Out of the 3,102 prisoners, most were either having fun with the newcomers or playing in the entertainment area. A small number of them were exercising in the gym, but none of them seemed to be interested in reading.
Compared to the rest of the prisoners, Li Shutong, Lin Xiaoxiao, and Ye Wan were very different.
Lin Xiaoxiao was squatting barefoot on a chair, smiling at nothing. His shoes were on the floor next to him.
Ye Wan stood upright behind Li Shutong, looking around from time to time.
Lin Xiaoxiao's outward appearance gave the impression of intelligence at first, and Ye Wan's actions made him seem a little more stubborn.
One was like a book boy and the other like a bodyguard.
Lin Xiaoxiao, seeing that Li Shutong finished reading the news, said, "Boss, the boy didn't help any of the newcomers."
Li Shutong nodded, "That’s what I expected. Even when he was playing chess, he showed no mercy to his own pieces, much less other people."
"But that’s just a game. It means nothing to abandon a few pieces on a chessboard… Hmm… Boss, are you still going to play with him tomorrow?" asked Lin Xiaoxiao.
"Of course," said Li Shutong smiling, "If I don't play with him, are you expecting me to resort to you idiots?" Li Shutong sat on a long wooden bench in the reading area; he held a new e-reader in his hand.
The large cat fell asleep on the table again, as if the cat's sole purpose in life was to find a cozy place to take naps.
This reading area was shaped much like a small library, but there were no paper books on the "bookshelves" here. Instead, they were filled with e-readers and charging ports.
Among these shelves were dozens of long tables, enough to fill nearly a thousand people, but currently, they stood unoccupied.
"I must be a little better than Lin Xiaoxiao," said Ye Wan in an earnest voice from behind
"Still no match against me," replied Li Shutong as he looked back at Ye Wan while clicking into a new article on the e-reader, "Do you still remember Guo Huchan? The one that got caught by the Chen Family Corporation? His trial recently ended, and he should be sent here in a few days. When he arrives, make sure to keep an eye on him and start building a connection."
Ye Wan nodded, "I've dealt with his type. Although this person is not easy to get along with, we can at least still communicate."
"Good," Li Shutong nodded. He then turned to Lin Xiaoxiao, "What about that teenager this morning?"
"I’ve been observing him for a long time, but I still feel like something's off," reported Lin Xiaoxiao, "I want to say everything he said was nonsense, but before he collapsed, he seemed serious about being from the Luo City's Yongli Corporation. His determination was too firm, almost as if Luo City was a real place."
"And who is he?" asked Li Shutong.
"I checked his background, he’s just an ordinary high school dropout who got into the illegal mechanical limb business reselling with the Black Tigers. Because there was a lack of evidence, they sent him in for tax evasion. Even though I searched everything he has done in the past, I still cannot find anything about Luo City nor Yongli Corporation."
No one saw Lin Xiaoxiao do anything to investigate, but he still seemed to have all of this boy’s information under his control in less than an hour.
This was his specialty.
Li Shutong said, "Just continue to check up on the boy's status, I'm almost certain that there's something wrong. Now, what about the one that was playing chess with me?"
Lin Xiaoxiao smiled and said, "Didn't you just finish your round of chess? I haven't got the chance to check yet. I'll get you his information by lunch."
"Okay," Li Shutong nodded and looked back at the e-reader.
Lin Xiaoxiao quietly glanced at Li Shutong and noticed that the boss was interested in the boy.
Just when he was about to continue to say something, Lin Xiaoxiao turned his head and saw Qing Chen walking towards them, carefully observing the surrounding environment.
Lin Xiaoxiao saw him look at Li Shutong, then gently pull out a pad-like e-reader off the "bookshelf" and press the power button.
Qing Chen stared at the screen.
If there was any way that he could understand as much about this world as quickly as possible, reading a book would be the best way.
To his disappointment, paper books had ceased to exist in this technologically advanced world, and everything had been replaced with electronic products.
However, when he opened the e-reader, he didn't see a screen full of book selections but instead a login interface.
