The conference lasted for a long time, and the public opinion online had reached its peak, especially the scene of Bai Cha, covered in blood, crying in Lucifer's arms, which went viral.
Billions of people worldwide had seen the city's guardian being assassinated.
Bai Cha was so beautiful and distinctive that this was the first time anyone had seen the girl cry since her appearance on screen.
On this day, everyone suddenly realized that this young girl had just come of age and was not yet twenty years old.
There was sympathy, accusation, anger, and condemnation. In the end, Tu Ruolan was enveloped in dust, her face clearly visible to the entire world, and along with the Guangming Faction, they were drowned in the world's scorn, unable to lift their heads on the street.
During this conference, to reassure everyone, Country Z specially arranged a global live broadcast. It was not only to discuss future plans but also, more importantly, to criticize the members of the Guangming Faction.
Tu Ruolan stood on the stage, handcuffed, looking at the sickly girl in the audience with anger.
Bai Cha showed no interest in this apology and criticism. Although her heart injury had not been fatal, it was still a severe blow. After recovering for a week, Bai Cha had only just passed the critical stage. At this moment, she was seated between two influential figures, Gong Yuechen and another, both looking rather nervous.
"Don't keep staring at me, the camera is coming over," Bai Cha picked up the cup on the table and took a sip of water. She took a deep breath, masking her difficulty in breathing.
"Bai Cha, are you thirsty? Shall I pour you some more water?" Gong Yuechen picked up Bai Cha's cup, about to leave, but Bai Cha pressed it back down.
"There's still half a cup of water, why pour it out?" Bai Cha looked at Gong Yuechen speechlessly, "This is a global live broadcast that you insisted on. Don't embarrass yourselves, alright?"
"No, isn't this for apologizing to you?" Gong Yuechen sat down dejectedly and kicked the table in frustration, "Chacha, why don't we give up on being heroes?"
Bai Cha paused, then glanced at Gong Yuechen, "...What were you doing before? I've told you multiple times that I don't like formalism. It's not just her who's doing this, who are you criticizing for?"
Actually, Bai Cha hadn't expected Tu Ruolan to act herself this time. To capture her alive, she had instructed Jingji to only use phosphorus powder to restrain her. If she had known it was this old hag, Bai Cha would have killed her directly.
"Anyway, after the criticism, what's he going to do? He'll just go through the motions."
Qian Jiang, behind them, simply couldn't listen anymore. He coughed lightly to remind them, "Young General Gong, Miss Bai, the microphones for the global live broadcast are always on."
So, you two should be more careful with your words and not reveal too much, or it'll be truly embarrassing.
The Guangming Faction had truly lost all face this time. Their actions were akin to telling the entire world that their country Z had plotted against their own guardian, with wicked intentions and a black heart.
Bai Cha glanced at the aerial camera and sneered dismissively, then took another sip of water.
The influential figure sat with his arms crossed, his face dark, not speaking. He felt something was wrong. He looked at the members of the Guangming Faction on stage, who were hypocritically scolding their own kind to absolve themselves, with murderous intent in his eyes.
"I'm going out for a smoke." Bai Cha couldn't stand listening anymore; she found it too noisy. Clutching her cigarette pack, she flipped over the table and jumped out, with the air of a student skipping class, which made some viewers of the live broadcast chuckle.
Bai Cha left, and the influential figure suddenly leaned towards Gong Yuechen and said, "Call Dr. Zhou here."
Gong Yuechen: "Ah?"
"Go call him." The influential figure glanced at Gong Yuechen. Startled, Gong Yuechen, still confused, sent a message to Zhou Tao.
Zhou Tao was also baffled when he received the message. He was proficient in both Western and Chinese medicine and had served as a private doctor for influential figures for twenty years. He had been engrossed in the gossip from his seat when he was suddenly summoned by Gong Yuechen and the influential figure.
