Chapter 72: Utter Chaos

The profession of a bodyguard is truly not something just anyone can do. At least, Mo Fei would rather fight on the battlefield than lie here waiting for the enemy to come, especially since he couldn’t even tell if the enemy would show up at all.

“You’ve been with me in China for some time now, so you should know Yan Dong, right? I need to see him now,” Lin Fan said calmly over the phone.

“No problem, wait for my call,” Mo Fei replied straightforwardly. As long as he could get out of here, even if someone told him not to touch a woman for a year, he’d agree without hesitation.

“Boss, you’re not planning to send your rival off to the other side, are you? Has he threatened your place in Sister-in-law’s heart? Mo Fei chuckled and continued on the phone, “Your charm seems to be waning lately.”

After saying this, the rascal immediately hung up, knowing that Lin Fan would surely curse him from afar upon hearing such words.

“Damn it…,” Lin Fan had just begun to swear when the phone already beeped with the sound of disconnection—Mo Fei had clearly hung up on him. “That brat’s guts are getting bigger and bigger. He actually dared to hang up on me. No way, I’ll have to give him some proper training in the future.”

In fact, in Dragon Soul, bantering like this was all too common. Lin Fan, as the leader, was naturally the focal point among the members. This also reflected that Dragon Soul was not just a mercenary organization but more like a big family.

Not long after those prisoners tossed him out, the duty officer woke up. However, his leg hurt so much he couldn’t stand, so he leaned against the wall and barely managed to glance at the people in the detention room, only to find Lin Fan had already escaped, while the rest of the prisoners were still sleeping.

“Keep your mouths shut about what just happened. Anyone who talks nonsense knows the consequences,” he shouted inside, finally feeling a sense of relief. As long as Lin Fan escaped, his task was done.

This relaxation brought its own troubles. Aside from his whole body being bruised, his lower body hurt especially bad. He checked his surroundings, making sure no one was around, hurriedly took a look, and found it only a bit red. That finally put his mind at ease. This was a man’s pride—if anything happened to it, his life would be ruined.

“Murderer escaped! Murderer attacked a police officer and escaped!” The duty officer shouted, his mouth twitching with pain every time, his face swollen to the point it was hard to look at, and in his heart he’d already cursed Lin Fan’s ancestors countless times.

In his mind, it must have been Lin Fan who beat him up while he was unconscious, nearly ending his manhood. With this thought, the duty officer resolved to go to the hospital for a thorough checkup later, or else no woman would ever want him again.

His shouting, though intermittent, quickly alerted the staff at the station, and some immediately called Director Li Kun to report Lin Fan’s escape.

When Lin Fan was brought back to the station, Yan Dong had told his brother-in-law that he’d caught a murderer on the spot, but hadn’t mentioned it was Lin Fan, the same man who had been at the station before.

After hearing Yan Dong, Li Kun was overjoyed. Since Yan Dong entered the police force through his connections, he hadn’t made any achievements. No one said anything to his face, but Li Kun still felt his own reputation was at stake. Now his brother-in-law had finally made a contribution, which in turn reflected well on him.

But now the prisoner had escaped—how could Li Kun accept this? He immediately ordered all major city routes sealed and launched a manhunt. Unfortunately, the reporting officer had never seen Lin Fan, let alone knew his name; he only knew Yan Dong had brought in a murderer tonight who had now escaped. As a result, Li Kun had no idea that the escapee was the same Lin Fan whom Zhao Ying’s father had previously called about for special treatment.

Just as he hung up, the mayor of T City, Yu Jiang, called, directly asking Li Kun if he had arrested a murderer who then escaped. This frightened Li Kun. He’d just learned the news, yet it had already reached the mayor’s ears. An escaped murderer was a serious dereliction of duty.

As he hesitated over whether to admit it, Yu Jiang said, “This is your negligence, but since it’s already happened, I won’t pursue your responsibility. However, T City borders the capital, and the authorities are keeping a close watch right now. Security must be strict—set an example. Quickly carry out the manhunt; if the murderer resists, you know what to do.”

Hearing Yu Jiang’s words, Li Kun was surprised but quickly agreed, sensing the mayor’s intentions. As long as he wasn’t blamed, and could keep his position, he didn’t care whether the murderer was shot dead on the spot—it would save him the trouble of capture.

With the mayor’s orders, Li Kun dared not slack off. He picked up his phone to call the task force and relay Yu Jiang’s command, but another call came in.

Seeing the caller ID, his hand trembled, almost dropping the phone. The call was from Zhao Ying’s father, Zhao Fanglin, secretary of the T City Party Committee.

After Zhao Ying went upstairs, Zhao Fanglin had a feeling something was off, though he couldn’t pinpoint what. So he called Li Kun to ask about the situation. If this Lin Fan was the same one as before, he would definitely help, for the sake of Old Tang’s reputation.

Although Li Kun didn’t want to answer, he had to. He feared Zhao Fanglin might also know about the murder suspect’s escape under his jurisdiction.

“Secretary Zhao,” Li Kun pressed the answer button, gritting his teeth and trying to calm himself as he spoke.

“Xiao Li, I heard from Ying’er that the station arrested a murderer named Lin Fan, right?” Zhao Fanglin wasted no words and went straight to the point. As the Party Secretary, he didn’t need any polite small talk—the hierarchy in China was absolute. The Party Secretary was not just one rank above the police chief, but much more.

Li Kun was all too familiar with the name Lin Fan. Last time, Zhao Fanglin had called, telling him to look after Lin Fan, and he knew Zhao Ying’s relationship with this Lin Fan was unusual.

Now, hearing Zhao Fanglin mention Lin Fan and the murder charge together, Li Kun immediately assumed the escapee was the same Lin Fan Zhao Fanglin had asked him to care for. He cursed Yan Dong in his heart for bringing Lin Fan back to the station and keeping it from him, despite being warned not to provoke Lin Fan. Now Li Kun even suspected Lin Fan hadn’t committed murder at all, but had been framed by his brother-in-law. Then again, if it was a setup, why would he escape?

Li Kun didn’t bother thinking it through. He only knew Lin Fan’s guilt was uncertain, and a careless word could cost him his position.

In fact, Zhao Fanglin’s call was just to confirm if this Lin Fan was the one Old Tang had mentioned, with no other intention. But to Li Kun, it was clear: since Zhao Fanglin called personally, he must know the murderer was Lin Fan, and subconsciously Li Kun believed Zhao Fanglin wanted him to give Lin Fan special treatment.

But Mayor Yu Jiang had just ordered him to capture Lin Fan, and if necessary, shoot him on the spot. This conflicted with Zhao Fanglin’s implied instructions. Li Kun was now in a dilemma—he couldn’t afford to offend either party.

Ultimately, Li Kun gritted his teeth and made the wisest choice: he told Zhao Fanglin everything about Lin Fan’s escape and Yu Jiang’s words, unchanged. After all, he hadn’t done anything wrong, merely reported the facts, and wouldn’t be held responsible if anything happened.

After hanging up, Li Kun breathed a deep sigh of relief. Thankfully for this call, otherwise he would have issued the order to shoot Lin Fan.

Now that he knew the murder suspect was the same Lin Fan Zhao Fanglin had asked him to take care of, he wouldn’t foolishly disobey the Party Secretary’s orders. But he also couldn’t offend Yu Jiang, since he was still the mayor of T City. Therefore, Li Kun didn’t relay Yu Jiang’s order, nor did he tell the station staff to stop pursuing Lin Fan. Now, he was caught in the middle, unable to help either side, and could only quietly protect his own small patch of land...

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