Chapter 66: 66. A Deal about the Outer World
Many people will come to Los Angeles City because of Liu Dezhu.
Hu Xiaoniu, Zhang Tianzhen, Wang Yun, Bai Waner, and there will be even more later.
You have to know, these people are truly wealthy!
Qing Chen continued, “Of course, I’m not going to exonerate you right now, but I can assure you that, after I leave Prison 18, I will help you get out as soon as possible.”
“How will you help?” Liu Dezhu asked.
“Find the real culprits and have them turn themselves in,” Qing Chen responded.
After thinking it over, Liu Dezhu said, “But even if you don’t help me after you leave, there’s nothing I can do, right?”
“Do you have another choice?” Qing Chen asked calmly.
Liu Dezhu was silent for a moment, finally resigned, “I agree to this deal, what do I need to do?”
“I believe someone will be attracted by your apparent identity. You need to understand their needs and make them believe they can buy what they want from you,” Qing Chen said, “In short, I want to keep them connected through you.”
“Boss, I can’t just do this without any benefits, right…” Liu Dezhu weakly asked.
“You’ll get a share or reward from each transaction, such as improved meals in the Inner World, the ability to watch outside news even from the solitary confinement room, or moving the entertainment zone’s virtual life equipment to your solitary confinement room,” Qing Chen promised.
Liu Dezhu was astonished; he hadn’t expected that this third Time Traveler would have such great power inside Prison 18.
He hesitated and then said, “But boss… if I take on your identity, I will be extremely vulnerable in the Outer World.”
Qing Chen just looked at him quietly.
“Boss, you might have seen the news too. I got injured on the second day of my return,” Liu Dezhu pulled up his sleeves and trousers, “Look, they’re just starting to scab over.”
“Oh,” Qing Chen just then remembered, he had been wondering how the other had gotten injured and what had happened, “Tell me more about it.”
“According to what the Kunlun organization told me, someone was targeting my role close to Uncle Li Dong, wanting to use me to get closer to Uncle Li Dong,” Liu Dezhu explained, “They set out from Ezhou in the morning, and by evening, they made their move on me in Los Angeles City. Kunlun had laid an ambush outside the school, catching them all.”
“I see,” Qing Chen nodded.
No wonder Kunlun didn’t appear at the school that day.
No wonder Liu Dezhu went to school with injuries out of nowhere; it was all because of the hidden dangers lurking in the Outer World.
Now, the nine people involved in the illegal imprisonment case still haven’t been apprehended; those are the overt dangers.
Besides, many others are fiercely eying all Time Travelers; those are the covert dangers.
Having said that, Qing Chen felt it was indeed dangerous to have Liu Dezhu take the fall for him.
It wasn’t that he cared about Liu Dezhu, but having finally found a suitable link, it would be a pity to let him die just like that.
Qing Chen looked at Liu Dezhu and asked, “What kind of strength enhancement are you talking about, for instance?”
“Genetic Potion,” Liu Dezhu chose another path in his career.
Qing Chen closed his eyes, deep in thought, and his meditation lasted ten minutes.
In silence, Liu Dezhu suffered terribly.
The next moment, Qing Chen suddenly opened his eyes, “I can give it to you, but I hope you prove that you are worthy of this Genetic Potion, and also understand what working with me entails.”
“Just watch my performance, sir. I’m telling you, there are already four people trying to cozy up to me, but I previously ignored them,” Liu Dezhu immediately became excited, “You don’t know how rich they are. I heard even a watch costs hundreds of thousands. It’s unbelievable that students would wear watches worth hundreds of thousands. I’ve never heard of that before!”
Qing Chen looked bemused; he was talking about Wang Yun and the others.
Liu Dezhu continued, “I’ll go back and understand their needs, see how I can wring some money out of them. Or, should I get his watch for you?”
Qing Chen reminded, “Don’t bring cash, and no watches either. I only want unmarked gold bars.”
Paper currency can be traced through its serial numbers, and valuable watches also have serial numbers, making them easily traceable clues.
Some people think virtual digital currency is secure, believing that virtual transactions can effortlessly hide one’s identity, but that’s not the case.
If you want to conceal your virtual currency transactions, you must go through a mixing pool.
A so-called mixing pool is a place where your cryptocurrency is mixed with a large amount of currency, making it difficult for outsiders to trace the flow of funds.
However, mixing pools are managed by third-party platforms, and if those platforms disappear, the holders might lose their investment entirely.
Therefore, for Qing Chen, gold bars are still the safest option.
“By the way, you know I’m at Los Angeles Foreign Language School, right?” Liu Dezhu said.
“Hmm,” Qing Chen nodded.
“I’m in senior year class 4, and there’s this idiot in the next class, senior year class 3, who keeps trying to cozy up to me. He added me as a friend through our class WeChat group. I heard he was poor so I didn’t accept at first, but after he added me twice more, I finally accepted,” Liu Dezhu said, “and just two days after he added me, he inexplicably pulled me into a group where they were selling socks and offering to introduce wealthy women…”
Qing Chen’s expression grew even stranger—who else could it be but Nan Gengchen?
If he hadn’t been wearing a mask, Liu Dezhu might have been able to guess the clue from his expression!
“Boss, how should I contact you in the Outer World?” Liu Dezhu asked cautiously.
Qing Chen smiled, “Don’t worry, I will contact you.”
After speaking, he turned and left the solitary confinement room.
Only after the alloy gate behind him had closed did Qing Chen slow his breathing.
Behind the mask, the fire rune on his cheek was fading quickly.
Voice changing, the second application of the Breathing Technique.
Before coming here, Qing Chen had thought that Liu Dezhu would inevitably become suspicious about his unwillingness to use his voice for communication. However, if he had used a reader the last time and then spoke out loud this time, it would not be appropriate.
So, letting Liu Dezhu discover the problem himself, and then resolving it, would be more persuasive in dispelling his suspicions.
Honestly, he was quite worried that Liu Dezhu would never notice the issue—otherwise he would have to keep using the reader to write…
In the lonely confinement room, the closed alloy gate where Liu Dezhu was, stood idly.
His mind was filled with that eerie cat mask.
The mask’s red patterns interwove perfectly with the white, creating a mysterious aura that seemed to be staring right at him.
Powerful and mysterious.
Liu Dezhu thought idly that although he hadn’t mixed with Uncle Li Dong, mixing with the successor of Uncle Li might also be a good choice.
He had realized that he wasn’t the protagonist of this world.
Perhaps the owner of the cat mask was.
Outside the door, Uncle Li was waiting with Lin Xiaoxiao and Ye Wan.
“Is this your classmate? I thought everyone from the Outer World was like you, which really scared me. But after seeing him, I’m not scared anymore,” Uncle Li asked with a smile, “How did it go?”
Qing Chen thought for a moment, “I need a genetic potion.”