Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

"You two, tell me honestly, why did you cause trouble?!"

In the interrogation room, the prison guard in charge of the furniture project asked impatiently, "I had a dinner date with my girlfriend today, and with these two causing such a scene, it looks like it's going to fall through."

"Report to the ward, it's him! Li Yong, he stole my things!"

"What did he steal from you?"

"They stole my cigarettes...and...they're all gone! They just stole my cigarettes!"

"I didn't steal anything from him. This guy framed me, saying I stole his cigarettes and lighter!" Li Yong certainly wouldn't let go of the opportunity to trick Kunji.

The smoke itself isn't a big problem; the key issue is the lighter.

"Shut up! It's not your turn to speak yet!" the prison guard snapped, furious.

He had noticed Kunji a long time ago. This guy was very flamboyant, and recently he must have had some good luck. He was quite extravagant. Not only did he always have a cigarette in his mouth, but he also handed them out everywhere. Even the prison guards accepted cigarettes from Kunji.

The prison guards knew that Kunji had a Z-brand flip lighter.

Although it is absolutely forbidden for prisoners to possess fire sources without permission, this kind of thing is not uncommon in the First Prison. It's become so common that everyone turns a blind eye.

Prison is a microcosm of society. Behind every prisoner who possesses the "fire" (i.e., a kind of criminal), there must be someone else involved. It's best not to delve too deeply into these matters, as it would make things awkward for everyone.

Fortunately, nothing bad has ever happened at the First Prison because of this.

"Zhang Kun, you said Li Yong stole your cigarettes, what proof do you have?"

"Do I need evidence? Who else would dare steal my cigarettes besides this bastard?" Kun Ji rolled his eyes, looking as arrogant as could be.

"This is outrageous! You dare to hit someone without any evidence? Zhang Kun, do you even know where you are!"

"Reporting to the disciplinary officer, I was wrong, I shouldn't have hit him, but this idiot stole my cigarettes!"

"Alright, alright, don't make things up without evidence! And you, you should stay out of their way!"

"Disciplinary officer, I didn't do anything to him!"

Li Yong was practically tearing his hair out. He felt that the prison guard was doing it on purpose. He was definitely protecting An Xiaohai, protecting his good little brother. That was it!

"Alright, that's it! That's enough! Zhang Kun, you lost your cigarettes, so be it. Stop making a scene. If you keep going, everyone will feel uncomfortable! You two, write your self-criticisms here, and then go back to work immediately. We'll let you know how we're going to deal with you, understand?"

"Reporting to the discipline officer, understood."

Now that their objective had been achieved, Kunji would certainly not continue to provoke the prison guards here.

"Hurry up and write it down. Once you're done, go back to work. You have to finish today's task, or you won't even get dinner!" The prison guard said irritably, handing the two men paper and pens before going outside the interrogation room to smoke.

"What's wrong with these two?" the young prison guard's partner asked.

"Who knows what they're up to! Probably just some gang infighting again. This Zhang Kun seems to have gotten involved with An Xiaohai lately and is reaping quite a bit of benefits."

"He's gotten involved with An Xiaohai? Didn't he used to hang out with Gui Zhilun? You know, that Gui Liu."

"Who knows? These people, one day you're with me, the next day I'm with you, it's like children playing house. But I'm a little curious, who gave Zhang Kun that lighter? Old Fang, do you know?"

"I know roughly that little bit."

"Who gave it to you?"

"Stop asking. Why bother getting so clear about this? Just turn a blind eye. It's good for you, good for me, good for everyone. Just mind your own business."

"That's true. It's just that these two guys made a fuss at the worst possible time. I had plans to have dinner with Xiaoli, and I guess they ruined it again."

"Is she the girl from the wool mill?"

"Yes, it's her."

"Pretty good, you have a good eye."

"That's right!"

"Alright, I definitely have to work overtime today, but you can go to the appointment. I'll keep an eye on these two guys."

"Really? Wouldn't that be a bad idea?"

