Chapter 534: You're All in Cahoots

Both Zone Chiefs were pressed back onto the sofa like puppets on strings, despair and confusion intertwined on their faces.

Fresh blood gushed from the severed arm and bullet holes, spreading dark red stains across the genuine leather sofa.

Gong Qi was Lou Station Chief's man?

But wasn't Gong Qi Feng Mu's man?

But if he wasn't Lou Station Chief's man, how could he have arrived here a step early to wait for them? Lou Station Chief surely wouldn't tell Feng Mu the address?

Gong Qi's explanation was ridiculous, yet seemed somewhat flawless, making people forced to believe it.

The two were completely baffled, their scalps itching to scratch.

But they dared not move their heads, because at least two black muzzles were pressed against the back of each person's head.

Gong Qi only threw out an ambiguous explanation, then said no more, leaving the two to fill in the blanks themselves.

This "believe it or not" attitude instead made the two Zone Chiefs believe more the more they thought about it, even filling in many "details" Gong Qi himself didn't know.

"Tell me, how exactly did you two bring the bomb into the Second Prison, and how did you stealthily hide it in Warden Qian's Office?"

Gong Qi's face was full of sinister malice, the malice on his face utterly undisguised.

The two Zone Chiefs had already become enemies to each other, but at this moment they still couldn't help glancing sideways at each other, both seeing question marks all over the other's face.

The bullet hole on the right Zone Chief's body was still bleeding, just bleeding less and less.

He knew he was surely doomed, but still asked with a glimmer of hope:

"If I answer your question, will you let me go?"

The left Zone Chief held his severed arm with one hand, equally staring fixedly at Gong Qi.

"Hah—"

Gong Qi let out a cold laugh like a poisonous snake,

"The grave plot Lou Station Chief personally picked for you, four rooms and two halls, as subordinates, shouldn't you not betray the leader's kindness?"

Seeing both men's faces turn ashen, he added gloomily:

"But I can put in a good word for you, asking Lou Station Chief to spare your families. You know, Lou Station Chief is most kind-hearted, and loves helping families reunite."

Gong Qi actually didn't understand Lou Duan, but he thought helping a subordinate's family reunite should be a required virtue for every good leader.

The two Zone Chiefs' faces changed drastically, both seeming to recall something.

The right Zone Chief sighed despairingly:

"Go back and tell Lou Station Chief he really misunderstood, the bomb wasn't placed by us, we really didn't..."

"Stop acting."

Gong Qi interrupted impatiently,

"Divine Detective Li Shang of the Patrol Bureau has already found ironclad evidence that you are the killers; the surveillance video clearly captured footage of you taking the bomb remnants from Warden Qian's Office."

The two Zone Chiefs' faces instantly turned as white as paper, both seeming to recall something terrible.

The right Zone Chief closed his eyes despairingly, voice trembling: "Please tell Lou Station Chief he really misunderstood, the bomb wasn't us"

Gong Qi didn't wait for them to finish, coldly laughing:

"You think Lou Station Chief would be fooled by your clumsy lies? Simply laughable. Lou Station Chief has already sent people to search your homes and found the tools for making bombs."

The two Zone Chiefs' brains seemed to crash for an instant, looking at Gong Qi in shock and despair.

Gong Qi, however, gave them no time to think, pressing them aggressively:

"A dead duck with a hard beak, fine. Then tell me who ordered you two to go to Lou Station Chief's home tonight, with such malicious intent—was it to divert the investigation's gaze onto Lou Station Chief, to pour dirty water on him?"

The two Zone Chiefs' brains ran madly; they seemed to understand something, but not completely.

Their minds were a tangled mess, various shocking thoughts surging:

The Patrol Bureau had already framed and confirmed them as the bomb placers, and then they went to Lou Station Chief's home tonight, equivalent to splashing this dirty water onto him.

So Lou Duan wanted them to die, and die silently without being discovered.

Not only that, Lou Duan also thought they did all this at someone's instigation.

Heaven knows, they really didn't have such sinister schemes.

Otherwise, how could they...

So, was Gong Qi really Lou Duan's man? After all, his words were all defending Lou Duan, meaning to wash the dirty water off him?

Even, if thinking deeper, would Feng Mu also be like Gong Qi, secretly defecting to Lou Duan, and Li Shang of the Patrol Bureau too...

Even, if he thought deeper, would Feng Mu also be like Gong Qi, secretly defecting to Lou Duan, and Li Shang of the Patrol Bureau too...

It was them joining hands to set up a trap and "kill" Warden Qian.

And they were the scapegoats who voluntarily delivered themselves tonight; bombs found in their homes, and they died here soundlessly, then everything would...

The two Zone Chiefs' brains spun madly, with many loopholes and contradictions in their logic, but now their minds were filled with obsessive hatred, caring nothing for much.

Most important was Gong Qi's very first sentence—if not for Lou Station Chief, how could I arrive here a step ahead of you, waiting for you?

Yes, they had fallen into such a state; saying a thousand and ten thousand things, wasn't it because they mistakenly trusted Lou Duan, came to the Safe House he gave, and fell into a Dead Zone?

Yes, they ended up in such a state, after all said and done, wasn't it because they mistakenly trusted Lou Duan, came to the Safe House he gave them, and fell into the Dead Zone?

Blood loss made their thinking obsessive, and hatred further distorted their judgment.

Plus Gong Qi's constant hints and repeated pressure, they were like fraud victims; under intense emotional swings, their thinking was completely led by Gong Qi.

One thought kept echoing in their minds, and then, furious to the extreme, they roared incoherently:

"You're all in cahoots... in cahoots. It's Lou Station Chief controlling everything. It was his bomb, and now he wants to frame us..."

Lou Station Chief deceived everyone. I regret trusting Lou Duan. I hate..."

Gong Qi listened to their mad roars, and a pleased smile suddenly bloomed on his face:

"Wonderful, truly wonderful!"

"Wonderful, truly wonderful!"

Gong Qi's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands with a "pa pa pa" sound.

At this moment, he finally understood that the essence of the "Phone Scam Text" taught by his junior martial brother was far from limited to mobile phones.

Those carefully designed psychological inducements, emotional manipulations, and deceptive rhetoric could produce even more astonishing effects in real-world scenarios.

"Deception is art."

Gong Qi sighed softly, his gaze gradually becoming fanatical, as if he had found a brand-new field to pursue for a lifetime.

With a "zhi ya" sound, the door of the room beside them slowly opened.

Song Ping'an held up his phone, stepping out slowly with his body bent, the phone camera always precisely aimed at the pale faces of the two Zone Chiefs, while deliberately avoiding the figures behind them, only cleverly capturing their lower bodies.

"You... you are filming..."

The two Zone Chiefs' throats seemed to be choked.

Gong Qi had already lost interest in them; he took the phone and looked at it for a few moments, then said very satisfied:

"Filmed quite well; it only needs a little post-processing to perfectly achieve Junior Martial Brother's demands."

The two Zone Chiefs stood with their mouths agape in a daze, not understanding what Gong Qi was filming, but feeling a strong sense of having been deceived.

But sadly, they didn't even know from which word they had started being deceived.

Gong Qi, however, had no interest in answering their questions; he waved his hand impatiently:

"Wrap up their scene, set things up quickly, the actors for the next scene are about to appear..."

End of Chapter