Speaking of which, the Guangming Faction was quite something. With the guidance of the three elders of Guangming, every decision was made by them. However, when the first person died, these people desperately concealed the news, and the burial was very perfunctory. Now, they were even pushing Tu Ruolan forward to take the blame.
If he were in the Guangming Faction, he would have likely been calculated to death. Zhou Tao thought with disdain as he hurried towards the influential figure.
Thus, by the time Bai Cha returned after finishing a cigarette and taking a break, the conference room had descended into chaos. Bai Cha didn't need to investigate what had happened; the bullet comments on the live broadcast screen had already informed those who were a bit distracted about what had just transpired.
During the break, in full view of everyone, the influential figure ignored the attempts of those around him to stop him and had Zhou Tao test the water on Bai Cha's table. As Zhou Tao took a sample of the water and placed it into the instrument, the little white mouse he had brought in his pocket, which had jumped onto the table, went cold.
Yes, completely cold.
Everyone saw it. The little white mouse licked the water near Bai Cha's cup. In full view of everyone, the little white mouse became still. Subsequently, Zhou Tao's expression changed, as did the expressions of the influential figure and Gong Yuechen.
The online world was already in an uproar.
Gong Yuechen's hands and feet turned cold. He looked up; the incredibly beautiful girl was leaning against the wall, holding a cigarette, quietly watching the chaotic live broadcast screen.
She was still so indifferent, as if what was about to happen wasn't to her, cold and rational, as if she weren't human.
[Blood... Blood!]
[What are those guys who live off others doing when something happens! Are they all useless? Call a doctor, why are you just standing there!]
[I genuinely don't believe I'm not being targeted. What excuse will they come up with this time? The guardians are really finished this time. Let's all go down together!]
Bai Cha, staring at the screen, raised an eyebrow, appearing somewhat surprised. Her cheek felt a little itchy, and Bai Cha casually wiped it, revealing a smear of crimson.
Oh, no wonder the comments were even more chaotic. They were probably scared.
Bai Cha shrugged and walked onto the stage. Some people in the audience couldn't hold back and stood up abruptly, staring intently at Bai Cha, afraid of what she might say.
"Why panic? I'm not dead yet." Bai Cha fiddled with the microphone, leaned against the table, and looked up at the big screen, "You..."
Before Bai Cha could finish speaking, the big screen suddenly went black with a "snap." The person who pulled the plug was stared at by everyone in the conference room, their legs went weak, and they immediately knelt down.
"Take him down," the influential figure's voice was filled with suppressed rage. The guards immediately reacted and clumsily pinned down the person who had pulled the plug.
Bai Cha wanted to intervene. The plan had reached this stage; it wasn't wise to alert the enemy. Just as she was about to speak, she was met with a glare from the influential figure.
For some reason, Bai Cha suddenly felt a pang of guilt. She opened her mouth to stop them but couldn't say the words.
"You, come with me!" The influential figure, suppressing his anger, walked up to Bai Cha, switched off the microphone, and looked at her with unconcealed fury. To save face in front of everyone, he tried his best to restrain himself, "You come with me, let's talk."
But Bai Cha didn't move.
She had obeyed the influential figure her entire life, and now, for the first time, she didn't listen to him.
"Uncle," Bai Cha lowered her eyes, her voice soft, "I want to go home."
The influential figure's steps towards the exit suddenly halted. He should have been furious, but Bai Cha's words suddenly choked him, making all his emotions bottle up. Even with his strong self-control, he had almost lost it.
He remembered when Bai Cha was twelve, Ye Feng died. He received news that Bai Cha was causing trouble at the balancing log and had gone to Mo Yuntian's place.
When he arrived, Bai Cha had already come out. Freya needed a week of observation in a petri dish. The influential figure remembered that day very clearly. It was raining heavily that day, and he and Bai Cha stood facing each other for a long time.
The influential figure knew that this child was not as strong and mature as everyone thought, but she said nothing, only walked forward.
