Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

After all that commotion, Cheng Dong was taken back to the temporary detention cell by the escorting police officer, and the old guard surnamed Lu also happened to return.

Their eyes met, and Warden Lu spoke first: "I had 'Poison Seed' change into those black pants you were wearing in the car. Here, I took the liberty of using the change in your wallet to bring you a meal. Eat it while it's hot!"

Compared to before, Warden Lu's tone was somewhat more amiable, but Cheng Dong was in no mood to eat at this moment. He silently took the boxed lunch and squatted down next to the radiator.

Seeing Cheng Dong's pale face and dejected mood, Warden Lu actually took out half a pack of cigarettes and handed it to Cheng Dong. "Don't look so gloomy, you're a grown man. I found this half pack of cigarettes in your car, so I'm making an exception for you. As for me, I just want to say one thing: eat and drink as you please, and we'll talk about tomorrow's problems tomorrow."

When ordinary criminal suspects come to this room, Warden Lu never gives them a kind look, but Cheng Dong is an exception. It seems that lending clothes to drug dealers has indeed earned him a lot of points.

Knowing that Instructor Lu was trying to comfort him, Cheng Dong immediately slapped his forehead, borrowed a light from him, took a deep drag on a cigarette, and then wolfed down his white plastic lunchbox...

Interrogation, detention, taking statements, and then a nude search—the whole process took so long that it was already 10 p.m.

Cheng Dong walked out of the examination room dejectedly. His handsome leather jacket and pants were gone, replaced by a blue and white cotton prison uniform. Not only that, but under the barber's violent touch, his proud "3/7 part" hairstyle had been transformed into the "teapot lid" hairstyle commonly used by labor camp inmates. Under the combined effect of various factors, Cheng Dong's roguish charm had vanished completely, and it would be an exaggeration to say that he was a completely different person.

"Hey! Not bad! The young man is much more energetic than before!" Upon seeing Cheng Dong, Inspector Lu grinned crookedly and then tossed a quilt into the other man's hands.

"That barber inside is a real bastard, he almost ripped my scalp off!" Cheng Dong touched the several bloody marks on the top of his head, cursing the barber who was in a hurry to leave work.

"Alright! Alright! Who told you to break the law! If you hadn't come through this door, you wouldn't be suffering like this!"

After a retort from Warden Lu, Cheng Dong was led deeper into the "tunnel," passing through three iron gates before stopping at the door of the last cell.

"Geng Dacheng! Come out and greet a new inmate!" Warden Lu knocked on the iron door of the first cell and called out to the inside.

Before he finished speaking, someone in the cell responded.

A few seconds later, a bald man in prison clothes ran to the iron gate. The moment the gate opened, the bald man straightened his back and saluted Warden Lu, then smiled obsequiously and said, "Warden Lu, I'll definitely train this new recruit well. I guarantee he'll be ready in a week!"

"Stop talking nonsense! You better learn the rules properly. If I find out you're acting all high and mighty here, don't blame me for being rude!" Warden Lu scolded impatiently.

"Yes! Yes! I will definitely lead everyone to carry out the renovations properly and will not cause any trouble for the government!"

The bald man dared not refute, but instead fawned over Instructor Lu for a while, glancing at Cheng Dong out of the corner of his eye from time to time as he spoke.

As the "cell leader" who assisted in supervising the prisoners, Geng Dacheng rarely suffered a setback in front of Warden Lu. At this moment, he smiled, but he was burning with anger inside. He wanted to regain his face, and the new inmate in front of him seemed to be the best target for his anger.

Sure enough, after Warden Lu locked the door and left, the smile on the bald man named Geng Dacheng gradually disappeared.

He seemed to have studied Sichuan opera face-changing; now, he changed into another mask, his whole demeanor becoming sinister and ruthless. "What's your name? Where are you from?"

"Lao Chengdong! Anyanghe County, Zhong'an!" Chengdong replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"What did you do to get in here?" Geng Dacheng asked, squinting.

"Reselling goods!"

Seeing that Cheng Dong showed no fear and answered questions without hesitation, Geng Dacheng became even more displeased. He pointed at Cheng Dong and roared, "Don't say you're a speculator, you're a drug dealer! You'll have to back down here, understand?"

Cheng Dong was new to the area and didn't want to offend this "headman." He understood that the other party was just putting on an act in front of him, so he swallowed his anger and replied with two words—"Received!"

Seeing that Cheng Dong didn't get angry, Geng Dacheng felt like he had punched cotton. He wanted to give Cheng Dong another piece of his mind, but then he changed his mind.

The fact that Geng Dacheng could sit in the cell leader's position shows that he has a certain level of shrewdness. When he was talking to Warden Lu just now, he felt that Warden Lu was "taking care" of this new recruit. Based on Geng Dacheng's many years of experience, now is not the time to fight. It would be safest to send someone to test the other party's strength.

