Chapter 277: Life Is Like a Play, Fate Toys with People

Hou Wendong was carried onto the ambulance, and as he was being carried onto the ambulance, Hou Wendong was still straining to keep his eyes wide open, refusing to close them.

He was afraid that once he closed his eyes, when he opened them again and woke up, he would not be on a hospital bed in the hospital, but inside a morgue cabinet in the mortuary.

Only when Ma Bin followed him onto the ambulance and stayed by his side as an escort did Hou Wendong finally look at him weakly to the extreme, squeeze out a grateful smile with his last shred of strength, and then pass out into a coma.

Hou Wendong absolutely did not know that when he was transported to the warehouse in that coma, the person staying by his side at that time was exactly the same as right now at this moment.

Life is like a play, fate toys with people, heh—

After the ambulance was driven away and Wang Nan's corpse was also carried away on a stretcher, Li Shang and Chang Erbing only then extinguished the cigarette butts in their hands, both their faces revealing a few traces of exhaustion, and sat back into the blue-white car.

The car windows were tightly shut.

Chang Erbing took a deep breath, lowering his voice to the absolute minimum as he asked:

"Captain Li, why must we act according to Ma Bin's script? In my view, if we listened to Secretary Du and directly dealt with Hou Wendong, wouldn't that be simpler and more direct?"

Li Shang said in a cold voice: "What, do you feel that what we're doing lets Secretary Du down?"

Chang Erbing hurriedly shook his head: "I just don't quite understand."

Li Shang fell into contemplation; he originally harbored the same thought as Chang Erbing, but Ma Bin persuaded him very easily.

Recalling it now, it's rather ironic, because the reason Ma Bin used to persuade him back then was actually strikingly similar to the words Secretary Du spoke when bidding farewell to Hou Wendong.

Li Shang adjusted his sitting posture, reorganized his language, and slowly said:

"It is precisely because Secretary Du has helped us that I believe Secretary Du should not mind helping us one more time."

Li Shang paused, then added a sentence:

"As for why we ultimately have to stand on Hou Mi's side, the reason is also simple. On one hand, the grace of patronage cannot compare to the grace of saving a life;

on the other hand, it is because Hou Mi's 'official rank' is higher than Secretary Du's. We are not standing with Hou Mi; we are merely standing with the higher one;

most importantly, Secretary Du's reward has already been partially given in advance, but Hou Mi's reward has not yet been paid out, and moreover, he is willing to pay double."

Chang Erbing froze for a moment, the corner of his mouth twitching a few times, stammering: "Captain Li's words are reasonable, I actually just..."

Li Shang actually knew full well in his heart that Chang Erbing was not too convinced by Ma Bin, unhappy that in this play, Ma Bin reaped Hou Wendong's greatest gratitude.

Even if Hou Wendong's words were true, and the other party felt gratitude toward him and Chang Erbing for saving him twice, the combined weight of those two times absolutely could not match Ma Bin's single grace of saving a life.

If possible, Li Shang would of course prefer to replace Ma Bin's role in this play.

Unfortunately, the entire play was designed by Ma Bin, the scapegoat was also found by Ma Bin; Ma Bin is the general director of this play, and Li Shang doesn't have a very good way either.

Li Shang coughed once, and said to Chang Erbing with deep meaning:

"Erbing, I understand the thoughts in your heart, but I must remind you, the three of us are now grasshoppers on the same rope. Ma Bin contributed the most this time, so it is only right that he takes a larger share of the benefits; don't be too calculative.

Moreover, Ma Bin will very likely become the person Hou Mi trusts the most in the future, which is also a good thing for us. Therefore, words that are not conducive to unity, you can complain about them to me, but you must absolutely not reveal them in front of Ma Bin in the future, understand?"

Chang Erbing nodded with an ugly expression, he forced out a smile and responded:

"Captain Li, rest assured, I understand. I'm just worried that Ma Bin's brain works too well, and he used this to climb up to Hou Mi; in the future, Captain Li, I'm afraid your words won't carry as much weight in front of him as before."

Li Shang feigned a smile, he no longer looked at Chang Erbing, but turned his head to look out the car window at the night sky, saying faintly:

"It won't happen, you're overthinking. Ma Bin is a man who values loyalty; after this matter, we must trust each other even more. Hmm... right, I had you keep an eye on No. 2 Prison; has anything happened there recently?"

Chang Erbing thought for a moment and replied: "Oh, right, almost forgot to tell Captain Li. Last night at midnight, the Patrol Bureau received a police report. The deceased was the sister of a Zone Chief from No. 2 Prison, and she died at home."

Li Shang looked at Chang Erbing, waiting for his continuation.

Sure enough, Chang Erbing continued to add: "Additionally, that Zone Chief has also gone missing, alive not seen, dead no body."

Li Shang let out an "Oh": "Anything else?"

Chang Erbing replied again: "Also, among the few prisoners we helped Ma Bin transfer last time, one named Chen Ya has also died."

Li Shang was slightly startled, and pursued the question: "How did he die?"

Chang Erbing replied: "He attacked a Prison Guard named Feng Mu together with prisoners from the same cell, and then all of them were killed in counterattack!"

Li Shang's brows furrowed slightly; he vaguely felt the name "Feng Mu" sounded a bit familiar, as if he had seen or heard it somewhere, but couldn't recall clearly, or maybe he just remembered wrong.

Li Shang contemplated for a moment, then murmured softly, as if speaking to Chang Erbing, yet also as if speculating to himself:

"If it was death due to attacking a Prison Guard, then it should not be this person. Then, what about those other few prisoners?"

Chang Erbing's face also revealed some thought; he said: "The remaining few who were transferred over are all still alive. I've inquired; they've behaved very properly and haven't stirred up any trouble."

Chang Erbing actually doesn't know very clearly either, because the prison system is a closed ecology; if matters occurring inside the prison are not actively reported, the Patrol Bureau still faces certain difficulties investigating.

Besides, the Patrol Bureau wouldn't create work for itself for no reason, let alone the fact that it's very hard for the Patrol Bureau to obtain permission to intervene and investigate inside the prison.

Generally, anything that happens inside the high prison walls, they are mostly unwilling to occupy outside "public resources"; they are more keen on self-investigation and self-correction, resolving events within the walls themselves.

There truly exists a tangible wall blocking the information.

Chang Erbing and Li Shang both have limited knowledge; it is very difficult for the two of them to completely link the Zone Chief's death, Chen Ya's "death", and a Prison Guard named Feng Mu together.

At least at this moment, they still lack a key binding agent in their hands.

But even if they could piece together all the scattered information, they would most likely still find it hard to connect it to Ma Bin in any way.

These scattered clues are like jigsaw fragments scattered on the ground; one doesn't know which are key and which are unimportant.

Unless Li Shang is a Divine Detective, otherwise, it would be hard for him to piece them into a shape.

So, is Li Shang a Divine Detective?

(End of Chapter)