Era of Magic and Martial Arts-Chapter 275 - 259: That’s Right, It’s Him!

Zhou Hu glanced darkly at the prison guard on duty, determined that if he ever had to stay overnight at the prison, he would keep the door wide open while he slept.

Zhou Hu watched the surveillance footage again and asked coldly, "Are there signs that the footage was tampered with?"

The technical prison guard in the surveillance room shook his head: "The network security system detected no intrusion, and the surveillance footage has not been tampered with."

Zhou Hu’s face grew more somber, and he sneered, "So, a ghost shadow followed Tian Tao inside, and then all the surveillance cameras went blind?"

The technical prison guard found Zhou Hu’s words to be the correct answer, but he dared not respond.

Zhou Hu snorted coldly and instructed the technical prison guard to copy all the surveillance footage.

With the copied surveillance footage and autopsy report in hand, Zhou Hu hurriedly left the prison.

He drove along the road, passing several blue and white cars speeding by, followed by a few arresting bureau armored vehicles, and noticeably fewer roadblocks along the way.

Zhou Hu drove all the way to a high-end residential area. He walked straight into one of the high-rise buildings and gently knocked on the door.

The door was opened.

Zhou Hu looked at the man with a hooked nose who opened the door and said, "Station Chief Lou."

Lou Duan’s eyes quickly swept over Zhou Hu, noting the autopsy report tightly held in his hand, and with his usual indifferent expression, he gestured for Zhou Hu to come inside.

Zhou Hu quickly changed into indoor slippers and, upon looking up, was taken aback.

Inside the room, apart from him, there was another person sitting quietly.

"Didn’t you say you weren’t coming?" Zhou Hu asked, looking at the person.

The person, sitting at the edge of the sofa with hands neatly placed on their thighs, slowly raised their head at his words, revealing their identity—Prison Chief Zhao Xing of Death Row at the Second Prison.

In the morning, when Zhou Hu heard the news of the incident involving Tian Tao and Chang Wei, he immediately contacted several other prison chiefs, hoping they would join him to see Station Chief Lou.

However, without exception, they all refused Zhou Hu’s request on the spot, with Zhao Xing harshly reprimanding him, emphasizing that accusations should be based on evidence and not unfounded slander against Prison Director Qian.

As a result, the scene at that time was quite unpleasant, ending with everyone leaving in discord.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Hu was surprised to find that Zhao Xing had secretly come alone and even arrived earlier than he did.

Zhao Xing sighed, a trace of irony curving at the corner of his mouth, "You rally everyone in the Second Prison to oppose Prison Director Qian, who has the nerve to agree with you?"

Zhou Hu retorted sarcastically, "What are you so afraid of? The Second Prison is our territory, and it’s Qian Huan who is the outsider."

Zhao Xing retorted back, "If you’re so unafraid, why did you come to Station Chief Lou’s place? Besides, what are you holding in your hand? It’s Tian Tao’s autopsy report, isn’t it?"

Zhou Hu’s face turned red, just as he was about to retort, Lou Duan snorted coldly, and the two of them quickly fell silent.

Lou Duan pointed to the sofa, signaling Zhou Hu to sit down. After pouring a cup of tea for him, he casually said:

"If you’re going to argue, take it outside. Come back in after you’re done."

Seeing that both of them were silent, Lou Duan chastised Zhao Xing:

"Zhou Hu has a fiery temper, don’t provoke him, trying to show how smart you are. Truly smart people don’t assert themselves with words." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

He then turned to reprimand Zhou Hu:

"As I’ve told you before, don’t let your anger show on your face. Don’t let others easily see what you’re thinking. If you can’t learn this, then study the expressions of the dead more often."

Both Zhou Hu and Zhao Xing, having been reprimanded, quickly lowered their heads, adopting an attitude of eager willingness to learn.

Seeing this, Lou Duan gestured to Zhou Hu, who promptly and respectfully handed over the files he was holding.

Lou Duan took the files, slowly opened the autopsy report, and quickly scanned through the pages.

Upon reaching the final column, he paused slightly.

"Sudden cardiac death." Lou Duan murmured the coroner’s conclusion, his voice calm and emotionless.

Zhou Hu quickly interrupted, speaking urgently:

"That’s right, the previous prison director also died of sudden cardiac death. I always thought it was suspicious; the former director’s death was certainly no coincidence and must be related to them..."

Lou Duan raised his hand to stop Zhou Hu, speaking with seriousness:

"Don’t speak rashly without concrete evidence. Furthermore, this matter involves both former and present prison directors, think carefully before speaking."

Zhou Hu seemed hesitant to speak further, and Lou Duan was not surprised that Zhou Hu couldn’t produce evidence.

Lou Duan picked up a USB stick and asked indifferently: "What’s on here?"

Zhou Hu: "This is the hallway entry and exit footage from when Tian Tao died."

Lou Duan nodded slightly and then asked: "Did the footage capture the murderer?"

Zhou Hu’s complexion darkened: "No, but because the murderer wasn’t captured, it proves the killer’s horror. As far as I know, no one in our Second Prison can evade all the corridor surveillance."

Zhou Hu paused, sensing Lou Duan wasn’t interrupting, then continued:

"Before Qian Huan came, no one in the Second Prison could do it, so it must have been after he arrived, someone he brought in, doesn’t it prove the murderer must have been directed by Qian Huan?"

Lou Duan waited for Zhou Hu to finish, not rushing to make a judgment, but instead looked at Zhao Xing.

Zhao Xing understood and said:

"The Second Prison’s surveillance system was reinstalled by a professional security company hired by Celestial Light Investment, meticulously designed with virtually no blind spots."

Zhao Xing pondered a moment, then added:

"I am familiar with the prison guards in the Second Prison, and I agree with Zhou Hu’s assessment. Before Prison Director Qian’s arrival, not one guard could bypass the new surveillance system."

Zhao Xing paused, gulped, and continued:

"Moreover, I heard the scene of Tian Tao’s death was quite bizarre."

Zhao Xing didn’t mention that the gruesome and eerie nature of Tian Tao’s death was the main reason he rushed to report to Station Chief Lou.

Zhou Hu nodded in agreement and quickly opened his phone’s photo album, showing Lou Duan the crime scene photos he had taken:

"Indeed, Station Chief Lou, there were blood writings all over the ceiling, as if Tian Tao had climbed up there himself, it was quite eerie."

Lou Duan examined the photos on the phone screen, his pupils slightly narrowing, but he didn’t comment, simply returning the phone to Zhou Hu.

Lou Duan knew clearly that the two men in front of him were actually somewhat terrified.

He pondered for a moment, turned his gaze to Zhou Hu, and calmly asked:

"So, do you have a specific suspect in mind? I don’t mean Qian Huan, Qian Huan is untouchable for now."

"I mean, out of the people Qian Huan brought into the Second Prison, who do you suspect?"

Zhou Hu was quite aware of the various actions Qian Huan took after parachuting into the Second Prison, including the number of new prison guards he brought in and the expansion of the prison’s internal security forces.

"As of this morning, Qian Huan has brought in a total of 9 people, within which the most suspicious person is..."

Images flashed through Zhou Hu’s mind, finally settling on one face, and he said grimly,

"Yes, it must be him!!!"