“What kind of deal do you want?” Gong Tingjian unhesitatingly took over the conversation. Resources might have made him hesitate, and while he’d partnered with the Light faction for experiments, resources weren’t his primary concern. Instead, the national defense that Bai Cha spoke of was far more terrifying.
Bai Cha alone could constitute national defense; it was merely a matter of shifting from the shadows to the public eye. Gong Tingjian hadn’t been worried before because the Bai family had sworn an oath that they could only ever be in the shadows, meaning they could never touch any real power. At best, they would only hold nominal status.
But now Gong Tingjian was uncertain. Bai Cha, standing before him, gave him an unfamiliar feeling, and he dared not gamble.
“I want you to publicly agree at the conference to strip the Shadow faction of its powers and to accept my resignation.”
The words were stunning, and the entire room fell silent.
*You all.*
So, Bai Cha at least knew there was more than just Gong Tingjian in the room.
A cold sweat broke out on Gong Tingjian’s back. While the matter was stated easily, for him, as part of the neutral faction, to agree to the Light faction stripping the Shadow faction of its powers and to accept Bai Cha’s resignation was tantamount to betraying the neutral faction and tacitly admitting he had poisoned the Shadow.
“You cannot refuse. Only this way can you truly grasp complete control of Z-country’s national defense and military. You should understand, only when we disappear can you obtain what you desire,” Bai Cha said calmly. “Second, I will give you the resources, and you will be in charge of all defensive arrangements, including personnel deployment, for the final resignation conference.”
The final resignation conference? Wouldn’t that be the Supreme Council meeting?
In that instant, everyone’s heart pounded.
The personnel deployment and defensive arrangements for the Supreme Council meeting—didn’t this signify the Shadow faction handing over power to them? If this were to happen, it would mean they had an opportunity to circumvent the Shadow faction’s long-held defensive measures against high-ranking personnel, handing over the final line of defense to them!
At this point, it wasn’t just Gong Tingjian; even the patriarchs of the several major families in the room, who had weathered many storms, couldn’t suppress their excitement.
“You’re giving all of this to us so easily? I don’t believe you would do something detrimental to yourself and the Shadow faction,” Gong Tingjian asked Bai Cha, maintaining his last shred of reason. “What is your objective?”
Bai Cha’s demands were disadvantageous to him, but in the face of immense benefits, these disadvantages were minor. However, Bai Cha wasn’t foolish. How could she, who cared so much for the people of the Shadow faction, directly dismantle their fallback plan?
“You are not qualified to question me, nor am I qualified to tell you the subsequent steps. You only need to answer whether you agree or disagree,” Bai Cha said, leaning back on the sofa. She could feel the eager emotions of those hidden around, and with a mocking smile, she got up to leave.
“I agree!”
The conditions were too tempting; they were things they had painstakingly strived for. From any perspective, Gong Tingjian and the others could not refuse. Even if Gong Tingjian didn’t believe Bai Cha was someone who would compromise so easily, at this moment, he couldn’t refuse.
“Very well, then remember my conditions. You must explicitly support the stripping of the Shadow faction’s powers and my resignation at the conference, and personally communicate with the higher-ups regarding personnel arrangements. If you fail in any aspect, all these benefits will be gone.”
With that, Bai Cha walked out of the house. When Gong Tingjian and the others went to the door to check, Bai Cha had already vanished without a trace.
The hidden people all crawled out from various places inside the house, some excited, some perplexed.
“Mo Yuntian, at your age, crawling under a table, aren’t you afraid of hurting your back?” Perhaps due to excitement, someone teased the middle-aged man who was slowly walking over to the sofa and sitting down.
Mo Yuntian said nothing. He shouldn’t feel guilty, as he had never done anything detrimental to Bai Cha; in fact, he had provided Bai Cha with a lot of technical support. He remained silent, but if Bai Cha were to question him, he wouldn’t know how to refute.
Just now, he had looked out at the world through the gap in the tablecloth from under the table and his eyes had met Bai Cha’s.
That meaningful gaze, even through the tablecloth, made Mo Yuntian feel the arrogance and mockery within it, as if taunting him for having fallen to such a state, crawling under a table without dignity like a stray dog.
In that moment, Mo Yuntian was utterly convinced that Bai Cha absolutely knew he was inside.
Seeing Mo Yuntian’s displeased silence, Tu Ruolan walked over and snorted, “What? Are you feeling guilty? We are all in this together now. Don’t think you can distance yourself by doing nothing.”
“…”
Mo Yuntian remained silent.
Distance himself, how could he?
From the moment that experiment began, he could no longer distance himself. Even though he had never harmed Bai Cha, that forbidden experiment…
“Master, I have submitted your resignation letter and announced this matter on the public platform. Arrangements for subsequent reporters and other individuals have been completed. Has your side gone smoothly?” Lucifer approached Bai Cha, draping his coat over her shoulders. Bai Cha’s injuries had not yet healed, and Lucifer dared not let her catch a chill.
“Hmph. When a dog tries to use the authority bestowed by its master to overthrow the master, even if the master is bitten, turning them into lowly stray dogs is as easy as blowing out a candle,” Bai Cha said, a cigarette held between her lips, with a wicked, mischievous smile. “He only managed to become a general with the Bai family’s support, and he truly thinks he has some talent.”
It was always so easy dealing with idiots, but it was a shame that Gong Tingjian, despite his blood relation to Ye Feng, hadn’t inherited even a sliver of Ye Feng’s intelligence. If it were Ye Feng, or rather Bai Shu, they would never have agreed to Bai Cha’s conditions.
Even if it meant losing all the rare ores.
