Translator: CinderTL
The chilling sensation of being watched slowly faded. A few seconds later, the world outside the window abruptly plunged into darkness, and an eerie silence descended.
The train seemed to have entered a narrow Tunnel.
For a moment, the surroundings seemed to shift. The ground, once soaked in blood, became smooth, and the acrid smell of burnt flesh and blood vanished.
"Who? Who touched my butt?" Pi Ruan yelped.
"Brother Pi Ruan?" Fatty's voice, filled with confusion, echoed in the darkness. "When did you come over here?"
Before the carriage had darkened, he remembered Pi Ruan being quite a distance away.
"I didn't move, Brother Fugui. Didn't you come over here?" Pi Ruan retorted.
"It's not either of our faults," Luo He said. "The carriage has shrunk."
Luo He's voice seemed to come from right behind Fatty's ear, highlighting how close they were now.
"This isn't the same carriage we were in before," Linghu Yong said, reaching out to touch the wall behind him. "It's made of metal, and there are rivets all over it." He ran his hand along the metal surface, feeling the regular pattern of raised bumps.
The ceiling had also lowered significantly, now within easy reach.
In that brief moment of darkness, they had been transported from the train carriage to this metal-walled chamber.
"Where is this place?" Pan Du asked.
No one seemed to have an answer.
Faint sounds began to filter in from outside, initially soft but growing louder. They could make out voices speaking, though the noisy environment made it difficult to understand what was being said.
Simultaneously, a violent swaying sensation intensified, causing everyone to huddle together in a chaotic mass. It felt as if they were on some kind of moving vehicle.
It wasn't like a train; the rocking motion was far too violent.
It felt more like a car taking a sharp turn.
Finally, after one last surge of inertia sent them colliding together, the vehicle came to a halt.
A scraping sound followed as a metal panel was opened, flooding the room with light. Before anyone's eyes could adjust, they were dragged out one by one.
A chill ran up their wrists as cold handcuffs were clamped onto each of them.
Once their eyes had readjusted to the brightness, they noticed several figures standing before them. They wore wide-brimmed hats and ill-fitting black uniforms, their casual postures and swagger resembling the puppet troops from television dramas.
"Keep your mouths shut and stay still!" The short, stocky man who seemed to be leading the group had a triangular gaze and a sideways glance. He held a leather whip in his hand. "You'd better figure out where you are. The Grey Stone Town Police Station is the biggest police station for miles around!"
"Don't even think about it, you lot. Even the most notorious bandits who've committed countless crimes have to behave themselves in here. Otherwise, this whip in my hand won't recognize anyone!"
As if to make an example of them, the short, stocky man swung his whip down with a resounding "crack."
After listening to him for a while longer, everyone had a better understanding of their current situation. Their dungeon setting was Grey Stone Town, a place that existed long ago—perhaps during the Republican era or even earlier.
They were currently in the Grey Stone Town Police Station's jail. The strange-looking car that had brought them here was still parked behind them. It was a vehicle with a metal-covered compartment in the back, completely sealed off—likely a prisoner transport van.
To transmigrate directly into the body of a prisoner already caught and locked up... this was hardly an auspicious start.
Pi Ruan swallowed hard and bowed deeply. "Captain, sir, have you made a mistake? I'm an honest citizen!"
Fatty, seeing Pi Ruan's reaction, thought that if they had truly transmigrated to such an era, Pi Ruan would undoubtedly be a collaborator.
"Enough talk! Don't make me whip you!" the short, stocky policeman snapped, raising his whip menacingly.
At that moment, another officer in the same uniform rushed out of the building behind them, a baton tucked into his belt. "Captain Qian, Director Qiao wants to know if you've brought the prisoners yet?"
So the short, stocky man's surname was Qian, and he was the police station's captain.
"They're all here," Captain Qian said, pointing his whip at Jiang Cheng and the others. "Director Qiao wants to interrogate them personally."
And so, the group was quickly escorted into the Police Station building.
Though called a building, it was actually just a rather imposing three-story structure, neither entirely Western nor entirely Chinese in style, with a peculiar design.
A tall, thin man with a center part greeted them in a large office. From Captain Qian's address, it was clear this man in his forties was the Police Station's director.
"My surname is Qiao," the man drawled. "I am the director of the Grey Stone Town Police Station. You may call me Director Qiao or Qiao Hanhui."
"Director Qiao," someone responded.
Everyone instinctively avoided using Director Qiao's full name.
"Very good," Director Qiao said, narrowing his eyes as he sat in a grand chair opposite them, his hands clasped together. "Do you all know what crimes you've committed?"
This was something they truly didn't know, having arrived in this world less than half an hour ago.
But as if anticipating their reaction, Director Qiao waved his hand. A young police officer quickly brought in a stack of papers and distributed one to each of them.
The papers contained the accusations against them.
Everyone's crimes were significant, and the ultimate outcome for all was death.
Zhao Xingguo and his two accomplices were charged with colluding with bandits. Lin Wan'er and Fu Fu were suspected of running a black shop, drugging and ambushing passing merchants. Luo He, a teacher by day, was secretly involved in child trafficking. Huai Yi and Chen Qiang were charged with conspiring to poison someone.
The charges against Hua Feng changed upon arriving in Jiang City. He was accused of seducing several concubines of a warlord, as well as their daughters.
Jiang Cheng glanced at the charges, then put them away without his usual defense.
"They're all normal criminals. What about me?" Fatty immediately panicked, standing up and waving his charges wildly. "They say I raped someone, but when did I ever do such a thing? I... I'm still... I've never even touched a girl's hand!"
Before Fatty could finish, Pi Ruan interrupted him with a mournful expression. "It's bad enough you're accusing me of rape, but to say I raped a nearly hundred-year-old man? Fine, an old man. But a grandfather? I can even tolerate that." Pi Ruan pointed at his alleged crimes and demanded loudly, "Come on, someone explain to me what 'failed due to personal reasons' means!"
"I've heard the wicked old society didn't treat people like human beings, but couldn't you at least put some effort into fabricating these charges?" Pi Ruan cried out in agony.
"And since it was an attempted crime, shouldn't my sentence be lighter than theirs? Why is it still a death sentence?" Pi Ruan pointed at Fatty. "I refuse to accept this! I'm appealing! Is there any justice left in this world?"
"I am the law here," Director Qiao said with a meaningful look.
"Enough beating around the bush," Jiang Cheng said, tearing the charges into pieces one by one. "Why did you arrest us in the first place? What do you want from us?"
(End of the Chapter)
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