novelraw Chapter 397 - 381: Danger
Chapter 397 - 381: Danger
Chang Erbing was stunned when he learned that a corpse transport vehicle had left downstairs, as if he had been struck by lightning, and he didn’t regain his senses for a long time.
After a long while, he squeezed out a dry "huh?" from deep in his throat, as if someone was choking him.
Cold sweat trickled down his spine, soaking his uniform and leaving a dark wet mark on his waistcoat.
He wiped his face with a hand, trying to make himself look calm, but the dampness in his palm completely gave away his nervousness.
"A corpse transport vehicle?"
His voice seemed squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a barely noticeable tremor, but his face forced an angry expression, trying to cover up that trace of uneasiness with fury,
"Ha, they really dare! Captain Li, if we swallow this insult, the people at the Second Prison might think our Patrol Office is made of clay, eh?"
Li Shang was not without resentment in his heart, but when his eyes fell on that black box, he strangely calmed down.
He was not a good-tempered person, but at this moment, he seemed particularly "magnanimous."
He reached out to press down on Chang Erbing’s hand, speaking in a nonchalant tone:
"Forget it, you already said they’re mad, we’re reasonable people, why bother with lunatics? Besides, he’s here to make friends with me."
"Make friends?"
Chang Erbing’s voice rose two pitches instantly, and his expression looked as if he had heard something straight out of a fantasy novel,
"Coming with a corpse transport vehicle to make friends? This is unheard of!"
Li Shang didn’t respond immediately, just gave Chang Erbing a faint glance.
In that look, there was something indescribable, making Chang Erbing’s heart tighten.
Suddenly, in shock, he said, "Captain Li, you didn’t... agree, did you?"
Li Shang reached out to open the black box, revealing the glittering gold inside, and said faintly:
"One hand with a corpse transport vehicle, the other with gold, this madman is quite sincere in making friends, don’t you think?"
Chang Erbing’s eyes twinkled with golden light, and he nodded dryly, saying:
"Captain Li is right, having a madman as a friend sometimes may not be so bad, just that his father doesn’t get along with us...."
Li Shang slammed the box shut with a ’bang’, and the golden light was instantly swallowed by darkness.
His face showed a very strange expression, as if he had been infected by the madman, his face twisted:
"His father doesn’t matter anymore. This madman’s behavior is much more dangerous than his father’s. Honestly, the pressure Feng Ju brings me doesn’t even reach one-tenth of his son’s."
Chang Erbing painfully peeled his gaze away from the black box, and upon hearing this, nodded deeply in agreement, saying:
"Indeed, Feng Ju still has reasoning, far from being this dangerous. The most frightening thing is, his son is not only mad alone, he brings along a bunch of maniacs, making the danger doubly multiplied."
Li Shang grinned and suddenly let out a peculiar laugh, echoing in the room, like suppressed emotions finally finding an outlet:
"Yes, Feng Mu is mad, but this madman isn’t helping his father, instead, he’s supporting me, which really delights me! A lunatic’s friendship, I like it, hahaha——"
Under the combination of gold and a corpse transport vehicle, the friendship between Li Shang and Feng Mu was laid on the most unshakable foundation right from the start.
.......
The rain stopped.
Upper City retracted its menacingly exposed prostate, once again directing its bumpy backside, shining brightly, toward Lower City, releasing heat and light.
Zhou Hu woke up early, frightened awake.
Early on, he received bad news—Zhao Xing was dead. He died on last night’s rainy storm, reportedly an accident.
The authenticity of the news wasn’t hard to confirm, a query at the Patrol Office would suffice.
Zhou Hu, despite confirming by phone, still wasn’t assured, and went personally to the Patrol Office to examine the body.
The corpse was stored in the Patrol Office’s morgue, and when the iron door was opened, a chilling draft rushed out.
Pulling aside the white sheet covering the body, in that instant, Zhou Hu’s eyes deadlocked on the corpse.
A headless body lay quietly on the cold metal table, the cut on the neck smooth as a mirror, as if it had been cleaved instantly by some extremely sharp tool.
The congealed blood around it appeared particularly glaring under the harsh white lights, the stench faintly seeping through the cold air into Zhou Hu’s nostrils, turning his face ashen gray.
Zhou Hu froze, and the next second, a cold smile tugged at the corner of his mouth—a smile full of barely suppressed fury and absurdity.
His voice echoed in the morgue, as if squeezed out from deep in his throat:
"Where’s his head? His head is gone, and you at the Patrol Office are telling me it’s an accident?"
His voice rose increasingly higher, nearly turning into a roar:
"Are you blind, or do you think I’m blind?"
The constable in charge of reception maintained a cold face, arms crossed over his chest, standing tall, seeming used to such scenes long ago.
His face lacked any waves, even his tone bore a hint of annoying indifference:
"The current evidence indeed points to an accident, are you questioning our Patrol Office’s professionalism, Supervisor Zhou? Forgive me for saying, your prison might not know how to investigate a case, right?"
Zhou Hu’s fist made a cracking noise as he clenched it and said harshly:
"If it’s an accident, then tell me, where did his head go?"
The constable, hearing this, didn’t even twitch an eyebrow, instead shrugged:
"It was a windy, stormy night, who knows, maybe a stray dog ran off with it. We’re very sorry about it."
"You—"
Zhou Hu, enraged, suddenly reached out and grabbed the constable by his collar, pulling him forward with such force that the constable’s expression instantly changed.
The constable staggered forward, a flicker of fear in his pupils, but his stubborn stance didn’t falter.
"Enough!"
Forensic expert Bai Ye finally couldn’t tolerate it any longer.
He’d been busy all night, now bent over packing a toolbox beside him. Hearing the commotion here, he looked up impatiently, with a tone tinged with fatigue and mockery:
"You don’t think he died by accident? Alright, then why don’t you tell us, who killed him?"
Hearing the noise from the morgue, Chang Erbing came in, his face grim as he looked at Zhou Hu.
At Bai Ye’s words, Zhou Hu suddenly faltered.
His hand still clutching the constable’s collar hovered in midair, his momentum momentarily tripped up by this question.
His face shifted between light and dark, lips pressed into a line, finally squeezing out a name through his teeth:
"Feng Mu, it must be Feng Mu!"
As the words fell, the air in the morgue suddenly cooled a notch.
Forensic expert Bai Ye, who had been looking down packing tools, halted sharply and his eyes widened.
Chang Erbing’s pupils contracted, his thin lips tensed, but he remained silent, though his right hand involuntarily slipped into his pocket, fondling the few Small Yellow Croakers inside.
It was Captain Li’s "reward," the metal edges stung his palm, yet also warmed it.
.....