Chapter 1 The Struggle

Many people have seen scenes of stray dogs and cats fighting for food on the road. That kind of struggle, that kind of scramble, is done with every ounce of strength, at all costs.

Because the animals know that without food, they will surely die.

Humans have always prided themselves on being superior beings, the spirit of all things.

It's like how some people in Tongcheng, when referred to as being from Subei (northern Jiangsu), will react like a cat whose tail has been stepped on, vehemently refuting that they are from Suzhong (central Jiangsu), not Subei, which only makes them seem even more ridiculous.

Many years ago, humans also lived a life of drinking blood like beasts, but now, people often call excessive behavior "beastly."

They've become civilized,

Wise,

So they quickly want to distance themselves from their former "companions."

Just as Zhou Ze is now watching this group of people fighting for the chain, they are fighting with complete abandon and involvement. People are falling over each other, and the already poor air quality in the prison cell is stirred up with dust, making it even worse.

Finally, a man stood up holding the iron chain. His face was bruised, his body covered in contusions, and a cut on his brow was dripping blood.

This was the woman's man, the one who had been feeding her with tenderness just now.

Like a lion going out to hunt and bringing food back to his lioness, he had succeeded.

The man in the black uniform reached out and tapped the bars,

Indicating that the iron chain had an owner,

Which forced those who were still eager to try and grab it to retreat.

Actually,

At the beginning, when the food was being distributed, everyone in the prison cell showed great restraint, knowing that there was a pregnant woman in the prison.

But that didn't mean they would show mercy in the subsequent scramble for the iron chain. Eating later or eating less wouldn't be a big problem, but this iron chain meant so much more.

The man walked up to the woman with the iron chain,

Bent down,

And put the iron chain around the woman's foot,

"Click."

He fastened it,

Then he looked up,

Looking at the woman,

He was smiling,

Smiling happily,

This smile, in Zhou Ze's eyes, looked like that of an idiot.

At the same time,

He had a deep incomprehension,

What exactly did this iron chain mean,

Why were these prisoners so enthusiastic about it?

But one thing Zhou Ze was sure of was that,

This iron chain didn't seem so wonderful,

Otherwise, there wouldn't be a nightmare that still existed after so many years.

This dream was very clear, the details were so clear that they couldn't be clearer, but despite this, Zhou Ze felt that there was still a layer of mist shrouded in it that he couldn't see through.

It shrouded the truth,

Sometimes, the more real something is, the more false it often is.

Zhou Ze opened his mouth,

He wanted to say something, but the sound couldn't come out of his throat, only a hoarse murmur remained.

Then,

The man helped the woman up, the black uniform opened the cage, and a few more black uniforms came over, and they helped the woman out of the man's arms.

The man subconsciously wanted to follow, but was pushed back in by two black uniformed men.

Then the iron bars were closed again, and the man grabbed the bars tightly with both hands, looking at the woman, looking at the woman's belly.

He was still very happy,

Incredibly happy,

Extremely happy,

So happy that Zhou Ze felt that if he had the chance,

He would want to run back and beat him up.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

The sound of the iron chain scraping on the ground,

Zhou Ze was also walking,

But because this body was too weak, he was being supported by black uniforms on both sides.

Walking all the way,

Cold and lonely,

Only the sound of the iron chain rubbing against the ground was so crisp,

So harsh.

However,

When passing by other prison cells,

Zhou Ze saw a similar scene to before,

The prisoners in the cells were all gathered in front of the iron bars, craning their necks, looking at Zhou Ze, looking at the woman with the iron chain tied to her foot.

In their eyes,

It was full of envy,

The kind of envy that made them want to take her place,

When they heard the sound of the iron chain, they even showed a very enjoyable expression.

Are these people crazy?

Boss Zhou now had a face full of black question marks.

Walking,

Still walking,

Walking non-stop,

This passage was very long, and Zhou Ze was walking very slowly,

But it was obvious that the two black uniforms beside him were not using their full strength. If they wanted to, they could obviously drag this woman forward quickly in minutes.

Although this woman was pregnant, Zhou Ze knew that it was already a miracle that she could still ensure that she hadn't miscarried in this nutritional and living environment. In fact, she was very thin, just a little better than skin and bones.

It wasn't easy for her and her child to survive.

In Zhou Ze's opinion,

The black uniforms were deliberately walking so slowly,

They were like a parade,

Slowly accompanying the woman,

Like they were surrounding the champion, letting her accept the attention and cheers of others, seemingly deliberately wanting to prolong the process.

