I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 1079 Conflict (Bonus chapter for the big boss Feng Junzi Haoran, second update)
Hearing Liu the warden's call, Zhang Chen didn't try to get special treatment and followed the main group into the crowd. But as Zhang Chen looked at the village before him, a strange look appeared in his eyes; he couldn't tell whether he should laugh or cry, and could only sigh at the strange twist of fate.

Do you know why?
Because the village in front of them was the same village where Zhang Chen had lived in the past, the place where he was almost drained dry by a fox spirit at the beginning.

"Now that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is reviving, I should be able to summon the fox spirit Nannan, right?" Zhang Chen thought to himself, his gaze sweeping over the outline of the village in the distance in the darkness. Unfortunately, it was all covered in white snow, and even he couldn't see it clearly.

At this moment, the men and women in the crowd were mixed together. Zhang Chen saw the young lady Bai Ziling, who was wrapped up in a ball and shivering in the crowd. Even though she had prepared a cotton coat in advance, she still could not resist the cold north wind.

Zhang Chen pushed through the crowd and came to Bai Ziling's side. Looking at Bai Ziling's face covered with frost, he reached out and put his hand into her pocket, grasping her hand. The next moment, a fiery energy entered Bai Ziling's body, circulating her blood and stimulating her yang energy. His cultivated magic power was poured into her body bit by bit.

"Zhang Chen..." Bai Ziling was startled by Zhang Chen's actions, and then felt the warm current in her body that dispelled the cold. She stared at Zhang Chen with wide eyes and disbelief.

"Shh~" Zhang Chen made a gesture to keep it a secret.

The two then listened quietly as Warden Liu arranged everyone's food, clothing, and lodging:

"See that village ahead? That's a village in Weichang. All the prisoners and educated youth live together in that village. You'll all live together. There are houses that have been built long ago, with ten people per room, and men and women living separately. In the first month, Weichang will provide you with basic rations. Then you'll need to work to earn work points. Starting from the second month, everyone will exchange their work points for living supplies."

"Next, the hunting grounds will unlock your shackles. Of course, some of you shouldn't even think about escaping. This area is deserted for miles around, and wild beasts often patrol the mountains. If you leave the hunting grounds without weapons, your chances of survival are almost zero." As he spoke, Warden Liu waved to his junior officers, who immediately stepped forward and unlocked all the prisoners' shackles. A knowing smile appeared in Warden Liu's eyes. In the past, some prisoners had managed to escape, but none could cross this hundred-mile wilderness. Did they really think the outskirts of the Daxing Mountains were a safe haven?

If it were a good place, why would they send prisoners here to serve their sentences?
Then, Warden Liu began to instruct his subordinates to distribute the people according to the roster. At the same time, lights were lit in the village, illuminating the road ahead in the darkness, and welcoming the group of people as they walked into the village.

Zhang Chen was randomly assigned by a guard to a civilian house. The house was built of adobe and had two rooms, one on the east and one on the west. Each room had two large kang beds, each five meters long. It would be too crowded for ten people to sleep on them. There was a flame burning in the stove, but it was not burning very brightly. The kang beds were covered with woven straw mats, which were old and worn, revealing the soil underneath.

The temperature of the kang (heated brick bed) was very low; it wasn't hot at all, just barely warm to the touch.

A group of people rushed forward, began to claim the space, and spread their belongings out on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Zhang Chen felt a chill run down his spine upon seeing this scene; he had no habit of sharing a dormitory room with others.

The sour, foul smell emanating from the people around him made him feel nauseous. Even though he was a Qi cultivator and couldn't yet practice embryonic breathing, the smell still gave him a headache.

While Zhang Chen was lost in thought, the others had already slipped into their blankets and fallen into a deep sleep on the kang (heated brick bed).

People these days don't care about such things.
The sour, stinky smell of those feet, in particular, was intoxicating, giving one an indescribable sense of pleasure.

"I wonder how Miss Bai is doing now. Given her pampered nature, she definitely can't stand this kind of suffering," Zhang Chen thought to himself.

Zhang Chen ultimately did not get onto the kang (heated brick bed). Instead, he silently went to the stove and sat quietly in front of it to warm himself by the fire. For him, meditation was a substitute for sleep, and whether or not he slept was not important.

Zhang Chen didn't sleep that night, and neither did the young lady in the girls' room. She huddled alone in her room, her eyes glistening with tears.

And further away
Prince Wang also sat in front of the stove, his eyes fixed on the dim flames, a thoughtful look in his eyes. Behind him, Zhang Jun brought a coat and draped it over Prince Wang's shoulders.

