Days passed by peacefully.
This morning, Bai Cha finished her breakfast leisurely and sat on the balcony lounger, resting in silence.
Last night, she had been busy until three in the morning, expecting to sleep in. However, at the crack of dawn, the rules for the World Competition had roused her, making it impossible for her to sleep soundly.
After all, the World Competition was the most important matter at hand.
The preliminary rounds had actually begun a month ago, but for those in the top hundred, the preliminaries were insignificant, practically non-existent.
With tens of thousands of participants, the top hundred contestants from the previous World Competition held an advantage. During this period, they only needed to focus on training, without worrying about disruptions.
However, what lay ahead was the confrontation among the strong, those who were truly worth noticing. Dark horses appeared every year, and this year's World Competition was no exception. There were many strong contenders to watch out for, and many powerful individuals without affiliations were being sought after by various organizations.
Humans, after all, were social beings. It was difficult to reach the pinnacle fighting alone; teamwork was especially crucial. Yet, this time, the six major world organizations, led by Bai Cha, had not immediately absorbed the newly arrived recruits into their ranks after assessment. Instead, they had added them to a reserve list and uniformly issued a statement.
"Following the Dragon Mother's final battle, if they have not joined any other organizations, they will directly become official members."
They also added a note.
"During this period, they will receive treatment and training equivalent to regular personnel."
In essence, they were interns, albeit with an unusually long internship period and still generous benefits.
Those who could become Dragon Knights were not foolish. Once this news broke, many understood the implications.
One benefit of not being absorbed as official members was that if their original organizations encountered problems, these interns, not yet officially incorporated, could escape unharmed without any loss. Since their treatment and training were no different from regular members, this clause was only more advantageous to these newcomers.
This implied that they were currently free agents enjoying benefits. This realization made many sense something was amiss.
Some speculated that it might be due to the Dragon Mother's battle, which, while confident, still carried some risk, and the leaders might have been acting in their best interest. However, a considerable portion speculated that there might be other crises besides the Dragon Mother star system.
But this was, after all, a private decision and announcement. Consequently, countries convened separate meetings to summon them, and Bai Cha was no exception.
Bai Cha found herself spacing out again, for what felt like the umpteenth time. She always found these meetings rather tedious. Most people's lengthy speeches were filled with meaningless jargon, serving only to show off their knowledge and achieving nothing else, except for reprimanding her.
"Bai Cha, are you listening? Do you know the significant impact this will have on Country Z?" an elderly man, seeing Bai Cha drift off again, said angrily. "Doesn't this clearly tell everyone that we have other crises besides the Dragon Mother star system? Do you know how many people will interpret this as internal strife? It's a disgrace to Country Z."
Bai Cha finally looked up. She impatiently glanced at the display screen in front of her and replied lazily, "Or else what?"
"What do you mean!" the elderly man, so angry he was puffing his beard, exclaimed.
"Do you have the nerve to do it but not let me speak?" If this hadn't been a video conference, Bai Cha would have already hurled a water cup. "Because I was unilaterally harmed, you're playing blind?"
"Miss Bai, please don't speak carelessly..."
"Scram, is it your place to interrupt?" Bai Cha turned her head and glared at a young man nearby who had interjected. "You people are truly audacious, mastering the art of turning a blind eye to a T. This is the era of technology; do you know there's information recorded? What, should I bring a PPT to the next meeting? Shall we have an emoji battle?"
The conference room fell silent.
Behind them, a massive screen meticulously documented the losses Country Z had incurred due to Bai Cha's recent missions. They were always adept at finding fault, especially since Bai Cha, clearly provoked after being cheated, had been acting decisively, confronting anyone who dared, disregarding public opinion and consequences, leaving them all hesitant.
In reality, Bai Cha hadn't gone too far. However, her words this time reminded them that Bai Cha possessed evidence of numerous, even inhuman, major transgressions by the Light Faction, as well as evidence of the Neutral Faction's complicity. The implications of releasing this information were unthinkable.
If it were compiled into a PPT, the entire conference room would likely only hear the sound of faces being slapped.
"Furthermore, I've always disliked making empty promises. If they can be absorbed, they can be absorbed; if not, they can't. Given my current situation, would bringing them in be leading them into a fiery pit?" Bai Cha snorted coldly. "You still have the nerve to talk to me? Should you review what you're saying? Have none of you leaders ever died?"
The conference room remained silent.
The deaths of Brahma and Asmodeus were enough to silence them.
Brahma was much older than Bai Cha. During the transition period between Ye Feng and Bai Cha's leadership, Country Z had suffered considerable losses under Asmodeus. Now that Brahma and Asmodeus were dead, it wasn't just Bai Cha, but even some members of the Neutral Faction felt a sense of camaraderie in loss.
"Also, Mr. Mo." Bai Cha said, suddenly looking at Mo Yuntian. "Although my relationship with the Light Faction isn't great, I'm happy to help if there's a problem."
With that, she directly turned off the video. Bai Cha's figure instantly vanished from her seat. The conference room returned to normal, but while Mo Yuntian's expression was calm, his hand under the table was secretly clenched.
After turning off the video, Bai Cha glanced at her phone, feeling a bit down.
Before, she had set the green bubble chat group to Do Not Disturb because Brahma was too boisterous, and one wrong move could lead to 999+ messages. She never expected that even with Do Not Disturb turned off, the group could no longer disturb her.
