Chapter 254: The Highest Realm of Lies

Several abstract paintings hung on the wall, vibrant in color, yet they appeared dull and lusterless beneath this dazzling radiance.

General Manager Lu Chenjia sat behind the spacious office desk, fingers lightly tapping the keyboard, while the screen flickered with various data and charts.

Lu Chenjia looked at the dazzling financial statements; although total revenue remained quite substantial, expenditures were equally staggering, especially several ongoing secret experiments — they were simply a bottomless pit.

"Guangming burns nothing but money!"

Lu Chenjia sighed with deep emotion, brows furrowing slightly, and a faint golden glimmer flickered in the depths of his pupils.

Buzz buzz buzz—

Lu Chenjia opened the text message on his phone, a short essay of several hundred characters; he gave it a cursory glance.

Very quickly, Lu Chenjia's gaze grew slightly serious; compared to Qian Huan's urgency, the fluctuations on Lu Chenjia's face were not obvious — he merely picked up a fountain pen at random and wrote two lines of names on the paper beside him:

Eight-Cornered Cage Beast Fighting Plan

Qian Huan

Lu Chenjia put down his phone, pondered for a while, then drew a slash after Qian Huan's name, added another name, and marked a question mark.

Qian Huan/Wang Cong?

Lu Chenjia lowered his head and mused for a moment, then casually set the fountain pen on the table and gave it a light push; the pen spun like a lottery pointer, rotating for a long time without stopping.

Lu Chenjia was in no rush to decide; he was not one of those vulgar types who care nothing for appearances.

As a big shot of paramount importance in Guangming Group, he paid more attention to influence, and placed greater emphasis on dining etiquette.

He did not rush to the table; rather, he preferred to observe quietly first, waiting for the host or the chef to have all the ingredients prepared and laid out on the table.

Only then would he bring his cutlery, politely keep the appointment, sit elegantly before the table, fasten his napkin, and enthusiastically help the host carve the cooked dishes on the table.

Oh,

you ask, what if the host never invited him?

Impossible — the cutlery he brings himself is his best invitation; don't believe me? Ask the host that day whether they will chase him off the table or eagerly welcome his presence!!!

"Just don't know whether the one dining with me that day will be the host or the chef?" Lu Chenjia muttered to himself.

He reached out and pressed down the spinning pen; the pen stood upright in a straight line, right in the middle of 【Qian Huan/Wang Cong?】, perfectly impartial — only the pen's shadow cast by the light leaned slightly to one side.

Holding a thick envelope, Feng Mu returned to Light Prison Area A; he waved the pension in front of all the prison guards, and right before their eyes, placed a call to Tian Tao's home.

Listening to the heart-rending weeping from the phone, then looking at Feng Mu's face full of compassion, patiently offering verbal comfort and tangible pension.

All the prison guards were thoroughly convinced, deeply moved by Feng Mu's repayment of enmity with virtue, his loyalty and righteousness.

At this moment, the gazes of all the A Area prison guards toward Feng Mu were like gazing up at... the light itself.

Once, Tian Tao had used an electric baton and fear to forge his authority as captain, forcing them to submit to him.

But Feng Mu was entirely different; he illuminated them with the radiance of humanity, making them willingly bow their heads and follow behind him.

In their hearts at this moment, they all realized in unison: Feng Mu may lack the title of captain, but he already possesses the substance of a captain!

After the midday meal.

Qian Huan arrived at Area A, Zhou Hu following behind him.

Qian Huan publicly announced two interim personnel appointments; Zhou Hu kept a dark face throughout and did not speak.

First, Ma Xuan is temporarily appointed as acting District Chief of Area A, concurrently serving as District Chief of C Ward.

Second, Wang Cong is promoted to fill Tian Tao's position, temporarily acting as Captain of Light Prison Area A.

After announcing the two appointments, Qian Huan did not offer much explanation, merely saying blandly:

"The above appointments are all acting; formal appointments will be adjusted based on next Monday's prison-wide bottom-elimination ranking. I hope everyone works hard, displays their talents, and seizes every opportunity for adjustment."

Qian Huan finished speaking, turned, and did not even glance at the higher-ranking Zone Chief Zhou Hu; instead, he patted the newly promoted Captain Wang Cong.

This obvious differential treatment made the prison guards present exchange bewildered looks, their faces revealing astonishment.

Zhou Hu let out a cold snort, face gloomy, and left hurriedly; Ma Xuan, seeing this, hurriedly followed.

Instantly, only Wang Cong carrying a gourd remained on the spot; he stood expressionless, the surrounding prison guards deathly silent, a strange and tense atmosphere gradually permeating the air.

Some sharp-eyed guards exchanged glances, all thinking of that unsent text message in Tian Tao's phone; their eyes turning to Wang Cong held a faint disgust.

No one likes befriending a betrayer; this has nothing to do with who he betrayed.

They all stood behind Feng Mu, tacitly waiting for Feng Mu to speak.

Feng Mu stepped forward, a gentle smile on his face, and walked toward Wang Cong: "Congratulations, Captain Wang Cong; let us work together wholeheartedly from now on to build this Second Prison family well."

Wang Cong's face showed a sincere smile; he took a deep breath and said seriously: "Alright, Feng Mu."

The prison guards' expressions varied; although both Wang Cong and Feng Mu appeared to smile sincerely and spoke warm words, curiously, every guard heard the exact opposite meaning in their ears.

There was a sense that the more intimately they acted, the less anyone believed it, and the more one felt a gloomy, eerie killing intent permeating the air.

Coincidentally, the Prison Warden thought exactly the same.

This is precisely Feng Mu's brilliance — he exposed the lie in the form of truth before everyone's eyes.

People may be able to see through lies, expose performances, but no one can pierce the truth, because the truth is the most seamless... lie.

Qian Huan led Shi Wuming on a slow tour of the entire prison, conducting the most meticulous inspection of every zone, before returning to the office.

After sitting down in the office, Qian Huan asked Shi Wuming point-blank:

"I've taken you to meet all the prison guards; did you notice any guard concealing their strength?"

Shi Wuming lightly stroked his right eyelid; his right eye instantly shot out a blue flame, and in an instant it was like a projector, casting one three-dimensional projection after another into the air.

These 3D projections switched rapidly like slides; every projected face was a familiar prison guard, but the terrifying thing was that beneath their faces there was no flesh and blood — only pale, horrifying skeletons.

Skeletons are not frightening; what is frightening is that these skeletons, each one either ferocious, bloated, ugly, or deformed — resembling beasts, fish, birds, monsters...

They looked like a bestiary of extraterrestrial demons and monsters; in short, hardly any were shaped like humans.

End of Chapter