Chapter One: Imprisoned

Dafeng Capital Prefecture, prison.

Andrew Bennett slowly regained consciousness, catching the damp, putrid stench in the air. It was slightly nauseating, making his stomach churn.

What’s with this overwhelming stench? Did the husky at home poop on my bed again... Judging by how strong it is, maybe it was right above my head...

Andrew Bennett had a dog at home, a husky, commonly called an "erha."

After ten years of drifting in Beijing, all alone, a person inevitably wants to keep a dog for comfort and amusement... not in a physical sense.

He opened his eyes and looked around, momentarily confused.

Stone walls, three square windows the size of bowls, and he was lying on a cold, tattered straw mat. Sunlight streamed through the square windows onto his chest, with dust motes floating in the beam.

Where am I?

In a daze, Andrew Bennett pondered, questioning his very existence. Then, he really started to doubt his life.

I’ve transmigrated...

A tidal wave of memories surged in, giving him no time to react, forcefully flooding his mind and flowing rapidly.

Andrew Bennett, courtesy name Ningyan, was a constable at the Changle County Office under the Capital Prefecture of the Dafeng Dynasty. His monthly salary was two taels of silver and one stone of rice.

His father was an old soldier who died nineteen years ago in the "Shanhai Campaign." Afterwards, his mother also passed away from illness... At this thought, Andrew Bennett felt a bit of comfort.

As everyone knows, people who have lost both parents are never ordinary.

"Didn’t expect that even after living again, I still can’t escape the fate of being a cop?" Andrew Bennett felt a twinge in his teeth.

In his previous life, he graduated from the police academy, successfully entered the system, and landed a golden job.

However, even though Andrew Bennett followed the path his parents chose for him, his heart was never in the profession of serving the people.

He liked being unrestrained, loved freedom, loved a life of luxury, and loved a line from Ji Xianlin’s diary:——

So he resolutely resigned and went into business.

"But why am I in prison?"

He tried to digest the memories and soon understood his current predicament.

Andrew Bennett was raised by his second uncle since childhood. Because he practiced martial arts for years, consuming over a hundred taels of silver annually, his aunt disliked him.

At eighteen, after reaching the peak of body refinement, he stopped progressing. Pressured by his aunt, he moved out of the Xu residence to live alone.

Through his uncle’s connections, he landed a job as a constable at the county office. Life was going well—until...

Three days ago, his second uncle, a seventh-rank green-robed officer in the Imperial Blade Guard, was escorting a batch of tax silver to the Ministry of Revenue when an accident occurred and the silver was lost.

A full two hundred taels of silver.

The entire court was shaken. The emperor flew into a rage and personally ordered Peter Bennett to be executed after the autumn, with his entire clan implicated: male relatives exiled to the border, female relatives sent to the Jiaofang Bureau.

As Peter Bennett’s nephew, he was stripped of his constable position and thrown into the Capital Prefecture prison.

Two days!

In just two more days, he would be exiled to the desolate, bitter borderlands, spending the rest of his life in hard labor.

"Starting out in hell mode..." Andrew Bennett felt a chill down his spine, his heart turning cold.

This world was under the rule of a feudal dynasty, with no human rights. What kind of place was the border?

Desolate, harsh climate—most criminals exiled there didn’t survive ten years. Many died on the way from accidents or disease before even reaching the border.

At this thought, Andrew Bennett’s scalp tingled, a cold dread creeping over him.

"System?"

After a moment of silence, Andrew Bennett’s tentative voice echoed in the quiet cell.

The system ignored him.

"System... System daddy, come out!" Andrew Bennett’s voice was tinged with urgency.

Silence.

No system, there was actually no system!

This meant he had almost no way to change his situation. In two days, he’d be shackled and sent to the border. With his physique, he probably wouldn’t die on the way.

But that wasn’t

an advantage—he’d just be exploited as a tool for the rest of his life, dying in the end...

Too terrifying, far too terrifying!

Andrew Bennett’s beautiful fantasies about transmigrating to ancient times shattered like bubbles, leaving only anxiety and fear.

"I have to find a way to save myself. I can’t just die like a dog."

In the cramped cell, Andrew Bennett paced anxiously, like an ant on a hot pan, like a beast trapped in a pit, racking his brains for a solution.

I’m at the peak of body refinement, my physical strength is frightening... But in this world, that’s just a low-level silver rank. Escape is impossible...

Rely on clan or friends?

The Xu family wasn’t a major clan, and its members were scattered. With two hundred taels of tax silver stolen, who would dare plead for him at a time like this?

According to Dafeng law, one could atone for a crime by rendering meritorious service, thus avoiding the death penalty!

Unless the silver was recovered...

Andrew Bennett’s eyes suddenly lit up, like a drowning man grabbing a lifeline.

He was a proper police academy graduate, rich in theoretical knowledge, clear in logic, with strong reasoning skills, and had read countless case studies.

Maybe he could try to solve the case, recover the silver, and redeem himself through merit.

But then, the light in his eyes dimmed.

To solve the case, he’d first need to see the case files and understand the details. Only then could he investigate and crack the case.