Chapter 146: Shift in Identity

"Alright, if you have something to say, go ahead! I will definitely do my best to help you. It's getting late now, so to avoid any suspicion, let's head back now," Zhang Linsheng said.

The two men stood up, preparing to conclude the visit.

*Clack!*

The door lock turned, and someone suddenly pushed the door open and walked in.

"Haha, leaving already? It seems I came at a bad time! Neither early nor late. Mr. Zhang, how about staying a little longer? Care to chat with Ye Fei and me?" Li Guozhong said with a smile.

"Who is this?" Zhang Linsheng wondered. He did not know Li Guozhong, yet the other man seemed to recognize him. However, Ye Fei had never mentioned this person to Zhang Linsheng, which meant Ye Fei had not mentioned him to this person either. Thus, Zhang Linsheng realized that this man knew his identity entirely through investigation.

To be able to investigate Zhang Linsheng's background without alerting him at all, the other party wielded immense influence.

Although he knew that Ye Fei's "Yinde Private School Investigation Operation" was cooperating with some mysterious government departments, Zhang Linsheng had never met Li Guozhong and his associates, hence he did not recognize him. Still, he felt that the man harbored no malicious intent.

"Chairman Zhang, please sit down! Let me introduce you. He is from the Ministry of State Security, Li Guozhong," Ye Fei said, casting a glance at Li Guozhong before sitting back down.

A man from the Ministry of State Security! Zhang Linsheng was startled, but his tension instantly vanished.

What kind of place was the Ministry of State Security? It was one of the most powerful departments in the entire country. The very purpose of its creation was to safeguard national security. Their authority was vast, allowing them to investigate anyone in the country except for those at the very highest levels, possessing boundless influence.

Investigating the wealthiest man in Shenhai was a remarkably simple task for them.

"So you are an officer from the Ministry of State Security. Forgive my lack of recognition," Zhang Linsheng hurriedly said with formal courtesy.

"Haha, Mr. Zhang, no need for formalities. Please, sit," Li Guozhong said with a smile.

The two men took their seats opposite Ye Fei.

"I remember you guys promised Fang Tingfang a few days ago that you wouldn't interfere in prison matters. Why have you suddenly shown up here today?" Ye Fei asked with surprise.

"Hahaha," Li Guozhong laughed heartily.

"We promised not to interfere earlier because of your suggestion, kid! But precisely because of that, we traded it for Fang Tingfang abandoning the domestic market. Because of this, our investigation made major breakthroughs, and we now have sufficient evidence to suppress him. Fang Tingfang has been forced to hole up entirely overseas. Furthermore, after we submitted the evidence, the higher-ups applied joint pressure, making it impossible for the person backing Fang Tingfang to protect him any longer."

Having cracked a major case, the stone in Li Guozhong's heart finally fell to the ground, and he felt considerably more relaxed.

"Then I must offer my congratulations. Fang Tingfang certainly never expected that one wrong step would lead to continuous mistakes. If he had held out just a little longer, he might have had enough time to destroy all the evidence, and his backer wouldn't have been implicated either. Now, under the polite pretext of 'retirement,' he is essentially under house arrest," Ye Fei said indifferently.

Li Guozhong detected the dissatisfaction in Ye Fei's tone and sighed, "I know you harbor resentment in your heart. As long as the person behind Fang Tingfang remains unpunished, it feels like a fishbone stuck in your throat. Although I cannot disclose that person's identity, I can tell you that their status is extremely elevated. Neither sentencing them nor formally charging them would be appropriate; otherwise, the entire country would panic."

Zhang Linsheng sat uncomfortably on the sidelines. Did he know too much now? With matters of such grave consequence being discussed right in front of him, he feared he might be tied to their warship from this point on.

Unwilling to dwell on this topic, Ye Fei steered the conversation elsewhere and asked, "Why did you ask Chairman Zhang to stay?"

Li Guozhong smiled and said to Zhang Linsheng, "Mr. Zhang, I know your relationship with Ye Fei is quite good. He has saved your life and your daughter's life on several occasions, making him your savior, and you have always wanted to repay him. Therefore, keeping you here is actually because there is a matter I would like to ask for your help with. This matter also concerns Ye Fei."

"Please speak, Mr. Li. I will do my utmost to help," Zhang Linsheng replied.

