Zhao Longfei tried to smooth things over.
"You can't put it that way. We share prosperity and hardship together—"
"Stop right there," Qin Siyang raised a hand to cut off Zhao Longfei's "one big family" theory, "Most of you are probably going to come asking me for things. Don't expect to treat me like a relief fund. When the time comes, bring your terms and negotiate with me separately."
"Uh... alright."
Ring! Ring! Ring!
At that moment, Zhao Longfei's phone rang.
He glanced at it and answered without hesitation.
"Hello, Big Brother. I'm talking with Little Qin and the others about the Richard family. What's up?"
The relaxed Zhao Longfei suddenly widened his eyes and jumped to his feet.
"What? Yan Budong is dead?"
Silence—
It was as if the air had been sucked out of the room. Time seemed to stop for a moment.
Qin Siyang's expression became serious in an instant.
'Yan Budong, commander of the Yan Legion, is dead?'
Zhao Longfei looked just as shocked. His hand trembled slightly. The small phone seemed to weigh heavily in his palm.
He tapped the screen firmly.
"I turned off call privacy mode. They can hear you. Big Brother, how did he die?"
'Call privacy mode?'
'It sounds like another hidden Zhao family technology. No wonder I have never been able to hear the other side of Zhao Longfei's phone calls before.'
But Qin Siyang had no interest in that technology right now. He only wanted to know how Yan Budong had died.
Yan Budong's death was like a bomb exploding in everyone's mind.
The Yan Legion was one of the six major Legion in the Safe Zone. Yan Budong held high positions among both Lion Cards and Tiger Cards. He was definitely one of the major powers in the Safe Zone.
His death would certainly bring huge changes to the entire situation.
"What was the cause of death?", Zhao Longfei asked. Seemingly realizing how serious the situation was, he unconsciously clenched his fist.
["He was killed face-to-face inside headquarters."]
Zhao Longteng's short answer made the room feel even colder.
Everyone looked at each other in shock.
Yan Budong was not an ordinary sequence ability user. In terms of personal strength alone, he was ranked Tiger Card Club 10. And when he died, he had not even left his own territory. He was inside headquarters.
With layers of protection around him, someone had actually managed to kill him in person?
"What are the details? Do we know who did it?"
Qin Siyang closed his eyes and rapidly worked through different possibilities.
But Zhao Longteng's next answer overturned all of them.
["No need to investigate. The killer walked out of the Yan Legion openly."]
"Huh?"
Zhao Longteng's voice came through the phone.
["I heard that people from the Richard family went to headquarters to negotiate with Yan Budong. After they finished talking and left, Yan Budong stayed inside his office and never came out. When his subordinates entered, they found both Yan Budong and his guard Zhang Ziliang dead."]
Zhao Longfei frowned.
"Both dead? So the Richard family killed them, and nobody nearby noticed anything?"
["That seems to be the case."]
"But Zhang Ziliang was Tiger Card Heart 7, and Yan Budong himself was Tiger Card Club 10. Neither of them ever revealed much of their strength. They were probably even stronger than their rankings suggested! How could the Richard family kill them so easily?"
["Exactly. I also think it's unbelievable that the two of them were killed inside headquarters without sending out a single warning."]
"Who from the Richard family went to negotiate?"
["Hento and Lafel. Those two only have seniority. Their strength is average. Forget killing Yan Budong and Zhang Ziliang at the same time, they'd have trouble dealing with Zhang Ziliang alone."]
"So the negotiations broke down, and Yan Budong was killed?"
["No idea. But there's definitely something suspicious going on,"] Zhao Longteng's voice was full of concern, ["What we can be sure of is that this isn't as simple as failed negotiations. The Richard family must have used some special method. Otherwise, they couldn't have killed Yan Budong and Zhang Ziliang without anyone noticing."]
["The Yan Legion has already reported the matter to the United Government. They've sent troops to sweep all Richard family locations near the Yan Legion. They've also gone to Sigma District and placed everyone from the Richard family on bounty lists. Both the legal and underground sides are now hunting the Richard family."]
"Mm. That's expected."
Zhao Longfei nodded. It matched the military's style perfectly. They had always been overbearing. Anyone who caused trouble on their turf had to pay the price. Now that even their commander had been killed, their hatred for the Richard family was obvious.
"They took the Yan Legion money, failed to deliver the goods, and then killed their commander. I've never seen anyone act this arrogantly. If the Yan Legion swallows this humiliation, they probably won't remain one of the six major Legion for long."
["That's right,"] Zhao Longteng agreed, ["If they endure this, their reputation will be completely ruined. Yan Budong has only been at the top since his military coup for a few years. His control over the entire Legion is far weaker than that of the Qi, Han, Qin, and Chu families. Even if the military doesn't suppress them, internal opposition will swallow them up."]
Zhao Longfei thought for a moment before asking, "Big Brother, how have the other forces reacted?"
["All the Legion jointly submitted a request to the United Government with the Yan Legion, demanding severe punishment for the Richard family's actions that threaten peace within the Safe Zone. They're putting pressure on the United Government. But despite the loud words, there hasn't been much action. Aside from the Yan Legion, the other five major Legion have only symbolically sent a few companies as support. They have no intention of seeking justice for the Yan Legion."]
A cold smile appeared on Zhao Longfei's face, "Normal. The Legion are the slipperiest group around. They don't do things that are difficult and unrewarding. Joining together to pressure the United Government and show the military's position is already pretty decent."
Zhao Longteng continued, ["The Lotus Cloud Chamber of Commerce hasn't made a public statement, but they're already distancing themselves from the Richard family behind the scenes. It looks like they're planning to abandon them."]
Zhao Longfei smiled slightly, "As expected. The Richard family made too big a mistake this time. The Yan Legion is furious right now. If the Lotus Cloud Chamber of Commerce keeps protecting them, they'll get blood on themselves too. By the way, the Richard family also has ties to the Trinity Church and the United Government. Any response from those two?"
["The Trinity Church's leader, Ulit Richard, is probably busy stabilizing his followers. As for the United Government, there still hasn't been any response."]
"Good!"
Qin Siyang could tell that the shock on Zhao Longfei's face was gradually turning into delight.
The Zhao brothers were clearly excited by the chaos inside the Yan Legion.
But Qin Siyang felt something he couldn't quite put into words.
'The Safe Zone might really be about to fall into chaos.'
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