Chapter 175

Hou Wendong struggled to piece together fragments of memory, trying as hard as he could to reconstruct the full picture, but he despairingly discovered that what he had seen and heard at the time was too little, almost no useful information captured.

"Damn it!!!" Hou Wendong's emotions were nearly out of control, his fists clenched, veins bulging on his temples.

The pain in his body forced him to calm down; he switched his train of thought and began to scrutinize himself, "Alright, I need to be rational. Who exactly have I offended recently? Who has the guts to dare lay hands on me and kidnap me?"

He began to review recent events one by one, as if sorting through a tangled web:

"Yesterday, I exposed Councilor Li's scandal; the day before yesterday, I bribed a researcher at Shengguang Pharmaceutical; not long ago, I ran an errand for Wang Yiyuan, and ended up in conflict with the law firm……"

Hou Wendong's thoughts shuttled along the timeline; he continued to recall: "Four days ago, I……"

"Five days ago……"

"……"

"Ten days ago, I arranged for a thief to sneak into Ma Bin's office, trying to find the ledger Zheng Si left behind; although I found nothing, Ma Bin should not have noticed my little trick……"

"Before that, I also sent someone to the Patrol Bureau to investigate the details of Zheng Si's son Zheng Hang's missing person case……"

"Further back, last month I used newspaper reporters to spread rumors online, attempting to smear Executive Official Dong's reputation……"

In Hou Wendong's Nao Hai, a series of events played back one by one like high-definition movie clips; his memory was extraordinary, and he could recall most details.

Accompanying this review of events, familiar or unfamiliar faces took turns appearing in his Nao Hai, like a rapid slideshow, switching frequently and quickly.

In this scroll of memory, Ma Bin's hypocritical face wearing gold-rimmed glasses was also interspersed, but this face did not appear frequently.

Generally speaking, Hou Wendong felt Ma Bin's suspicion was not high; in his memory, Ma Bin, the new leader of the Green Wolf Gang, knew his limits far better than the previous Zheng Si and was more well-behaved and obedient.

The latter gave him the impression of a cautious and shrewd character, unlikely to make such a rash and mad move.

The deeper Hou Wendong's memories went, the more complicated his thoughts became; a deep sense of despair gradually enveloped his heart.

Because he suddenly realized that the grudges he had accumulated were truly too many; apart from a few minor characters like Ma Bin who could be ruled out as suspects.

But apart from this small portion, most other weighty figures had sufficient motive and courage to strike back at him, or, by stirring up a storm through him, to strike at the big figures behind him.

This realization sent a chill through Hou Wendong, as if he were on a raft in an ocean full of hidden reefs; no matter which way he drifted, he could not escape the desperate strait of shipwreck and death.

"Has Xiuwan had something happen?" Hou Wendong suddenly thought of the noodle shop owner who resembled his late wife.

On one hand was concern; he was truly moved by this woman; on the other hand was…..

"If Xiuwan hasn't had something happen, she should have filed a case report by now, right?" Hou Wendong's thoughts were in a mess; at this moment he didn't even know whether he subconsciously leaned toward Li Xiuwan having filed a report or not.

"If Xiuwan has already filed a report, then Wang Yiyuan should already know the news that I was kidnapped. What action will he take? Will he spare no effort to rescue me, or does he have ulterior motives……"

Hou Wendong's heart was filled with worry; he painfully realized that those friends he had carefully maintained day by day, at this critical moment, probably not a single one would sincerely be willing to lend a hand.

Their current mindset might even more urgently hope that he would die quickly than those who kidnapped him.

"In life, there should always be one or two true friends who can share hardship; otherwise, once one passes away, even the secret evidence one holds in one's hand, one wouldn't know whom to entrust it to for detonation."

Hou Wendong thought miserably in his Nei Xin; he swore that if he could escape this time, he would definitely use "sincerity for sincerity," and at least develop and maintain one true friend.

Gate of the Cang Ku.

