Chapter 126: Scapegoat, Eavesdropping

Chang Erbing suddenly stood up, and in shock, his voice involuntarily rose: "Captain Li, you didn't agree to the Special Commissioner, did you?"

Ma Bin sat to the side, his pupils slightly contracting; his mind flashed like lightning, and two thoughts almost simultaneously surged forth.

The first thought was: Oh, so it was the Special Commissioner who issued this order? Then perhaps the Special Commissioner is the true "one of the family"?

The second thought was: The Patrol Bureau is tracking these students to find 【Mask】?!

When Chang Erbing and Ma Bin had their secret talk requesting assistance, he only stated the demands without explaining the purpose, but Li Shang, burdened with worries and loosened by the wine, let it slip.

Li Shang's drunkenness suddenly cleared; he glared at Ma Bin with a dark face: "Regarding 【Mask】, remember this—you must not leak a single word to anyone."

A look of obvious confusion appeared on Ma Bin's face; he frowned slightly and asked in puzzlement: "Who is 【Mask】? Is it some nickname?"

Li Shang's heart eased slightly, realizing he had overthought it; a mere gang boss had nothing to do with 【Mask】.

His heart dropped back into his stomach; he waved his hand impatiently and admonished in a harsh tone: "This is an internal secret of the Patrol Bureau, not something you should inquire about. Just remember, erase those two words 【Mask】 from your memory, as if you never heard them."

Ma Bin nodded indifferently, exhaled a long smoke ring, leaned back on the sofa, and flipped through the roster in his hand nonchalantly.

"My superior—'Mask'—is actually hiding among these ordinary students?"

"Is it not Feng Mu, did I guess wrong, or did the Patrol Bureau make a wrong judgment?"

"But judging by Li Shang and Chang Erbing's expressions, the Patrol Bureau seems to already have conclusive evidence proving that 'Mask' is indeed on this roster. So..."

Ma Bin puffed smoke with a calm face, but inside his heart surged like stormy waves; he had made a decision: "This matter, I must notify my superior immediately."

He gently extinguished the cigarette butt, the lingering smoke curling in the air.

Ma Bin's gaze inadvertently swept over the two intensely conversing people, and a trace of venomous killing intent flickered in the depths of his eyes.

If my superior truly faces the danger of exposure, then later he will stop at nothing to pry open these two constables' teeth and find out how far the Patrol Bureau's investigation has gone.

Ma Bin flicked the cigarette butt into the ashtray, smiled and nodded at the two, indicating he was stepping out for a bit.

Li Shang and Chang Erbing did not pay much attention to or guard against Ma Bin, so they did not see the look in Ma Bin's eyes as if staring at dead men.

Inside the private room.

Chang Erbing's face turned red, and he said excitedly:

"Besieging 'Destiny,' even if some extreme measures were taken, it had the endorsement of the Upper City Council, and with the Black Pillar's tight blockade, everything was legitimate."

He paused briefly, then his words came rapid and urgent like a string of firecrackers:

"As for 'Mask,' can it be compared to 【Destiny】? If they were of the same nature, would the Special Commissioner still be waiting here for us to hesitate?"

"He would have long ago ordered the Investigation Corps to tightly surround the entire school."

"The Special Commissioner did not take such action, but instead privately hinted that Captain Li should go himself. If nothing goes wrong, fine, but if things spiral out of control, won't Captain Li and our Patrol Bureau become the scapegoats pushed to the front?"

Li Shang obviously understood this principle, which is why he dared not fully agree at the villa.

He rubbed his cheeks, stiffened from tension, his voice carrying a hint of ruthlessness and unwillingness:

"Erbing, I understand what you mean. So at the villa, he only gave me a hint, letting me grasp the deeper meaning myself."

"That way, if things blow up in the future, the Special Commissioner can easily distance himself, at most being criticized for lax supervision and let off lightly."

"But us brothers who do the dirty work—none will escape; we'll all have to eat popcorn."

Seeing that Captain Li understood clearly, Chang Erbing's expression eased slightly; he truly feared Captain Li would lose his head over the title of "Acting Captain" and recklessly lead the brothers to their deaths.

Chang Erbing took a few deep breaths, adjusted his breathing, and said in a deep voice: "Captain Li, I spoke too hastily just now, don't be angry."

Li Shang's expression shifted between cloudy and sunny; he suddenly picked up the wine bottle, gulped down the remaining half bottle, then smiled ferociously: "Erbing, I don't blame you; it's the Special Commissioner who wants to drive us to death."

Chang Erbing remained silent.

Li Shang patted Chang Erbing's shoulder heavily, his face gloomy as if water could drip from it, and said sinisterly: "The Special Commissioner doesn't care about outsiders' lives—I can understand that, but he can't not care about our lives either. If this is how it is, who would still dare work for him? Don't you agree?"

Chang Erbing nodded, met the murderous glint in Li Shang's eyes, his heart thumped, but still nodded in agreement: "Captain Li, you're right; the Special Commissioner has chilled our hearts. Captain Li, tell us, what should we do?"

Li Shang said with a hoarse voice: "The Special Commissioner is after all from the Upper City; we can't openly oppose him, but we can't follow him to our deaths either."

Li Shang's eyes flashed with cold light: "You go and explain the stakes clearly to the brothers first."

Chang Erbing understood Li Shang's meaning; he said in a deep voice: "Captain Li, rest assured, I will make the brothers understand that the Special Commissioner wants to drive us all to death."

Li Shang nodded, his brows knotted into a knot: "Let me think, let me think about what to do next."

Openly defying the Special Commissioner is seeking death;

obeying the Special Commissioner is walking to one's death;

either way seems to be a dead end; Li Shang's heart was in a mess, and he couldn't think of a solution for a while, but he didn't have much time left.

Chang Erbing suddenly lowered his voice: "Captain Li, why don't we also find a scapegoat to push out?"

Li Shang was stunned and blurted out: "Ma Bin?"

Chang Erbing nodded: "We let Ma Bin do this thing; after it's done, we'll wipe out Ma Bin and the Green Wolf Gang together."

Li Shang's heart stirred for a moment, then he refused: "Ma Bin won't do; he once betrayed Big Brother to save himself, and this time he could also sell us out to save himself. This person is too clever; a matter that must end in death cannot be entrusted to him."

Chang Erbing hesitated a bit, then said: "Then bring Ma Bin in and let him offer us some ideas?"

Li Shang frowned; although he felt that in such a major matter, what use could a gang be?

But at this critical moment, he was willing to try any possible solution; might as well try a dead horse as if it were alive.

Li Shang sighed and finally nodded, agreeing to Chang Erbing's proposal.

They were all preparing to "turn traitor," so he seemed no longer worried about secrecy.

Little did they know, just as they were whispering and plotting inside the room, Ma Bin in the next room was listening to their conversation word for word through a bug.

On Ma Bin's table, a phone screen lit up, showing it was in a call state...

Thank you all for your concern.

I'm much better today, roughly from pain I couldn't bear to pain I can grit my teeth and endure!

Today's better — went from pain so bad I couldn't stand it, to pain I can endure by gritting my teeth!

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End of Chapter