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墨書 Inktalez
Shen Shanshan sat in the car, looking timid and clearly still afraid from yesterday's events. When she saw Xin Yi approaching, her eyes immediately filled with tears. She looked at Xin Yi with a pleading expression, moving her lips but unable to speak. Seeing this, Xin Yi felt a pang of heartache. It didn't matter to him, but it was too much to ask Shen Shanshan to suffer alongside him. This girl, who had been pampered like a princess by her parents since childhood, had been enduring hardships ever since she was with him. He felt he owed her too much.
Xin Yi got into the car and moved closer to Shen Shanshan, gently wrapping his arms around her and saying, "Shanshan, I'm sorry for making you suffer again this time."
Shen Shanshan lifted her tear-streaked face and said, "This time I caused trouble for you and Big Bull. If I hadn't asked you to go to the hospital, none of this would have happened. Xin Yi, I'm sorry."
"Don't be silly. This has nothing to do with you. It was a trap set up by someone else, waiting for us to fall into it. They were targeting me; I dragged you and Big Bull into this," Xin Yi said while patting Shen Shanshan's back.
"Xin Yi, are we going to be sentenced? I heard that Josen and two police officers are dead, and they suspect we killed them. What are we going to do?" Shen Shanshan's voice trembled with tears.
"We won't be sentenced, Shanshan. We were framed; someone else killed them. The police will investigate and find out the truth. Don't worry; in a couple of days, we can go home," Xin Yi reassured Shen Shanshan.
At the entrance of the detention center, Xin Yi had to part ways with Shen Shanshan. The female inmate area was in a different section. Xin Yi knew that saying anything at this moment was pointless; the most important thing was to ensure that Shen Shanshan wouldn't be bullied inside. A delicate girl like her could easily be mistreated there. So he turned to his companion Wang Wei and said, "Captain Wang, please help me greet the staff inside and ask them to take care of Shanshan a bit more. I will be very grateful!"
Wang Wei coldly replied, "Don't worry about that; everything is civilized now, and the people inside won't act recklessly! You should be more concerned about yourself!" After saying that, he led Shen Shanshan away.
Watching Shen Shanshan tearfully look back at him repeatedly as she walked away caused a sharp pain in Xin Yi's heart. He quickly forced a smile and waved goodbye to her before turning to walk in another direction.
Both Xin Yi and Big Bull were suspects in a homicide case and were assigned to the violent offenders' section. There has always been a tradition of bullying newcomers in detention centers; newcomers refer to inmates who have just arrived. Not only do they get beaten up upon entry, but they also have to sleep next to the toilet, show respect to senior inmates during meals, and take care of cleaning duties in their cell as well as give massages to senior inmates. In particularly twisted inmate groups, they might even face worse treatment. Of course, not every newcomer goes through such an ordeal; some might immediately gain respect and authority if they have backing or strength to overpower the existing seniors. In such places, the saying "might makes right" is vividly illustrated—strength is the ultimate truth.
Xin Yi was assigned to a cell that was the stronghold of Shark, a notorious figure in the detention center. Shark's real name was Sha Yujing; he was from the north and had quite a reputation there. Later on, due to an affair with one of his underlings' women who ran away with him to Longchuan, Shark couldn't swallow his anger and single-handedly went after them in Longchuan vowing revenge on the couple. However, he couldn't bring himself to harm them in the end because he discovered that his lover was originally his underling's woman. That guy had sent his own woman to Shark just for personal gain but realized later that he couldn't let go of her after all. After six months of suffering together, they decided to elope privately. Upon hearing his lover's sob story, Shark learned the truth behind it all and ended up breaking that man's legs while leaving the woman unharmed. After doing all this, he thought he would be rewarded for letting them go free but found out later that they were arrested by the police in the middle of the night—his good intentions had gone unrewarded as soon as he turned around.
Shark was inherently strong-willed and understood how to survive in such an environment; thus he quickly established his own power within the detention center by using brute force to claim dominance. Despite being violent himself, Shark treated his underlings fairly well—he never bullied them and shared food and cigarettes equally among them. If anyone dared bully his men, he would step up without hesitation for them; that's why everyone respected him.
As soon as Xin Yi entered the Cell, a burly man near the entrance glared at him and asked, "Do you understand the rules? Do you need me to teach you?" In fact, this was the most civilized approach; usually, newcomers would receive a beating right after entering, leaving them disoriented before any talk of respect began. The burly man only asked if Xin Yi understood the rules because if he could show them some satisfactory respect, the beating might be avoided. Of course, these rules were set by Shark. Since they were now in the same Cell, they were considered brothers. As long as no one deliberately opposed each other, they could avoid conflict; getting beaten was not something anyone enjoyed.