However, Zhou Ze still had a doubt,

It seemed like the direction was wrong,

Before, the iron chain had been dragged from his cell from right to left, but this time he was being helped from left to right. Zhou Ze carefully noticed this difference.

No matter how long the road,

There is always an end.

Ahead,

An iron gate appeared.

The door was opened,

Zhou Ze was pushed in,

Inside, there was a table,

With clean water and food on it,

Zhou Ze didn't move,

For Boss Zhou, eating without any other seasonings was no less than torture.

But the next moment,

An impulse rose in Zhou Ze's heart,

Zhou Ze began to reach out and desperately stuff food and water into his mouth.

Zhou Ze knew that this was just a dream, and he was taking on the perspective of a woman.

Therefore,

It wasn't him moving now,

But the woman's will to survive was forcing her to start eating, desperately eating, because she wanted to live, because she had a child in her belly.

She clearly knew that her child needed nutrition.

The gluttony lasted for a long time, but the woman never seemed to have enough to eat, but the black uniform next to her directly stopped her, interrupting her continued eating.

Zhou Ze, as a former doctor, knew that excessive eating after a period of extreme food deprivation could easily lead to life-threatening situations.

In ancient times, there was a kind of "private punishment" in prisons called "death in prison."

It was to keep the prisoners hungry, only giving them a small amount of food so that they wouldn't starve to death, but they couldn't eat their fill either. Of course, this stage could be omitted, as it was an illusion and extravagance to think of eating one's fill in a prison in ancient times.

Then suddenly one day, the jailer would set out a table of good wine and good food for you, letting you eat as much as you wanted. After you ate until your belly was round, two jailers would come over, one on each side, one grabbing your head and the other grabbing your feet, and they would lift you up to play "stretching exercises," tightening and straightening you for a while.

After doing this for a while, you would die.

With the autopsy level of ancient coroners, this kind of death would not reveal anything unusual, and there were no other wounds on the body. Jailers generally used this method to collect black money and help people get revenge in prison.

Having eaten his fill,

His body suddenly seemed to have some strength again.

A black uniformed man walked in with a water gun,

The water gun started to spray the woman.

The cold water rushed over, spraying back and forth.

The woman lay on the ground,

Sobbing non-stop,

Boss Zhou also became a drenched chicken along with her. The taste was really not good.

Afterwards,

The black uniform brought a white robe for the woman to change into, and pushed the woman, who was still a little wet but indeed much cleaner than before, out of the iron gate again.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

The iron chain continued to be dragged on the ground.

The road that had been walked before had to be walked again.

Zhou Ze was a little confused,

Could it be that the reason for snatching the iron chain was just to eat a full meal and take a shower?

Was it the same principle as snatching meal tickets and bath tickets?

On the way back, the people in the iron cages on both sides were still looking at Zhou Ze with envious eyes.

Continuing forward,

He walked to the prison cell where Zhou Ze had been imprisoned. The man who had fed her was also watching the woman by the bars. He was very excited, and also very gratified, and very happy.

This made Zhou Ze think of a song by Rene Liu:

"I love you very, very much, so I am willing to let you fly to a place with more happiness..."

Zhou Ze continued to walk forward, the iron chain still rubbing against the ground.

The black uniformed man did not send him back to the previous cell, but continued to walk forward.

Walking and walking, he went upstairs,

Walking and walking, carpets appeared,

Walking and walking,

Another iron gate appeared.

The door was opened,

There was light inside,

Giving people the illusion that they could escape from death.

People who have never been in prison cannot understand the desire for freedom when they are in prison, just as most people only truly realize how wonderful it is to be healthy and free from illness when they are sick.

Zhou Ze clearly sensed that,

An excited and joyful emotion was being produced in this woman,

Very strong,

Even her body was trembling non-stop.

She took the initiative to walk in,

The iron chain continued to drag on the ground,

Making the last bit of sound that lingered in this narrow space.

"Clang..."

After the person walked in,

The iron gate was closed.

In front, it was covered by something white, similar to the greenhouses used by farmers to grow out-of-season vegetables,

And on both sides of the nearby area,

There were things like showerheads, with many small holes.

Like a public bathhouse, it seemed like the previous bath wasn't clean enough, and he had to wash again.

The woman's emotions continued to be agitated,

She was still walking forward slowly,

And after Zhou Ze saw the layout of the surroundings,

A kind of terrifying haze immediately enveloped him,

The woman didn't know what this place was,

But he knew!

Damn,

Get out,

He needed to get out,

This was not some damn shower room,

This was purgatory,

A true hell on earth!