Having made up his mind, Geng Dacheng immediately instructed the burly man beside him, "Big Wart, arrange a bed for the new recruit!"

"yes!"

The man was a big, burly fellow with a large mole on the corner of his mouth. He was Geng Dacheng's number one lackey and the "second-in-command" of the first cell. The people in the cell called him "Big Wart".

At this moment, "Big Wart" perked up and pointed at Cheng Dong's nose, yelling, "New guy! Don't just stand there like an idiot! Your bunk is at the very back!"

The man's roar was like a thunderclap, making the scalps of the prisoners tingle. Faced with such provocation, Cheng Dong suppressed his temper and walked along the wall to the very back of the dormitory.

The further you go in, the stronger the smell of toilet cleaner becomes. Without a doubt, the last bed is closest to the toilet and the space is the smallest, consisting of only a narrow strip along the edge of the bed.

Cheng Dong shook his head and said to the small-faced prisoner next to him, "Could you please move forward a bit so I can make my bed?"

Hearing this, the man with the small face was quite displeased. He pouted, symbolically moved to the side, and then stopped moving. However, this could not be blamed on him. After all, there were nearly twenty men lying on the communal bed. Even if he wanted to move, he would need the cooperation of the others!

Cheng Dong was well aware that he was being taken advantage of and was about to take action when suddenly, "Big Wart's" bell-like roar came again.

"Have you fucking taken a shower yet?! You want to go to sleep?! Go! Take a shower first!"

The other person started swearing again, clearly determined to cause trouble. Cheng Dong had reached his limit. He raised his voice and asked, enunciating each word clearly, "Where's the shower? I'm going to take a shower!"

After a few seconds of silence, the entire cell erupted in laughter, with "Big Wart" laughing the loudest. He steadied himself, touched the mole on his lip, and sneered, "A shower room, my foot! Do you think this is a hotel? 'Small Face'! Go get the new guy a basin and teach him how to shower!"

As soon as "Big Wart" finished speaking, the small-faced man jumped off the bed and ran to the storage compartment in the corner. Then, carrying a washbasin, he ran towards Cheng Dong.

"Take the basin, there's a tap in the corner of the bathroom, fill it up and flush yourself..." After saying that, "Small Face" darted into bed.

Cheng Dong took the basin of water, looking completely bewildered, while the other inmates watched with amusement. The water in the toilet flowed down from the rooftop water tower, and with the outside temperature already close to -20°C, the water temperature was unimaginable. In this condition, forget about taking a shower; even washing your face would make your scalp tingle from the cold!

That's right, this is the "welcome show" that "First Board" and "Second Board" carefully prepared for Cheng Dong. Of course, they wanted to dampen Cheng Dong's spirit so that he would submit to their tyranny.

Generally speaking, the new recruits would choose to "surrender" immediately, but Cheng Dong was different. This tough guy not only did not back down, but stripped naked in front of everyone and walked into the toilet naked.

Cheng Dong's upper body is shaped like an inverted triangle, with full and firm chest and abdominal muscles. With such a muscular physique, he can withstand not only taking a cold shower, but also soaking in an ice cave outdoors.

Even though he was so cold that his hair stood on end, Cheng Dong pretended to be nonchalant. He whistled and rubbed his body. When he was almost done washing, he suddenly picked up a large basin of water and poured it over his head.

"Awesome! That's fucking awesome! Even better than taking a hot shower!" Cheng Dong shouted, then walked out of the bathroom completely naked.

Seeing Cheng Dong's behavior, the other prisoners all showed expressions of disbelief, while "Small Face" reacted the most dramatically. He glanced at Cheng Dong's wet hair, shivered, and quickly wrapped himself tightly in the blanket, turning to the side to secretly make room for Cheng Dong.

Now that everyone knows Cheng Dong is a tough nut to crack, who would dare to make things difficult for him? As a result, Cheng Dong's bed space instantly doubled. It seems that these so-called scoundrels are all just bullies who prey on the weak.

Having passed the first test, Cheng Dong secured a place in the prison cell. He became famous overnight and stole the limelight, while Geng Dacheng and "Big Wart" looked displeased.

According to the usual script, Cheng Dong should have been kneeling on the ground begging for mercy long ago. Even if he had some backbone and gritted his teeth to take an ice bath, the two of them would have a backup plan. They would take advantage of Cheng Dong's shivering from the cold and throw a basin of ice water on him until he was screaming from the cold, and that would achieve their goal.

The two had never failed in their tactic of suppressing new recruits, but it just didn't work on Cheng Dong. How could Geng Dacheng and "Big Wart" not hold a grudge?

"Big Wart" was a roughneck with strong limbs but a simple mind. Seeing Cheng Dongfeng's rise to power, he was very unhappy. Just as he was about to do something, "Headboard" pressed him down.

At this moment, Geng Dacheng narrowed his eyes and said in a chilling tone, "Don't worry, there's plenty of time. We'll have plenty of opportunities to deal with him..."