Era of Magic and Martial Arts-Chapter 291 - 275: Help Me One More Time

Li Shang didn’t answer directly. He hesitated for a moment and gestured for silence to Hou Wendong. Then, he took out his phone, dialed a number, and put it on speaker.

The waiting sound of "beep beep beep" from the receiver was like a relentless pounding on Hou Wendong’s heart.

The wait felt interminably long, with every passing second amplifying Hou Wendong’s fear. The torment even surpassed the agony he’d endured over the past week.

The call connected, and a rich, masculine voice came through: "Hello, Captain Li."

Hou Wendong’s eyes widened with anger. He immediately recognized the familiar voice.

Li Shang glanced at Hou Wendong, took a deep breath, and said, "Secretary Du, I’ve got good news for you—I found Secretary Hou."

The voice on the other end became urgent: "What? When did you find him? Where is he?"

Li Shang replied, "Just now, we located Secretary Hou in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. He’s still alive."

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by a question: "But after a week of search and rescue, there were no results. Hadn’t the operation been declared a failure? How did you..."

Li Shang let out a gentle sigh and said:

"Yes, even though Li Xiuyan provided the facts, regarding the several locations her ex-husband might have hidden, we could never find him.

Li Xiuyan didn’t seem to be lying. The search and rescue operation had to be temporarily halted. But just moments ago, I unexpectedly received a tip-off..."

On the other end, Du Ziteng, awakened in the middle of the night, felt increasingly agitated, given his already poor mood.

He sat up abruptly from the bed, clenching his jaw, and asked word by word: "A tip-off?"

The suppressed anger in his tone seemed to drop the temperature in the entire warehouse through the telephone line.

Li Shang’s gaze once again fell on Hou Wendong’s tightly bitten lips, and he calmly explained:

"The tip came from a gang down below. We’ve received lots of similar information this week. I held very little hope, but I took Chang Erbing to check it out routinely. And lo and behold..."

Li Shang paused slightly, his voice turning eerie and deep:

"As it turned out, we really did find Secretary Hou. The situation was extremely critical at that time. Erbing and I didn’t have time to report to the bureau—we had to act immediately. Fortunately, it went well. We subdued the criminals and rescued Secretary Hou."

Du Ziteng’s face darkened. He had hinted to Li Shang before, but refused to believe Li Shang had some miracle knack for solving cases or that he didn’t understand his implications.

"So is Li Shang intentionally confirming with himself again to make me owe him a favor?" Du Ziteng thought, frowning deeply.

Du Ziteng could understand Li Shang’s concerns, but he was still a bit irritated. This way of handling business could be called cautious, or it could be seen as petty.

The call descended into a brief silence.

Li Shang and Chang Erbing exchanged glances, their eyes flickering with a subtle expression. Hou Wendong did not notice this; all his attention was focused on the call, biting his lip until it bled.

After a while, a response came through, the voice exceptionally low:

"So, after rescuing Secretary Hou, you reported directly to me, even before notifying anyone else? Is that correct?"

Li Shang replied without hesitation: "Yes, Secretary Du, the moment I rescued Secretary Hou, I called you immediately."

The voice on the other end grew increasingly low, with an inexplicably eerie undertone:

"Then, only you and Chang Erbing are at the scene now, right?"

Li Shang took a deep breath and replied firmly: "Indeed, Secretary Du."

On the other end, Du Ziteng got out of his warm bed, stark naked, stepping onto the cold tiles.

The room was a bit cold, causing goosebumps to rise on his skin. He slowly squatted down, hiding his entire face in his knees.

He listened lowly to the phone, his voice carrying a subtle, almost imperceptible tremor:

"Captain Li, I’m very pleased you cracked the case. I will certainly commend you to the Member of Parliament. I believe with Captain Li’s abilities, you’re more than capable of leading the Patrol Office, so Captain Li, please don’t forget the promise you made sitting in that chair that day."

Li Shang purposely remained silent for three seconds, causing Secretary Du immense agony, seconds dragging like years for Secretary Hou.

After three seconds, Li Shang asked unsurely, "You want me to kill Secretary Hou, right?"

Du Ziteng was even more uncomfortable hearing such a blunt question from Li Shang. But at this moment, his rationality was already ignited by ambition, and he couldn’t bother with much else.

Du Ziteng, shaken by Li Shang’s direct question, was somewhat displeased. But now, his ambition was like a raging fire, consuming his rationality.

He raised his head abruptly, revealing his face from behind his knees. It was covered in a menacing malice, drenched with cold sweat, and his voice, cold and resolute, came through the receiver:

"Captain Li, if you’re to lead the Patrol Office, how can you speak so imprecisely? Secretary Hou clearly died tortured by the criminals, and you merely arrived a little too late."

Upon hearing this, Hou Wendong completely lost control of his emotions, his voice sharp and piercing due to anger and despair:

"Du Ziteng, you despicable, shameless man! Do you forget who brought you into the Secretary group? It was me, it was me, Hou Wendong, who promoted you! I helped you so much, and you..."

On the other end, Du Ziteng clenched his phone tightly, his knuckles turning white from exertion. He gave no response to Hou Wendong’s angry insults, silently waiting.

After a few seconds of silence, Li Shang’s calm voice came over the phone:

"Secretary Du, do you have anything else you’d like to say to Secretary Hou?"

Du Ziteng hadn’t intended to say much, but being asked by Li Shang, he couldn’t help but sigh and said slowly into the receiver:

"Secretary Hou, I know you helped me a lot, so please help me just one last time. I assure you, Du Ziteng will forever be grateful for your kindness."

Hou Wendong wanted to curse more, but Li Shang choked his throat, leaving him to helplessly gasp for air, a sound full of despair and resentment.

Listening to the struggling gasps over the phone, a pang of conscience hit Du Ziteng, and he said, "Captain Li, Secretary Hou fears pain; let him pass peacefully."

Li Shang spoke into the receiver, his voice cold and resolute: "Understood, Secretary Du, please accept my condolences."

Upon hearing the word "condolences," Du Ziteng couldn’t bear to listen any longer to Secretary Hou’s pre-death gasps for air. He feared his conscience might torment him, haunting him with nightmares.

Du Ziteng hung up the phone, his body collapsing onto the cold tiles, exhaustion washing over him, and goosebumps appearing on his delicate skin.

Initially, suppressed, low-pitched sob-like laughter emerged intermittently from his throat, but soon it turned into unrestrained, frenzied laughter.

.....