Naming Technique of the Night

Right there in the fitness area, Ye Wan took out a constant-temperature lunchbox.

The lunchbox even had an LED screen, displaying the inside temperature, as well as options like heating, humidifying, air frying, and cooking rice.

Qing Chen thought to himself, isn’t this just a rice cooker that doesn’t need to be plugged in? It seems that there is also a Yun Liu Tower near the prison.

When Ye Wan opened the lunchbox, inside were neatly arranged slices of beef.

“Eat,” Ye Wan said.

“Aren’t we supposed to be training, wouldn’t eating now upset the stomach?” Qing Chen asked.

“We’ll be training with the Breathing Technique. If you don’t eat, your body will break down because the consumption is too great,” Ye Wan explained.

As Qing Chen experienced the wonders of the Breathing Technique, he suddenly asked, “Wait, when I use the Breathing Technique, I clearly feel an inexplicable breath moving through my body. It doesn’t seem to help my body much, and it’s intangible, but I feel like I can control it.”

Ye Wan shook his head, “I don’t know about that. You can ask the boss.”

“Okay,” Qing Chen didn’t ask any further.

The next morning, the countdown read 20:20:00.

Lin Xiaoxiao, sitting at the table, asked Ye Wan, “How did last night’s training go? Usually, people can’t withstand high-intensity training when they start. How long did he last?”

Ye Wan glanced at him, “Full load, from 11 to 3 in the morning.”

“Wait, he looks like he’s never trained before, and he lasted until 3 AM?” Lin Xiaoxiao was stunned, “Mother Ye, don’t train him to death!”

“What’s to fear with the Breathing Technique,” Ye Wan shook her head. “Before training, I made him eat a whole box of beef, and he burned it all off during the training. The boss specifically instructed this, don’t worry, I know my limits.”

Ordinary people starting high-intensity training typically couldn’t endure it this way; they could even end up with rhabdomyolysis.

“Even with the Breathing Technique, he must be tired,” Lin Xiaoxiao mumbled.

Ye Wan shook her head again, “It’s as if he can separate his body from his spirit, only pursuing the training goal, irrespective of the body’s exhaustion. I’ve never seen anything like it. If he wasn’t a Time Traveler who has come through, with that kind of willpower, he probably would have awakened into a Transcendent long ago.”

“That’s a good thing. If he had awakened earlier, he would no longer be an ordinary person, and he wouldn’t be able to follow the boss’s path,” Lin Xiaoxiao said.

By this time, Prison 18 had reached the morning mealtime, and one alloy gate after another opened with a clank, as prisoners lined up and walked downstairs.

Qing Chen stood in line obediently, still without any sign of privilege.

Lin Xiaoxiao looked over towards Qing Chen and was surprised to see him looking spirited, even the aftereffects of four days without food had disappeared.

He turned to Uncle Li Dong and said, “Boss, the Breathing Technique is really that miraculous, isn’t it? How about you give it a try on me tonight? I feel like I can still be saved.”

Uncle Li Dong, not lifting his head from the chessboard, said, “When I gave you the chance to try it back then, you didn’t dare. Now it’s too late, you’re too old.”

“I’m only twenty-seven years old…” Lin Xiaoxiao said.

“The longer you live, the more you suffer inside,” Uncle Li Dong said. “After twenty, worldly sufferings pile up, and using the Breathing Technique, you can’t pass the examination of conscience. We always thought we suffered a lot in our youth, but as adults, we understand that the two kinds of suffering are different.”

When it was Qing Chen’s turn to line up and come downstairs, he still sat far from Uncle Li Dong, who felt a bit melancholic, “Although I told him to pretend to be ostracized, now no one will join me to break stalemates.”

During the conversation, an announcement suddenly rang out in Prison Number 18, “Inmate number 010101, inmate number 002199, inmate number… your family members are here for visitation. Please follow Mechanical Prison Guard 03 to the visitation area.”

010101 was Qing Chen’s number.

He was stunned for a moment; it was the first time someone had come to visit him since he’d been in the Inner World.

So much so that he had forgotten that family visitations even happened in prison.

Lu Guangyi said from across him, “Boss, it must be Qing Yan coming for family day.”

“Yeah,” Qing Chen nodded and stood up.

He lined up with more than eighty inmates, passed through the large alloy gate, and walked along the long corridor.

The walls of the corridor were also made of metal, and on the ceiling were two white strips of light, which made it seem like walking in a tunnel through time and space.

Along the way, an inmate teased another, “Han Linshan, your sister must be here to see you again. Get a photo from your sister for me. I’ll borrow it tonight!”

