Chapter 729 - 645: Investigation? Sabotage? (2)

Only Du Changle in the corner, when he glimpsed at Feng Mu, had a flash of cold light in his narrow eyes.

He didn’t look any further, immediately turned his face away, and continued talking with the official beside him, the Maitreya Buddha-like gentle smile on his face unchanged.

Feng Mu did not step into the living room but stopped at the entrance of the corridor before the living room doors.

Hou Wendong gestured for Feng Mu to wait a moment in the corridor while he quickly walked toward the innermost room.

Feng Mu obediently stopped, standing respectfully in the shadows at the corridor’s entrance, like a loyal dog awaiting its master’s summon, with two equally silent subordinates like statues behind him.

Feng Mu’s attention didn’t linger much on the living room, even though with a brief glance, he had imprinted the face of every official in the hall clearly in his mind.

"Just need to go back and check these people’s identities and positions, most of them are probably Mr. Wang’s direct line."

His mind raced while his gaze quietly slid to both sides of the corridor.

Several doors were ajar, revealing narrow slits of light. Low voices and the monotonous, continuous sound of a pen scratching paper emanated from within.

It was the constables from the Patrol Office, separately taking statements from the bodyguards or nurses inside the rooms.

The interrogations and answers inside each room were all much the same:

The constable asked while taking notes:

"There was a fight outside the door, such a commotion, didn’t you hear anything inside the villa?"

The bodyguard or nurse replied solemnly:

"Really didn’t hear it clearly, the soundproofing in the villa is very good, all made with top-grade materials.

With the doors and windows closed, the outside sounds were very muffled, it sounded like... like fireworks in the distance? Or something fell over? Didn’t really pay much attention."

The constable maintained a straight face, expression meticulous:

"Did any of you go to check outside? Even looked out the window?"

The bodyguard or nurse answered with the same meticulousness:

"Didn’t go outside, and the villa’s windows are all sealed, so really... we didn’t see anything going on outside.

Only until we were preparing to leave with the three ladies did we see two corpses lying under the streetlights outside, scared us half to death."

"Only saw two corpses?"

The constable pressed on, pen tip poised above the notebook,

"Anyone else? Any suspicious figures seen? Or hear any other unusual noises?"

The bodyguard or nurse replied emphatically:

"No!!!"

The constable was silent for a moment, finally closing the notebook, and said expressionlessly:

"Thanks for your cooperation."

The bodyguard or nurse nodded, equally expressionless.

Such dialogues were repeatedly staged in every room along the corridor.

Whether they were bodyguards sent by Mr. Wang, Lu Chenjia, or the medical team sent by the hospital, all their answers were almost identical.

Clearly, they had all coordinated their accounts, though it couldn’t be called collusion since they weren’t the culprits; they were merely collectively tacit in saying they knew nothing.

This wasn’t only at the behest of Li Hanyu but also under the instructions of Lu Chenjia and Wang Xinfa.

All were fox-like figures, giving the safest and most standard "correct answer" while the situation was still unclear.

The few questioning constables, even if having ten thousand doubts at heart, didn’t dare push for a word more, cooperating to complete the inquiry records.

After finishing, the few constables quickly left as if granted amnesty, their retreating backs even revealing a touch of haste.

To those unaware, it might seem as though they were the ones being interrogated.

When Hou Wendong stepped onto the staircase leading to the second floor, his steps unconsciously lightened.

The door at the end of the second floor’s corridor was ajar, and a blend of fresh tea fragrance and dense cigar smoke wafted through the door gap.

Hou Wendong stood before the door, took a deep breath, and lightly knocked three times.

"Enter." Wang Xinfa’s deep voice came from within.

The room inside was brighter than the corridor but oddly felt more oppressive.

Three single sofas were arranged in a semi-circle, surrounding an oak tea table, on which rested a set of blue and white porcelain tea ware, with steaming tea.

