, and that was included in the content of the transaction.
It was indeed a bit strange; it seemed more like they were just giving money away since there wouldn't be any issue even if they didn't pay.
As for "never revealing the content of the transaction to anyone else," it seemed more like an attitude statement: Please rest assured in completing the transaction with me.
Qing Chen mulled it over and thought that Hu Xiaoniu was much more reliable than Liu Dezhu. Once the former's injuries were healed and they arrived in City No. 18, he could look for an opportunity to make more contact.
If he could confirm that the other party didn't have any issues, it might be a good choice to let Hu Xiaoniu replace Liu Dezhu as his agent.
And there wouldn't be Liu Dezhu in the middle skimming off the top.
At that moment, Liu Dezhu suddenly sent a message, "Boss, I'm really sorry for bothering you so late at night, but I've run into a little trouble over here…"
"When I got up to pee in the middle of the night, I found an extra letter beside my pillow... Boss, there's also a stamp with a devil pattern on the envelope. It looks a little scary to me."
Qing Chen understood; it turns out that this guy was disturbing him in the middle of the night because he was scared by the Devil's Stamp.
Taboo item ACE-017, Devil's Stamp.
This item had appeared with Wang Yun before, and Qing Chen suspected that its owner was the man who had called the gang leader at midnight.
It seemed to be this person who had connected the gangsters and Wang Yun, orchestrating the Laojun Mountain kidnapping incident.
A real mastermind hiding behind the scenes.
A person who disregards law and conscience.
Qing Chen asked, "What does the letter say?"
Liu Dezhu replied, "Just one sentence: Let's play a game, whoever finds the other first becomes the other's slave, hehe."
Qing Chen frowned, what made his hair stand on end wasn't the content of the letter but the word 'hehe.'
No sane person uses 'hehe' as an everyday phrase; it seems only someone who's not quite right in the head would use it that way.
It's like... the feeling of someone scraping their nails against a blackboard.
The sentence was clearly not meant for Liu Dezhu, because one must meet certain prerequisites to use a Devil's Stamp, and the sender had already found Liu Dezhu's residence.
But the sender was well aware that Liu Dezhu was just a puppet put up front, so, the sender wants to find Qing Chen!
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Being targeted by such a person is very dangerous.
Only at this moment did Qing Chen finally realize that in today's dangerous world, disguising and protecting oneself is not at all excessive.
Liu Dezhu asked, "Boss, what should we do?"
Qing Chen replied, "Wait for him to show up, then kill him."
"Take off your shoes."
In the small courtyard of the agritourism early in the morning, Jiang Xue sat on the bamboo chair opposite Qing Chen and said calmly.
Her hair was already tied up, and she was holding a small bottle of ointment in her hand.
"Aunt Jiang Xue, the wound on my foot is already healed," Qing Chen said with a smile, "It's really fine now."
"No, I have to see for myself," Jiang Xue's face remained serious, "You are too harsh on yourself. I won't be at ease until I take a look. Listen to your aunt and quickly take off your shoes. I brought you ointment from the Inner World."
After the incident at Laojun Mountain, Jiang Xue had rented the entire courtyard. The owner and his wife had gone home, leaving only the three of them in the courtyard.
At that moment, Li Tongyun with twin ponytails crouched to the side and said, "Brother Qing Chen, just listen to mom. She brought ointment specially from the Inner World for you. Mom said it's very precious."
Qing Chen had no choice but to take off the shoes and socks from his feet.
Jiang Xue was taken aback, "It really is much better, did you apply medicine in the Inner World?"
"Mhm," Qing Chen nodded his head.
At first, as he followed Uncle Li Dong along the mountain paths, his wound had split open quite a bit.
But then everyone had been sitting in the pickup truck, so by now, the injury on his foot was almost completely healed.
Jiang Xue seemed slightly disappointed, "This medicine I've just bought will go to waste."
"Not a waste," Qing Chen smiled, "just in case there's another injury, we can use it directly in the Outer World. After all, given the current dangerous times, it's proper to keep some medicine on hand in the Outer World."
"Hmm, since your foot is almost healed, then let's go back to the city this afternoon?" Jiang Xue looked at Qing Chen, "I'll order a taxi. That way, we won't have to queue and squeeze into a bus."
"No," Qing Chen shook his head, "Aunt Jiang Xue, can you wait a few more days? I've still got some things to do here. Or you can take Xiao Yun back first, and I'll stay here a few more days."
For Time Travelers, the concept of time could be somewhat disordered.
Even though seven days had already passed in the Inner World, the actual date in the Outer World was only October 3rd.
School was still several days away from starting.
Jiang Xue was puzzled, "Do you still have things to do on Laojun Mountain? Then Li Tong and I won't leave either. Since we came together, we must also return together. I can't leave you here alone."
Li Tongyun felt a surge of elation upon hearing this. Her mother had told her that if they went back today, they would sign up for the evening tutoring classes, and she would have to attend them diligently for the next few days…
Now, there was absolutely no need to attend the tutoring classes.
At that moment, the young girl looked at Qing Chen with a sense of admiration.
Qing Chen, facing Jiang Xue's gaze, thought for a moment, "Actually, I do need Aunt Jiang Xue's help with something."
He went to the outdoor supply store on Laojun Mountain, bought several nylon ropes, and then spent two hours on the mountain locating a vertical cliff more than twenty meters high.
Jiang Xue asked, bewildered, "Xiao Chen, what are you trying to do?"
"Climb up," Qing Chen looked up at the cliff, knowing very clearly that he no longer had the time or the opportunity to engage in practical training in the Inner World.
Uncle Li Dong seemed not to worry at all. He always felt that his student, pushed to the brink of life and death, would somehow manage to create miracles.
One could say that the teacher had quite a bold heart.
However, Qing Chen himself was not at ease. Even though he had the talent for memory, and could continuously analyze and dissect every movement Uncle Li Dong taught him, he would definitely encounter problems if he didn't practice himself.
Fortunately, he was different from ordinary people; he had twice the amount of time.
Thank you to student "Facing Death with Rebirth 68" for becoming a new ally of this book. The boss is generous; may the boss make a fortune!