Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

The reasons why people commit crimes, apart from psychological abnormalities, are nothing more than love, hate, and self-interest.

Of these, love is the most dangerous, for it wears a glamorous cloak and is the most unpredictable, while hatred and self-interest are often traceable.

The reason why people are keen on committing crimes, besides psychological abnormalities, is that the cost of committing crimes is not high enough, or the benefits of committing crimes are high enough.

Embezzlement falls under the former category, while drug trafficking falls under the latter.

If you want to make quick money and a lot of money, you can look through the criminal law, because most of the ways to make quick money and a lot of money are recorded there.

In another life, An Xiaohai thought this sentence was just a joke, but here it is a fact; the prisoners in Area A are basically all brought in this way.

Of course, a very small number of people don't come in for the money, but they still can't escape the complexities of love, hate, and passion.

Some say that arrogant people are just petty thugs, while real big shots are often very kind. This statement is perfectly exemplified in Zone A, Room 232.

Hu Jianming smiled and even made up a bed for An Xiaohai, saying that the room was a bit deserted with few people, but now that An Xiaohai was here, it felt much more lively.

This whole situation felt quite welcoming; if I hadn't already known about it, it would be hard to imagine that Hu Jianming was a ruthless drug dealer.

Yang Bo was also smiling, and didn't say much, but being stared at by him made An Xiaohai feel uncomfortable all over.

The environment looks much better than before, but because the room is too small, it also feels much more oppressive than before.

Life seemed to suddenly become peaceful.

Get up, wash up, roll call, drills, breakfast, work, lunch, work, dinner, watch the news, two hours of free time, sleep, political study and ideological reports every three days... and so on.

An Xiaohai was already used to this kind of life. After all, in another life, he had endured this kind of life for 20 years!

Even without those 20 years, An Xiaohai wouldn't feel particularly bad, after all, he attended the National University of Defense Technology, a military-style institution with many requirements that are even stricter than those in prison.

However, universities often lead to a bright future, while prisons often lead to a darker abyss.

An extremely disciplined lifestyle can significantly alter a person's mental state, either making them self-disciplined and motivated, or causing them to despair and break down.

An Xiaohai is enjoying this life for the time being because he does need some time to calm down and reflect.

If a person with hyperthymesia also has strong willpower, they can actively block out some useless memories.

In another life, An Xiaohai's will had completely collapsed long ago. Therefore, he blocked out everything and immersed himself only in endless painful memories.

This time, it's the opposite. An Xiaohai needs to block out all the pain, unlock the treasure trove of memories he had previously blocked out, figure out exactly how all of this happened, and then all that's left is meticulous planning.

Planning how to safely and smoothly get through the three and a half years in prison, planning how to survive after getting out of prison, and how to find the mastermind behind all this and cut them off at the root!

Hu Jianming and Yang Bo appeared calm, but An Xiaohai could clearly sense that they were already on the verge of collapse and despair.

These two people are like two time bombs; once they explode, they could burn to ashes along with An Xiaohai.

Therefore, whenever possible, An Xiaohai would try to stay in the reading room to minimize his contact with the two people.

Learning is encouraged in prison, and the reading room is well-stocked with books, including various Chinese and foreign classics that are said to be able to cleanse the soul, as well as various practical reference books, such as technical books on electrical work, carpentry, and lathe operation.

An Xiaohai rarely touches those Chinese and foreign classics; he spends most of his time reading technical books.

An Xiaohai's learning method is very simple and straightforward. After getting a book, he will first flip through it briefly, memorize all the contents, and then study and understand it anytime, anywhere.

When An Xiaohai gets tired of studying, he will choose to relax. The best way to relax is to recall the specific circumstances of the day the incident occurred.

At that time, An Xiaohai was in a state of extreme excitement, only thinking about how to defeat his opponent. He had basically lost his ability to think, and his perception of the surrounding situation was also weakened, making it very difficult to reconstruct his memories.

The sharp knife in An Xiaohai's hand came from a nearby fish stall. An Xiaohai was certain that someone had put it in his hand.

This is actually very crucial, as it can lead An Xiaohai's investigation in two different directions.

In another life, if the mastermind behind it all is Zhou Tie's death, which is why he is destined to have his family destroyed and suffer for the rest of his life, then Zhou Tie is the most crucial factor.

But if someone has stabbed you in the back, then the whole thing becomes much more complicated.

What was the purpose of the person who handed him the knife? Was he helping him or harming him? Or did he also hate Zhou Tie and hope that Zhou Tie would be injured in An Xiaohai's counterattack?

Or perhaps this person's target was still An Xiaohai himself; he originally intended to harm An Xiaohai, but he simply seized this excellent opportunity.

