Era of Magic and Martial Arts-Chapter 220 - 204: The Curtain Rises—Feng Mu Is a Good Man

At this moment.

Wang Cong felt like Feng Mu was a beam of light piercing through his dark life, so dazzling and blinding that he was willing to die for it.

Bloodshot eyes filled Wang Cong's gaze, and he looked deeply at Feng Mu, voicing the doubts hidden in his heart:

"Feng Mu, why are you helping me like this? With your abilities, you could completely seize this opportunity to climb up yourself."

Feng Mu knew that Wang Cong still harbored doubts, and naturally, he couldn't possibly tell him that he was preparing for the future, worrying that the subsequent prison reform might be too radical and cause big trouble, thereby creating a scapegoat in advance to add a layer of protection to himself.

If, according to Warden Qian Huan's logic, the prison was to be seen as a joint-stock company, the implication of the mastermind was that one could quietly be a chairman, but there was no necessity to be the legal representative on stage; rather, a trustworthy person had to be cultivated to step up.

Feng Mu sighed deeply and said helplessly:

"There are two reasons. One is empathy, I also have an embarrassing past and can't stand seeing good people being bullied, so I want to help you out of your predicament."

"The other reason is because I've only been here for a few days, without foundation or qualifications, and even if I wanted to make progress, the warden couldn't possibly promote me."

Seeing Wang Cong coming to a contemplative expression, Feng Mu continued:

"Even if by some stroke of luck I manage to accomplish something, and the warden appreciates me and pushes against all odds to promote me, do you think the old prison guards in the Second Prison would accept that a newcomer climbed above them?"

"If the people below don't accept it, it will only hinder the development of my work and be detrimental to my long-term career. So, I'm very clear that as a newcomer, rather than dwelling on unrealistic advancement, it's better to first familiarize myself with the environment, get along well with my subordinates, and most importantly..."

Feng Mu paused for a moment, sincerely opening his heart:

"Follow a good team leader, so that when the leader moves up, I would naturally rise with the tide, haha—"

Feng Mu's words were reasonable and sincere, both logical and emotional, and coupled with his behavior during this period, Wang Cong had seen it all, making it hard not to accept and acknowledge his statement.

Up to this point, the last bit of doubt in Wang Cong's heart towards Feng Mu dissipated into smoke.

Now, he instead began to doubt himself.

On one hand, he doubted whether he really had the ability to climb up, but fortunately, Feng Mu's support and help gave him a glimmer of hope and confidence;

On the other hand, it was...

Wang Cong's fists involuntarily clenched tightly, his nails deeply embedding into the flesh of his palms, as he met Feng Mu's gentle yet firm gaze, his voice low and hoarse:

"Feng Mu, rest assured, if I can rise up, I will surely bring you along with me."

Feng Mu revealed a neat set of white teeth, resolutely declaring, "Mm, Captain Wang Cong, I believe in you!"

Listening to Feng Mu repeatedly address him as Captain, Wang Cong felt as if he was already donning the captain's uniform, with one foot out of the muddy quagmire, his heart surging with a fervent flow.

After dinner.

Tian Tao gathered all the prison guards, his face sullen as he ordered them to meet the quota for the week, especially targeting Feng Mu and Wang Cong with stern warnings not to drag the team down.

Wang Cong and Feng Mu solemnly nodded, repeatedly guaranteeing not to disappoint the captain.

That night, most prison guards voluntarily chose to work overtime, the entire floor resonating with brutal shouts and intermittent wails, while the air carried a faint burnt scent.

It wasn't until 10 pm that the exhausted guards, having swung their electric batons to fatigue, ended their toil and left amidst chatter and laughter.

Night shift guards Wang Cong and Feng Mu then slowly made their rounds, entering each cell, directing the prisoners to skillfully clean up the bloodstains and scattered bodies on the floor.

Almost every cell had prisoners either dead or injured.

If corpses were to be included as KPIs, then tonight, the Second Prison indeed set a shocking historical record.

However, Feng Mu understood that this was just the beginning; the [last-place elimination system] hadn't even begun to exert its force yet.

If no one called to stop it, the number would only continue to rise until the day when either half of the prisoners or half of the prison guards were dead.

Feng Mu couldn't even guess whether it would be half the prisoners or half the guards that would die first; he was quite curious about it.

"Wait a minute, be gentle with your movements."

Feng Mu softly stopped the prisoners' crude handling of the corpses, slowly walking over to gently pick an eyeball out from the blood-stained collar of a corpse.

"The person's dead, so we should at least make them whole; we can't let them enter another world still as a blind person."

Feng Mu's words were filled with compassion, as he softly pinched the eyeball and carefully placed it back into the eye socket, meticulously adjusting it to the correct position, as if tending to a beloved family member.

He then looked at the inmates in the cell, their expressions one of fear, resentment, or numbness, and gently said:

"Be gentle with your fellow inmates' bodies, so that when it's your turn to be carried out someday, others may treat you with more gentleness and patience. Don't you think that makes sense?!!"

Feng Mu's voice, loaded with human compassion, reached the ears of every prisoner, causing their expressions to shift, especially the young prisoner closest to carrying the body's head, whose eyes welled up with tears of emotion.

His arms trembled violently, and the blood-slicked head slipped from his grasp. Feng Mu swiftly sidestepped and reached out with both hands, catching the head just before it hit the ground.

Snap——

Feng Mu had not yet fully adapted to his surging strength, and a few splintered skull pieces dropped to the floor, making a crisp sound.

The prisoners nearby were so startled by this abrupt change that they retreated, ultimately falling to the cold ground in sheer terror.

"Hey, don't be nervous. It's not your fault; this was my mistake."

Feng Mu turned to look at the panicked prisoners with an apologetic yet forgiving smile, casually pulling a bottle of strong glue from his pocket.

He had already accidentally crushed two iron mugs, a table corner, and three chair arms today, evidently anticipating the current situation and had prepared in advance.

Feng Mu slowly crouched down, gently picking up the scattered fragments, and meticulously adhered them back to the skull with the glue bottle.

Witnessing this scene, the prisoners' hearts churned with mixed fear and deep emotion.

The prisoner who made the mistake swiftly crawled to Feng Mu's side, trembling as he picked up the scattered pieces from the ground, handing them to Feng Mu as he summoned the courage, his voice choked with sobs, asking:

"Prison Guard Feng, among us prisoners, it's been said that you are a good person, so please, can you honestly tell us the truth? Are we, soon, all going to be beaten to death like Hou Laosan, right?"

Feng Mu fell silent, focusing intently on mending the fragments, and after a long while, turned his head, sweeping his gaze over all the prisoners looking at him, heaving a melancholic sigh.

Yet, ultimately, he didn't say a word.

At this point, silence spoke louder than words. Instantly, all the prisoners' hearts were in chaos, panicking to death...