It wasn’t surprising that Ye Feng was directly abandoned at an orphanage after his parents’ death. Perhaps foolish families could not tolerate intelligent people.
Thinking of this, Bai Cha actually smiled with some pleasure.
“Master, you already smoked one this morning,” Lucifer frowned, his focus entirely elsewhere than on Bai Cha’s words.
Bai Cha never smoked. Even when she held two cigarettes, they were scented, containing no nicotine or tar—herbs and spices used for calming or invigorating, not for addiction. Yet, after returning from the world competition, Bai Cha had started smoking.
She would smoke the most primitive cigarettes, sit by the crystal table on the balcony with a glass of strong cocktail, and stay there for an entire day, as if waiting for someone to climb through the window.
“Ah? Oh, it’s nothing, I’m not addicted,” Bai Cha waved her hand indifferently and was about to continue. Seeing Lucifer’s hesitant and disappointed look, she shrugged sheepishly.
“Alright, I know, I won’t smoke anymore,” Bai Cha said, resigned.
While Bai Cha was leisurely enjoying herself here, outside, chaos had erupted, turning things upside down.
First, Bai Cha had directly killed the top leader of Balance Wood, and the second leader was also dead. The remaining Virgo was in a panic. In fact, Virgo knew that Bai Shu had given the Libra token to Bai Cha, but if Bai Cha didn’t come to inherit the divine position, he couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t shamelessly beg Bai Cha to come.
In reality, Balance Wood and Bai Cha had no conflict. While organizations composed of bounty hunters were united, when dispersed, they had no sense of belonging. They were all independent individuals, and everyone knew who was right and who was wrong. No one wanted to upset Bai Cha, nor did anyone have the time to seek revenge for someone.
What’s more, some people had genuinely good relationships with Bai Cha; their bonds were forged from childhood.
However, in the eyes of the outside world, Balance Wood and Z-country were like gunpowder on dry grass; a tiny spark could cause an explosion. Many people in Z-country also believed this, leading to widespread panic and anxiety. Out of fear, the voices calling for Bai Cha’s “punishment” suddenly increased.
Of course, these were only the voices of some people in the upper echelons. Among the lower and middle classes, Bai Cha had already been deified.
Not to mention how many times Bai Cha had saved people and aided in disaster relief during various calamities. The resources obtained from winning first place in the recent world competition were not secret; Z-country’s first place was double that of the second-ranked M-country. The public rejoiced, and some even compiled a collection of all the things Bai Cha had done, including official videos and footage captured by ordinary people. It was endless.
Under the title “Light faction boasts about a small project for three years, Shadow faction protects the people 300 times without a single mention,” countless netizens even began questioning the official media’s favoritism.
As a result, at this critical juncture, Bai Cha’s resignation letter was directly posted.
Bai Cha’s account only had a golden V, and the content was completely blank. She didn’t like or comment, as if she were dead. Everyone could only know if Bai Cha had truly used this account by checking if her account was online and her viewing history.
Although Bai Cha never posted updates, she had saved countless people, not just nationwide but worldwide. She didn’t publicize her actions, nor did she sneak around like a thief to save people. Even her nearly defunct account had nearly sixty million followers.
“I, Bai Cha, was born into the Bai family and have never regretted leading the Shadow faction. I began my future work training diligently at the age of three and started leading the Shadow faction at twelve, continuing for six years. I failed to protect them and am not a good leader.
Too many things have happened recently. My state of mind in dealing with people and combat has greatly declined. For a girl who just reached adulthood, and for a long time, was underage, the struggles of the mind have left me exhausted and have made me profoundly realize my immaturity.
Even though I will be disappointed, since I promised to lead Z-country to victory, I will fulfill it. Now that the contract is complete, I resign from the position of leader of Z-country’s Shadow faction to become a free individual and assume the divine position of Balance Wood, succeeding my deceased lover.”
Everyone was stunned.
The events unfolded too suddenly, and no one was mentally prepared.
Gong Tingjian and the others, who had just received the news, turned pale. They could imagine that at this conference, if they publicly supported Bai Cha’s resignation and even agreed to strip the Shadow faction of its powers, it would be tantamount to pushing themselves into the center of a storm.
However, it seemed they had no other choice. Bai Cha’s offered conditions were still too tempting, and more people wanted to take a chance.
The people of Z-country were furious, truly wanting to turn themselves into bombs and blow up everyone who had “disappointed” Bai Cha into ashes.
It was truly ridiculous. They had just been exclaiming online, saying things like, “Z-country is awesome with Bai Cha; if your country can’t produce a talent like her, you’ll be suppressed by us,” to provoke the sour envious attitudes of other countries. Yet, right after saying that, they were slapped in the face.
And looking at the resignation statement, Bai Cha was leaving because she was disappointed with people?
As a result, all accessible accounts of the Light and Neutral factions were overwhelmed, with demands for an explanation flooding in.
In fact, when this matter broke out, people from other countries found it amusing. After all, if the strongest competitor resigned, wouldn’t that mean they could finally stand up?
However, since the end of the world competition, their own Shadow factions had remained silent. Especially Athena, who was perhaps the only slightly high-profile Shadow, not only in M-country but globally. She had the title of diplomat, was gentle and generous, and dignified and beautiful. Yet, this time, along with the Shadows from various countries, she had fallen silent.
The result was that everyone started to panic. People from other countries also began to worry that their own guardians would be treated unfairly.
The ones who were laughing the hardest were probably Balance Wood. Although Bai Cha stated that she was merely a figurehead, it was enough for them to laugh.
Being a figurehead was good, just being a figurehead was enough!