The last scenario is the most terrifying, meaning that someone had long ago planned to deal with him, and even Zhou Tie's appearance at the fish market to harass Lin Xuan'er was just part of this plan.

Is such a possibility possible? It cannot be ruled out, and An Xiaohai believes it is highly likely. Otherwise, the mastermind behind it all would not have been able to entangle him for 30 years, until he caused his family to be destroyed and even dragged his two best friends into the mess.

"But what's the motive? What's their motive for doing this? Why would they treat me, my family, and my friends like this for decades? What kind of deep-seated hatred could they possibly have...?"

An Xiaohai couldn't understand this no matter how hard he tried.

An Xiaohai was born into an ordinary fishing family in Apojiao Village. His father abandoned him and his mother when An Xiaohai was very young, and his mother raised him single-handedly.

An Xiaohai's maternal grandparents were also native villagers of the fishing village.

My maternal grandfather had some ship repair skills and went to work for a large shipping company in his forties, where he was just a junior technician. My maternal grandmother was a very ordinary housewife.

Grandpa and Grandma were just ordinary people, workers in a small company in Shenhai City. This company wasn't even state-owned; it was just a small collective at best.

The elders in my family are all very honest and kind to others. I've never heard of them offending anyone.

What reason would anyone have to go to such lengths to tear such a family apart?

An Xiaohai couldn't figure it out, so he was more inclined to believe it was because of Zhou Tie.

If that's the case, things become much simpler. As long as we follow the investigation along Zhou Tie's family lines, we'll likely find the mastermind. But if it's the most serious scenario, then the only clue is the person who handed him the knife.

There's no way to investigate Zhou Tie's family right now. All An Xiaohai can do is try his best to remember who handed him the knife.

The person who handed over the knife did so very discreetly.

An Xiaohai remembered that when Zhou Tie knocked him to the ground, he struggled to get up and found that he had a knife in his hand. Moreover, as he was getting up, the person who handed him the knife seemed to have helped him up.

This person had been hiding behind An Xiaohai the whole time, so it's no wonder that An Xiaohai had no recollection of him.

Of course, this was no challenge for An Xiaohai.

Since we didn't see this person at the time, there's one more, the most basic method: the process of elimination.

Once you eliminate all the people at the scene who couldn't possibly have handed him the knife, then the person who handed him the knife must be among the remaining people.

An Xiaohai has been working on this matter all this time, eliminating one by one the people at the scene who could not possibly have handed him the knife.

This is an extremely difficult task.

An Xiaohai was in a hurry to help Lin Xuan'er and did not deliberately try to remember everyone at the scene, so his impression was very vague; in addition, although only a little over a month had passed on the surface, for An Xiaohai, it was something that happened 30 years ago!

So many days have passed, and progress has been extremely difficult.

However, there have been some results. At least the range of suspects has been narrowed down to about 10 people. Even if we stop here, it will make the subsequent investigation much easier.

As for Wu Guanhai, An Xiaohai stopped paying attention to him. He seemed important, but in reality, he wasn't that significant.

Even if Wu Guanhai reveals who bribed him, that person is most likely just a subcontractor. This is evident from Wu Guanhai's behavior.

If this person could be found out by An Xiaohai so easily, then he would be too incompetent, and wouldn't have been able to harm An Xiaohai's entire family so badly.

As for Wu Guanhai and his ilk knowing that An Xiaohai's whole family was about to be ruined, it was probably just an exaggeration. To persuade someone to do something bad, you definitely need to give them a lot of reassurance.

Saying that An Xiaohai's whole family is about to be ruined is actually meant to convey the message to Wu Guanhai: even if you kill him, there won't be any trouble afterwards, because his family will all be unlucky and won't be able to cause you any trouble.

Having spent decades in prison, how could An Xiaohai not know the ins and outs of it?

Prison is a relatively closed environment. If someone wants to bribe someone in prison to do something against them, then that person must have a lot of power in the prison. Such a person usually doesn't make low-level mistakes.

An Xiaohai sometimes wondered if he had overestimated his opponent, but overestimated his opponent was better than underestimated him, so he should try to see the other party as more capable. Perhaps, even so, he was still very naive in the other party's eyes.

Taking all factors into account, it's not very meaningful to continue investigating Wu Guanhai's case, and we might even be led astray by him. However, if there's an opportunity, it's still worthwhile to learn more about him.

Wu Guanhai is now terrified. He can't endure the torment for much longer and will eventually come to An Xiaohai and tell him everything he knows.

An Xiaohai just needs to wait.

Ten days later, An Xiaohai did not receive any news from Wu Guanhai, but instead received a strict investigation of cell 232. All three people in cell 232 were to be taken to the prison's interrogation room for separate questioning.

As An Xiaohai walked down the street, he knew that it was very likely Wang Tiejun who had come to see him.