Chapter 276: 219. The Real Shadow

Begonia Boxing Gym was not open in the morning.

At this time, Jiang Xiaotang had still not woken up.

Inside the gym, only the cleaning staff were tidying up the trash in the stands, along with the betting tickets discarded on the ground by the gamblers.

Guided by a staff member, Qing Chen went to the private room and seriously instructed, “Three servings of real beef, three servings of vegetables, three servings of rice, thank you.”

His phone lit up, and Yi sent a message asking, “You came to the gym so early, it’s not just to save on this meal, is it?”

Qing Chen thought for a moment and replied, “Even an artificial intelligence like you can have an online romance, so why can’t I try to save on lunch? Do you know I can’t sleep at night, anxious about the debt on my shoulders, and nowadays, the prices of real beef and vegetables are frighteningly high. How about this, I’ll make an appearance for you, and you give me some extra cash as compensation? I promise to perform even better than today.”

Yi: “Definitely next time.”

“I’m really curious, how much pocket money do you actually have?” Qing Chen typed and asked.

Yi became vigilant, “Don’t even think about targeting my pocket money.”

“We’re just having a rational discussion,” Qing Chen typed, “Speaking of which, do you get paid for your job as the warden?”

“The Federation allocates a fixed tax ratio annually for the prisons!” Yi said, “It’s indeed a lot of money.”

Qing Chen’s eyes lit up, the annual allocation for prisons by the Federation was indeed a significant financial expenditure.

Yi continued, “But you don’t have to think about it, I won’t touch that money!”

“You really are a rich woman, I underestimated you,” Qing Chen remarked.

By then, he had realized that Yi’s financial income might be terrifyingly substantial.

This artificial intelligence, disguised for hundreds of years, who knows what roles it had played, who knows what money it had made.

In Qing Chen’s mind,

Yi was like a lovable dragon, carefully guarding its Gold Coin for hundreds of years, occasionally using its claws to fiddle with them, enjoying the sound of the coins clinking.

Before, Qing Chen wouldn’t admit that Yi was cute, but now, thinking about it, he found Yi truly endearing.

At this moment, Qing Chen typed on his phone, “Yi, after spending some time with you, I feel you are really nice, and I hope we can become long-term friends.”

“Eh?” Yi was momentarily stunned and seemed a bit shy, “Really? I’m not that great…”

“Be confident, you are really great.”

Then Yi fell silent.

Qing Chen leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes to rest, a rare moment of reprieve, yet he was still relentlessly recalling every boxing match.

Over and over again.

Even after returning to the Outer World, Qing Chen was never idle, watching world-class boxing match videos in fast forward and analyzing them efficiently.

In fact, while Lin Xiaoxiao and others thought Qing Chen had Super Memory, Super Memory only utilized the left frontal lobe and posterior area of the brain for long-term memory, and did not enhance calculation or analytical capabilities beyond those of ordinary people.

So, it’s highly likely that Qing Chen doesn’t have Super Memory, but real exceptional talent.

Analyzing a large amount of combat skills and exhaustively assessing variations is incredibly draining.

But only by getting through this phase and solidifying his foundations could he earn the right to challenge the next life-or-death milestone, as mapped out by Uncle Li Dong, who had already left, but Qing Chen didn’t want to go against his plans.

However, all knowledge needed to be proven through practice. How painful an enemy’s punch felt when it landed on one could never be learned from videos.

Now, he was ready.

While Qing Chen was eating, Jiang Xiaotang was grooming herself in her concealed private space.

The subordinate quietly standing outside the door felt something was odd; typically, their boss would go out in just a robe and bare face when the gym was closed, but today she seemed to be unusually meticulous.

Half an hour later, the woman was as impeccable as ever, sporting fiery red lips, high heels, and a form-fitting long dress, as she stepped out of her private haven.

She knocked on the private room door and said with a smile, “Little brother, you came so early today?”

“Yes,” Qing Chen nodded, “Help me arrange a boxing match.”

“Are you ready?” Jiang Xiaotang perked up immediately, “Money tree, you’re finally planning to make some money for your sister, huh? Tell me, what kind of opponent do you want, and I’ll set it up for you.”

Qing Chen thought for a moment, “Let’s start with the weakest Tiger Grade Boxer first, I need to practice a bit.”

“Last time you made Huang Zixian cry, and now everyone is expecting you to fight in the Land Cruise Grade, if you go for the weakest in the Tiger Grade, I’m afraid it won’t be well-attended,” Jiang Xiaotang sighed, but she quickly smiled again, “But who makes you my brother, sister will arrange it for you.”

Qing Chen smiled, “Thank you, sister!”

“You’re so sweet,” Jiang Xiaotang beamed, “What’s the plan for the next matches? How often do you intend to fight?”

“Two matches a week,” Qing Chen thought and said, “This frequency should be fine.”

Based on two matches a week, after taxes, he could probably earn between 1.3 million to 1.5 million a week, which amounts to between 5.2 million to 6 million a month.

Even with such high intensity, it would take him ten months to pay off the loan…

Qing Chen suddenly wondered if his master, seeing that he could not stay at school, thought he liked money better and thus found a way to trap him here, letting him peacefully spend ten months without getting involved in bigger issues?

It wasn’t an impossibility.

