Chapter 199: Important Intelligence, Subjective Initiative Maxed Out

Prison Corridor Restroom Gate.

Feng Mu habitually unclipped his electric baton and handed it to Wang Cong, saying, "You hold this for me, I'm going to the restroom."

Wang Cong took the electric baton, gave Feng Mu a slight nod, then lit a cigarette at the gate, puff after puff, gently inhaling and exhaling the smoke.

Feng Mu pushed open the restroom stall, locked the door, then took out his phone from his pocket and answered an incoming call from a virtual number.

The moment the call connected, he didn't rush to speak, but instead used his finger to tap out a rhythmic signal on the phone shell, patiently waiting for the other side to respond with a different frequency tapping code.

Only after confirming the code transmitted from that side matched did Feng Mu lower his voice and ask, "Did something happen?"

Ma Bin's voice came slowly through the phone: "This morning, an explosion occurred on Qiming Street. News reports say it was an accident caused by a gas pipe leak, but quite coincidentally, Qian Tong's car happened to be caught up in it at the moment of the explosion."

Feng Mu's brows furrowed slightly, and he asked suspiciously, "Who is Qian Tong?"

Ma Bin answered immediately: "General Manager of Tian Guang Capital, and also the biological uncle of Qian Huan, the current Prison Warden of No. 2 Prison."

Feng Mu was slightly stunned, a trace of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He didn't remember instructing Ma Bin to pay attention to the Prison Warden's relatives; this was clearly Ma Bin acting on his own initiative.

Indeed it was so; ever since Feng Mu had Ma Bin help Chen Ya and several others transfer prisons, although Ma Bin didn't know the inside story, he had already instinctively begun closely monitoring all kinds of information related to No. 2 Prison.

This behavior was not driven by any specific purpose, but was the instinct displayed by Ma Bin as an outstanding 【subordinate】.

He didn't need Feng Mu to explicitly instruct him what to do before taking action; instead, he would proactively maintain vigilance in daily life, always ready to provide all possible support and assistance to his 【superior】.

Just like in the ancient era of the previous epoch, the top-tier grand eunuchs born alongside the Emperor — they wouldn't foolishly wait for the Emperor to say he was thirsty before brewing tea.

Rather, they would prepare at all times and places to considerately present a tea cup with just the right temperature and overflowing fragrance to the Emperor's lips.

Same as now; Ma Bin sensed this news might be useful to Feng Mu, so he proactively went to verify the news's authenticity, then transmitted the confirmed-accurate information to Feng Mu at the first moment.

Feng Mu narrowed his eyes and said, "Continue."

Ma Bin replied: "No. 2 Prison is a Prison Shareholding Reform Pilot of the Executive Government, with only half a year left until the Prison Shareholding Reform Expiration Agreement; the Former Prison Warden's overwork death is very suspicious."

When Ma Bin answered the question, he was very clear on his superior's capabilities, so he tacitly assumed Feng Mu was clear on No. 2 Prison's background situation.

He didn't waste any words at all, but went straight to the theme and gave the conclusion:

"So I believe the Qiming Street explosion is an accident targeting Qian Tong."

Feng Mu's concise and forceful response also corroborated Ma Bin's judgment; he said: "Power struggle is either you die or I die, so, is Qian Tong dead?"

Ma Bin replied: "The explosion didn't blow him to death, but the person still died in the hospital."

Ma Bin directly gave the answer; he did not detail how he disguised himself after receiving the news, infiltrated the hospital, and how he cleverly utilized various means and meticulous observation to step by step deduce Qian Tong's cause of death and the subsequent secret handling.

Although this process was full of twists and complexity, even to the point of being somewhat brain-burning and thrilling, Ma Bin did not regard these details as capital for claiming credit.

His goal was pure and clear: to provide the most accurate, most timely support and assistance to his superior.

Every bit of his effort was for 【Destiny】's lofty goal, not for personal promotion.

Feng Mu appeared slightly taken aback: "The explosion couldn't blow him to death, but the person still died in the hospital?"

Ma Bin stated categorically: "Qian Tong's vehicle underwent blast-proof reinforcement, so the explosion did not cause fatal damage. The person came out of the rescue room, then was injected with toxin and murdered."

"The hospital side sealed the news; now outsiders all only think Qian Tong was injured but didn't die. Actually, Qian Tong's sister, Li Hanyu — who is also Second Prison Warden Qian Huan's mother — has already quietly packed Qian Tong's corpse and secretly transported it to Bright Group Headquarters, to garner sympathy and support."

Feng Mu didn't ask how Ma Bin deduced the above conclusions; he believed that since Ma Bin dared speak like this, the truth was eight or nine parts out of ten exactly so.

Feng Mu pondered for a moment, then asked again: "Anything else?"

Ma Bin supplemented: "Li Hanyu went to Bright Group Headquarters and hasn't come out since; Qian Huan came to the hospital twice in succession, and after leaving the hospital the second time, went back to the prison."

Ma Bin paused, then said: "Qian Tong's death will have a huge impact on Qian Huan; the mother and son, one sealing the news and going to Bright Group Headquarters, one urgently returning to the prison — this is a posture of risking their lives; going forward, Qian Huan's conduct inside the prison may become extremely radical."

Feng Mu understood clearly in his heart; Ma Bin was advising him to act carefully and watch his safety, and was also probing him one last time — whether he was staying inside the prison.

Feng Mu smiled faintly, silently marveling in his heart: Having such a capable 【subordinate】 really is quite satisfying.

Feng Mu curled his mouth, treating it as a reward for such a capable 【subordinate】; he said languidly: "Understood. I'll make good use of this opportunity inside the prison."

Ma Bin on the other end of the phone also pressed his mouth corner into a curve; he heard the tacit implication in this sentence — this sentence was equivalent to the superior acknowledging and revealing his own identity to him.

Heh—

As expected, 【Mask】 is Feng Mu!

Ma Bin took a deep breath and said: "Understood. I'll try my best to help you monitor the movements of those few Executive Officials in the Prison System from the outside."

Feng Mu responded concisely with a single word: "Good." Then he gently hung up the phone.

Between the two there existed a tacit understanding needing no many words; neither delved deeply into who exactly killed Qian Tong, nor analyzed how great the possibility was of Prison System people being involved in the murder.

These details, to them, were fundamentally unimportant.

"What's important is that Qian Tong is already dead, and who the Prison Warden Qian Huan has determined in her heart is the murderer, and in the Prison Warden's revenge script, what role I should play, or what kind of adjustment I should make by following the trend, to climb up even faster?"

Feng Mu pondered in the restroom for a while, figured out some key issues, then pushed the door out, a gentle smile once again on his face.

"Let's go, continue working."

Feng Mu took back the electric baton, casually inserted it back at his waist, and feigned exhaustion with a yawn.

Wang Cong's pupils shrank slightly; he lowered his head and followed behind Feng Mu.

……

(End of Chapter)