"It's like this: the case we are investigating this time is of momentous consequence, with a web of interests crisscrossing everywhere. Far too many people are implicated, spanning both the underworld and legitimate society, officials, businessmen, and criminal gangs alike. Our Ministry of State Security is preparing to purge the corruption in Shenhai. This operation will inevitably cause massive turbulence locally in Shenhai. Because our manpower is limited, we likely won't have extra personnel to spare. But as you know, Ye Fei has quite a few enemies in Shenhai, and we are worried that some might grow desperate, knowing they face certain death, and bite back at Ye Fei in their final moments."

"Our cooperation with Ye Fei this time has been extremely pleasant. It would be deeply regrettable if the people around him suffered any harm as a result. Therefore, I would like to ask Mr. Zhang to protect the people around Ye Fei during this period until our Ministry of State Security's operations in Shenhai conclude."

Li Guozhong explained. As it turned out, he had gone to such lengths to run over here precisely for this matter.

"Naturally. Ye Fei is also my savior, Zhang Linsheng. I will definitely protect the people around him," Zhang Linsheng hurriedly assured him.

Hearing about this operation, Ye Fei instantly grew interested.

His gaze burning with intensity, he looked at Li Guozhong and seized the opportunity to ask, "You are going to sweep through both the underworld and legal circles of Shenhai? Excellent. This prison isn't clean either; Shenhai's underground boxing ring is actually set up right inside this prison."

"Haha, we've known about the prison matters for a long time. Niu Yutang is already on the list for our operation," Li Guozhong said with a smile.

Ye Fei nodded and said, "In that case, let me ask you: I am planning to get a few people out of prison. Moreover, the person who caused Xiaobai's death, along with those two assassins, must die. Will these things cause any complications?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Linsheng secretly wiped a cold sweat for Ye Fei. What was the Ministry of State Security? It was the department that maintained national stability. An action like Ye Fei's could be considered showing contempt for the rules and disrupting prison order. If such behavior weren't checked—if every inmate started copying him and used their martial prowess to kill people at will—everything would descend into chaos.

"I knew you'd give me a headache. What kind of people are the ones you want to bail out?" Li Guozhong asked with a wry smile.

Ye Fei chuckled. Li Guozhong asking that question already meant he had agreed.

"Actually, the charges against these people aren't very serious..."

Ye Fei briefly summarized the situations of Liang Ji, Boss Chen, and the Four Heavenly Kings, then looked at Li Guozhong.

Li Guozhong pondered for a moment before raising his head to say, "The others you mentioned are all fine, but the matter regarding the Bloody Vajra is rather severe. Aside from him, everyone else can be bailed out."

"Very well, I'll go talk to them later," Ye Fei nodded. Although the Bloody Vajra couldn't be bailed out, he didn't press the issue. After all, the others had extenuating circumstances, but the Bloody Vajra had slaughtered an entire family out of revenge, making him truly unpardonable.

Li Guozhong nodded. As for Ye Fei's request to kill Boss Bao and the two assassins, it wasn't really an issue at all.

First of all, Boss Bao and his cronies were already hardened criminals; it was a miracle they hadn't been sentenced to death, and getting out of prison was completely out of the question. Furthermore, they ran amok in the prison, secretly eliminating rival inmates framed and thrown into prison on behalf of the warden and others. It could be said they deserved to die. Even if Ye Fei killed them, it could easily be claimed later that these men were shot dead while attempting to escape.

As for the life or death of the two assassins, that mattered even less. They were assassins who had entered under false identities, and outsiders had no knowledge of their existence whatsoever. Even if they died, their deaths would go unnoticed.

Besides, the situation in Shenhai was about to undergo a drastic shift. Once Warden Niu and the others were purged, wouldn't everything in the prison be whatever Li Guozhong and his team claimed or arranged it to be? Whatever they said went.

As for worrying about accountability from others, once the Ministry of State Security launched its operation, the entire city of Shenhai would experience a massive earthquake. Various factions would be in constant turmoil, and the waters in Shenhai would be thoroughly muddied. Who would care if a few insignificant people died, or if a few insignificant inmates vanished from the prison?

Ye Fei was hardly a fool. Though bold in his actions, he was also meticulous. His demands this time were made entirely because he had accurately gauged the situation, seized the right moment, and intended to fish in troubled waters.

Zhang Linsheng had not expected Li Guozhong to agree to Ye Fei's requests so decisively and readily, which came as quite a surprise to him.

However, Zhang Linsheng was also a man who had navigated the business world for decades; his vision and intellect were extraordinary, and he quickly perceived the underlying currents of the situation.

He nodded inwardly.

The reason Li Guozhong agreed to Ye Fei's requests with a clear conscience was that there was nothing excessive about them. He was neither betraying the country nor violating the rules of the game. To sum it up in one phrase: "Water too clear has no fish."