Chapter 335: Better Safe Than Sorry

"Barry, do you know what you're saying?"

Wells couldn't help but scratch his head; he rarely made this gesture before because it meant he was puzzled, and he had almost never been puzzled in the past.

But recently, the frequency with which he scratched his head had been getting higher and higher.

"It's the first time in my life I've heard a suspect pool calculated in 'hundreds'; you mean the range of people with the opportunity to commit the crime is roughly a hundred, right?"

"No, just the suspects," Barry replied. "We originally wanted to check people who had conflicts of interest or hatred toward Steiger, but we found his case files were slightly too numerous."

An ominous premonition rose in Wells' heart.

"How many lawsuits does he have?"

"Joe said there are over twenty ongoing and over a hundred concluded."

"."

"But I screened it with the Speed Force, and Joe was actually wrong." Barry showed an awkward yet polite smile. "There are indeed over twenty ongoing, and two hundred and thirteen concluded, involving infringement, patent misappropriation, wage disputes, workplace harassment..."

"The victims in these cases sometimes number more than one; the police filtered out over a hundred based on their alibis on the day of Steiger's award ceremony, yet there are still over a hundred people whose whereabouts at three o'clock that afternoon cannot be confirmed; they all have motive and time, so we say there are over a hundred suspects."

Wells fell silent.

He had actually heard of this black-hearted boss Steiger, but since the two had no deep cooperation, he merely thought the other party was indeed annoying and a very rich bastard.

Now he realized his impression was correct, just not deep enough; the other party was the most typical black-hearted vampire, a shameless capitalist, whose actions had not only breached the moral level but had actually long breached the legal level.

"Regardless of whether Steiger started out with these methods, he will definitely be ruined by these methods in the future," Barry evaluated. "Even if we find the six people at the award ceremony, there will still be another ninety-plus people harboring hatred."

Wells felt a headache; he originally wanted to use this case to lock onto the culprit changing future news in the newspaper, but he didn't expect the possibilities for the culprit to be so numerous.

How can this be investigated?

"However, speaking of Steiger," Barry continued, "there seems to be one more thing."

"Hmm?"

"Recently, victims persecuted by Steiger Industries have started preparing a joint lawsuit; the news is estimated to break tomorrow or the day after," Barry said. "He just received the Annual Best Contribution Award, public attention hasn't died down yet; this super-large-scale joint lawsuit accusation will surely cause a huge uproar."

"Joint accusation... interesting."

Wells' expression suddenly turned playful. "Regardless of the lawsuit result, Steiger Industries is definitely doomed; if those victims win, Steiger Industries will quickly collapse; if they lose, Steiger Industries' reputation is ruined. For a company, this is slow death."

"I think they will most likely win," Barry said seriously. "At least I hope they win; Steiger should return everything he stole from them."

"I guess others will think the same."

Wells wasn't very interested in who was right or wrong; he changed the subject and asked, "Does this joint lawsuit have an initiator or representative?"

"Initiator?"

Barry thought carefully. "This... they seem not to have said."

Wells wasn't in a hurry. "Forget it, let's end this matter here. If I were the killer, after seeing this news, I wouldn't think of acting again; instead, joining the group of appellants and watching Steiger Tower collapse would be a safer and more effective means of revenge. With things developed to this point, do you still plan to continue investigating this matter?"

Facing the Doctor's question, Barry was stunned; after thinking carefully, he slowly shook his head.

"No more investigating; I just hope the matter has a fair outcome." On the other end, Ma Ma Zhaodi rode his San San Bengzi, wobbling along, and arrived at Central City Hospital.

He carried the pastry bag upstairs, arrived at Elizabeth's room, but saw Denton putting a coat on her; the two looked like they were about to leave the hospital.

"Oh, I've already said I can dress myself now," Elizabeth noticed someone watching and couldn't help blushing as she lightly tapped Denton. "Old Ma is here, let go of me quickly."

"The physical exam report only says you've improved a lot, not that you're fully cured," Denton's expression was very serious. "You recovered so mysteriously; you still need to pay more attention to your body."

"I'm not made of glass, ready to shatter at a random fall."

Watching Denton carefully lift his wife, Ma Ma Zhaodi couldn't help but think of Mr. Freeze carrying his cryo-pod.

To use the words of The Little Prince, it was like holding a fragile treasure.

"Every time I see it, it feels sickeningly sweet," Ma Ma Zhaodi sighed first, then smiled. He asked, "Is Elizabeth being discharged?"

"Yes," Denton answered happily. "I don't know why, but recently Elizabeth's physical exam report suddenly showed her condition improved a lot; although her heart disease isn't cured yet, she can move freely now, even go home, without needing to stay in the hospital for observation."

Ma Ma Zhaodi knew Denton's joy at this moment was more than that; Elizabeth having more time meant that as long as he could win this joint lawsuit, he would have a chance to get back his own patents and exchange a heart for Elizabeth.

This extra time was Denton's hope for completely curing his wife.

"Congratulations, congratulations; in the future, I can deliver pastries directly to your doorstep."

"How about we go home together?" Elizabeth proposed. "Just invite Old Ma to be a guest for a meal, how about that? Both Denton and I feel you might be our lucky star."

"Yo, this is the first time someone has addressed me this way," Ma Ma Zhaodi's smile on his face became very brilliant. "Back in my hometown, others basically called me a jinx."

"Then they must not have discovered the luck you bring."

"Makes sense."

The three chatted and laughed as they walked out of Central City Hospital.

Dinner time was very happy; Elizabeth's cooking was excellent, Ma Ma Zhaodi also showed off his skills, and all three ate very happily.

Just then, Denton's phone rang.

He looked at the phone, and the smile on his face slightly faded.

"I'll go answer the call."

He said hello to the two, then ran into the bathroom.

"Calling at a time like this is slightly embarrassing, Mr. Black."

The familiar electronic voice on the phone said, "But there is one thing I must remind you of as soon as possible."

"Be careful; someone might come looking for you recently. Remember not to expose my existence—even if you die, don't, Mr. Denton."

(End of Chapter)