Chapter 540: The Chip That Cannot Be Crushed

Li Hanyu felt as if an invisible black hand had seized her heart, nearly stopping its beat.

Just as she was about to cry out involuntarily, Feng Mu's steady, reassuring voice reached her ears, like a ray of dawn slicing through darkness, pulling her reason back from the brink.

Feng Mu's voice was incomparably grave:

"Madam, when we filmed this footage, we were discovered by him……"

"Click!"

The TV cabinet door was pulled open; the force of the door opening shook the phone inside, which then fell to the floor.

Immediately after, a hand reached into the cabinet and took out the phone at a slant.

As the phone's angle swayed, the lens happened to capture the bald man's figure and pan toward the sofa behind him.

In that fleeting glimpse, two Zone Chiefs were seen huddled tightly together on the sofa.

The Zone Chief on the right had his neck twisted at a bizarre angle, his head limp to one side; the Zone Chief on the left had his forehead shattered, brain matter bubbling out.

And behind them stood a woman, silent and still.

She had a graceful figure, exquisite makeup, and an indescribably seductive allure in her brows and eyes; her lips parted to reveal a forked, red tongue.

The entire scene exuded a bizarre beauty amid the gore.

(The editing of this video's ending was Gong Qi's pride; every lens transition and scene connection was controlled to perfection, marking his scam artistry reaching a new height.)

The video went black with a "whoosh," playback ended.

Feng Mu explained aptly from the side:

"The situation was urgent at the time; we only filmed up to here. Continuing to film might have exposed us, so we hung up the phone."

Li Hanyu took several deep breaths to calm herself, then opened the subsequent photos — distant shots of the man and woman from the video's final moments.

Li Hanyu frowned slightly and asked, "Have the identities of these two been found out?"

Feng Mu shook his head gently, a trace of helplessness surfacing on his face:

"Never seen them before. Judging by their bearing, they don't seem like people from the Prison System; they should be helpers Lou Duan found through 【Clown】. However……"

Feng Mu paused, his expression growing even graver:

"These two give me an extremely bad feeling; their whole bodies emit an abnormally dangerous aura."

Li Hanyu hadn't really expected Feng Mu to uncover their true identities anyway — Feng Mu wasn't omnipotent; being able to secretly film this video evidence was already an unexpected surprise.

She basically agreed with Feng Mu's assessment, and her heart couldn't help but launch into deeper speculation:

"Judging from the interrogation in the video, this person kept addressing Lou Duan as Lou Station Chief, with a tone and manner that were very familiar.

This shows that although this person was assigned by 【Clown】, he has definitely done things for Lou Duan more than once or twice; there should have been multiple contacts between them."

Li Hanyu contemplated for a moment, then reopened the previous video, eyes fixed on the screen, watching repeatedly.

Especially the final interrogation dialogue, she scrutinized frame by frame, not letting any detail slip.

That interrogation segment was meticulously edited by Gong Qi; the order of questions was partially deleted or reversed, creating a strong implication that Lou Duan ordered the killing while preserving reasonable room for doubt.

These were all Feng Mu's requirements — he wanted to frame Lou Duan, but didn't want to pin the crime on him utterly and irrevocably.

It wasn't that Feng Mu was kind-hearted, considering Lou Duan; he was merely wary of a mother's vengeful heart.

In the upcoming Second Prison situation, whether facing Councilor Wang Xinfā or facing Lu Zong Lu Chenjia of Guangming Group, Li Hanyu was the absolutely weaker party.

Of course, she also had some advantages; her advantage lay in Qian Huan — despite lying in the fish tank, he was still nominally the Prison Warden of Second Prison.

Even more so in that she still held a small share of Second Prison, and that she had a bit of "sentimental connection" with both these men.

One was a new lover, one was an old superior.

Although both were equally cold and ruthless to the bone, as long as they didn't tear face, both were willing to present a warm facade on the surface.

So, if Li Hanyu operated properly, she could potentially please both sides.

But this wasn't enough; to sway these two's wills, Li Hanyu still had to hold a weightier chip in her hand.

This chip had to be something Li Hanyu could temporarily control, yet not something she could directly crush.

Lou Duan was this chip; more fortunately, he jumped out on his own, saving Feng Mu the trouble of selection.

Currently, the information — or leverage — revealed in this video seemed just right.

Because Li Hanyu still hadn't let anger cloud her mind, but instead asked Feng Mu thoughtfully:

"Do you think what these two said in the video is credible?"

Feng Mu blanked for a moment and asked, "What is Madam asking about?"

Li Hanyu: "Before they died, they identified that the bomb was placed by Lou Duan's people, that Lou Duan controlled everything?"

Feng Mu didn't speak in reverse anymore, afraid of misleading Li Hanyu's judgment.

His trust rating with Li Hanyu was off the charts now; he had to go along with her:

"How could that be? The bomb was placed by those two."

Li Hanyu also tended to believe what she saw with her own eyes; moreover there was the Divine Detective's endorsement, and now hearing Feng Mu give the same judgment, her conviction grew firmer:

"That's right, the bomb was placed by those two. Lou Duan most likely feared dirty water splashing onto himself, so he killed to silence them — a case of being too clever by half."

Li Hanyu could vaguely grasp a bit of Lou Duan's thinking.

If it were her, she might have made the same decisive move.

Because, whether in workplace or officialdom struggles, splashing dirty water is always the simplest way to drag an opponent down.

And the optimal solution to resolve such trouble is never to prove one's own innocence, but to preemptively plug the mouth of the dirty-water thrower, or make the dirty water vanish directly.

Lou Duan's approach this time was to make the dirty water vanish.

Clearly, Lou Duan also didn't know who was splashing dirty water on him; the repeated interrogation in the video was asking who was behind the two Zone Chiefs.

Unfortunately, these two didn't loosen their mouths and reveal it even in death.

This was also the only thing Li Hanyu found puzzling:

"Who exactly could make these two refuse to change their story to the death, biting down on Lou Duan? At the video's end, their final performance truly didn't look like acting; they seemed to genuinely feel they died wronged."

Li Hanyu very much wanted to pry open the heads of the two Zone Chiefs and see what exactly was going through their minds in their final moments.

Regrettably, she did not possess this ability, so she could only temporarily bury this doubt in the bottom of her heart.

Seeing Li Hanyu fall into contemplation for a long while, a trace of worry involuntarily surfaced between Feng Mu's brows, and he asked softly:

"Madam, what do you need me to do next?"

Only then did Li Hanyu return to her senses, the corner of her mouth hooking into a faint smile as she looked towards Feng Mu and said:

"You handled this matter extremely well; this video evidence is crucial to us. Next, you return to Second Prison first and await my news."

A smile appeared on Li Hanyu's face, and she finally did not stint on a promise to the loyal and devoted Feng Mu:

"There may be personnel changes in Second Prison going forward; rest assured, I will use every means to push you up."

Feng Mu was slightly stunned, yet he did not feign refusal; after all, doing so would instead appear hypocritical.

His expression turned serious, and he said solemnly:

"Madam rest assured, before Prison Warden Qian awakens, I will spare no effort to guard Second Prison well for him."

(End of Chapter)