Xin Yi glanced around the inside of the facility. The inmates were all sleeping on a large concrete platform raised a few inches off the ground, covered with wooden boards. A mattress tossed on top was considered a bed. At that moment, about ten fierce-looking faces were staring intently at him. Just from their gazes, someone with a timid disposition would likely kneel and beg for mercy immediately. But Xin Yi was not that kind of person. He surveyed everyone’s faces and quickly locked onto Shark, the leader among them. It was easy to identify who was in charge because each person's gaze differed. Regardless of who it was, before engaging in a fight, there is always some tension—especially when unsure of the opponent's strength. They would pay close attention to their opponent's body language out of fear of being attacked first. The leader, however, had no immediate need to act personally and thus focused more on his opponent's demeanor, appearing much more relaxed.
Having identified the leader, Xin Yi ignored the burly man's earlier question and looked directly at Shark with a calm expression. "Hey there, can we all relax a bit? If we can avoid fighting, let's do that. It wouldn't be good for anyone if someone gets hurt since we'll all be living together from now on."
"Hahaha... I've never seen anything like this!" As soon as Xin Yi finished speaking, laughter erupted in the Cell. The inmates had never heard a newcomer speak like this upon entering; they thought he was trying to negotiate as if they were in a marketplace. However, they found it amusing; life in the Cell was dull and monotonous, so having someone to lighten the mood was welcome.
However, Shark did not laugh. He was somewhat surprised that this newcomer spoke directly to him upon entering. If he hadn't recognized him from before, he would have thought his eyes were sharp. But searching through his memories yielded no impression of this person. He then asked Xin Yi, "Do you know me?"
Xin Yi shook his head. "No."
Realizing that Xin Yi did not know him made Shark chuckle lightly. "Then what gives you the right to make demands? Do you think you still have that privilege here?"
"Oh? I think you misunderstood," Xin Yi replied with a smile. "I'm not making demands; I'm advising you that fighting will inevitably lead to injuries. It won't be good for anyone since we'll all be living together."
This time, not only did the other inmates react but even Shark felt provoked by Xin Yi's arrogance. He couldn't believe that this seemingly clean-cut young man would be so bold in front of seasoned criminals who could hold their own. Did he really think so little of them? Shark thought that this person must just be someone who enjoyed talking big; such bravado was likely an attempt to intimidate everyone and avoid an initial beating. However, those in the Cell were not easily intimidated by such tactics; it seemed there truly were people who wouldn't learn until faced with dire consequences.
Shark sneered and said, "Looks like this brother has some guts. Heizi, why don't you play with him? Same old rules—don't make it too obvious."
"Sure thing! Just watch me! If I don't beat this kid into submission, I won't call myself Heizi!" Heizi cracked his knuckles and pretended to warm up before advancing toward Xin Yi.
Xin Yi looked indifferently at Heizi as he approached and smirked slightly. "Heizi, right? Afraid of pain? If it hurts later on, just shout out—don't hold back."
The Cell erupted in laughter again; the inmates enjoyed watching such performances—it was both thrilling and comedic. This newcomer had quite a way with words.
Heizi was enraged by their laughter and suddenly bent down to throw a powerful punch aimed at Xin Yi's abdomen. He intended to knock Xin Yi down with one blow before dealing with him further; thus he put all his strength into it. At first glance, it seemed incredibly fierce, prompting loud cheers from the other inmates. Yet Xin Yi remained completely still until Heizi's fist was just two inches away from his abdomen when he swiftly reached out with his right hand and firmly grasped Heizi's fist.
At the same time, he raised his right knee sharply; there was a loud crack as Heizi's right arm bent at an unnatural angle at the elbow joint. With another powerful thrust of his leg like a hammer striking downwards into Heizi's abdomen, Heizi's large frame flew backward like a soccer ball kicked hard into a goalpost until he crashed against the wall at the back of the cell with a dull thud before collapsing onto the floor.
The entire Cell fell silent instantly; it felt as if everyone had stopped breathing as they stared incredulously at the young man standing motionless in place...
In another cell not far away, the deep and thunderous roar of Big Bull mixed with the screams of others echoed throughout the detention center...
In the women's prison, Wang Wei was speaking with a middle-aged woman who looked like an officer. "Sister Liu, this is my comrade's sister. She won't be here for long, so please take good care of her..."
"Alright, alright, a big man like you shouldn't be so nagging. I've said it more than ten times already. Don't worry, if this girl loses a single hair, I'll compensate you for it. Is that enough?" Sister Liu replied with a laugh and a scolding tone.
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