I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 1074 Going North
After realizing that Bai Ziling was not in any immediate danger, Zhang Chen felt relieved. Given Bai Ziling's status and position in Shanghai, if she was in danger, then ordinary people probably wouldn't be able to survive.

Zhang Chen hired a carriage and rode towards the prison, pondering his future plans.

Zhang Chen arrived at the prison, but this time he did not receive any special treatment. He was locked up like an ordinary prisoner, but he was not harassed.

“Prisoner 5527, this is your certificate. In seven days, a train will be heading to the North. Someone will escort you there. Is there anything else you want to say? The prison can relay it for you.” A foreman approached Zhang Chen, handed him a certificate, and asked a question.

Zhang Chen shook his head upon hearing this: "No!"

"Your package needs to be inspected." The guard looked at Zhang Chen's package.

Zhang Chen nodded upon hearing this, opened the package, and allowed the guards to inspect it.

As for money, valuables, gold and silver, he had already secretly instructed the Five Ghosts to bury them outside the prison. He was familiar with the characteristics of the people in the prison, and if they discovered the money in his bag, he would inevitably be 'beaten'.

The so-called "payment" is not the kind of money transferred to a bank card in later times, but rather, as the name suggests, it means directly torturing and beating you until you are willing to pay.

Throughout history, prisons have always been lucrative positions; controlling a prison is tantamount to controlling a treasury.

The foreman searched Zhang Chen's belongings thoroughly but found no money, food coupons, or other valuables. He frowned and asked, "Didn't your family send you any money? How will you survive when you go to the north?"

Zhang Chen smiled wryly upon hearing this: "You don't understand. I was brought in by my family, and all this luggage was bought with the help of my friends."

Upon hearing Zhang Chen's words, the guard was visibly taken aback, looking at Zhang Chen with a face full of pity, before wrapping his arms around him and closing his eyes: "Go ahead."

Zhang Chen had already fallen into such a miserable state, so he didn't want to make things too difficult for him.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen gave a wry smile, picked up the package, turned around, and walked into the prison, arriving at his familiar cell.

The scene of prison bullying did not happen to Zhang Chen. In fact, Zhang Chen did not even encounter it. Apart from a very small number of troublemakers, who would dare to continue causing trouble in prison?
In this era, one wrong move and you could be shot. If you don't behave yourself in prison and cause trouble, you're definitely doomed.

Time flew by and the seven days passed. On the day of their exile, the warden had breakfast with everyone, then put shackles on Zhang Chen and the others who were being exiled with him. A large truck then appeared, and the group was escorted by seven or eight heavily armed soldiers to the train station for their departure.

In this era, labor is a very valuable resource, and prisons never keep idle people.

Zhang Chen boarded the train without any incident, but as soon as he entered the carriage, he was stunned because he saw a familiar face: Bai Ziling!

At this moment, Bai Ziling was also in shackles, sitting quietly by the car window, her eyes red and swollen as she looked at the scenery outside.

Zhang Chen was stunned when he saw Bai Ziling. He really couldn't understand why Bai Ziling would be here.

Bai Ziling was looking out the window and didn't see Zhang Chen enter the carriage.

At this moment, Bai Ziling felt a deep sense of reluctance to leave the city. She was still thinking about her father, mother, and younger brother. Her family had suddenly been scattered to different parts of the country, and in one day, her family had been destroyed. This despair filled her heart with sorrow.

From a high-and-mighty young lady in Shanghai, she fell into the dust and became a prisoner. For her, it was worse than death. It can be said that her state of mind underwent a complete change in just one day.

Looking at the prisoners coming and going at the Shanghai train station, a face suddenly popped into his mind: "I wonder how Zhang Chen is doing now."

His family fell on hard times, and the university in Shanghai took back his dormitory. I wonder if that unlucky guy has found a new place to live.

Zhang Chen was the most peculiar man she had ever met in her life. The purity in his eyes and the freedom and unruliness he exuded gave her a sense of shock she had never experienced before.

"Goodbye, Zhang Chen! He probably won't know where I went. In his life, I must have suddenly disappeared. I wish you and Shi Yunan will have a chance to rekindle your relationship and achieve your wishes." Bai Ziling silently wished him well.

