Ye Huohuo thought back to the scene when she had just been released from the confinement room. If the deputy captain had always wanted to save her and Lu Yao, then locking them in the confinement room at that time might have been to protect them. Although it was dark and damp inside, they were at least separated from these people, and it would have been difficult for them to harm her.
With this realization, Ye Huohuo’s insides churned with regret. She had truly misjudged people this time, failing to distinguish between good and bad.
She had been grateful to the captain for releasing them earlier, only to discover that their release was the setup for their ultimate demise.
Ye Huohuo looked at Lu Yao helplessly. It was clear that Lu Yao had also realized this, her face filled with remorse.
“Captain, they are about to cause a death here. Are you not going to intervene?” the deputy captain’s expression did not soften at the captain’s appearance; instead, it became even more serious.
“Old Zheng, what’s gotten into you today? Usually, you’re so used to these minor incidents. Why are you making such a fuss today? I sent you to do the purchasing for your own good. If anything happens, you won’t bear any responsibility here, and you’ll still get the benefits. I’m taking care of all the responsibility. I’ve thought of you for this good deal!” The captain smiled.
Her smile instantly made her appear amiable.
It was as if she were comforting an injured person, her words feeling like a gentle breeze.
Ye Huohuo found herself feeling a bit of admiration for her. This woman had put on quite a show, even deceiving her.
With the head of the detention center giving the order, the deputy captain could not possibly go against her superior for an outsider like her. The hope of survival that had just ignited seemed destined to be extinguished again.
To Ye Huohuo’s surprise, this portly captain, who usually obeyed the captain’s every word, suddenly became resolute. “Captain, I’ve advised you before. It’s wrong to do harmful things for ill-gotten gains. I hope you can change, but you’ve only gotten worse, allowing them to commit violence in broad daylight. I cannot ignore this matter today; I cannot continue to conceal it against my conscience.”
“Old Zheng, now that the hard times are over, you want to talk about conscience? If I hadn’t helped you back then, would you have the status and life you have now? In this society, to get ahead, to survive, you need money. Have you forgotten how no one would lend you money when you were desperately seeking help to treat your father? Have you forgotten how your father was carried out of the hospital by people in the pouring rain because you couldn’t pay the hospital fees?
Back then, if you reasoned with the hospital about conscience, would they have treated him for free?
Conscience? It’s the most worthless and useless thing!”
The captain’s former benevolence vanished, replaced by a face full of anger and even resentment.
“Captain, I know you helped me back then, and that’s why I’ve been working for you all these years. I can overlook other things and help you against my conscience, but this is two lives! Before, people in the detention center often committed suicide under suspicious circumstances. When I wanted to investigate, you always said that these were people who had made mistakes and that it was common for them to commit suicide out of guilt.
I knew something was amiss, but out of respect for you, I didn’t pursue it further. I couldn’t stop those things from happening at the scene, and I didn’t want to investigate what was behind them, but I am here today. If you want to kill someone in front of me, that is absolutely unacceptable.”
The deputy captain’s steadfastness at this moment touched Ye Huohuo. After all, the current situation involved pressure from the captain above and the machinations of the Bai family below. If she wasn’t careful, she could be dragged down into an abyss of ruin. If it were anyone else, they would have taken the opportunity of the captain’s presence to slip away unnoticed.
The best course of action for her at this moment would be to leave. By doing so, she wouldn’t have to face the threats from the Bai family, she would have given the captain face, making future work easier, and if something happened later, she could simply claim she wasn’t present and absolve herself of all responsibility.
Yet, she did not do that; instead, she confronted both sides.
The deputy captain’s plump face was solemn, and at this moment, she exuded an unshakeable dignity.
The captain was taken aback by her words, her eyes growing complex. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her gaze had returned to its previous coldness. “So, you’ve decided to oppose me!”
The deputy captain took a deep breath. “I’m addressing the issue, not the person.” After speaking, she waved her hand behind her. “You two, go and rescue them first!”
The tall and short female police officers behind her were likely her confidantes, otherwise, she wouldn’t have brought them with her at this critical juncture. Both responded simultaneously, “Yes!”
A glimmer of hope ignited in Ye Huohuo’s heart. Li Mohan had said he would come to pick her up as soon as possible, and she believed he would keep his word. As long as she could hold on a little longer, persevere a little longer!
“Ah! You…”
Before Ye Huohuo’s excitement could fully register, the deputy captain suddenly screamed and fell to the ground.
“Liu Mei! You actually attacked the deputy captain?”
The tall female officer behind the deputy captain looked horrified and crouched down to help the fallen deputy captain.
The shorter female officer, addressed as Liu Mei, was the one who had been following the deputy captain. She was holding a sharpened toothbrush, its tip stained with blood.
The deputy captain clutched her waist, looking disbelievingly at Liu Mei. “Liu Mei, why… why are you doing this? You said you wanted to uphold justice! You…”
The pain caused cold sweat to break out on the deputy captain’s forehead, and her hand covering her waist was covered in blood. The intense pain made it impossible for her to speak in complete sentences, forcing her to gasp for air to maintain consciousness.
This sudden turn of events widened Ye Huohuo’s eyes. She could only make muffled sounds, unable to move, and could only watch as blood seeped from the deputy captain’s waist, through her police uniform, and onto the ground.
“Heh, justice? If the head captain hadn’t asked me to monitor you, would I have said those foolish words? The head captain had sensed your disloyalty long ago and assigned me to get close to you and gain your trust. As expected, you’ve revealed yourself today!
Chen Man, what about you? Are you still going to loyally follow this conscientious deputy captain? Let me tell you the truth, only those who follow the head captain will survive here today. Otherwise, eliminating both of you will perfectly frame Ye Huohuo and those two useless ones.
If we kill all four of you, we can say they violently resisted arrest, and by killing the deputy captain and you, we would be acting in lawful justice, leading to their execution! Wouldn’t that be killing two birds with one stone? However, out of consideration for our colleagues, I can spare your life, as long as you stop helping the deputy captain.”
If the timing were not so dire, Ye Huohuo would have applauded. She never expected to witness such a dramatic reversal of events when she was on the brink of death.
What you think is what you think! The human heart can always surprise you with a blow, and those you trust the most often plunge you into despair.
“Chen Man!” the deputy captain called weakly, struggling to sit up but failing, indicating her severe injury. “Go with them! Don’t worry about me!”
“Deputy captain!” Chen Man reached out to help staunch the wound on the deputy captain’s waist, her eyes filled with tears, large drops rolling down her cheeks. “I won’t. When I was bullied by those prisoners, you saved me. You taught me not to lose my way even in darkness. I can’t stand by and watch you be harmed!”
After speaking, she looked up at the captain. “Captain, the deputy captain is a colleague who has gone through thick and thin with you for so many years. Can you truly be so heartless?”
The captain looked at the two of them without a hint of emotion. “You chose your own paths. I must ensure there are no disloyal individuals in my territory for me to maintain my position.”
Her words made her sound like the queen of the entire detention center, her head slightly raised, her expression contemptuous of the world.
“Therefore, you will have to bear the hardship! You’ll have companions on the road to the underworld. Don’t worry, I’ll burn extra paper money for you every year during the Qingming Festival and New Year.”
Ye Huohuo felt a pang of sorrow. Was her fate so unfortunate that she had to implicate others again?
Not only had she dragged Lu Yao down with her, but now there were two more lives at stake! Thinking about it, the deputy captain’s sacrifice seemed so worthless, as they had lost two lives in vain, and she herself remained trapped in a deadly situation.