"What kind of transaction do you want?" Gong Tingjian didn't hesitate to join the conversation. Resources might make him hesitate, but though he was collaborating with the Light faction on experiments, resources weren't his primary concern. Bai Cha's mention of national defense, on the other hand, filled him with dread.
Bai Cha alone could represent national defense; it was merely a matter of shifting from the shadows into the public eye. Gong Tingjian wouldn't have worried before, as the Bai family had sworn to remain in the shadows for generations, preventing them from ever wielding any real power, leaving them with mere status at most.
But now, Gong Tingjian was uncertain. The Bai Cha before him felt a bit unfamiliar, and he dared not gamble.
"I want you to publicly agree at the assembly to strip the Shadow faction of its powers and to accept my resignation."
The astonishing statement plunged the entire room into silence.
*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. This matter was easy to say, but for him, as a member of the Neutral faction, to agree to the Light faction stripping the Shadow faction of its powers and to also accept Bai Cha's resignation was tantamount to betraying the Neutral faction and indirectly admitting to harming the Shadow.
"You cannot refuse. Only in this way can you truly grasp all of Z country's national defense and military authority. You should understand that only when we disappear can you obtain what you desire," Bai Cha stated calmly. "Secondly, I will give you the resources, and you will be in charge of all defense arrangements, including personnel deployment, for the final resignation assembly."
The final resignation assembly? That meant the highest council meeting!
In that instant, everyone's heart pounded with excitement.
The personnel and defense arrangements for the highest council meeting – wouldn't that mean the Shadow faction was handing over power to them? If this were to happen, it would mean they had a chance to undermine the Shadow faction's long-held defenses against high-level personnel, effectively handing over the final line of defense to them!
At this point, let alone Gong Tingjian, even the patriarchs of the several major families who had weathered many storms in the room could not contain their excitement.
"You're giving us all this so easily? I don't believe you would do something detrimental to yourself and the Shadow faction," Gong Tingjian questioned Bai Cha with a sliver of remaining rationality. "What is your purpose?"
Bai Cha's request was disadvantageous to him, but in the face of such immense benefits, this disadvantage was minor. However, Bai Cha wasn't foolish; how could she, who cared so much for the people of the Shadow faction, directly dismantle their lifeline?
"You are not qualified to question me, and I am not obligated to tell you my subsequent plans. You simply need to answer yes or no," Bai Cha said, leaning back on the sofa. She could feel the eager emotions of the hidden individuals and, with a sarcastic smile, stood up to leave.
"I agree!"
The conditions were too tempting; they were what they had strived for with all their might. No matter from what perspective, Gong Tingjian and his group could not refuse. Even though Gong Tingjian didn't believe Bai Cha to be someone who would compromise so easily, at this moment, he had no choice but to agree.
"Very well, then remember my conditions. You must explicitly support the removal of the Shadow faction's powers and my resignation at the assembly, and personally communicate with the higher-ups regarding personnel arrangements. If you fail in even one aspect, all these benefits will be lost."
With that, Bai Cha walked out of the room. By the time Gong Tingjian and the others reached the doorway to check, Bai Cha had already vanished without a trace.
The hidden individuals all crawled out from various places within the room, some excited, others puzzled.
"Mo Yuntian, at your age, crawling under a table, aren't you afraid of a twisted back?" Perhaps due to excessive excitement, someone teased a middle-aged man who was slowly walking to the sofa and sitting down.
Mo Yuntian remained silent. He shouldn't feel guilty, as he had never done anything detrimental to Bai Cha. On the contrary, he had provided Bai Cha with considerable technical support. He remained silent, but if Bai Cha were to question him, he wouldn't know how to refute her. Just now, he had looked out at the outside world through a gap in the tablecloth from under the table, and his eyes had met Bai Cha's.
Even through the tablecloth, Mo Yuntian could sense the arrogance and mockery in that meaningful gaze, as if it were taunting him for having fallen to such a state, crawling under the table like a stray dog without any dignity.
That one glance convinced Mo Yuntian that Bai Cha absolutely knew he was inside.
Seeing Mo Yuntian's distressed 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 said nothing.
Distance himself, how could he distance himself?
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 and announced it on the public platform. Subsequent handling of reporters and other individuals has been completed. Has everything gone smoothly on your end?" 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 powers bestowed by its master to overthrow the master, even if the master is bitten, turning them into lowly stray dogs is as easy as lifting a finger," Bai Cha said, a cigarette dangling from her lips, a wicked, mischievous smile appearing. "He only became a general with the Bai family's support and truly thinks he has some ability."
Dealing with fools is always so easy. It's a pity that Gong Tingjian, despite his blood relation to Ye Feng, hadn't inherited even a shred of Ye Feng's intelligence. If it were Ye Feng, or rather Bai Shu, they would never have agreed to Bai Cha's terms.
Even if it meant losing all their rare ores.
It's no wonder Ye Feng was directly abandoned at an orphanage after his parents' death. Perhaps his foolish family couldn't tolerate intelligent people.
Thinking of this, Bai Cha actually began to smile with some amusement.
"Master, you already smoked one this morning," Lucifer frowned, his focus completely misplaced from what Bai Cha was saying.