"What's wrong with that? Don't worry, they won't cause any trouble. Besides, it'll only take an hour or two. I'll just watch them finish the job, so you can go ahead and do your job without worry."

"Okay, thank you, Lao Fang. I'll remember this favor."

"Of course, you'll pay for next late-night snack."

"no problem!"

Kunji and Li Yong slowly finished writing their self-criticisms.

Both of their handwriting was crooked and messy, and the entire letter of apology contained more typos than correct words. By the time the prison guard patiently helped them correct all the mistakes, three hours had passed.

Dinner time arrived quickly. Even though the prisoners were working overtime, they still had to be fed.

To avoid causing trouble for Lao Fang, the young prison guard took the initiative to fetch the food.

"Old Fang, what's this kid doing here?" The young prison guard pointed with his chin at Ma Xiaowei, who was spraying paint for Li Yong.

"He volunteered to stay and help. It's good to have more help so we can finish the work sooner and I can leave earlier."

"Why don't I stay here too, Lao Fang? I feel it's not right for you to be here alone watching over things."

"Come on, go on, what could possibly happen? There's no point in me going back early. My wife, that old hag, never gives me a kind look. It's not easy for you to find a suitable girl, go on, go on."

"Okay, I'm going. Thank you, Lao Fang!"

The young prison guard glanced at the three of them one last time, then left with some lingering unease. However, the thought of his girlfriend's stunning figure quickly dispelled any remaining worry.

Spray painting requires thick protective gear, including goggles, masks, and so on.

Li Yong needs to take a short break every now and then to remove his protective gear, get some fresh air, and have a drink of water.

After finishing dinner, Li Yong worked for half an hour before deciding to take a short break. He stopped working, removed his protective gear, and walked out of the workshop with Ma Xiaowei. They went to sit on a step next to the workshop to rest.

The prison guard named Lao Fang glanced at them but didn't seem to care much.

The prisoners in the prison may seem to be unrelated to each other, but in fact they each have their own territory, and they usually stay in their own territory when they are resting.

Li Yong and Ma Xiaowei were targeted by other prisoners, so where could they find a good spot? They could only sit on the steps to rest, and over time, they had gotten used to it.

Everything seemed perfectly normal.

"That undercover agent went too far! He actually dared to send his underlings to cause trouble for us two brothers. It's truly hateful!" Ma Xiaowei said through gritted teeth.

Regardless of whether An Xiaohai admits it or not, and regardless of whether there is evidence, Li Yong and Ma Xiaowei have already concluded that An Xiaohai is an undercover agent; otherwise, it would be inexplicable why Wang Tiejun would betray them.

"Alright, enough said, let's just bear with it for now. It'll only be less than a year. Once this guy gets out, hmph... wait!?"

Li Yong was sneering, but suddenly he caught sight of something red and white lying quietly in the grass not far away.

"Brother Yong, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing. Look over there, isn't that a cigarette box?" Li Yong casually pointed in a direction with his chin.

"It looks like it... Brother Yong, look! The lighter's here too! Damn it, that kid Kunji must have dropped it here when he was fooling around with someone, and he's actually accusing Brother Yong of taking it. He's fucking insane!"

"Heh, this time it really is mine! Come on, let's go over there and take a look around, we'll steal the cigarettes and lighter first. It's been a while since I smoked, damn it!"

As Li Yong spoke, he stood up, pretended to stretch, and slowly walked towards the edge of the grass. Ma Xiaowei quickly followed behind him.

Old Fang, the prison guard, glanced at them but still ignored them.

At the same time, Kunji sneaked into the paint spraying workshop and poured all the two packets of icing he had brought into the opened paint bucket that was placed to the side. He was now stirring it rapidly with a brush.

An Xiaohai has already explained very clearly that the icing must be fully dissolved in the paint for better results and to make it less likely to be detected later.

Through the gap between the tools, Kunji could clearly see that Li Yong and Ma Xiaowei walked to the edge of the grass and discreetly picked up the cigarettes and lighter that he had deliberately placed there.

"Two idiots... Boss is truly amazing!"

Kunji sighed softly and shook his head as he thought to himself.