"Your Highness, I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"What's there to feel aggrieved about? If others can adapt and live like this, why can't I?" Wang Gong said nonchalantly, then turned to Zhang Jun and said, "Go and rest. You've had a long day, you must be tired." "I've practiced martial arts since I was a child, I can handle it!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jun revealed a simple and honest smile.

Second day

Accompanied by the familiar whistle, a group of people rushed out. In the knee-deep snow, men and women formed lines. Then, Warden Liu led a group of junior guards carrying guns out of the cold wind, holding a roster and beginning to call roll. After the roll call was finished, he began to assign tasks: "Listen up, everyone. Next, we'll assign labor tasks. All the exiled criminals and educated youth from the city will be responsible for logging in the mountains. For every large tree you cut down, you'll be recorded as work points according to its size."

"Sir, are we women also required to do this kind of heavy work?" one of the female educated youths asked reluctantly.

Since the female educated youth were not prisoners, Warden Liu spoke more gently: "There is no distinction between men and women here. Everyone is treated equally. However, women can team up with men, and men can team up with men. No one will care about you. But if you don't have enough work points and can't get food, don't come begging to me. If you starve to death in this deep mountain forest, no one will stand up for you."

Upon hearing this, the female educated youth's face immediately turned ugly, while Zhang Chen subconsciously turned to look at Bai Ziling. This young lady couldn't even distinguish between the five grains in the past. Asking her to cut down trees was like asking her to die.

Bai Ziling subconsciously looked at Zhang Chen. Zhang Chen raised an eyebrow and gave Bai Ziling a look that said, "Don't be impatient." After the steward finished giving his instructions, he began to distribute the equipment, including sleds that had been prepared in advance, as well as various axes and large saws. The people began to huddle together for warmth in twos and threes.

We had been traveling together on the train for over a month and already knew each other, so forming a team at this point was just a natural progression.

Zhang Chen certainly didn't want to work, nor did he want Bai Ziling to do any work. Seeing that everyone had already formed their own teams and left, Zhang Chen took Bai Ziling's hand, and his magnetic field power emanated from his body, invading everyone in the field. He walked all the way to Liu Guanjiao's side: "Liu Guanjiao, this is a friend who came with me. Because he is too weak, he can't do heavy work. How about he help me out?"

Upon hearing Zhang Chen's question, Bai Ziling tensed up, gripped Zhang Chen's hand tightly with a look of anxiety, and stared intently at Officer Liu.

How could an ordinary person withstand the strength of Zhang Chen's soul?
Faced with Zhang Chen's question, Inspector Liu immediately nodded without hesitation and agreed, "Okay, from now on she will be your assistant, working with you to repair the machines here. We will give you basic work points every month, and you will get work points for each machine you repair."

Bai Ziling was overjoyed to hear that Officer Liu had actually agreed. She quickly bowed to Officer Liu, who then turned to the junior officer beside him and said, "Make a note of this. From now on, Zhang Chen will be in charge of the mechanical repairs in our hunting grounds, and this lady will be his assistant."

The junior guard over there had already been hypnotized by Zhang Chen. Upon hearing this, he immediately stepped forward to ask Bai Ziling's name and arrange her work schedule.

Zhang Chen then said to Instructor Liu, "Instructor Liu, I'm not used to the dormitory I was assigned. Do you have any ideas on how to resolve this?"

Upon hearing this, Warden Liu looked troubled: "If you were ordinary educated youths, it would be easy to resolve. I would simply approve a plot of land for you to build a new house. But since you are prisoners, you must be managed in a centralized manner..."

"Officer Liu, please take good care of me and help me out." Zhang Chen pulled a hundred-yuan bill from his sleeve and stuffed it into Officer Liu's pocket.

Although he could directly control Warden Liu to order him to solve his housing problem, it was far too crude. What if someone from outside came and noticed something was wrong?
Moreover, hypnosis can only confuse people temporarily. What if they wake up and then change their minds?
It would be better to spend some money now, and with your financial resources, resolve this matter perfectly.

When Warden Liu saw the hundred-yuan bill, his eyes lit up with joy. He calmly put the bill away and said, "There is still some room for negotiation in this matter. I will allocate a large courtyard for you under the pretext of building our Weichang Agricultural Machinery Station. You can move in and live and work together, and no one will gossip. When you make contributions in the future, or when I gradually find a way to reduce your sins and remove your criminal status, many things will be much easier to handle."

"Then thank you very much, Officer Liu." Zhang Chen was overjoyed upon hearing this and bowed to Officer Liu. Next, Officer Liu personally arranged an empty courtyard for Zhang Chen. The courtyard was several hundred square meters in size and used to be a large warehouse. Now it was directly allocated to Zhang Chen to be used as an agricultural machinery station.

Zhang Chen was overjoyed, as he now had more room to maneuver.

(End of this chapter)