Chapter 259

Zhou Hu cast a gloomy glance at the duty prison guard, making up his mind that if he ever stayed overnight at the prison again, he would definitely keep the door wide open while sleeping.

Zhou Hu watched the surveillance footage again and asked in a cold voice, "Are there any traces of tampering with the surveillance?"

The technical prison guard in the monitoring room shook his head at him: "The network defense system detected no intrusion, and the surveillance has not been tampered with."

Zhou Hu's face grew even darker. He sneered, "So a ghost shadow followed Tian Tao inside, and then all the surveillance probes just played blind?"

The technical prison guard felt Zhou Hu had spoken the correct answer, but he didn't dare to agree aloud.

Zhou Hu let out a cold snort and had the technical prison guard copy all the surveillance recordings.

Zhou Hu took the copied surveillance recordings and the autopsy report and hurried out of the prison.

He drove all the way, encountering quite a few blue-white cars roaring past along the road, followed by several armed vehicles from the Investigation Bureau, and the road checkpoints along the way were noticeably fewer.

Zhou Hu drove all the way and finally arrived at an upscale residential compound. He walked straight into one of the high-rise buildings and knocked lightly on the door.

The door was opened.

Zhou Hu looked at the aquiline-nosed man who opened the door and said, "Lou Station Chief."

Lou Duan's gaze swept quickly over Zhou Hu, noticing the autopsy report clutched tightly in his hand, his face still maintaining its usual cold expression as he turned sideways to gesture Zhou Hu inside.

Zhou Hu quickly changed into indoor slippers, and just as he looked up, he couldn't help but freeze.

Inside the room, besides him, there was actually another person sitting quietly.

"Didn't you say you weren't coming?" Zhou Hu looked at that person.

That person sat upright on the edge of the sofa, both hands placed properly on his thighs. Hearing this, he slowly raised his head, revealing his true face — it was none other than Zhao Xing, the Zone Chief of Second Prison's death row zone.

In the morning, when Zhou Hu heard the news about Tian Tao and Chang Wei, he immediately contacted the other Zone Chiefs, hoping they would go see Lou Station Chief together with him.

However, they all refused Zhou Hu's request to his face without exception. Zhao Xing even reprimanded him harshly, emphasizing that one must have evidence when speaking and cannot groundlessly slander Prison Warden Qian.

The scene became very ugly at the time, and they parted on bad terms.

However, to Zhou Hu's surprise, Zhao Xing had actually come secretly on his own, and even earlier than him.

Zhao Xing sighed, the corner of his mouth hooking a trace of mockery: "You're rallying everyone in Second Prison against Prison Warden Qian. Who do you think has a hole in their brain to agree to you?"

Zhou Hu retorted mockingly: "What are you afraid of? Second Prison is our turf. Qian Huan is the outsider."

Zhao Xing shot back: "If you're not afraid, would you come to Lou Station Chief's place? Besides, what you're holding — that's Tian Tao's autopsy report, right?"

Zhou Hu's face flushed red, about to retort, but then heard Lou Duan let out a cold snort, and both of them hurriedly shut their mouths.

Lou Duan pointed at the sofa, signaling Zhou Hu to sit down, then poured him a cup of tea before saying blandly:

"If you want to argue, go argue outside. Come back in when you're done."

Seeing neither of them making a sound, Lou Duan then looked at Zhao Xing and reprimanded:

"Zhou Hu has a violent temper. Don't keep provoking him, acting like you're so smart. Smart people don't show off on their tongues."

Lou Duan turned his head and reprimanded Zhou Hu:

"And you. How many times have I told you? Don't let the fire in your heart show on your face. Don't let people see through you at a glance. If you really can't learn, go look at more dead people and learn the expression of the dead."

Zhou Hu and Zhao Xing, having received the scolding, hurriedly lowered their heads, putting on an appearance of humbly accepting the teaching.

Seeing this, Lou Duan beckoned to Zhou Hu. Zhou Hu didn't dare delay and hurriedly handed over the documents in his hand respectfully.

Lou Duan took the documents and slowly opened the autopsy report, his gaze scanning quickly across the pages.

When his gaze stopped at the last column, he paused slightly.

"Acute myocardial infarction sudden death." Lou Duan softly read the forensic doctor's conclusion, his voice calm as water, revealing not a trace of emotional fluctuation.

Zhou Hu hurriedly cut in, speaking urgently:

"Exactly. The former prison warden also died of acute myocardial infarction sudden death. I've long felt something was fishy. The former prison warden's death was absolutely not accidental. It definitely has something to do with them too..."

Lou Duan raised a hand to interrupt Zhou Hu, his tone extremely serious:

"Before there is conclusive evidence, don't speak recklessly. Moreover, this matter involves two successive prison wardens. Think it through before you speak."

Zhou Hu had a look of wanting to speak but stopping. Lou Duan wasn't surprised that Zhou Hu couldn't produce evidence.

Lou Duan picked up the U disk and asked blandly, "What's in here?"

Zhou Hu: "This is the corridor entry and exit footage from when Tian Tao died."

Lou Duan nodded slightly, then asked, "Did the footage capture the killer's figure?"

Zhou Hu's face turned black: "No. But it's precisely because it didn't capture the killer that it shows how terrifying the killer is. As far as I know, in all of Second Prison, not a single person can bypass all the surveillance in the corridor."

Zhou Hu paused, seeing Lou Duan didn't interrupt him, and continued:

"Before Qian Huan came, no one in Second Prison could do it. So it can only be after Qian Huan came — that is, the people he brought in. Doesn't that prove the killer must have been dispatched by Qian Huan?"

Lou Duan waited for Zhou Hu to finish and didn't rush to judgment, instead looking at Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing understood immediately:

"Second Prison's surveillance system was reinstalled by a professional security company hired by Tian Guang Investment. The design is meticulous, with almost no surveillance blind spots."

Zhao Xing thought for a moment, then added:

"I'm familiar with all the prison guards in Second Prison. I agree with Zhou Hu's judgment. Before Prison Warden Qian's airborne appointment, from top to bottom, not a single prison guard in Second Prison could bypass the new surveillance system."

Zhao Xing paused, then swallowed a mouthful of saliva:

"Moreover, I heard that the scene when Tian Tao died was quite bizarre."

What Zhao Xing didn't say was that the bizarre and horrifying manner of Tian Tao's death was also the main reason that prompted him to rush over to report to Lou Station Chief.

Zhou Hu nodded in agreement and quickly opened his phone album, presenting the crime scene photos he had taken to Lou Duan:

"Yeah, Lou Station. The ceiling at the scene was covered in blood writing. It looked like Tian Tao climbed up there and wrote it himself. It's a bit creepy."

Lou Duan scrutinized the photos on the phone screen, his pupils contracting slightly, but he didn't express a stance, merely returning the phone to Zhou Hu noncommittally.

Lou Duan knew clearly in his heart that these two men before him were actually both a bit frightened.

He contemplated for a moment, then turned his gaze to Zhou Hu and asked calmly:

"Then, do you have a specific suspect in mind? I'm not talking about Qian Huan. Qian Huan can't be touched for now."

"What I mean is, which person do you suspect Qian Huan brought into the Second Prison?"

Zhou Hu was still quite clear on Qian Huan's various actions after his airborne appointment to the Second Prison, including how many new Prison Guards the latter had recruited in total, and the expansion of the Prison's internal security forces.

"As of this morning, Qian Huan has brought in a total of 9 people, and the most suspicious person among them is……"

Face after face flashed through Zhou Hu's Nao Hai, finally freezing on one face, and he said in a sinister voice,

"That's right, it should be him!!!"

(End of Chapter)