"Kong Mo wants me to kill you?" Li Chonglou's words immediately extinguished the killing intent in Lü Fang's eyes.
Just as anger burned in his chest and his mind went blank.
The name Kong Mo, once again, pulled Lü Fang's consciousness back.
He suddenly realized that Li Chonglou had gained the upper hand.
Anger, sorrow, joy, excitement—once these emotions are held by someone else, the primary and secondary positions are reversed.
In this room, he was the one who set the rules.
Why was Li Chonglou so at ease?
Furthermore, by deliberately mentioning the names Lü Dong and Kong Mo, wasn't he just trying to provoke him?
To provoke him into acting, leading to an irreversible situation where he would not only be exposed and sentenced, but the entire Xingzhi Group would likely be implicated.
"Li Chonglou, you're not simple..." Lü Fang forced himself to suppress his impulse, gritting his teeth and saying.
"You flatter me." Li Chonglou smiled. "You're not simple either. You've gone undercover and become a captain. Did that person not mention me to you?"
"Kong Mo wanting to get rid of me is just to dominate the family. Are you listening to Kong Mo or that person?"
Hearing this, Lü Fang's heart jolted, and his pupils dilated.
Although this shock was quickly concealed, it was clearly seen by Li Chonglou.
After just a few exchanges, Li Chonglou had a rough idea.
Lü Dong and Lü Fang were likely brothers, and their true boss was definitely not Kong Mo.
The reason was simple: if Kong Mo was Lü Fang's boss, he wouldn't be trying to deal with him only now and would have gone to such lengths to bring Lin Yongyuan to set up this trap.
It was an unnecessary step.
But Lü Fang also followed Kong Mo's orders, which could only mean they were on equal footing.
Even Lü Dong before might not have been Kong Mo's subordinate but an equal.
If anyone was the biggest puppet of the Xingzhi Group, it would undoubtedly be Kong Mo.
Based on this speculation, Li Chonglou's repeated probes confirmed his conjectures one by one.
Thus, that person emerged.
"What do you mean?" Lü Fang narrowed his eyes, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.
"I believe that person didn't authorize you to deal with me, did they? This all seems to be Kong Mo's idea." Li Chonglou reiterated.
As he spoke, his confidence wavered, as everything was still a guess.
If he guessed correctly, there might be a glimmer of hope.
If he guessed wrong, he might truly face death.
Lü Fang fell silent for a good five or six seconds before exhaling deeply through his nose.
He asked, "What you mean is, Kong Mo is jealous of you?"
"Of course. If he weren't jealous, would he resort to such underhanded tactics?" Li Chonglou felt a wave of relief and seized the opportunity to argue, "Besides, he bears undeniable responsibility for Lü Dong's death."
"He overstepped his bounds and acted on his own, leading to your brother's death, and now he wants to harm me!"
"Do you know that my position as Vice President was personally recommended by that person? Otherwise, how could such a special title as Vice President fall upon me?"
He was now certain that neither Kong Mo nor that person had told Lü Fang the truth about Lü Dong's death.
Perhaps it was because he held a trump card, or perhaps they had their own plans.
But regardless, this was something he could leverage.
Creak!
As soon as he finished speaking, Lü Fang's expression turned sinister. With a dark face, he stood up and walked directly out of the interrogation room.
"You're not going to interrogate me anymore?" Li Chonglou asked deliberately.
He knew, of course, that Lü Fang was going to seek confirmation from that person, and this was precisely within his plan.
Turning the tables was easier said than done.
If Kong Mo hadn't been so eager to deal with him and had sent Lü Fang out without considering the consequences, he wouldn't have known how to escape this predicament.
He might have faced sentencing or the exposure of his identity.
But now, everything was under his control.
Once Lü Fang made that call, it would solidify the identity of the person behind him, who was very likely the former vice president, the true power holder of the Xingzhi Group.
As long as that person was exposed, his mission would be a success.
Soon, Li Chonglou was escorted back to the detention room.
He still hadn't seen Xu Lie and didn't know how things were on his end. Li Chonglou knew that Xu Lie would never talk.
He might even be beaten, but given his physique, he should be fine.
All he could do now was wait and see.
He wanted to see what attitude Lü Fang would take after making the call.
Li Chonglou felt confident about his undercover mission, but he was still anxious about his fate.
Because that person was not Kong Mo, and if they found out Lü Fang's identity was exposed, it was hard to say whether they would silence him or eliminate Kong Mo.
After all, Kong Mo had been with the Xingzhi Group for much longer.
Unless that person was extremely wary of the trump card he held,
It was still uncertain.
One night passed, and Lü Fang did not reappear.
There was no interrogation the next day; everything seemed calm, but it was the calm before the storm.
In a few more hours, his detention time would expire. He would either be sent to the detention center or released.
Either outcome would not be beneficial for Kong Mo.
Finally, ten minutes before the forty-eight-hour mark was up, Lü Fang reappeared.
His face was stern and his expression cold, showing no signs of anything unusual.
He was accompanied by two police officers.
"Take him away!" He pointed at Li Chonglou, pulled him out of the detention room, and escorted him into a minivan-style police car.
Xu Lie was already inside. Upon seeing Li Chonglou, his sharp eyes flashed with a spark of light.
He let out a long sigh of relief.
"Where are you taking us?" Li Chonglou asked.
"The detention center, shut up!" Lü Fang, along with two others, personally got into the car for escort.
The car drove out of the police station and onto the main road.