Li Hanyu sat on the outermost single sofa, forcing a smile when he saw him enter.

Lu Chenjia occupied the right sofa; his black suit jacket casually draped over the sofa back, white shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbows, revealing muscular forearms.

He held a burning cigar between his fingers, letting the blue smoke curl up slowly.

Wang Xinfa sat in the main seat, at this moment taking off his glasses, leisurely cleaning the lenses with a soft suede cloth.

Hou Wendong’s heart tightened; he understood the Member of Parliament’s habits, knowing that whenever he wiped his lenses, he was suppressing anger, harboring thoughts of murder.

The room was eerily silent, only the methodical "tick" of the antique wall clock’s second hand was clearly audible.

Hou Wendong almost held his breath, quickly approached Wang Xinfa and slightly bowed.

Wang Xinfa continued wiping his lenses, glanced at him with an obscure gaze.

Hou Wendong, understanding his intentions, cleared his throat and spoke:

"The Patrol Office has initially searched the special agent’s villa. Several bodies were carried out, identified as the villa’s domestic servants,

but the special agent himself has not been found yet."

The hand that held the teapot in Li Hanyu’s hand slightly relaxed, then immediately clenched tightly again.

Wang Xinfa finally stopped his wiping actions.

He didn’t immediately put on his glasses but held the lenses up, squinted into the light, carefully checking for any speck of dust remaining.

Then he asked in a deep voice:

"The special agent is not in the villa, where is he, is he dead?"

Hou Wendong lowered his head even more:

"Mr. Member of Parliament, temporarily... unclear.

The Patrol Office has mobilized every available person and is trying to locate, including expanding the search range, but currently... still no definite clues."

From his nose, Wang Xinfa squeezed out a light snort: "Useless."

Then coldly asked:

"What about Li Shang? Found him?"

Hou Wendong’s throat rolled as his voice grew heavier:

"The same situation as the special agent, unable to find him.

The technical department of the Patrol Office is attempting to pinpoint Captain Li Shang’s phone signal to determine his whereabouts.

But it seems the phone may be off or located in a signal-blocked area, requiring more techniques to analyze and remove interference, currently... no results yet, need more time."

Listening to Hou Wendong’s report, Wang Xinfa reclined back on the sofa with fingers tapping slowly on the sofa arm.

Hou Wendong knew this was his habitual action when pondering.

The Member of Parliament must now be weighing the likelihood of the special agent’s survival and the potential political risks this matter could bring him.

Just then, Lu Chenjia suddenly spoke:

"Li Shang’s car was found parked at the entrance of Jade Garden, but the person is missing. The special agent’s life or death is also unknown....."

He rubbed the cigar, murmuring,

"Could it be that they are together now? Or, were they together just before disappearing?"

Wang Xinfa suddenly turned his head, his gaze piercing toward Lu Chenjia like a knife, Li Hanyu gasped, almost dropping the teapot.

The coldness swept up Hou Wendong’s spine, making the hair on his back stand on end.

Li Shang was his lifesaver and also a trusted aide most recently elevated by the Member of Parliament.

The Member of Parliament intended for Li Shang to take the Chief of Patrol Office’s position, something almost publicly known within the Executive Government.

Now, Lu Chenjia blatantly associates Li Shang with the special agent’s disappearance in front of Wang Xinfa, what’s he implying by this?

Seeing the Member of Parliament’s darkened complexion, the foreboding sense of impending disaster in Hou Wendong’s heart grew.

Theoretically, President Lu and Mr. Wang had collaborated numerous times and were in ongoing cooperation, friends dining at the same table, yet now there’s an undercurrent of sabotaging each other.

Of course, it may not genuinely mean falling out and breaking up, more like trying to use this sudden change as leverage to adjust the order of who picks up the chopsticks at the table.

Once even meal companions began scheming against each other, those outside the table, predators long eyeing their positions, were undoubtedly becoming restless, sharpening their knives.

......