Chapter 523: 30 chapters Conspiracy_2
“Late?” the skeleton chief asked.
Budman did his best to let panic show in his eyes and began to construct that bit of falsehood.
“That night, I saw the clown.”
“You know I’ve never liked him. I habitually provoked him a bit about his new image. But… I don’t know how to describe it to you… he ignored me.”
Budman imitated perfectly, “He just walked straight toward me, as if he saw nothing in his eyes, muttering under his breath. Saying things like he should’ve been dead long ago, everyone’s going to die…”
“Damn. Honestly, I was a bit nervous. He acted like a complete lunatic, you know he’s snapped before. I thought better not to stir the pot, so I dropped a harsh line and left. By the time I got there, the three of them were already dead.”
“I was fucking stupid, boss. I heard some noise behind me, turned around, and saw Kova crawling out of the ground. He gave me one look, his body all torn apart, head dented.”
“In my life, I know only one person who could kill like that, and then I realized someone was coming. What else could I do?! If I hadn’t run, I’d be the one getting the blame!” Budman said helplessly, “You know the rest, I immediately stole Kova’s Superpower and ran with his body. I thought the reason he was killed was on him, but I found nothing. When I went back, Gongsun Ce and that woman were already fighting, the whole district could hear the noise.”
The skeleton chief sat down in the chair, pondering every word of his lieutenant, scrutinizing the whole event. He began hoarsely, “What do you think?”
“I think the clown really went mad this time,” Budman said. “I didn’t dare make a fuss, I thought you’d think I framed someone after killing. I hid the bodies and confronted him with the brothers just to find out why he did it. But he didn’t slip… instead, it got pinned on me again.”
“You idiot!!!”
The skeleton chief couldn’t hold it back anymore, he pointed at Budman’s face and cursed loudly.
“If you wanted to find out the truth, you should’ve accused Gongsun Ce right from the start, not that new woman! Did you think he’d slip up because of a romantic affair?! It was all unnecessary! Your so-called cleverness made the whole situation messy and complicated, you should’ve come straight to me from the beginning!”
Budman whispered, “I went to Aorus that night…”
The skeleton chief understood, Budman had laid so many covers to hide that first incident.
He felt a headache looming and said lowly, “Get out.”
Without a word, Budman left. The skeleton chief sat alone in his room, his mind in turmoil.
He wasn’t fixated on the murder case; Gongsun Ce going mad wasn’t surprising. He was the first among the Superpower Users to lose control, always the most unhinged. What the skeleton chief contemplated was the old brother’s previous words, he didn’t want to be involved anymore.
The skeleton chief knew, the brother was spot on. Their actions were no longer fruitful. He still thought about fighting till the end, to salvage some pride, but the men under him might not feel the same… Many wanted to go clean, to live a mundane life.
Running an organization was like making a deal, you had to place each side’s weights on the scale to see which weighed more.
On one side of the scale were his grievances, his rage, his loathing for enemies. On the other were his brothers’ aspirations and exhaustion… He sat in the room, brooding, constantly adjusting the weights on both ends…
An hour later, the skeleton chief came out of the room. The first person he saw was Budman waiting outside.
“Boss?”
The skeleton chief felt he had never struggled so hard to speak. This might be the most reluctant sentence he’d ever uttered in his life.
“Tell Aorus, I want to meet him.”
·
Meanwhile, in Thorn District.
Cao Xin sat in front of his trusted men. A table full of gloomy faces, each looking more despondent than the last.
“Boss Cao,” a bruised and swollen man said shakily, “I think the President… has already… found out about this…”
“You’re saying we still…” “That firework was obviously…” “Maybe, we should just drop it?”
Cao Xin slammed his fist on the table, silencing everyone.
“Drop it?” he rasped, “How can we drop it? The agreement is signed, the deeds done, and you think we can pretend nothing happened and go back to playing fucking house?! We’ve tripped the President, how can we dare to provoke Aorus now?!”
Everyone fell silent again. They all knew he was right, the President had no reason to protect a bunch of snitches… and Aorus wouldn’t spare these disloyal “collaborators.”
“Choose for yourselves,” Cao Xin said dryly. “Those who want glory and wealth, follow me to the end, gamble a fucking big one. Those with no hope, leave, but if you dare to leave, you take responsibility.”
Cao Hong clenched his hands tightly, speaking up first, “Bro, I’m with you. I can’t stand this life. If Aorus comes into power, we might still get a chance to go out, but as things stand, there’s no hope at all.”
Cao Xin smiled with satisfaction, quickly throwing out another chip, “The President hasn’t made a move against us until now, do you know why? Chi Zijing is also watching, he doesn’t want to pick sides! If we gamble correctly this time, it’ll be as if nothing ever happened. Ah Liu, Starhead, and a few others have already agreed to cooperate, all that’s left is for us to step up and make a statement!”
This statement greatly moved everyone present, as they all knew well the President’s slothful nature. Hearts bolstered, Cao Xin’s trusted men nodded and boldly declared, “Alright! Boss, we’re all in with you!!”