Lin Xiaoxiao walked over and chuckled, "Is this your first time in prison? If you want to use the e-reader, you must register for an account with your prison number. When you log in, it will track your reading history, your bookmarks, and your preferred display settings."
Quite user-friendly, thought Qing Chen.
"By the way, it also has a built-in AI assistant. You can just call its name, and it can help you find what you are looking for," said Lin Xiaoxiao while he pulled out another e-reader, "One."
"I'm here," a cordial female voice rang out, one that Qing Chen recognized. He recalled that it was the same voice as the announcement this morning telling him to line up for breakfast.
It had a formulaic tone yet was not boring.
Lin Xiaoxiao said to the reader, "Help me find the book, Brown."
"Got it, here is the book Brown that you are looking for," said the AI, One.
"Look," Lin Xiaoxiao handed the e-reader in his hand to Qing Chen, on it was the cover of a book titled Brown.
Qing Chen glanced at his prison uniform. His number was 010101.
After he registered an account, Qing Chen looked at Lin Xiaoxiao and asked, "Where can I read the news? Just like what he is reading right now."
Lin Xiaoxiao glanced back at the e-reader in his boss' hands and laughed, "Don't even think about it. Your account does not have the right to access the Internet. My account can't even do that."
Qing Chen understood now. It must be because of Li Shutong's special identity in this prison.
Just like how he could have a cat in the prison.
He didn't say anything else and after thanking Lin Xiaoxiao, he looked down at the screen on his e-reader.
Lin Xiaoxiao returned to Li Shutong's side and looked at Qing Chen.
He suddenly noticed that Qing Chen was reading at an incredible speed!
Normally, every page on an e-reader was around 800 words, and it should at least take a minute for a normal person to read it. However, Qing Chen was turning at a rate of a page every two seconds!
Lin Xiaoxiao whispered to Li Shutong, "Boss, he doesn’t seem to be paying attention to what he's reading at all. Maybe he just wants to impress that you two share the same hobby."
"Don't be troublesome," said Li Shutong without even looking up, "Don't underestimate his will to survive. If you swap roles with him, you might be even more anxious. Xiaoxiao, learn to think in other people's situations."
Lin Xiaoxiao said with a smile on his face, "I know, I know."
Qing Chen found a place to sit down. He was trying to quickly store all the information from the books into his memory so he could use it later. He sat in that position for more than three hours without moving, completely focused on what he was reading.
For others, reading might be a hobby to kill time after a meal, but for him, it was a perfect way for him to understand the world and have a better chance to survive.
The content on the e-reader was obviously censored, and it contained little to no useful information. 95% of the content was philosophical and spiritual jabbering.
Nevertheless, any information was better than none.
Qing Chen would not let go of even the slightest of opportunities.
When it was nearly lunchtime, Li Shutong put down his e-reader and logged out of his account.
Next to him, Ye Wan took the reader and placed it back into its slot on the bookshelf.
He realized that Ye Wan and Lin Xiaoxiao were Li Shutong's closest servants and understood his habits best.
When was about to leave, Li Shutong glanced at Qing Chen and noticed that something was not right. The boy didn't even notice that he was about to leave. This didn't look like acting anymore.
He suddenly asked, "What is the third line on the previous page?"
His voice was as gentle as jade and has an antique sense of an elder.
"When the order of society erupts into chaos, chaos will be needed to save the law and order," Qing Chen said while raising his head.
Ye Wan took the e-reader from Qing Chen and turned to the previous page, "Boss, that's correct."
At this moment, Qing Chen suddenly saw the large cat napping on the table with its eyes open. It clearly felt that the other person's eyes were full of surprise when it looked at him.
The cat.. seemed to understand what others were saying. Just as surprising as Qing Chen's incredible memory.
Li Shutong was stunned after hearing Ye Wan confirmed that the boy was not lying. He smiled and walked away with Ye Wan, "This is becoming more and more interesting. Let's go have some lunch."
Looking at Li Shutong's backside, Qing Chen felt that his unique temperament while walking perfectly matched his white martial arts robe, almost as if he was walking on a cloud.