Three true friends who had done a big thing together and bound their lives together removed their face-covering hoods, revealing their most sincere faces to each other.

Li Shang patted Ma Bin and Chang Erbing on the shoulders deeply, his tone heavy and firm:

"You two, for my sake, did not hesitate to take risks; this kindness, I, Li Shang, keep in my heart. I won't say more words of gratitude; from now on, you two are my brothers of life and death."

Chang Erbing's cheeks flushed red; he responded emotionally:

"Captain Li, even without this matter, I, Chang Erbing, had already decided to follow you. I don't accept anyone else as captain in the Patrol Bureau, only you, Captain Li, do I admire from the bottom of my heart."

Ma Bin gently pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose; his face also showed an excited expression; he chimed in:

"Once Captain Li gets through this difficulty smoothly, resolves the Special Commissioner's problem, and is promoted to official captain, that is a matter of imminent arrival."

Li Shang laughed out loud twice; that surge of excitement made the five-finger marks that had already faded on his face once again take on a vivid flush, appearing especially glaring.

He enthusiastically spread his arms, embracing Chang Erbing and Ma Bin on the left and right, and said heroically:

"From now on, when outsiders are present, you call me 'Captain Li'; in private, we are blood brothers, call me 'Big Brother'."

Chang Erbing immediately responded loudly: "Big Brother."

Ma Bin pursed his lips slightly and followed with a somewhat shy call: "Big Brother."

"Good! Good! Good!"

A satisfied smile bloomed on Li Shang's face; then he whispered to Ma Bin:

"The next matter is left to you to handle. Erbing and I must return to the Patrol Bureau as soon as possible to prepare to receive instructions from above."

Before his voice faded, a buzzing sound of a phone vibrating came from Li Shang's pocket.

He quickly answered the phone; an urgent voice immediately sounded in his ear: "Captain Li, where are you? Come back quickly, a major case has broken out in the district, extremely urgent!"

Li Shang glanced at Ma Bin and Chang Erbing; the two immediately fell silent.

Li Shang then responded in a low voice: "I am outside tracking 【Mask】's clues; the Special Commissioner is urging me, almost once a day. Hmph, what case could be more important than the mission entrusted by the Special Commissioner?"

The person on the other end of the phone raised their voice: "Captain Li, it's really urgent! An important secretary of the Executive Government has been kidnapped; the situation is serious. The Executive Government says they will send someone over shortly to directly guide the Patrol Bureau's work."

"Got it, I'll come back right away." Li Shang hung up the phone briefly, turned to Ma Bin and said, "Next, follow your plan; we'll split up and act separately."

After saying this, Li Shang took Chang Erbing and quickly walked outside.

Ma Bin stood where he was, watching their departing figures, and warned with concern: "Big Brother, you must firmly grasp this case in your hands."

Li Shang waved his fist back, got into a badge-branded used car, drove a long distance, then switched back to the Blue White Car, circled around, and only then drove back to the Patrol Bureau.

Only after the car sounds completely disappeared into the distance did Ma Bin slowly take out his phone, which had been set to silent mode, from his pocket.

The screen displayed a missed call notification.

Ma Bin took a deep breath, pinched his throat, imitating a hoarse voice as if just awakened from a dream, and pressed the callback key:

"Secretary Du, sorry, I slept too soundly just now. What? Oh, okay, I understand. I will send out all the brothers of our Green Wolf Gang."

"The Patrol Bureau, yes, I've had dealings with them a few times; I'm relatively familiar with Captain Li Shang inside. He, uh, is somewhat greedy for money, but his lips are fairly tight."

"I don't know much about Captain Li's investigative ability; it should be passable, hmm, yes, Zheng Laoda was shot dead by Captain Li, hmm, I didn't tell him anything, hmm, okay, I understand."

"Please ask Secretary Du to convey to the leadership that our Green Wolf Gang will certainly do our utmost to share the leadership's worries."

End of Chapter