When they arrived at the courtyard house and the celestial bridal chamber, they discovered it was a

The old man coughed a few times and said weakly, "Let's find a place to sit down. There will be no place to sit when it gets crowded at night."

Zhou Zheng'an found an empty seat in the corner of the dormitory and sat down.

The planks were hard, and the straw mat was prickly. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes.

Exhausted, exhausted from the inside out.

After an unknown amount of time, a whistle sounded outside, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps. The cell door opened, and a group of people in gray prison uniforms filed in.

There were young people and old people, tall and short people, fat and thin people. But without exception, they all had shaved heads and numb or fierce expressions on their faces.

The eight men squeezed into the cell, making it feel crowded.

"Oh, a newbie?" A fat man walked over, looking down at Zhou Zheng'an. "Kid, don't you know the rules?"

Zhou Zheng'an opened his eyes: "What rules?"

"The newcomer has arrived, so he should show respect to the elders." The fat man held out his hand. "What good stuff do you have? Bring it out."

Zhou Zheng'an shook his head: "No."

"Nothing?" The fat man narrowed his eyes. "Search!"

Several people surrounded Zhou Zheng'an and began searching him. There was nothing inside his prison uniform; they found nothing.

"No, really not," Zhou Zheng'an said.

The fat man kicked him in the stomach: "You poor wretch!"

Zhou Zheng'an groaned and bent over, clutching his stomach.

"From now on, I'll have half of your daily rations," the fat man said coldly, looking at Zhou Zheng'an. "Did you hear me?"

Zhou Zheng'an remained silent.

"I'm asking you a question!" The fat man kicked him again.

Zhou Zheng'an raised his head, looked at the fat man, and his eyes were cold.

The fat man felt uneasy under their gaze, but he remained defiant: "What are you looking at? Want to get beaten up?"

Zhou Zheng'an stood up.

Although he was only eighteen years old, he was quite tall, about 1.75 meters. The fat man was half a head shorter than him, but much stronger.

"What do you want to do?" The fat man took a step back.

Zhou Zheng'an suddenly attacked, punching the fat man in the face.

The fat man screamed in pain as blood gushed from his nose. Everyone around was stunned, not expecting this newcomer to be so fierce.

"Damn it! Hit him!" the fat man roared, covering his nose.

Four or five people surrounded Zhou Zheng'an, raining blows and kicks upon him.

He fought back desperately, knocking down two opponents, but he was outnumbered and quickly pinned to the ground and beaten.

It hurts, it hurts all over my body.

But he gritted his teeth and remained silent.

After a few minutes of beating, the correctional officers heard the commotion and came over, knocking on the iron gate: "What are you doing! Stop!"

Those people then stopped and dispersed.

Zhou Zheng'an lay on the ground, his face bruised and swollen, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and his ribs aching terribly.

"0789! Get up!" the correctional officer shouted.

Zhou Zheng'an struggled to his feet.

Why are you fighting?

Zhou Zheng'an remained silent.

The fat man quickly said, "Reporting to the leader, he attacked first!"

The correctional officer looked at Zhou Zheng'an: "Is that right?"

Zhou Zheng'an nodded.

"Why did you attack?"

"He stole my food rations," Zhou Zheng'an said.

The warden glared at the fat man: "0567, it's you again! Three days in solitary confinement!"

The fat man, with a pained expression, was taken away.

The warden then looked at Zhou Zheng'an: "You, for fighting, you'll also be in solitary confinement for a day! Come with me!"

Zhou Zheng'an was taken out of the cell and to a small room in the corner of the courtyard.

This is really damn bad. On his very first day here, he did nothing and got beaten up, and then he was put in solitary confinement. Zhou Zheng'an felt that he was an unlucky transmigrator.

At this moment, Zhou Zheng'an was unaware that there was another reason why he received this treatment.

Previously, intelligence personnel from the Military Control Commission's Security Department in the Upper District of Beijing discovered enemy spies lying in ambush in a courtyard house. After several days of fruitless investigation, just as they were about to investigate Zhou Zheng'an, he suddenly developed a high fever that wouldn't subside. Then, yesterday, he suddenly recovered, as if the high fever had damaged his brain.

In this situation, the public security department would definitely treat Zhou Zheng'an as a major suspect.

And in the prison he's in now, there's also a Kuomintang spy.

