Chapter 844: Guiding Light

Chapter 844 -703: Guiding Light

The heavy solid-wood office door closed softly behind Feng Mu, and all the rich expressions on his face ebbed away like the tide, leaving only a bottomless calm.

Right after that, he pulled out his phone from his pocket, his fingertips sliding quickly across the screen until he found a number, then pressed the call button.

This call, of course, was one he had to make, but the purpose was definitely not to “verify the situation.”

He knew perfectly well what the truth was; this call was just to make sure the act was complete, every little detail polished until there wasn’t a single flaw.

After all, sitting inside that office was Li Shang, Zone 9’s acknowledged Detective.

Chances were that later he’d go digging into this phone call, checking exactly who it had been made to.

Inside, Li Shang was indeed not idle; his brain was running at full speed.

His first suspicion was that Feng Mu would call Qin Liang or Bai Ye to verify the situation, in which case the purpose of the call would be easy to understand.

Of course, there was another possibility: Feng Mu didn’t call either of those two, but a third person, and then the purpose of the call would be very intriguing.

With high probability, the person behind this call would be…

“So, Feng Mu, who are you going to call?”

All kinds of associations floated through Li Shang’s mind, but he didn’t choose to press himself against the door to eavesdrop.

He just glanced at the time on his own phone, memorized it, and planned to have someone check Feng Mu’s call log after he got back to the bureau.

To be fair, Li Shang wasn’t necessarily doing this with any malicious intention to harm Feng Mu.

On the contrary, he valued his friendship with Feng Mu now more than ever, especially after his visit to the Second Prison today; it made him value it even more.

What he was doing, mostly, was trying to hold a few more secrets in his hand; it was the psychology of lacking a sense of security at work.

It’s like you’ve got a good friend, and then one day you suddenly discover he’s secretly committed murder.

Your first reaction definitely wouldn’t be to turn him in; it would be getting mad that he killed someone without telling you.

Then you secretly find out that your friend wasn’t even killing alone—he committed the crime together with some other buddies.

Wouldn’t you be not just mad, but also unsettled?

Shit, all the friends are doing group activities without including me; they’ve formed a little clique, they have little secrets I don’t know about, I’ve become an outsider?

Isolated! This is naked, blatant isolation!

Li Shang’s mindset right now wasn’t entirely the same as the above metaphor.

Because in the current situation, he only regarded Feng Mu as a friend; the “others” Feng Mu was playing with were definitely not some buddies, but… certain big figures.

Instantly, that just made him even more pissed and even more uneasy, didn’t it!

Outside the door, Feng Mu spoke into the phone’s receiver, giving a concise report; the call didn’t last long.

It was just that the content of the call wasn’t what Li Shang imagined; the explosion wasn’t mentioned at all.

“Yes, Madam, Wang Cong just came by. His attitude was extremely arrogant, with plenty of provocation between the lines.

Judging from his words and what he was hinting at, he should already have secured explicit backing from President Lu, which is why he’s so fearless. Understood. Please don’t worry, I will put the bigger picture first and endure for now.

Mm, the renovation of Prison Director Qian’s office is also speeding up; the fish tank and blast-proof glass will be installed by the end of today…”

After reporting to Li Hanyu on the other end of the line, Feng Mu gently hung up.

Feng Mu didn’t go back into the office immediately; he stood there quietly for about half a minute before pushing the door open again.

Li Shang watched the calm restored on Feng Mu’s face, his gaze shifting slightly, a thoughtful look appearing on his features.

Feng Mu spared Li Shang the guesswork and went straight to the point:

“Captain Li, are you willing to trust me?”

Li Shang was caught off guard for a moment by this sudden direct question, but his reaction was very quick; he immediately rose from the sofa, his expression solemn:

“Of course. We’re good friends. Friends should trust each other.”

After spending enough time with Feng Mu, Li Shang had picked up his catchphrases.

A smile appeared on Feng Mu’s face, his voice still low:

“Since that’s the case, then Captain Li, listen to me: this matter stops here. Don’t keep digging.”

“Stops here?”

Li Shang’s mind spun like crazy, trying to grasp the deeper meaning hidden behind those four brief words.

He opened his mouth, doubt and confusion flickering across his face,

“If we don’t keep digging, then… then how are we supposed to characterize this explosion case? And how do we explain the missing special commissioner’s case? When the higher-ups press us…”

Before Li Shang could finish, Feng Mu cut him off, firm and decisive:

“Captain Li, trust me! Friends don’t hurt friends! If you keep digging, it won’t do you any good; it will only drag you into danger!”

Looking into Feng Mu’s utterly sincere eyes—eyes that seemed full of words he couldn’t say out loud—Li Shang felt his heart start pounding faster beyond his control.

He seemed to understand something, and he let out a sigh:

“Alright, I’ll listen to you. I won’t even ask you why, I don’t want to put you on the spot. Just tell me whether this has anything to do with the special commissioner’s disappearance.”

Feng Mu stepped closer, set both hands on Li Shang’s shoulders, and pressed him gently but firmly back down onto the sofa, answering with complete earnestness:

“Captain Li, put your mind at ease. This was an accident—a stroke of unfortunate coincidence.

I promise you, it has nothing to do with the special commissioner’s disappearance.”

Li Shang listened quietly, meeting Feng Mu’s gaze for a few seconds. Whether he actually believed it or not no one could say, but what came out of his mouth sounded like belief:

“Fine. Since you’ve put it that way, I know what I should do next.”

He stopped putting up any resistance, letting himself be guided by Feng Mu’s hands back onto the sofa, looking unusually “obedient,” while in reality what he was thinking was: