Era of Magic and Martial Arts-Chapter 214 - 198: Prison Warning, Trouble Out of Nowhere
In the same building of the Executive Government, on different floors, several Governors belonging to the prison system were sitting in a meeting room.
Sitting at the head, the highest official of the prison system, Liu Bo, had a stern face and a serene voice: "Who was behind the explosion on Qiming Street?"
The people below exchanged glances, but no one took the conversation further.
Liu Bo’s gaze slowly swept across everyone’s faces, finally settling on a middle-aged man on the right, asking calmly, "Was it you?"
The middle-aged man remained silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head, denying Liu Bo’s suspicion.
Liu Bo’s gaze then shifted to the hook-nosed man on the left, asking again, "Then, was it you?"
The hook-nosed man unhurriedly spread his hands, revealing a faintly chilly smile:
"The explosion was too conspicuous just to kill Qian Tong, and it wasn’t even successful. You should know that such behavior is not in line with my style."
Liu Bo frowned, looking at the other people: "Then is it you, or you?"
Among the remaining two, one hurriedly waved his arms, repeatedly denying.
The other one, however, showed a hint of a cold smile, with some arrogance and disdain in his voice:
"I did have thoughts of using some methods to give Celestial Light Capital a serious warning, however, my target was not Qian Tong, but Qian Huan, and I hadn’t had the chance to act yet."
Seeing everyone in the room denying, Liu Bo slightly furrowed his brows, his voice deepening:
"I understand, nobody wants to see the Second Prison divided, as it would be equivalent to carving a piece out of our bowl. Therefore, I can comprehend everyone having some aggressive actions in private."
His words suddenly shifted direction, his tone becoming more severe: "But I must remind everyone, before taking any action, we should communicate with each other."
"This way, if something arises, we can at least cover for each other, otherwise, if you don’t say anything, and if something goes wrong in the future, if it’s found out, outsiders won’t see it as just your impulsive act; instead, it will be viewed as a collective decision by our entire prison system."
Having spoken this much, Liu Bo found that the people below still maintained silence, with no one standing up to take responsibility. His expression became grim.
He coldly snorted, with a chill in his tone that couldn’t be ignored:
"Once the news of the explosion on Qiming Street spread this morning, the Chief Governor was furious and immediately summoned me urgently to his office for inquiries."
"At the time, although I didn’t know which of you did it, I had to take the fall for you, trying to shift the responsibility onto the construction team."
"Out of consideration for the greater good, the Chief Governor accepted this resolution but also severely warned and admonished me. Now I am conveying the original words of the Chief Governor to you."
Liu Bo paused slightly, then imitated the Chief Governor’s unique authoritative tone, slowly repeating:
"Behind Celestial Light Capital is Bright Group, not those wildcats and stray dogs that can’t chew bones, so avoid using overly extreme measures, lest you push someone to the edge and have everything flipped over, which would leave nobody able to eat."
Upon hearing this, the hook-nosed man suddenly let out a cold laugh, with strong dissatisfaction and anger in his voice:
"With what the Chief Governor said, he’s forcing us to hand over the Second Prison without any resistance. Is the Executive Government especially serving Bright Group? Has the Chief Governor’s position become biased?"
Liu Bo’s gaze pierced towards the hook-nosed man like an icy blade, almost convinced that the explosion incident on Qiming Street was indeed the doing of the hook-nosed man in front of him.
His voice was cold and firm, each word resonant and powerful:
"The opportunity for resistance is not non-existent, but it must be conducted within the rules of engagement."
"If you can prove that you have the ability to make the prison significantly contribute to the tax revenue of the Executive Government, rather than having it be a bottomless pit requiring financial subsidies each year, even the Chief Governor can’t force us to divide the Second Prison, otherwise..."
Liu Bo’s patience had run out, unwilling to waste more words:
"Otherwise, obediently follow the Executive Government’s orders, don’t sacrifice your political career to defy the Chief Governor, nor drag everyone else down with you."
Liu Bo slammed the table and stood up, walking out of the meeting room.
The door slammed shut heavily, and the room still echoed with his stern warning: "Stay in line for the next six months, or else, even without the Chief Governor’s intervention, I’ll personally kick you out of the prison system."
In the meeting room, silence lingered as if the air had solidified. Silence spread among the people, with everyone’s faces filled with suspicion and doubt.
After a moment, the hook-nosed man broke the silence.
His gaze swept over his colleagues who exchanged doubtful looks, and his mouth suddenly stretched wide, almost to his ears, revealing a teasing smile.
His voice carried a hint of provocative frivolity, speaking leisurely:
"I know this wasn’t my doing, and you all declared it wasn’t your doing either. That’s really interesting. Could it be, that Liu the Governor is playing ’the thief crying, stop thief’ here, and it’s his own doing?"
The hook-nosed man’s hand clapped in the air, producing clear claps, and he laughed arrogantly: "Surely it wasn’t Bright Group having an internal conflict themselves, hahaha."
The middle-aged man frowned deeply, displeased as he interrupted the hook-nosed man’s teasing, speaking in a heavy tone:
"Alright, it’s come to this, mutual suspicion is useless and will harm our unity. You should complain a little less."
"Fortunately, the explosion on Qiming Street only resulted in the death of some insignificant people, Qian Tong didn’t die in the explosion, and that’s fortunate within misfortune."
"We still have room for maneuver with Celestial Light Capital, or rather Bright Group. Going forward, everyone should exercise restraint and avoid causing any more trouble."
"Additionally, inform the relevant personnel in the Second Prison to strengthen their management recently, and ensure everyone under them behaves properly during this sensitive period, avoiding any further provocations."
Soon, everyone left the meeting room, each dialing out calls.
Within the Second Prison, heads of several areas received calls from their superiors within the prison system with instructions.
Most instructions conveyed the same message — that is, to closely cooperate with Prison Warden Qian Huan’s work in the near future, ensuring not to let the other side find any leverage. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
Of course, there were one or two calls that carried different intentions, and whether the people below would completely comply with the instructions would depend on when circumstances emerged.
After all, it’s well known that humans are the most complex and hard to fully tame creatures in this world, especially when they hold a little power in their hands, a small portion of people’s private intentions will always be magnified uncontrollably, becoming difficult to restrain.
Almost simultaneously, Prison Guard Feng Mu also received a call with an important piece of intelligence received...