The inmate named Han Linshan ahead cursed back. If it wasn’t visiting time, they would definitely have started a fight.

The inmates were noisy, but as long as they stayed in line, the mechanical prison guards did not intervene.

Among the crowd, only Qing Chen remained calm and quiet.

No prisoner dared to joke with him, even those behind him intentionally kept their distance.

Arriving at the private visitation room, Qing Chen pushed open the door and saw a young man sitting inside.

The man appeared to be about 25 or 26 years old, with short black hair, looking very fit.

This must be Qing Yan, who was wearing a gray suit, with only his palms being mechanical prosthetics.

However, these were probably the most exquisite mechanical prosthetics Qing Chen had ever seen. The surface of each finger looked as if it had been meticulously polished, with golden lines inlaid on both sides, and the back of the hand adorned with beautiful ginkgo leaf patterns, reminiscent of the black mafia’s scepter.

The ginkgo leaf was the symbol of Qing’s Family.

Qing Chen sat down in front of him, and Qing Yan coldly said, “The second and fourth houses have already submitted a complaint against you to the Family Tribunal, saying you provoked Uncle Li Dong for no reason and caused his animosity. Although we Qing’s Family are not afraid of Uncle Li Dong, we have no intention of making enemies with the Knights or Heng Society. I hope you’ll behave yourself in Prison No. 18 and stop causing any more trouble.”

Qing Chen was startled. Prior to this, when Lu Guangyi mentioned Qing Yan, he had thought he was an ally.

But now it seemed that was not the case.

He thought for a moment and asked, “Is there anything else?”

Qing Yan said coldly, “Have you thought about your own situation? All the other candidates have support, yet you alone do not. What makes you think you can compete with them? The second and fourth houses are determined to win this time; don’t become cannon fodder for others. Listen to my advice, go ahead and marry Jindai Kongyin from the Jindai family. You’ll still have a place in Qing’s Family.”

Qing Chen looked at him expressionlessly, but his mind was racing.

What kind of strange turn was this? He even had an arranged marriage in the Inner World? And from the name, it didn’t sound like it was of Chinese descent.

Jindai… must be one of the top five companies, Jindai.

Qing Chen thought for a moment and said, “I still plan to give it another try.”

Qing Yan seemed surprised by Qing Chen’s reply. He straightened his suit and said with composure, “Whatever you say. Then I must tell you, although the Judgment Tribunal has not yet given a punishment verdict against you, the family won’t be helping you out any further. The Clan didn’t intend for you to participate in the Shadow struggle; it was your insistence on joining and consequently knocking out the third house’s spot. So don’t expect more support. If you can complete the mission, great; if not, you might as well stay in Prison No. 18 until you’re released.”

“Alright,” Qing Chen calmly got up and left, without saying much more to this elegantly dressed Descendant of Qing.

Seeing this, Qing Yan became somewhat annoyed, “Did you even listen to what I said?”

Qing Chen said to the Mechanical Prison Guard outside the door, “Hello, I’m done here.”

“Wait!” Qing Yan moderated his tone, “Jindai Kongyin came with me to visit you, you should at least see her. Otherwise, it’ll be difficult to explain to both families.”

Qing Chen: “…Okay.”

Qing Yan left, and after five minutes, someone else came in.

It was a girl around 17 or 18 years old, not stunning in appearance but somehow exuding a fresh aura.

The girl was wearing formal attire on top, with a skirt that reached just to her knees, looking like a very formal meeting.

But the girl did not seem used to wearing such clothes and appeared somewhat restless.

Qing Chen observed the girl, who had a small mole beside her nose and no trace of makeup on her skin.

After sitting down, the girl did not make eye contact with Qing Chen, occasionally glancing at him stealthily without speaking.

And so they sat in silence…

Until the announcement came from the broadcast that visitation time was over.

The girl then muttered softly, “Sitting quietly like this does have its appeal, but the silence of this boy is truly beautiful.”

“What?” Qing Chen was puzzled.

The girl smiled and said, “Never mind.”

The Mechanical Prison Guard escorted Qing Chen away, and on the way back, he pondered.

What Lu Guangyi had told him earlier, that he personally requested to have Lu Guangyi assist him in Prison No. 18, might not be the whole truth.

No wonder, with something as important as the Shadow struggle, Qing’s Family only sent him an enforcer from a retirement home for assistance.

It turned out he had been abandoned by the family in the Inner World as well.

However, what was the story with this out-of-the-blue arranged marriage?

…

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