They stood facing each other for a long time that day before he finally heard Bai Cha's voice.
"Uncle, I want to go home."
"Then let's go back."
This time, they stood still, looking at each other, and fell silent for a long time.
"...Then let's go back." The influential figure sighed as if all his strength had been drained. He seemed to have aged a great deal in an instant. He pushed open the door and left the conference room without looking back.
Bai Cha checked her watch. There were ten seconds left. She had instructed Lucifer that if he sensed anything wrong, he was to count down for three minutes before coming to find her.
This poison, when ingested in small amounts, would not be fatal in a short period. Overdosing on white mandrake could cause death in a short period, like Brahma. A small amount of toxin integrated into the blood would manifest in stages.
The initial stage would have a strong reaction as the body's immune system fought back, but it would soon be assimilated by the toxin and enter a stable phase. The duration of this stable phase would depend on the amount of toxin... and then, death.
Bai Cha looked at Mo Yuntian. Mo Yuntian's face was very pale. He stood not far from Bai Cha. Bai Cha crossed her arms and revealed a sarcastic smile.
"I thought Mr. Mo would go easy on his own son," Bai Cha looked at Mo Yuntian's right hand, which was burned by holy light, and curved her lips, "In the end, you still used Mo Ziye's filial piety to temporarily imprison him."
"Bai Cha, what exactly do you want to do?" Mo Yuntian interrupted Bai Cha's mockery.
He felt extremely uneasy. Now, both public opinion and the neutral factions had completely isolated them.
Public opinion was undeniable. There was no normal person in the world who stood with the Guangming Faction.
As for the neutral factions, at the beginning of the conference, the Guangming Faction, in order to fulfill their promise to Bai Cha, had publicly declared their intention to withdraw the powers of Bai Cha and Yingzi. This had already defined them as ungrateful and treacherous, and no neutral faction would be willing to cooperate with them again.
Resources could not be lost. Their experiments and explorations still required a large amount of resources to support their future. If they could get rid of Bai Cha this time, even without public support, they might be able to sideline Yingzi's powers and obtain the resources promised by Bai Cha.
Perhaps it was all worth it?
But Mo Yuntian felt very uneasy. For some reason, the closer it seemed to the end, and the more he saw Bai Cha's calmness, the more Mo Yuntian felt that something was not yet concluded.
"What are you afraid of? Don't you still have your final trump card?" Bai Cha's voice was very soft, but Mo Yuntian heard it, and his face instantly turned extremely ugly, fear appearing on his features at that moment.
Subconsciously, Mo Yuntian wanted to rush forward and ask for clarification, but he was grabbed by a pair of strong arms and violently thrown to the ground.
"Get lost! You dog!" The furious Gong Yuechen had lost his composure, or rather, he was ultimately young and impetuous. His badge hung crookedly on his chest in his panic. He almost slid to his knees in front of Bai Cha, "Bai! Bai Cha, come with me!"
"Young General Gong, please mind your image." Lucifer's gentle hand pulled away Gong Yuechen's arm as he walked in from outside.
"Lucifer, you go out first." Bai Cha patted Lucifer and said indifferently, "Give me your phone."
Lucifer was stunned for a moment, not understanding, but he still obediently handed over his phone. After Lucifer had walked a considerable distance, Bai Cha turned back, "I'll give you five minutes to block all news."
"Bai Cha?" Gong Yuechen was covered in sweat. He didn't understand Bai Cha's intentions.
"Block the news with all your might. I don't want Lucifer to know about this. I told him not to pay attention to any information and to be on full alert, so he is currently not an informed party." Bai Cha said calmly, "Brother, help me this once."
Gong Yuechen: "..."
Gong Yuechen felt his heart grow cold, but he couldn't say anything. The anger that had been building up in his chest turned into a biting chill under Bai Cha's address of "Brother."
This was the first time Bai Cha had asked him for a favor.
After a long time, Gong Yuechen finally found his voice again.
"...Okay."