Chapter 531: Digging One's Own Grave

In the spacious living room, three cups of hot tea steamed with mist on the tea table.

Lou Duan sat on the sofa, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the faces of the two Zone Chiefs opposite him.

The scene seemed familiar — the same positions, the same two Zone Chiefs — only the previous two Zone Chiefs had now met their ends: one had committed suicide out of fear of punishment, the other had fled out of fear of punishment.

"So, the explosion has nothing to do with you two?"

Lou Duan lifted his teacup; the hot steam blurred his cold lenses.

"Station Chief Lou, this matter indeed has nothing to do with us two……"

The Zone Chief on the left nodded heavily, the flesh on his face trembling:

"But Feng Mu will definitely seize the opportunity to frame us! That's why we two came knocking in the middle of the night — to ask Station Chief Lou to uphold justice for us!"

The Zone Chief on the right hurriedly chimed in:

"Exactly. Zhao Xing and Zhou Hu were taken down by Feng Mu using despicable means, framed and set up."

Lou Duan stared at the two with a strange expression, his heart a mix of feelings; for a moment he actually didn't know how to respond.

The Zone Chief on the right had clearly misunderstood; he leaned forward, squeezing his eyes and lowering his voice,

"That, Station Chief Lou, just give us a hint — this explosion case, was it someone sent from above….."

His mouth said "above," but his eyes were fixed tightly on Lou Duan; the meaning couldn't be more obvious.

After all, among the Prison System's high-level, Station Chief Lou had previously been the most opposed to Second Prison's reform — at least on the surface.

Lou Duan looked at the pair as if they were fools; never mind that this wasn't his doing, even if it were, who asks so bluntly to someone's face?

His face immediately darkened, and he let out a cold snort:

"Since it wasn't you two, what grounds does Feng Mu have to frame you? Does he have leverage on you?"

The two Zone Chiefs exchanged a glance, first shaking their heads, then hesitantly nodding:

"No, it's just that after the explosion we entered the Warden's Office again and took some things — Li Bashan might have caught us, so……"

Lou Duan was slightly stunned, a bad premonition rising in his heart: "What did you take?"

Seeing Lou Duan's face darken, the two hurriedly answered truthfully:

"Dismissal letters. Qian Huan forced us to sign those documents; we almost fell for his trick. Fortunately, right after the explosion, we retrieved the documents immediately."

Lou Duan's face turned black; he could imagine the scene in his mind.

He seemed to see these two idiots sticking their butts out in the thick smoke picking up documents, caught red-handed by Li Bashan — if that behavior didn't arouse suspicion, nothing would.

Lou Duan suppressed his anger and asked again:

"Where are the documents?"

Both Zone Chiefs simultaneously wore cunning expressions, looking pleased with themselves:

"Station Chief Lou, rest assured. After leaving Second Prison we found a place and burned the things clean. That way, we're still Second Prison's Zone Chiefs, able to continue managing Second Prison for you and the higher-ups."

Lou Duan's temples throbbed; for a moment he didn't know whether to curse these two as stupid or clever.

"Fine. Now the evidence is destroyed, which is tantamount to thoroughly confirming the suspicion of destroying criminal evidence. In all my years in office, I've never seen such people who dig their own graves."

Lou Duan's mind raced wildly; he realized he had made a fatal mistake.

He shouldn't have opened the door for these two idiots tonight; now not only can these two not clear their names even with a hundred mouths, he's also gotten himself covered in shit.

Lou Duan looked at the two seriously for a while, confirming that these two were stupid without knowing it — they didn't look like they had anything else hidden or were lying.

He couldn't help but frown tightly, sinking into contemplation:

"The explosion has nothing to do with me, nor was it done by them two — then who exactly planned it in secret, and what is their purpose?"

Several suspicious candidates flashed through Lou Duan's mind; however, after carefully considering each one, he felt none of them were much like the mastermind behind the scenes.

He suddenly realized that this explosion case had made Second Prison's already complex situation even more baffling — even harder to see through than when Zhou Hu and Zhao Xing were still around.

This time, without anyone prompting him, Lou Duan sensed an extremely dangerous aura.

He had barely managed to silence Zhao Xing and Zhou Hu, pulling himself out of this muddy water at Second Prison; who would have thought that before he could even settle for two days, shit would come splashing to his door again.

"These two idiots truly deserve to die."

Lou Duan thought this in his heart, but his face suddenly broke into a smile, the corners of his eyes squeezing out a few pleased wrinkles,

"Burned well, burned wonderfully!"

Hearing this, the two Zone Chiefs straightened their backs, identical delighted smiles appearing on their faces simultaneously.

They didn't notice at all that just across in the high-rise apartment — Gong Qi was holding up an ultra-high-definition camera phone, clearly freezing the three beaming faces before the floor-to-ceiling window.

Looking at the high-definition, uncensored "evidence group photo" on the screen that invited endless imagination, the corner of his mouth slowly curled into an arc identical to those in the photo.

(Look, this is what happens when you don't draw the curtains!)

Lou Duan set down his teacup, then said to the two in a deep voice:

"You two did well. Qian Huan's life and death are unknown; without Qian Huan's support, Feng Mu can't stir up waves in Second Prison. However, Qian Huan's mother Li Hanyu still has some influence — we must be on guard……"

Lou Duan frowned slightly, putting on the appearance of a good superior who considers everything thoroughly for his subordinates:

"You must understand — a mother avenging her son has no reason to speak of; any extreme action wouldn't be surprising."

The smiles on the two Zone Chiefs' faces stiffened slightly; they both thought of Zhou Hu and Zhao Xing's not-so-wonderful ends in unison, and both swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

"Station Chief Lou, please save us two — we'll certainly serve you in the future……"

Lou Duan hurriedly waved his hand, cutting off their generous declarations; he didn't dare accept such idiots' loyalty, afraid they'd jinx him to death.

Wearing a solemn smile on his face, he soothed them in a deep voice:

"We all work for the Prison System; I naturally won't watch you fall into danger and ignore it.

Here's the plan: you two don't go home for the next few days.

Zhao Xing died at home — home definitely isn't safe now. Don't wander around outside either, lest you end up like Zhou Hu — wandering and wandering until your whereabouts become unknown……"

The two listened, nodding their heads like chickens pecking rice, agreeing repeatedly.

Only then did Lou Duan stand up and walk into the study.

He stopped at the desk, pulled out a sheet of note paper, then picked up a pen and wrote a string of addresses on the note paper.

After writing, he pinched thought for a moment, crumpled the note paper into a ball, threw it into the trash can beside him, then pulled out another sheet of note paper, switched the pen to his other hand, and rewrote that string of addresses.

This string of addresses was originally prepared for Zhou Hu.

Zhou Hu refused his goodwill, didn't use it, and met a miserable end of alive not seen, dead no body.

Fortunately time flows and turns; this string of addresses ultimately still had to be put to use.

"These two people should not disappoint my goodwill again, right?"

Lou Duan sighed, walked out of the study, and handed the note paper to the two people.

Six eyes met, confirmed through gazes, mutually both were people who would not disappoint each other...

(End of Chapter)