At this moment, Cao Yi's hands were covered in blood, and Wang Shan's face was drenched in it.
It was clear at a glance who the aggressor was and who was the victim.
However, to be fair, it was indeed Wang Shan who made the first move.
But the sheriffs didn't care who started the fight, nor did they care if you were obediently crouching on the ground.
As long as they passed by, they would deliver a strike with their batons.
It was a way to teach these hooligans a lesson.
There was nothing good in this dormitory.
It was filled with street thugs who brawled in alleys.
Or petty thieves with sticky fingers.
They weren't heinous criminals, but they were far from being upstanding citizens.
Seeing the baton coming down, Cao Yi instinctively gritted his teeth.
But when the baton actually hit him, Cao Yi realized it wasn't as painful as he had imagined.
Did the sheriff go easy on him?
[You have discovered the character Zhang Yang.]
Cao Yi glanced up and recognized Zhang Yang's face.
Scenes of "memories" surged in his mind.
There were images of him drinking with Zhang Yang.
And scenes of him giving Zhang Yang money.
Oh... so that's the connection.
Zhang Yang was the son-in-law of Cao Yi's landlady, Liu Guifen.
Through Liu Guifen, Cao Yi inadvertently got to know Zhang Yang.
Since then, every time Cao Yi pulled off a big job, he would give a portion to Zhang Yang.
As for what "a big job" meant...
As a small-time crook in Xiawa District, Cao Yi's entire income came from stealing.
This time, he was imprisoned for theft.
"Behave yourselves!"
Zhang Yang patrolled the cell with a mix of hitting and cursing.
"Get over there and clean up."
Zhang Yang pointed at Wang Shan first, then at Cao Yi.
Actually, only Wang Shan was injured.
The blood on Cao Yi's hands was all Wang Shan's.
Of course, Cao Yi had also taken quite a few hits.
Fortunately, none were in critical areas, so it wasn't a big deal.
With the sheriffs present, no one dared to show their teeth again.
Under Zhang Yang's watchful eye, Cao Yi and eleven other inmates lay down in a row.
Wang Shan definitely couldn't sleep next to Cao Yi anymore.
As the defeated party, he naturally rolled over to the side near the squat toilet.
Cao Yi remained in his original position.
"If I hear any noise from your room tonight, everyone's sentence will be extended!"
The sheriffs cursed as they exited the cell.
With a "clang," the cell door closed, plunging the room into a deathly silence.
As a citizen who had undergone nine years of compulsory education and graduated from a prestigious institution in the Great Xia Federation, Cao Yi was certainly not someone who blindly resorted to violence to solve problems.
But the problem was, Cao Yi's "memory" told him that the society in "Land of Divine Descent" was far from the civilization of Azure Star.
This was an era where the level of technology and living standards were equivalent to Azure Star a hundred years ago.
Xiawa District was the largest administrative district under Zhuohong City, and also its largest slum.
Here, millions of people from the lower echelons of society gathered.
Most could only repeat mechanical, heavy labor to earn barely enough to survive.
Poverty, filth, violence, gambling, and sex... these were the main themes of Xiawa District.
In such a backward civilization, it was difficult for Cao Yi to solve problems with civility.
There were countless small-time crooks like Cao Yi in Xiawa District.
They had no formal jobs and were unwilling to haul sandbags at the docks or screw bolts in factories.
Nor were they willing to scavenge in garbage heaps as scavengers.
Their only way to "make money" was through shady means.
Although Cao Yi hadn't made a big name for himself, he at least had a "skill" to rely on, which was stealing.
With this skill, Cao Yi's average monthly "income" was on par with the middle class of Xiawa District.
But unfortunately, Cao Yi's "earning" speed couldn't keep up with his spending.
Smoking, drinking, gambling, and women... each was a major expense.
Cao Yi not only didn't save a penny, but also owed a huge debt due to gambling.
It was only by luck that he was locked up in the Sheriff's Office; otherwise, he would likely have been caught by the loan sharks of the Viper Gang.
"What a damn messed-up life..."
"At least my body is still healthy, without any nasty diseases."
Thinking this way, Cao Yi felt that his prison start wasn't so bad after all.
Whether the other inmates were sleepy or not, Cao Yi didn't know.
He only knew that he was very excited now, but couldn't move around.
For petty theft like Cao Yi's, the punishment was only up to ten days of detention and a fine.
But Cao Yi couldn't quite remember how many days he had been detained.
If he had to stay in prison for a while longer, this start would truly be messed up.
With nothing to do, Cao Yi could only study the Player Interface.
Compared to traditional online games, "Land of Divine Descent" seemed to lack specific data like levels, experience, health points, mana points, and attribute points.
Instead, there were [Energy Level Stage], [Status], and a [Chaos Value] that Cao Yi couldn't understand.
Energy Level Stage was likely the "level" in "Land of Divine Descent."
Perhaps it would unlock after acquiring a profession.
Status was another way to express health, stamina, and mana.
In fact, the status section didn't display text but three clear icons and one greyed-out, locked icon.
From left to right, they represented life in red, stamina in green, and spirit in white.
The locked icon's specific status was unknown.
Each icon consisted of ten filling lines and an embedded lightning symbol.
The filling lines represented the surface status, and the lightning symbol represented the core status.
The degree of solidity of the filling lines and lightning symbol represented the remaining percentage of that status.
Cao Yi thought this should be a fully realistic "data" form.
Although the Player Interface didn't provide specific settings, the experienced gamer Cao Yi quickly figured it out.
The surface status was an immediate physical state.
For example, after just having a fight, the surface life status dropped from 100% to 93%.
This indicated that Cao Yi had suffered some superficial injuries.
But the core life status remained unaffected, still at 100%.
This showed that Cao Yi was healthy and not affected internally by the superficial injuries.
The low surface stamina and spirit status were easier to explain.
After a fight, a lot of stamina was consumed.
But since the body was not abnormal, the core stamina status remained full.
As for the spirit status... after being infused with a large amount of "memory," both the surface and core were not in good condition.
Perhaps rest was needed to recover?
However, subjectively, Cao Yi didn't feel sleepy at all...
Could the core status affect the strength and recovery of the surface status?
And would fluctuations in the surface status feedback to the core status to some extent?
What was this Chaos Value?
It shouldn't be too high, nor too low?
Not knowing how much time had passed, Cao Yi felt the simultaneous urge to urinate and defecate in his daze.
Damn...
Did he fall asleep?
This game not only required sleep but also needed bathroom breaks?
Cao Yi rolled off the bed and started relieving himself at the yellowed squat toilet.
You know, it was even more relieving than in the real world!
But in such an airtight space, you could imagine the smell.
Cao Yi's act seemed to awaken all the inmates, triggering a chain reaction of relief.
The smell was indescribably stimulating.
Wang Shan, with his swollen face, sat at the bed's edge, glaring at Cao Yi with a vicious look.
"Woo woo woo..."
A sharp whistle sounded, signaling the prisoners to wake up.
Cao Yi had no time to pay attention to Wang Shan, busy tidying up the bed with the other inmates.
Soon, the iron door opened.
All the prisoners lined up and walked out of the cell under the sheriff's command.
Cao Yi finally breathed in fresh air, feeling as if his soul had been redeemed.
In the next moment, Cao Yi's eyes widened.
The sun rose, draped in morning light.
At the horizon's edge, Cao Yi saw two suns rising together.