Chapter 63

Qiu Peng collapsed to the ground, trying several times to grab onto something to help him stand up, but he failed each time.

In the end, Qiu Peng gave up struggling and lay there, gasping for breath.

What bitter irony!

Qiu Peng had thought he was being cautious, but he hadn’t expected to stumble so catastrophically. This blunder could very well be his undoing.

“What should I do? What do I do now…?” Qiu Peng’s mind was a chaotic mess.

Things had gotten out of hand. Prison guards were issued guns, but they were strictly forbidden from taking them out of the prison without filing a report and going through rigorous approvals.

Qiu Peng had secretly gone to the meeting, or rather, to capture Xu Tianyou, and naturally brought his gun without filing any report.

Firstly, he had no reason to request permission, and secondly, he thought that if nothing happened, it wouldn’t matter. And if he captured Xu Tianyou, his superiors would likely overlook the unauthorized firearm.

Besides, even if he captured Xu Tianyou, his gun wouldn’t necessarily be discovered.

But now, the gun was missing!

There was no way Qiu Peng could explain this. He wasn’t exactly “clean,” so how could he justify himself?

Losing a gun is a serious matter for any police officer, enough to cost him his badge—and if that gun was used in a serious crime, he’d be held accountable!

And Qiu Peng was certain that this gun would cause trouble—after all, it was now in Xu Tianyou’s hands.

And who was Xu Tianyou? A lunatic!

Qiu Peng closed his eyes in pain. He was a prison guard, always arrogant, never shy about making enemies among the prison’s inmates—and these weren’t petty criminals but lifers with nothing left to lose.

If he ended up in prison himself one day, it was terrifying to imagine what would happen to him.

“No! I can’t let that happen!” This thought sent a shiver through Qiu Peng, giving him enough strength to get up from the ground.

Clinging to one last hope, Qiu Peng thoroughly searched the place inside and out. But once he finished, despair set in.

The gun wasn’t there—it must have been taken by that woman, Feng Jie.

He got into his car in a daze, started the engine, and, not knowing where to go, ended up at Hongyun Teahouse.

Although he knew it was unlikely, he still clung to the hope of finding Feng Jie at Hongyun Teahouse. This subconscious hope had led him there.

Just as he was about to get out of the car, he spotted a familiar figure walking into the teahouse. He froze, hand on the door handle.

That person was a leader from the Prison Administration!

Whatever his reason for being there, Qiu Peng knew he couldn’t make a scene now.

The bigger the mess, the sooner the end. If Qiu Peng dared expose what went on behind closed doors at Hongyun Teahouse, he’d be dead even sooner!

Heart sinking, Qiu Peng closed the car door with a loud bang.

“Xu Tianyou! We can’t both survive!”

After calming down for who knows how long, Qiu Peng let out an enraged roar from inside the car, drawing the attention of passing pedestrians, who gave him a wide berth, clearly alarmed by his outburst.

“There’s no other choice… only one way left…” Qiu Peng muttered, gritting his teeth as he revved the engine and sped off.

—

The next day, an unusual tension filled Deep Sea City’s First Prison. Guards’ shifts were completely disrupted; prisoners were continuously questioned, and guards were repeatedly called in for discussions with the leadership.

As the days passed, rather than easing, the situation escalated.

It was baffling—no major incidents had happened recently, yet the prisoners were thoroughly confused by the unusual atmosphere.

Only An Xiaohai and Zhao De understood what was going on.

An Xiaohai would never speak up, and Zhao De, aware of the gravity of the situation, kept his mouth shut as well.

In reality, the situation was far worse than any of the prisoners suspected.

Qiu Peng had vanished, and he’d disappeared with his gun.

The first reaction of the First Prison leadership was to wonder if he’d been killed.

Given that Qiu Peng was a prison guard with a brash demeanor, it was quite possible he’d offended the wrong person and fallen victim to revenge.

The prison leadership informed the relevant departments, requesting a swift investigation into Qiu Peng’s whereabouts. Police and armed forces quickly launched a search, and finally, information arrived from the port.

On April 6th, Qiu Peng, carrying a large sum of cash and forged documents from the First Prison, crossed through the Deep Lake Port into Hong Kong under the guise of official business!

This news exploded like a bomb within the city’s legal system.

There was no hiding this; Qiu Peng likely still had a gun on him! The city leaders knew the scandal couldn’t be contained, so they reported it to the provincial authorities.

The provincial leadership was furious, ordering a full investigation. And in the process, a string of issues involving Qiu Peng began to emerge:

Beyond everything else, Qiu Peng owned five high-end properties, worth well over a million yuan. Even with loans, he would have needed tens of thousands for down payments alone!

How did a simple prison guard, a newly promoted squad leader, amass such wealth?

As the investigation dug deeper, more and more of Qiu Peng’s misdeeds came to light, causing shockwaves throughout the prison and legal system in Deep Sea City.

On May 1st, Labor Day, prisoners had a day off. As usual, many gathered in the AV room to watch TV.

But this time, the prisoners’ request was unusual—they didn’t want entertainment but insisted on watching the news on Haixi Provincial TV.

Though puzzled, the duty officer agreed. After all, news was a reasonable request.

Most of the news was mundane local stories, putting the prisoners to sleep. Yet no one asked to change the channel.

Then, suddenly, a shocking headline appeared:

“Reports from Haixi Provincial TV—Last month, a police officer from Deep Sea City’s First Prison committed a grave offense of corruption and dereliction of duty and fled with a firearm.”

“This case is of extreme severity, causing major public concern. Provincial leaders have expressed their determination to bring the suspect to justice…”

The report continued, describing the suspect, former officer Qiu Peng, male, 43 years old, a Deep Sea City resident, divorced…

Before it could finish, the TV was abruptly turned off, prompting an outcry from the prisoners.

So that explained the strange atmosphere in the prison! And why they hadn’t seen Captain Qiu lately—what a scandalous affair!

“You all need to calm down!” yelled the duty officer, turning off the TV and scolding the prisoners. But by then, they weren’t listening; the commotion only grew.

No snowflake feels responsible for the avalanche.

A single rotten apple among the guards shattered what little authority they had left in the prisoners’ eyes.

Why should anyone listen to the guards now? Or rather, the prisoners saw this as a rare opportunity to unleash their pent-up grievances.

The riot raged on!

The guards couldn’t restore order, even using force, which only escalated the chaos as prisoners not in the AV room joined in!

They banged on their cell doors, smashing everything in sight, shouting in a frenzy—an apocalyptic celebration.