Chapter 204: Prologue Opens, Feng Mu Is a Good Person

At this moment.

Wang Cong felt that Feng Mu was like a beam of light piercing through his dark life, so dazzling and blinding that he was willing to die for this light.

Wang Cong's eyes were filled with bloodshot veins; he looked deeply at Feng Mu and voiced the doubt hidden in his heart:

"Feng Mu, why are you helping me so much? With your ability, you could completely seize this opportunity and climb up on your own."

Feng Mu knew in his heart that Wang Cong still harbored doubts; naturally, he could not tell Wang Cong that he was preparing for a rainy day, worried that subsequent prison reforms would be too crazy, cause a huge mess, and so he was preemptively shaping a scapegoat to give himself a layer of armor first.

If, following Prison Warden Qian Huan's logic, the prison is viewed as a joint-stock enterprise, then the meaning of the black hand behind the scenes is that one can quietly be a chairman, but the front-facing legal representative is unnecessary — one still has to cultivate a trustworthy person to take the post.

Feng Mu sighed deeply and said helplessly:

"Two reasons. One is empathy — I also have a past I don't want to look back on, so I can't stand to see good people bullied; therefore, I want to help you walk out of your predicament."

"The other reason is that I've only just arrived a few days ago — I have no foundation and no seniority. Even if I wanted to advance, the Prison Warden would never promote me, right?"

Seeing Wang Cong reveal a pensive expression, Feng Mu continued:

"Even if I luckily achieve some results and the Prison Warden appreciates me, overriding objections to promote me — do you think the veteran prison guards in Second Prison would accept a newcomer climbing directly over their heads?"

"If the people below are all unconvinced, it will only hinder my work and be unfavorable for my long-term development. So I see it clearly: I'm just a newcomer. Instead of unrealistically thinking about advancement, it's better to first familiarize myself with the environment, get along well with my colleagues below, and most importantly…"

Feng Mu paused, then spoke candidly:

"Follow a good Captain. That way, when the Captain rises, won't I rise with the tide too? Heh—"

Feng Mu's words were well-founded; both reason and emotion held water. Coupled with his performance during this period, which Wang Cong had all seen with his own eyes, it was hard not to accept and acknowledge his explanation.

At this point, the last trace of doubt in Wang Cong's heart toward Feng Mu dissipated like smoke.

Now, he instead began to doubt himself.

On one hand, he doubted whether he had the ability to truly climb up; fortunately, Feng Mu's support and help gave him a glimmer of hope and confidence;

On the other hand…

Wang Cong's fists unconsciously clenched tight, fingernails digging deep into the flesh of his palms. He met Feng Mu's gentle yet firm gaze, his voice low and hoarse:

"Feng Mu, rest assured. If I can climb up, I will definitely pull you up too."

Feng Mu grinned, revealing a mouthful of neat white teeth, and said with absolute certainty: "Mm, Captain Wang Cong, I believe in you!"

Hearing Feng Mu call him "Captain" left and right, Wang Cong felt as if his whole being had already donned the Captain's uniform, as if one foot had already climbed out of the muddy quagmire, a scorching hot current surging in his heart.

After dinner.

Tian Tao assembled all the prison guards, his face gloomy as he ordered them to meet their quota this week without fail. He looked especially displeased, singling out Feng Mu and Wang Cong by name, blathering on with severe warnings for the two of them not to drag the team down.

Wang Cong and Feng Mu nodded solemnly, repeatedly assuring him they would not disappoint the Captain.

That night, most prison guards voluntarily chose to work overtime. For a time, the entire floor was filled with brutal roars, rising and falling miserable screams, and a faint burnt smell drifting in the air.

It continued until ten at night, when the prison guards, exhausted from swinging electric batons, finished their labor one after another, chatting and laughing as they left work.

Only Wang Cong and Feng Mu, on night shift, appeared unhurried, entering cell after cell, directing the prisoners to skillfully clean up the bloodstains and horizontal corpses on the ground.

Almost every cell had prisoner casualties.

If corpses were counted as KPI in the assessment, then tonight Second Prison had indeed created a shocking historical record.

However, Feng Mu knew in his heart that this was only the beginning; the 【Last Place Elimination System】 hadn't even exerted force yet.

If no one calls a halt, this number will only keep rising — until the day half the prisoners die or half the prison guards die.

Feng Mu couldn't guess whether half the prisoners would die first or half the prison guards would die first; he was actually quite curious about it.

"Wait, be gentler."

Feng Mu softly stopped the prisoners' rough handling of the corpse. He walked over slowly, gently fishing out a sunken eyeball from the corpse's bloodstained collar.

"The man's dead; we should at least let him be whole. Can't let him go to the other world as a blind man, now can we."

Feng Mu's words were full of compassion. He gently pinched the eyeball, gently stuffed it back into the corpse's eye socket, then meticulously adjusted the eyeball to the correct position, as if treating his beloved family.

Only then did he look at the several prisoners in the same cell — expressions fearful, resentful, or numb — and said in a gentle voice:

"Be a little gentler with your inmate's corpse. That way, when the day comes that you're the one being carried out, everyone will also be a little more gentle and patient with you. You say, isn't that the logic?!!"

Feng Mu's voice, full of human concern, entered every prisoner's ears, causing their expressions to change — especially the young prisoner closest to the corpse's head, whose eye sockets welled up with moved tears.

His arms carrying the corpse trembled violently; the blood-slicked head slipped from his grasp. Feng Mu swiftly sidestepped and stepped forward, both hands extending in time to steadily catch the falling skull.

Crack—

Feng Mu still couldn't fully adapt to his surging strength; several pieces of burst skull bone dropped to the ground with a crisp sound.

The prisoners nearby were startled by this sudden mishap and retreated repeatedly, finally one of them plopping down on the cold floor, terrified.

"Hey, don't be nervous. Not your fault — it's my mistake."

Feng Mu turned to look at the frightened prisoner, an apologetic yet tolerant smile on his face. Unhurried, he took out a bottle of super glue from his pocket.

Today he had already accidentally crushed two iron cups, a table corner, and three chair arms; he had clearly anticipated the current situation in advance and made ample preparations.

Feng Mu slowly squatted down, gently picking up the scattered fragments, then carefully used that bottle of super glue to stick them back onto the corpse's skull.

The prisoners beside him witnessed this scene; their hearts were like stirred dye vats — both shock and unease, and deep emotion.

The prisoner who had erred quickly crawled to Feng Mu's side, trembling as he picked up the fragments from the ground, handing them to Feng Mu while summoning courage, his voice carrying a sob: "Officer Feng, us prisoners all say in private that you're a good person. So, please, can you tell us the truth — are we all going to be beaten to death like Hou Laosan soon, right?"

Feng Mu fell silent, only concentrating on gluing the bone fragments. After a long while, he turned his head, scanned a glance at all the prisoners looking over, and sighed faintly.

Feng Mu kept silent, only concentrating on sticking the White Bone Fragments, and after a long time, he turned his head, scanned a glance at all the prisoners looking over inside the room, and sighed faintly.

Silence at this moment spoke louder than words. In an instant, all the prisoners' hearts were in chaos, panic-stricken to death…

At this moment silence spoke louder than words; in an instant, all the prisoners' hearts were in chaos, panic-stricken to death...

End of Chapter