"Boss Thorne, are we really not bringing Big Sis Kaelie this time? She's so smart and cunning, but also loyal and values relationships. If we let her in, our plan's success rate would definitely shoot way up, right?"
The day after Jane left, the burly man's previously tolerant expression was now shrouded in gloom.
He didn't immediately agree with the suggestion from the two underlings who had returned to the room with Jane, as if the trust and approval he'd shown before were just an act.
Seeing their boss remain silent, the two underlings, who had been cheerful just moments ago, gradually fell quiet as well.
It was then that Thorne, the boss, finally spoke, but he brought up something completely unrelated.
"A week ago, my brother in the Public Security Bureau sent word that a cop had infiltrated our ranks."
As soon as he said this, the men around him erupted into chaos, but Thorne immediately slammed his hand on the table.
The powerful blow made a thunderous sound, and the panicking men instantly fell silent, their eyes drawn to their leader, who sat firmly in his seat.
"But, as of today, I've used various tasks to confirm that everyone present here is a true, trustworthy brother."
As Thorne's words settled, the surrounding underlings glanced at each other, their eyes filled with relief.
But soon, the same two underlings who had made the suggestion to Thorne were the first to realize the implication.
Everyone present is a trustworthy brother, which means the only one who isn't here must be...
They immediately exclaimed in shock:
"Don't tell me! Big Sis Kaelie is the one?!"
In response to his underling's question, Thorne lit a cigarette for himself, took a deep drag, and then spoke:
"That's right. The objective I specifically leaked to her—the reason about fighting against the Overlord Army formed by that guy Pompey—it appeared in the Public Security Bureau's files today."
In that moment, besides the two underlings who had trusted Jane implicitly, several others who had often been looked after by her also stared at their boss in disbelief.
"I invited her here with the genuine intention of asking her to become a Wolf's Tongue, but unfortunately, she betrayed my trust."
A short-tempered underling, Goon B, shot to his feet and said angrily:
"What?! Then why did you let that woman go, Boss?! If she's a traitor, how can you not make her pay the price!"
But Thorne simply raised an eyelid, and Goon B's anger was instantly extinguished. In the heavy air, he was frozen in place, not daring to sit or stand, completely still.
"Idiot! We've been making so much noise gathering arms that the mayor in City Hall could hear it. How could the Public Security Bureau possibly ignore us!"
Waving his hand, the frozen Goon B quickly sat down in a fluster. Thorne then said grimly:
"Quite the opposite. We had to let this mole return with the intel, safe and sound. Otherwise, we'll be dealing with more than just a single undercover agent later on."
His gaze swept across the faces of his underlings, one by one, as he spoke, word by word:
"This is why I forbade any of you from discussing the plans here. Now that her mission is complete and she's gone, it's time for us to start the real plan."
After speaking, Thorne pressed a hidden button under his desk, and a concealed compartment opened up below.
A thick stack of documents was distributed among the men.
As they spread the files open, a photo of a star with long, straight black hair came into view.
"Astra Yao, the new star being promoted by DGA Entertainment, a veteran entertainment company in TOPS. Her momentum is just as fierce as Monica, the recent rising star from its rival, Fugue Music."
In the plan, the ambush location—the Botanical Garden—was circled in red.
"Got it, Boss. So we took money from Fugue Music to go after this chick for them, right?"
Thorne scoffed at the underling's words.
"As corporations of the same caliber in TOPS, they wouldn't dare resort to such mutually destructive tactics."
A smirk spread across Thorne's face.
"But if they don't have the guts, we'll do it for them. Given their long-standing rivalry, we just need to leave behind some evidence, and Fugue Music will make the perfect scapegoat."
Thorne tapped his finger twice on the schedule for the concert and signing event three days from now.
"As long as we kidnap her before the concert starts, DGA Entertainment will bleed money to get her back, considering the promo fees they've already spent and her future value."
As he spoke, Thorne's tone grew excited, as if the extorted Dennies were already piled up before him.
"Squeezing a big corporation like this... just a little bit of blood is enough to make us all rich. The ransom we'll get from them won't be like the few million before. We're talking nine figures, minimum!"
"As long as we keep it clean, we can get away with it completely!"
As Thorne finished, the breathing of every underling in the room grew heavy. The enormous sum of money, an amount they had never even heard of in their lives, made them restless.
However, one underling who still had some sense left spoke up hesitantly:
"The file says DGA Entertainment assigned this pop idol a manager who's also a bodyguard. With them and the Public Security force in New Eridu, can we really pull this off?"
And the underling who made the initial suggestion also said with some hesitation:
The habitual address slipped out, and the underling instantly realized his mistake.
But thankfully, everyone else's attention was still on the Dennies, and they hadn't noticed his slip of the tongue, so he breathed a sigh of relief and continued:
"What if Kaelie really comes back? Do we avoid her? Or..."
At this, Thorne's expression became even more smug.
"She'll be back. Of course she'll be back."
Thorne's finger shifted, pointing to another piece of intel.
"Fugue Music's idol, Monica, will be holding a movie premiere and fan meet-and-greet at the same time. And I'll leak information that she is our target."
A vicious grin spread across the burly man's face, his stark white teeth glinting coldly under the light.
"When the time comes, I'll arrange for a batch of cannon fodder to act as the core team to carry out that plan and draw all the attention. And for the Public Security Bureau, a mole whose identity they already know is much better to deal with than some new face who pops up out of nowhere."
Thorne took a very similar-looking plan from another cabinet. But inside, the contents—both the target and the plan—were all changed to the other star, Monica.
He had already prepared for everything.
Now, all he had to do was wait for the mouse to fall into the trap.
_____
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