This is the police fishing.

Fishermen aren't afraid of being caught out, but if they succeed, they'll make a fortune.

The reason Zhou Zheng'an was immediately placed in solitary confinement was also for this reason. A normal person would find solitary confinement mentally unbearable, but it's different for an enemy spy. This was a countermeasure devised by the security department staff.

There are reasons behind many seemingly bizarre things.

Like in the world before Zhou Zheng'an's transmigration, a female nurse suddenly became an instructor at a police station, and then her career skyrocketed.

Nurses and police officers, what's the connection? Yet their careers have skyrocketed.

Later I found out that this nurse was the mistress of some political and legal committee member.

Far away.

The room was very small, only about one square meter, with no windows, no light, no bed, and only a cold cement floor.

"Go in." The correctional officer gave him a push.

Zhou Zheng'an went inside, the iron gate closed, and the world was plunged into complete darkness.

He leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to sit on the floor.

Darkness, silence, loneliness.

My body aches, but my heart aches even more.

Is this what his life will be like from now on? Being bullied, beaten, and put in solitary confinement in prison for three years?

What if you get out in three years? In this era, a former convict will never be able to hold his head high for the rest of his life.

Despair surged up like a tide, engulfing him.

He wanted to curse, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

He tried to shout, but no sound came out.

He just sat there, in the darkness, in the silence, in solitude.

I don't know how much time passed.

Maybe it will take a day, maybe it will take a year.

Time has lost its meaning.

Just when he thought he was going crazy in the darkness, a voice suddenly rang in his mind:

[Ding, host detected at peak of despair... System activating...]

Zhou Zheng'an was taken aback.

What was that sound?

Auditory hallucination?

[Ding, Emotional Breakdown System successfully activated.]

[Ding! This system aims to collect negative emotions experienced by others due to the host's actions, including but not limited to anger, shock, fear, jealousy, and breakdown, and convert them into vulnerability points. These points can be exchanged for resources and skills, or used for system upgrades.]

[Ding! New player gift pack being distributed...]

[Ding, you have obtained: one drop of the Elixir of Life.]

[Ding! You have gained 100 points for breaking through defenses.]

[Ding! New player mission activated: Participate in the Korean War, earn military merits, and clear your name.]

[Ding! Mission Reward: A large number of points and special rewards will be awarded based on the mission completion status. You will also gain a special skill that allows you to return to your original world!]

[Ding, accept the mission?]

Zhou Zheng'an sat blankly in the darkness, his mind a complete void.

system?

Goldfinger?

The standard equipment for time travelers, it's really here, that's great, it's not just good, it's incredibly good.

But the most important thing is that you can gain special skills and possibly return to the world you were in before you transmigrated. That's incredibly awesome. Zhou Jian'an had also read many transmigration novels and watched many TV series, and almost no one could return to their original world, even those who became supreme gods in fantasy novels.

Will not work.

Of course, my time travel this time felt rather strange.

I pinched my thigh, and it hurt a lot.

Not a dream.

"System?" he asked tentatively in his mind.

The system did not reply, but soon a virtual screen appeared in Zhou Zheng'an's mind, which then began to spin rapidly.

After a while, the screen freezes, and many options can be seen.

Zhou Zheng'an's breathing became rapid.

He recalled the online novels he had read before, where transmigrators relied on systems to defy fate and reach the pinnacle of life.

Now, he has it too.

"What is the Divine Elixir of Life?" Zhou Zheng'an asked.

Soon, a virtual screen appeared in my mind, providing an explanation menu-like display.

[Ding! Life Elixir: This elixir can significantly enhance the host's physical attributes, including strength, speed, endurance, and recovery ability. After use, the host's strength can reach three to four times that of an ordinary person, with a maximum strength exceeding 800 jin (400 kg). It can also increase lifespan by ten years.]

Eight hundred jin?

Zhou Zheng'an gasped.

A normal person is lucky to lift a little over 100 pounds; even professional weightlifters only manage 300-400 pounds. 800 pounds? That's superhuman. And no, that would add ten years to your life.

How do I use it?

[Ding! Confirm with your mind.]

Zhou Zheng'an said without hesitation: "Use it."

[Ding, Life Elixir is being used...]

A warm current suddenly surged from my heart and quickly flowed to my limbs and bones.