Era of Magic and Martial Arts-Chapter 270 - 254: The Highest Art of Lying

On the wall hung several abstract paintings, vibrant yet appearing dull under the dazzling light.

The general manager, Lu Chenjia, sat behind the spacious desk, fingers lightly tapping on the keyboard, as various data and graphs flickered on the screen.

Lu Chenjia looked at the dizzying financial reports. Although the overall revenue remained considerable, the expenditures were equally alarming, especially several ongoing secret experiments, which seemed like a bottomless pit.

"Bright burns nothing but money!"

Lu Chenjia sighed with some emotion, as a faint golden gleam flashed in his doubting eyes.

Bzz Bzz Bzz—

Lu Chenjia opened a text message on his phone. It was a few hundred words long; he glanced over it casually.

Soon, Lu Chenjia’s expression became slightly serious. Compared to Qian Huan’s urgency, Lu Chenjia’s face showed little change. He simply picked up a pen and wrote two names casually on a sheet of paper:

Octagonal Cage Beast Fighting Plan

Qian Huan

Lu Chenjia put down the phone, thought for a while, then wrote a slash after Qian Huan’s name and added another name with a question mark.

Qian Huan/Wang Cong?

Lu Chenjia pondered for a moment, then casually placed the pen on the table, flicking it gently, as it spun like a lottery pointer, refusing to stop for a long time.

Lu Chenjia was not in a hurry to decide; he was not one of those uncouth people who disregarded decorum.

As an important figure in the Bright Group, he valued influence more and cared about dining etiquette.

He wasn’t eager to get to the table, but preferred to first observe quietly, waiting for the host or the chef to prepare the ingredients almost entirely before they were set on the table.

He would then bring the cutlery politely, elegantly sit at the table, put on a napkin, and eagerly help the host divide the cooked food on the table.

Oh,

What if, you say, the host doesn’t invite him?

No worries, the cutlery he brought is his best invitation letter. Don’t believe it? On that day, ask the host if they would ask him to leave the table or warmly welcome his presence!!!

"Just don’t know if it will be the host or the chef joining me for dinner that day?" Lu Chenjia muttered to himself.

He reached out to stop the spinning pen; it stood upright like a pointer, exactly at the center of [Qian Huan/Wang Cong?], with the pen’s shadow slightly leaning to one side under the lamp.

...

Returning to Zone A of the Light Supervision Area with a thick envelope, Feng Mu waved the compensation money in front of the prison guards and called Tian Tao’s family in front of them.

Listening to the heart-wrenching cries coming from the phone, and then seeing Feng Mu with a face full of genuine sympathy, offering words of solace and substantial compensation with great patience.

The prison guards were thoroughly moved by Feng Mu’s act of repaying injustice with kindness, deeply touched by his empathy and loyalty.

At this moment, all the prison guards in Zone A looked at Feng Mu as if they were gazing at... Bright.

Once, Tian Tao used an electric baton and fear to assert his authority as captain, forcing them into submission.

But Feng Mu was entirely different. He shone the light of humanity on them, making them willingly bow their heads to him and follow his lead.

At this instant, they had a unanimous realization: although Feng Mu held no title of captain, he had already become one in essence!

After lunch.

Qian Huan came to Zone A, with Zhou Hu following behind him.

Qian Huan publicly announced two temporary personnel appointments, while Zhou Hu remained silent throughout with a sullen face.

First, appoint Ma Xuan as acting sub-zone chief of Zone A and concurrently as sub-zone chief of Zone C.

Second, promote Wang Cong to replace Tian Tao’s position, temporarily acting as captain of the Light Supervision Area’s Zone A.

After announcing these appointments, Qian Huan didn’t provide much explanation, merely saying:

"These appointments are all temporary. Specific appointments will be adjusted based on next Monday’s prison-wide ranking under the bottom elimination system. I hope everyone can work hard, showcase their talents, and seize every opportunity for adjustment."

Finishing his statement, Qian Huan turned away without looking at the higher-positioned Prison Chief Zhou Hu but instead patted the newly appointed captain, Wang Cong.

This obvious preferential treatment left the present prison guards exchanging looks of astonishment.

Zhou Hu snorted coldly, his face gloomy, as he left hastily, and Ma Xuan quickly followed upon seeing this.

Soon, only Wang Cong, with a gourd on his back, was left standing there expressionless, while the other prison guards stayed eerily silent around him, with an increasingly ominous tension in the air.

Some perceptive prison guards exchanged glances, they all coincidentally thought of the unsent text message in Tian Tao’s phone, and when they looked at Wang Cong, their eyes showed a hint of disdain.

No one likes to befriend a traitor, regardless of whom he betrayed.

They all stood behind Feng Mu, tacitly waiting for him to speak up.

Feng Mu stepped forward, with a gentle smile on his face, walked toward Wang Cong: "Congratulations, Captain Wang Cong, let’s work together to build a great Second Prison family going forward."

Wang Cong’s face showed a sincere smile. He took a deep breath and spoke earnestly: "Alright, Feng Mu."

The prison guards displayed various expressions. Although Wang Cong and Feng Mu seemed genuinely warm in their smiles and words, interestingly, the listening guards, like a mutual understanding, heard the opposite in meaning.

The more they displayed false intimacy, the more everyone felt unconvinced, believing that a sinister murderous intent loomed in the air.

Coincidentally, the Prison Chief thought the same.

This was Feng Mu’s brilliance. He exposed lies in the form of truth before everyone.

People might see through lies, detect performances, but no one could unveil the truth, for truth was the most seamlessly woven... lie.

...

Qian Huan slowly toured the entire prison with Shi Wuming, conducting the most detailed inspection of each monitoring district before finally returning to the office.

Once seated in the office, Qian Huan straightforwardly asked Shi Wuming:

"I’ve shown you every prison guard. Have you discovered any guard who is hiding their strength?"

Shi Wuming gently touched his right eyelid, while his right eye emitted a ghostly blue light, projecting three-dimensional projections in the air like a projector.

These 3D projections quickly changed like slides; each face was a familiar prison guard. Terrifyingly, under their faces, instead of flesh, were pale frightening skeletons.

The skeletons weren’t terrifying; what was frightening was that these skeletons were grotesque—some ferocious, some bloated, some ugly, some malformed, resembling beasts, fish, birds, monsters...

It looked like an illustrated handbook of alien demons and ghosts, none looking human at all.

...