Li Chonglou's heart sank. Being sent to the detention center meant his criminal liability was confirmed, and he would await sentencing.
This was not quite in line with his expectations.
Did that person no longer care about the trump card he held? Or perhaps they thought that since he was detained and unable to contact the outside world, there was no need to worry?
That shouldn't be the case; the consequences of such a mistake were unthinkable.
As long as he wasn't a fool, he shouldn't gamble on whether he had that capability.
Moreover, Lü Fang's attitude made him suspicious. Yesterday, he was filled with hatred, eager to devour his flesh.
Today, he had become indifferent and calm. Such a drastic change must mean someone had spoken to him and given him instructions.
This made him even more puzzled. Who was the person who spoke to him, Kong Mo or that person?
And what did they intend to do?
Li Chonglou felt a bad premonition, but thankfully Xu Lie was by his side, so he wasn't panicking.
All he could do was wait and see.
The police car drove towards the first detention center on the outskirts of the city, slowly descending from the elevated highway.
As they passed an intersection with sparse pedestrian traffic, a mud truck suddenly darted out.
"Watch out!" Xu Lie was the first to react, just as he shouted.
The mud truck violently rammed the police car from the side.
The immense force directly sent the police car flying, rolling three or four times in the air before crashing heavily onto the ground.
The entire body of the police car instantly deformed.
The moment Xu Lie shouted a warning, he had already forcefully broken free from his handcuffs and pulled Li Chonglou into his arms.
His back was covered in several bloody gashes from glass and sharp metal fragments, deep enough to expose the bone.
These injuries were merely minor problems for Xu Lie, who had already broken through to the Qidong realm.
But the two police officers and Lü Fang were not so fortunate. One of them, driving the vehicle, was immediately impaled through the heart by a broken steel pipe surrounding the police car, dying with wide-open eyes.
The other had half of his head smashed, his death even more gruesome.
Lü Fang was not much better off. His legs were bent at incredible angles, bloody and mangled.
He was not dead yet, his face covered in blood as he glared at Xu Lie, who was shielding Li Chonglou in his arms. He wanted to say something but could not utter a sound.
At the same time, the offending mud truck rapidly reversed and fled the scene.
It took a few minutes for people to slowly gather around.
Xu Lie, still shaken, released Li Chonglou and checked his injuries.
Despite his protection, Li Chonglou's body could not withstand the immense impact, and he immediately lost consciousness.
His back also suffered extensive abrasions, but fortunately, they were minor injuries that did not threaten his life.
Carried away from the accident scene by Xu Lie, who then pinched his philtrum a few times, Li Chonglou abruptly awoke.
Looking at the deformed police car nearby, and Lü Fang and the two police officers slowly losing their lives, Li Chonglou's pupils contracted sharply, his eyes filled with anger and disappointment.
He understood.
Lü Fang had been made a scapegoat.
The mud truck was there to kill him, and Lü Fang was merely collateral damage.
All because yesterday he fell into his trap and couldn't help but make a call.
How ruthless, how cruel!
They didn't treat people as humans at all!
Scum!
"Do you have a phone? Lend me your phone." Li Chonglou struggled to get up, ignoring the tearing pain in his body, and borrowed a mobile phone from a bystander.
He dialed Fan Lei's number and hoarsely shouted, "Check, check Lü Fang's call records! That person is the mastermind!"
After hanging up, he sat down on the ground and sighed.
The situation was gradually becoming clear.
Kong Mo used Lü Fang to kill him, but he saw through it and instead guided Lü Fang to seek confirmation from the mastermind behind the scenes.
The goal was to identify the mastermind and apprehend them all.
However, he had underestimated the mastermind's intelligence and strategy. After receiving the call, they should have understood his plan and intentions.
Thus, they stabilized Lü Fang and simultaneously arranged this car accident.
Logically, Li Chonglou should have been killed, as he had always appeared to have little combat ability.
As for Lü Fang, since his identity was exposed, he no longer had any value.
He could only hope that Fan Lei could track down the information they needed through the phone number, otherwise, this endeavor would be in vain.
Soon, the police arrived at the scene and took Li Chonglou and Xu Lie back to the police station.
However, this time they were invited to the director's office and treated with courtesy.
Fan Lei had clearly made prior arrangements.
In less than half an hour, Fan Lei's call came through. He asked the director to step aside so Li Chonglou could take the call alone.
His voice was somewhat heavy: "The number has been canceled, but we found the registrant's information. By following the trail, we should be able to find that scoundrel soon."
"I have ordered the immediate arrest of all high-ranking officials of Xingzhi Group."
"Your mission is complete. Return to Bai Jing as soon as possible!"
It was clear that this mission had not been perfectly completed, otherwise, Fan Lei would not have used such a tone.
But Li Chonglou knew he had done his best. After all, he was just a researcher of antiques and history, not a real police officer.
As for returning to his unit, it was still too early!
Kong Mo, that scoundrel, had orchestrated such a grand drama. Just being arrested was too lenient!
Li Chonglou's eyes flashed with cold light as he said, "Director Fan, Bai Jing is still hospitalized due to her injuries. I have some personal matters to attend to..."
"When her injuries heal, you two will return together!" Fan Lei said without any unnecessary talk and hung up the phone.
A smile played on Li Chonglou's lips. He took Xu Lie and got into a taxi.
They headed straight for Xingzhi Group.
Kong Mo, new and old grievances, it was time for a settlement!