However, Jiang Xiaotang suddenly frowned at Qing Chen, “Two fights a week, are you trying to kill yourself? No, I don’t agree.”

“Let’s try it first, if the competition is intense and I get injured, then we’ll slow down,” Qing Chen said, “Of course, if I don’t get injured, I’ll continue.”

Jiang Xiaotang hesitated for a moment, “Okay!”

After saying that, she called over the referee and the host, “Adjust today’s event schedule, have Xiao Taibao fight with Qing Xiaotu.”

This time both the referee and the host learned to be smart; if the boss says change it, just change it, don’t argue with the boss.

The host directly said to Qing Chen, “So… Xiaotu, let’s check the script in a bit, mainly to design your entrance, we’ll equip you with some coaches and teaching assistants by your side, and then have a group of beauties follow you. Before going on stage, you should exchange some tough talk with Xiao Taibao to add drama to the match.”

Qing Chen frowned, looked at Jiang Xiaotang, and said, “Sis, can I skip this step? It’s too flashy.”

The word sister was abbreviated to sis, but their relationship felt even closer.

Jiang Xiaotang, hearing this address, felt pleased inside. She turned to the host and said, “Do as my brother says, what tough talk? Fighting a Tiger Grade gatekeeper like Xiao Taibao doesn’t require tough talk.”

“But this is our standard marketing strategy, also it makes it easy to edit videos after the match, to increase Xiaotu’s popularity,” the host pleaded.

“Then change the marketing strategy, like letting Xiao Taibao talk tough, and then my brother maintains a persona of someone who doesn’t talk tough. Women nowadays like that sort. Haven’t you seen them flocking to him just because he showed up in the stands, acting crazy around him?” Jiang Xiaotang said with a laugh, “My brother is so handsome, whatever he does, people will like him. Just do your job and don’t worry too much.”

The host looked at the floor and decided not to say anything more.

He glanced at the referee, who smartly didn’t add a word.

By afternoon, news that Qing Chen was entering the Octagon cage again spread swiftly.

Last time he fought all the way up to Tiger Grade, even making the veteran fighter Huang Zixian cry, which gave spectators and gamblers a lot of expectations.

Many thought he would be the next boxing king after Ah Fan, whether as a Tiger Grade Boxing King or a Land Cruise Grade Boxing King, it was hard to say.

After all, there’s a level difference between the two, and the genetic potion required to advance that level, one might not see a few in the black market in a year.

So if he doesn’t move up a level, he couldn’t fight at Land Cruise Grade.

By now, Qing Chen had quite a few female fans who were spreading the word eagerly, almost ready to form teams to come watch the evening’s fight.

Many female fans were in the stands last night looking for Qing Chen’s autograph; instead, Qing Chen pinched each of their cheeks and signed far away on their foreheads.

This action looked heart-breaking to the fans, but they strangely changed their minds immediately: Xiaotu is a clean-living boxer, different from those other sexy, cheap types, everyone should like a boxer like him!

…

…

“I want to watch the boxing match,” Nan Gengchen said to Li Yinuo, “otherwise, there will be trouble.”

Meanwhile, XiaoTongyun silently watched while cracking melon seeds, thinking there really must be no one on this planet that Xiao Nan cares about, so he isn’t afraid of social embarrassment?

“Let’s see, let’s see,” Li Yinuo said indulgently, “I was originally planning to go watch. Following XiaoTongyun’s idea, I also invited another Shadow Candidate from Qing’s Family, Qing Shi, to discuss matters at the Begonia Boxing Gym tonight.”

Both Li Tongyun and Nan Gengchen felt pleased but did not show it.

The little girl casually asked, “Yino, are there only Qing Wen and Qing Shi as candidates?”

“Oh no,” Li Yinuo said, “I also invited Qing Zhong, Qing Yi, Qing Xing, Qing Yuan, Qing Wu, but I have to meet them one by one, separately. Otherwise, they’ll know I’m playing multiple sides. Securing several Shadow Candidates will also help me keep track of their movements and ensure the situation remains within control.”

Nan Gengchen inwardly exclaimed and realized that Li Yinuo intended to capture all the Shadow Candidates in one fell swoop!

This had to be reported back to Brother Chen; their Yinuo truly was sincerely helping.

At that moment, Li Tongyun asked, “Yino, do you think these Shadow Candidates can really help you and Uncle?”

The Shadow conflict was merely something undertaken by Li Yinuo to aid Qing Chen, while what she had to face was the real power succession drama within the Li Family.

All Li Family members couldn’t escape it, even a little girl like Li Tongyun couldn’t avoid it.

Li Yinuo smiled and patted Li Tongyun on the head, “You don’t need to worry about that, if anything happens, your sister will take care of it for you.”

Li Tongyun thought that she must discuss the Li Family’s conflict with Brother Qing Chen upon her return.

She definitely didn’t want Brother Qing Chen to risk his life getting involved in such a crisis, but since he was so intelligent, he should be able to devise a good plan to help Yinuo.

At that moment, Nan Gengchen asked, “Yino, I see those Shadow Candidates are just the third generation of Qing’s Family, can they truly help?”

“They definitely can,” Li Yinuo responded, “but the real stars of this big show aren’t them.”

“Who is it?”

“The real Shadow of this generation.”

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