Bai Cha never smoked. Even when she held two cigarettes, they were merely scented, containing no nicotine or tar. They were herbs and spices used for calming or excitement. However, after returning from the world competition, Bai Cha had started smoking.
She would smoke the most primitive cigarettes, sitting on the balcony, a glass of strong cocktail beside the crystal table, spending the entire day there, as if waiting for someone to climb through the window.
"Ah? Oh, it's fine, I'm not addicted," Bai Cha waved dismissively, wanting to continue speaking. Seeing Lucifer's look of hesitant disappointment, she relented and shrugged sheepishly.
"Alright, I get it, I won't smoke anymore," Bai Cha said helplessly.
While Bai Cha was leisurely enjoying herself, the outside world was in chaos, truly turned upside down.
First, Bai Cha had directly killed the head of Balance Wood, and the second-in-command was also dead. The remaining Virgo was in a state of utter panic. Virgo knew that Bai Shu had given the Libra token to Bai Cha, but if Bai Cha wouldn't come to inherit the divine position, there was nothing he could do. He couldn't shamelessly beg Bai Cha to come.
In reality, there was no conflict between Balance Wood and Bai Cha. The organization formed by bounty hunters was united when they needed to be, but when dispersed, they had no sense of belonging. They were all independent individuals, and everyone had their own assessment of right and wrong. No one wanted to have an unpleasant dispute with Bai Cha, nor would anyone go out of their way to avenge someone.
Moreover, some people genuinely had good relationships with Bai Cha, based on a foundation of childhood affection.
However, in the eyes of the outside world, Balance Wood and Z country were like gunpowder on dry grass, requiring only the slightest friction to ignite. Many people in Z country also believed this, causing widespread panic and anxiety. Out of fear, the voices "denouncing" Bai Cha suddenly increased.
Of course, this was only the voice of some individuals at 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 during natural disasters and calamities in the past. The resources obtained from winning first place in the world competition were not a secret. Z country's first place resource was twice that of the second-place country, M. The netizens rejoiced, and some even compiled all the deeds Bai Cha had accomplished, including official videos and footage captured by ordinary people.
A title like "Light faction brags about one small project for three years, Shadow faction protects people three hundred times without a single word of praise" quietly emerged, and countless netizens even began to question the official bias.
As a result, at this critical juncture, Bai Cha's resignation letter was directly posted.
Bai Cha's account had only a golden V. The content was completely blank; no likes, no comments, as if it were dead. Everyone could only determine if Bai Cha had actually used the account by checking if it was online and viewing her watch history.
Although Bai Cha never posted updates, the number of people she had saved was not limited to the nation, but the entire world. She simply didn't publicize her actions and didn't disguise herself like a thief when saving people. Even her almost-dead account had nearly sixty million followers.
"I, Bai Cha, born into the Bai family and leading the Shadow faction, have never regretted it. I began my training for my future work at the age of three and have led the Shadow faction for six years since the age of twelve. I have failed to protect them, and I am not a good leader.
Too many events have transpired recently, and my state of mind, both in dealing with people and in combat, has greatly diminished. For a girl who has just reached adulthood, and even before that, for a girl who was underage for a long time, the struggles of the mind have exhausted me and made me deeply realize my immaturity.
Although I may be disappointed, since I promised to lead Z country to achieve first place, I will fulfill it. Now that the contract is complete, I resign from my position as the leader of Z country's Shadow faction and become a freelance individual, taking over the divine position of Balance Wood from my late beloved."
Everyone was stunned.
The events unfolded too suddenly; no one was mentally prepared.
Gong Tingjian and his group, who had just received the news, turned pale. Thinking about it, if they were to openly support Bai Cha's resignation at this assembly and even strip the Shadow faction of all its powers, it would be like pushing themselves into a death trap at the peak of public scrutiny.
But they seemed to have no other recourse; the conditions Bai Cha offered were still too tempting, and more people were willing to take a gamble.
The people of Z country exploded, truly intending to become bombs and blow up everyone who had "disappointed" Bai Cha into ashes.
It was truly ridiculous. They had just been celebrating online, saying things like "Z country is awesome with Bai Cha, bring out someone talented from your country or you'll be crushed by us" to provoke envious foreigners. But they were slapped in the face immediately after.
And looking at the resignation declaration, was Bai Cha leaving because she was disappointed with people's hearts?
As a result, all accounts of the Light and Neutral factions that the public could find were inundated with a torrent of demands for an explanation.
In fact, when this matter came to light, people from other countries wanted to laugh. After all, their strongest competitor had resigned, which would mean they could finally stand up, right?
However, since the end of the world competition, their own Shadow factions had remained silent. Especially Athena. Not only in country M but globally, Athena was perhaps the only Shadow faction member who was slightly more high-profile, given her title of diplomat, her gentle and generous demeanor, and her elegance. Yet, this time, she had remained silent along with the Shadow factions from various countries.
The result was that everyone began to panic. People from other countries also started to worry that their own guardians might be subjected to unfair treatment.
The ones laughing the hardest were likely those in Balance Wood. Even though Bai Cha stated that she was merely a figurehead, that was enough to make them laugh.
Being a figurehead was good, just being a figurehead was enough!