Era of Magic and Martial Arts

Chapter 396 - 380: What Is the Maximum Passenger Capacity...?

The voice-activated light at the hallway entrance lit up, stretching two unfamiliar shadows on the ground.

Just standing at the door, the two men made Li Shang feel as if he was overshadowed by two terrifying shadows, causing his heart to race wildly.

The one on the left was a burly giant like a steel tower, with shoulders seemingly wider than the door. He stood there quietly, the light overhead appeared distorted, making Li Shang feel as if one foot had stepped into the gates of hell.

The person on the right was much more normal in stature, but his expression was even more sinister, his eyes cold and piercing, with a hint of a venomous serpent coiled in his pupils, and his lips curved in a sinister smile.

The two said nothing, but the unmasked aura around them almost seemed to have "killer" engraved on their foreheads.

And not ordinary killers, but the most vicious kind, the sort that would wipe out entire families without hesitation.

"Captain Li, the prison sent people to pick me up. I wanted to chat with you a bit longer, but I guess I should go now."

Feng Mu appeared behind Li Shang, gently patting his shoulder.

Li Shang immediately realized that the two at the door were brought by Feng Mu, and he quickly stepped aside, forcing a smile like that of a friend.

Feng Mu walked out the door, turning his head to wave at Li Shang:

"I was very happy today, becoming friends with Captain Li. Goodbye."

Li Shang felt ten times happier than Feng Mu did, immensely grateful that he had agreed to be friends with Feng Mu, or else he might have already met a grim fate.

"I am very happy too!"

Li Shang took a deep breath, trying to make his tone sound more ardent, and then added,

"Goodbye!"

Feng Mu turned away with a smile, Gong Qi naturally draped a black coat over Feng Mu’s back, and Li Bashan followed them indifferently, as if covering the two with an even thicker raincoat with his towering shadow.

Watching the three figures disappear at the end of the hallway, Li Shang finally exhaled deeply, as if he had just struggled up from beneath the deep sea.

He raised a hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, feeling a chill as he touched it, and realized his shirt was already soaked through.

He shook his head, barely suppressing the tumultuous emotions within, and turned to close the door, as if that could keep the danger outside.

Just as he sat back on the sofa, he heard hurried footsteps in the hallway again, each step pounding on his nerves.

He frowned, immediately getting up to the door, this time not opening it directly, but peeking through the peephole before opening it with a dark expression.

This time, it was indeed Chang Erbing and a team of constables standing outside the door.

However, their faces were pale, with anxious and even visibly fearful expressions, completely different from their usual boisterous, aggressive demeanor, like wilted eggplants.

Li Shang’s face darkened as he raised a hand to intercept, allowing only Chang Erbing inside, leaving the others outside.

He turned and walked into the room, speaking in a low tone, "What’s going on? Why so slow?"

Inside, Chang Erbing’s expression was uncertain.

He glanced down at his toes, seemingly hesitant to make eye contact with Li Shang before lowering his voice to speak:

"Captain Li, the brothers actually arrived early... but just now, at the building’s foyer, they were blocked by a group of prison guards. It’s really not that the brothers were not up to the task."

Li Shang frowned even tighter, "Speak!"

Chang Erbing’s voice dropped, carrying a hint of lingering fear:

"About a dozen prison guards, in uniform, stood in a line at the door, each holding a gun, not letting the brothers in."

"Captain Li, you know the brothers, they never hesitate to draw their guns when handling cases."

"But this time is different, the word ’police’ is also in prison guard, the brothers have apprehensions. If a gun were fired, the nature would change, and it would definitely cause big trouble for you, Captain Li."

His voice became increasingly faint, almost a whisper, as if afraid of being overheard.

"But those prison guards downstairs, they seem entirely unafraid, the naked malice in their eyes was real, they truly dared to, even..."

Chang Erbing paused abruptly, wiping away the cold sweat on his forehead with slightly trembling fingers, his gaze wandering as if recalling that suffocating scene downstairs.

He swallowed and added:

"They seemed eager to engage in a shootout, not caring about anything, not even their lives."

"The brothers aren’t afraid of dying, just... "

Chang Erbing seemed lost for words to describe the feeling, he felt they shouldn’t be blamed for this.

He paused, searching for a description, but finally shook his head, clearly unable to find appropriate words.

With a dry mouth, he grabbed the teacup on the table and took a big gulp to calm down, tea dripping down his chin unnoticed as he spoke in a trembling voice:

"Captain Li, really, those prison guards from Second Prison, their eyes, damn it, were insane!"

Li Shang stood up abruptly, quickly walking to the window and pulling a corner of the curtain aside.

Outside, the rain fell lightly, wetting the ground into a dark mirror, reflecting the outlines of high-rises and streetlights, their harsh headlights appearing especially cold in the rainy night.

Umbrellas opened in the rain, like series of abrupt yet solemn black flowers, the people beneath them moving with coordinated precision, hands holding handles, slightly bowing.

Between overlapping umbrella shadows, rain slipped from the edges like beads, splattering tiny droplets on the ground.

Under one umbrella walked Feng Mu with an elegant stride, a tall and short figure followed closely behind.

Li Shang’s gaze involuntarily followed, watching Feng Mu slowly approach a black sedan parked by the road.

The car door was courteously held open, the umbrella shadow moving with him, precisely blocking the raindrops, until he gracefully seated himself inside, then quickly closed.

Li Shang squinted slightly, intensifying his grip on the curtain, widening the angle.

His gaze followed those umbrella holders, noting their coordinated movements, even the same direction in which the umbrellas folded, like puppets masterfully controlled, a singular brain driving multiple bodies.

If rehearsed, it was absurd; if not, even more so!

Within seconds, they had all returned to their cars.

Right after, a line of understated black vehicles started sequentially.

The engine’s deep rumble pierced the rain, tires cutting through puddles, casting up water that shimmered like shattered diamonds under the light.

The convoy sped away like a black snake, tail lights drawing cold lines against the dim streetlights, until it faded into the darkness.

The outside returned to silence, leaving only the sparse sound of raindrops on the ground, like an unfinished, melancholic symphony harboring some unsettling undertone.

Li Shang released his grip on the curtain, letting that section of fabric fall, concealing everything outside.

Turning around, he returned to the sofa silently, sipping tea.

Putting down the cup, he couldn’t shake the last scene in his mind.

Unless he was mistaken, just now, at the end of the departing convoy, the last vehicle seemed to be... a corpse transport vehicle from the crematorium?

Li Shang’s fingers unconsciously tapped the cup’s rim, emitting a faint "ding-ding" sound.

His thoughts drifted unbidden to a chilling question: What’s the maximum capacity of a corpse transport vehicle...?.