Without Brahma's lead, no one casually engaged in pleasantries, and no one sent emojis. A quick scroll back would reveal chat records from no more than a few minutes ago, still containing a string of Brahma's peculiar sticker packs, which were rumored to be self-made, exaggerated, and hilarious.
The liveliness above and the quiet below sometimes gave Bai Cha a sense of having passed through different eras.
At some point, she had grown accustomed to opening the group chat and being greeted by a dazzling array of messages and sticker packs. Now, she found it difficult to adjust. Often, in a daze, she would even feel as if Brahma had simply gone out and would return soon, and the next time she opened the group, her screen would again be flooded with sticker packs and miscellaneous information.
"Master, we've located them," Lucifer knocked on the door, pushing in a wheelchair with Xiang Nan, who was still weak, but his complexion had improved considerably.
"What are the results?" Bai Cha put away her phone, quickly regaining her composure.
"DNA and voice extraction are complete. Iris extraction was attempted several times, with a success rate of only sixty percent. Fingerprint extraction was only thirty percent." Xiang Nan had a laptop on his lap. He had been working tirelessly overnight and continued to be busy even after being transferred from Country Z to the World Competition site. Looking at Bai Cha, Xiang Nan hesitated for a moment before giving a definitive confirmation: "Confirmed, they are alive."
This result was not surprising. Bai Cha nodded. "Do you have their routes and gathering points?"
"No, their vigilance is very high. The main responsible parties do not meet simultaneously," Xiang Nan replied truthfully. "However, they seem to have run into significant trouble recently, and their numbers appear to have decreased."
"Mm, I have a good idea," Bai Cha responded noncommittally.
Thinking about the arrogance of the Light Faction not long ago, and the inclination of some members of the Neutral Faction towards the Light Faction, she found it laughable. The Shadow Faction was undeniably the most capable, having accumulated strength over a thousand years. How could they easily fall into difficulty, and even expect to overthrow her with ease?
The Shadow Faction, with generations of sacrifices, could not possibly stagnate because of new sacrifices. If that were the case, Bai Cha would be too ashamed to face her ancestors, and would have to wear a mask when burning paper for her parents on Tomb-Sweeping Day.
"Do you think I'm cold-blooded?"
After Xiang Nan left, Bai Cha looked at Lucifer, who was pouring her tea, with a hint of weariness. "Your brothers sacrificed themselves, and Cang Liu also died for me. Yet, I still have the heart to use them to find the mastermind behind the Light Faction."
"And Zhi Yue, that child was pure-hearted, yet I used her as well."
Lucifer froze for a moment and lowered his head, seeing his reflection in Bai Cha's eyes.
Could his master also waver?
"No, Master, you did the right thing," Lucifer smiled gently. "You have always been a rational and calm person. If not for that, the Shadow Faction would have fallen into irreversible crisis long ago."
Or perhaps, this was a characteristic of the entire Bai family, and it was precisely for this reason that everyone willingly followed this family.
Bai Cha had entrusted Mammon and Leviathan to Xiang Nan for escort. During the journey, they encountered an ambush. Xiang Nan, though severely wounded and on the verge of death, had anticipated Mammon and Leviathan's demise and had secretly placed parasitic insects on them beforehand. These insects, resembling extremely miniaturized burdocks, clung on and spread ferociously upon contact.
These insects had only one purpose: to extract various biological information and transmit it to their owner, Xiang Nan. This was a parasitic insect that could only be used as a last resort, requiring the sacrifice of its owner's heart's blood, thus shortening their lifespan.
Before embarking on the mission, Bai Cha knew that Cang Liu harbored animosity towards Mo Ziye. She predicted that Cang Liu would continue to provoke Mo Ziye, causing a rift between herself and Mo Ziye. Therefore, she had also placed burdock parasitic insects on Cang Liu.
The only unexpected aspect was perhaps how ruthless the Light Faction's methods were. The extent of death and the time elapsed exceeded Bai Cha's predictions, making the battle essentially a draw.
Following this, Bai Cha anticipated that Zhi Yue would definitely confront her parents. Thus, Bai Cha placed spreadable burdock parasitic insects on Zhi Yue as well. As expected, this successfully led Zhi Yue, with the parasitic insects, to her father, and then through her father, to her grandfather.
Who wouldn't have a few trump cards? It merely depended on whether it was necessary to this extent. In just a few months, the trajectory and information of the Light Faction had been brought under the surveillance of Xiang Nan and Bai Cha.
A companion had just died, their body still warm, while grieving over their corpse, and in the next moment, one was already manipulating character and emotions to scheme.
Even Bai Cha, at times, wondered if her emotions were too detached.
"Rational, calm..." Bai Cha leaned back in her chair, lost in thought.
Lucifer said she did the right thing but didn't answer whether she was cold-blooded. So, she was indeed emotionally detached.
"In my heart, Master's emotions are the most fervent," as if sensing Bai Cha's increasingly misguided thoughts, Lucifer pushed the teacup towards Bai Cha and explained considerately, "Being willing to lead everyone down a bloody path itself indicates the fervent desire burning in Master's heart, even when everyone else has become complacent."
Some people were accustomed to a peaceful, conventional life, but Bai Cha had already begun to break through it. Lucifer never thought Bai Cha was indifferent; he believed Bai Cha might be the gentlest person in the world.