Chapter 51: 51. The Transfer Student (Extra update for the Gold Alliance Penguin)

Time Travel Countdown: 6 days.

When Qing Chen stepped out of his house, he was startled to find that the door of Room 102, across from his own, was wide open, with plastic dust sheets sprawled all over the place.

Inside, a group of workers were renovating the floor and walls, different from the workers he usually saw. They were dressed neatly, and their uniforms all bore the logo of “San Chi Decoration.”

Qing Chen had never heard of such a renovation company locally.

He approached one of the workers and asked, “What’s this about?”

The worker glanced at him and replied with a smile, “Moving in.”

As if it were nothing, Qing Chen asked again, “What about the owner? They’re going to be neighbors, after all. Couldn’t hurt to say hello.”

The worker responded, “Don’t know, we’re just here to do the job. No idea where the owner is.”

Qing Chen found it strange.

Room 102 across from him had been unoccupied for a long time, so how come a new neighbor had suddenly arrived?

It wasn’t just Room 102 opposite him; he could hear noise coming from upstairs as well.

When Qing Chen went upstairs to check, he realized with surprise that Room 202 was also being renovated.

What was going on? Two new neighbors at the same time? This definitely wasn’t normal.

Yet, there were only movers here, Qing Chen hadn’t seen any sign of the homeowners.

Outside in the hallway, people were unloading furniture and everyday items from a truck.

These items were meticulously categorized into protective wrappers and bags; breakable items, books, clothing, and more varied categories.

Moreover, each box was also covered with a dust bag.

In just an instant, he deduced that the new residents who had moved in were either rich or nobility.

He glanced at the shabby old building behind him and then back at the luxurious moving arrangements…

Would a rich person move in here? What a joke.

Everything he was seeing was out of place with where he lived!

Although the layout of the apartment across from him was different from his, at most it was 92 square meters. Plus, with the old building structure, using high-powered electrical appliances could trip the circuit breaker.

A rich person would have to be crazy to move in here.

Unless, of course, the person was here for something else… the Inner World.

In this building, besides him, the only Time Travelers were Li Tongyun and Jiang Xue.

If he had managed to stay well-hidden, then the person must be coming for Jiang Xue.

At that moment, Jiang Xue, leading Li Tongyun, stepped out of the door. They exchanged glances, and Qing Chen said, “Be careful.”

“Mhm,” Jiang Xue nodded in agreement.

After Qing Chen arrived at school, he first passed by Liu Dezhu’s classroom door. However, he paused for a moment, only to see Liu Dezhu sitting listlessly in the classroom, with bandages all over his arms and face…

What was it with today and all these strange occurrences?

First there were two mysterious new neighbors out of nowhere, and then Liu Dezhu looked as if he had been beaten up.

Qing Chen unconsciously opened the trending searches, and sure enough, he discovered that the news of Liu Dezhu’s injury had already gone viral…

In the trending Weibo post, there were not only photos of Liu Dezhu’s injuries but also journalists’ speculations.

The photos were taken at the school entrance, and judging from the angle… the photographer must have been crouching in the greenery opposite the school.

Paparazzi, it seemed. Qing Chen felt somewhat helpless.

He had never imagined that the time travel incident would escalate to the point where it would alarm the paparazzi.

It makes sense, after all, paparazzi chase the hottest news trends, going wherever the buzz is. Once they get the material, they can sell it to marketing accounts within minutes.

And right now, what’s hotter than the Time Traveler? Not even celebrities and internet personalities can compare.

In the trending searches these past few days, even Teacher Wang’s new concert tour couldn’t make it into the top ten. The top ten were basically all related to the Time Traveler.

Qing Chen was genuinely relieved that he had hidden himself well enough.

Let alone the dangers of being exposed, just the thought of being hounded by the media was unbearable to him.

Right under this trending search, another piece of news caught Qing Chen’s attention: He Xiaoxiao’s latest strategy guide.

He returned to his own classroom, opened TikTok, and searched for He Xiaoxiao’s account. This time, the background was still pitch black, still only subtitles and a male voice: “Today, I bring you an introduction to the Taboo Land instance.”

“As we currently know in the Inner World, there are a total of 139 Taboo Lands scattered across the wilderness. Of course, there are also newly formed Taboo Lands that have not been recorded officially.”

“According to investigations, the formation of the Taboo Lands is closely linked to the Transcendents of the Inner World…”

“In the Inner World, many cutting-edge biotechnologies and genetic technologies have made breakthroughs by obtaining samples from the Taboo Lands. If you clear a Taboo Land instance, you could possibly receive a substantial monetary reward from the conglomerates.”

“The Taboo Land instances are extremely dangerous, and He Xiaoxiao here kindly reminds everyone to team up before proceeding.”

Qing Chen silently finished watching the strategy guide. This time, his information had finally gotten ahead of He Xiaoxiao.

It is worth noting that the other party once again reminded Time Travelers of the need to team up.

He took this as a friendly reminder.

“Qing Chen, look,” his desk mate Nan Gengchen shook his arm.

As Qing Chen looked up, the early morning sunlight happened to slant through the doorway, illuminating two unfamiliar girls standing there.

The two girls were similar in height, both with long, slightly curly hair that shone almost blindingly porcelain white in the sunlight.

One girl wore a casual black and white baseball shirt paired with slim-fit jeans, her legs long and straight.

The other girl was dressed in a loose, baggy long-sleeve T-shirt, looking as though she had thrown on a few random pieces, but at a glance, she seemed especially easy on the eyes.

Nan Gengchen, sitting next to Qing Chen, couldn’t take his eyes off them. Meanwhile, mathematics teacher Tian Hailong announced from the podium, “Two things, folk. Your homeroom teacher Du Yihong can no longer teach your class, so I will temporarily take over in that role. If you need anything, just come to me.”

Tian Hailong continued, “The second thing is, we have two new transfer students in our class. I hope everyone will be supportive and united. Now, please let the two of them introduce themselves.”

The girl in the baseball shirt stepped up to the podium with a smile and said, “Hello everyone, my name is Wang Yun, and I’m from Haicheng.”

The other girl introduced herself, “Hello everyone, I’m Bai Waner, also from Haicheng. Please take care of me.”

Warm applause filled the classroom, with Nan Gengchen clapping the most vigorously.

Glancing around the classroom, Tian Hailong pointed to the space adjacent to Qing Chen and Nan Gengchen and said, “You two will sit over there later. Qing Chen is one of the best students in our grade academically, so feel free to ask him if there’s anything you don’t understand. Let some of the boys come with me to the storage room to move two sets of desks and chairs here.”

As soon as he finished speaking, several boys eagerly stood up.

One boy cleared his own desk and placed it next to Qing Chen and Nan Gengchen, then said to Wang Yun, “You can use this one.”

Wang Yun asked with a smile, “What about you then?”

The boy said, “No problem, I’ll go and get one for myself from the storage.”

Qing Chen genuinely marvelled at how emotionally intelligent this classmate was… he would probably go far in the future.

Wang Yun thanked him and sat down next to Nan Gengchen.

Just as Nan Gengchen’s simple heart was racing with excitement, Wang Yun poured cold water on all his passion with a single question, “Um… do you know Liu Dezhu from the class next door?”

…

Chapter Six, asking for monthly votes!!

An extra chapter for “Penguin in the Arctic,” our Gold League, considering the new book period. After consulting with the league, the remaining three chapters will be added after they are published.

Such generosity!!