Filled with suspicion, Zhang Chen approached Bai Ziling and placed the package on the roof rack of the car, but it still didn't attract her attention. Since Bai Ziling was alone, Zhang Chen simply sat down next to her. Looking at Bai Ziling's melancholy eyes, he thought to himself, "No wonder I didn't see Bai Ziling when I left the Shanghai University dormitory that day; something must have happened to her family."

"How did you end up on this train, Miss?" Zhang Chen interrupted Bai Ziling's thoughts. The familiar words made Bai Ziling's eyelids twitch. She turned her head in disbelief, her eyes fixed on Zhang Chen: "What are you doing here?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Zhang Chen asked with a smile.

She had previously said that if Zhang Chen was really going to be exiled to the frontier as a prisoner, she would come and accompany him. Now she wished she could slap herself; her jinx was really accurate.

Upon seeing Zhang Chen's familiar face, Bai Ziling's worries lessened considerably. Facing the unknown environment, having a familiar person by her side made her feel much more at ease.

"I wonder if we can be assigned together. If we can, that would be wonderful." Bai Ziling's words were full of anticipation.

“This train is heading to the North, and we’ve been assigned to the same carriage, so there’s a very high chance we’ll end up in the same place. Don’t worry, we’ll definitely be together. You took care of me for a month in Shanghai, so let me take care of you, Miss, when we get to the North,” Zhang Chen assured him, patting his chest.

For him, it wouldn't be difficult to pair himself with Bai Ziling, given his methods. His mastery of magnetic fields had reached an unbelievable level. Although he couldn't directly modify people's memories, creating illusions to hypnotize them wasn't difficult.

"I really hope we'll be assigned to the same place, so we can have someone to rely on in that unfamiliar place." Bai Ziling's eyes showed a hint of anticipation.

Zhang Chen nodded firmly upon hearing this: "You don't need to worry, we will definitely be together."

At this point, Zhang Chen looked at Bai Ziling's pale face and knew that she hadn't eaten well. He took out two steaming hot buns from his bag and handed them to Bai Ziling: "I can tell you haven't been eating or sleeping well, right? Eat something!"

"Where did you get these steamed buns? And they're freshly made and piping hot!" Bai Ziling looked at the large, white, and tender steamed buns Zhang Chen handed her, her eyes filled with disbelief. She subconsciously swallowed as she looked at the steaming buns.

Zhang Chen was on his way to be imprisoned, so how could he have steamed buns? And they were even piping hot steamed buns?
She was a pampered young lady from a wealthy family; how could she possibly get used to the sloppy food in prison?

Seeing those big, white, and tender steamed buns now makes my stomach rumble uncontrollably.

Zhang Chenneng said that the food on the train was exceptionally good, and that the large steamed buns were brought over from the restaurant by the Five Ghosts.

Faced with Bai Ziling's question, Zhang Chen leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "To be honest, I've actually mastered some techniques for dealing with those feudal superstitious things."

The hot breath brushed against Bai Ziling's ear, causing her to blush. She grabbed Zhang Chen's steamed bun and glared at him, annoyed. "I'll just quietly watch you spout nonsense!"

While talking, Zhang Chen lowered his head and took small bites of his steamed bun. He quickly said, "Keep your head down, don't let the train attendants see you."

In fact, he was just pretending to be nervous. With his mastery of magnetic fields, no constable would have seen Bai Ziling eating steamed buns.

Zhang Chen, who was also munching on a steamed bun, suddenly pulled out a plate of roast chicken from his package. The roast chicken was steaming hot, and the heat hit Bai Ziling's face, leaving her completely stunned: "This is impossible!"

No matter where Zhang Chen bought the roast chicken, during the long time he had to queue to verify his identity and then enter the carriage, there would never be such a steaming hot roast chicken.

Zhang Chen tore off a chicken leg and stuffed it into Bai Ziling's mouth: "Eat your food properly, kids shouldn't ask questions."

After speaking, Zhang Chen tore off another chicken leg and started eating it.

At this moment, Zhang Chen was emitting a magnetic field, and anyone who approached the two seats would be affected by the magnetic field and automatically move away, and would not come closer.

After finishing the roast chicken and steamed buns, Bai Ziling looked at Zhang Chen's package with a curious expression. Zhang Chen quickly closed the package and said, "What are you doing? I'm telling you, don't even think about taking my package."

Bai Ziling glared at Zhang Chen, rolled her eyes in annoyance, then closed her eyes and leaned against the window to rest. After a while, she suddenly whispered, "Thank you."

(End of this chapter)