Chapter 570: Die a Dignified Death
“I understand.” Su Lun’s mind worked fast, and he nodded slowly. “Ms. Lu, you want to personally kill Meng Chao so that you can minimize the negative impacts of this matter on you, right?”
“That’s right. Meng Chao must die, but not in my hands, and not in your hands either. He has to die via the fangs and claws of the monsters,” Lu Siya said airily.
Xiong Wei and Su Lun were both taken aback.
“This is the plot,” Lu Siya said with a smile. “Meng Chao, the leading figure of the Golden Era, who has contributed to Dragon City multiple times and risked his life just as many times, volunteered to take up the most dangerous mission and enter the lair.
“During the mission, he encountered the smartest and most cunning abnormal beast in history and also discovered a scheme related to Dragon City’s survival.
“To protect Dragon City and save thousands of other humans, when he was forced to choose between life and death, he didn’t hesitate to choose to die together with the abnormal beast. He used his life and will to crush the monster civilization’s desperate counterattack. Thus, he died a martyr.
“Meng Chao had sacrificed his life, so as his closest comrade, I will have to inherit his will and uphold his spirit to continue fighting stubbornly, just like him, until the last monster ends up as food on the humans’ table or a pet beneath our feet. What do you think of this story?”
Xiong Wei and Su Lun looked at each other.
They suddenly realized that Queen Bee Lu Siya was much more sinister and shameless compared to what they imagined.
“Meng Chao must die, but he can’t die as a traitor. My father, Sky Pillar Corporation, and I have all invested loads of money into him. If news about him being the monsters’ puppet spreads out, we’ll all suffer major losses!” Lu Siya explained. “The only reason I gave up on the battlefield at the borders of Dragon City along with the chance to shine under the spotlight by killing monsters and came to this unfathomable swamp is to prevent losses and retrieve the Lu family’s investments.
“Meng Chao is a hero. This is something many of the economic interest groups now. Once this is proven false, many people will lose their means of income, and when you cut off a person’s means of income, it’s the same as killing their parents, and no one wants to kill my parents, right?”
Xiong Wei scoffed.
“Meng Chao must die majestically, just like a hero. This is the only way for me to inherit his will, take his power in the Broken Star Club and Blue Home, the worship from the thousands of gra.s.sroots young adults from poor families that he represents, and of course, his Superstar.”
When Lu Siya said this, her smile grew even more mysterious and alluring. She even stopped talking for a moment before continuing, “If this is how it goes, the bad thing might turn into something good, and my fame might even grow beyond Meng Chao’s when he was alive.”
Su Lun pondered this, then frowned a little and said, “But Meng Chao killed Bullet Xue Rui, Rattlesnake Xiang Wei, and the Black Bone heir. This news has already spread out and many people know about it.”
“Most of the people who know about this are just lair citizens who heard it through the grapevine. There shouldn’t be many who personally saw it, right?” Lu Siya said confidently. “The only people who saw it are Man-eating Shark Zhou Chong, Snake Eye Mo Lan, and some armed gang members.
“Zhou Chong and Mo Lan and permanent employees of insurance companies affiliated to mega corporations. Their high pension funds are in the hands of the mega corporations, so I naturally have ways to convince them to not spew c.r.a.p.
“As for the armed gang members, I’m afraid I’m going to have to trouble the two of you.
“The situation in the lair right now is very chaotic. In truth, no one knows what the truth is right now. As long as we can win beautifully, we will have the final say. The person we believe is the hero will be seen as the hero who stared death in the face and laughed, and whoever we say is the traitor will be the traitor despised by the ma.s.ses. Don’t you think that this is the natural order of things?”
Su Lun’s eyes sparkled, and he quickly weighed the pros and cons of this situation.
But Xiong Wei’s eyes were bloodshot, and he growled. “Meng Chao killed my son, yet I still have to cover up his crimes and make him a hero?”
“That’s right. I don’t care about how Meng Chao’s body ends up. If you’re interested, once you capture him, you can tie him up and lock him in Black Bone’s dungeon, then dig out his flesh with a knife as small as an ear wax remover. You can work on him for five days, then smear the best medicine on his wounds to heal him, then continue digging out his flesh for another five days.
“You can torture him for five months or five years. As long as you’re happy, I won’t care,” Lu Siya said nonchalantly. “But Meng Chao’s reputation doesn’t just belong to him. It also affects Superstar and the businesses we’re both involved in.
“Over the past few years, Superstar has merged with giants and taken in a few major businesses that were larger than it. This required a lot of support from the banks and investors.
“A lot of his guarantors when he asked for loans from the banks were companies under my name and my father’s Sky Pillar Mining Company.
“If Meng Chao’s status as a traitor is exposed, Superstar will be done for, and I will also be done for. My father, too, will be severely affected, and the compet.i.tors who are eyeing his position like hungry wolves will drag him down.
“Gang Leader Xiong, I can understand how painful it must be for you to have lost your son, but I hope that you can understand my feelings too. I will absolutely not tolerate losing even the smallest bit of money, just like how you would not tolerate your son losing even a single strand of hair!”
Xiong Wei’s eyelids twitched.
He was hesitating, a.s.sessing how believable Lu Siya’s threat was, and how much her losses were.
And his a.s.sessment was: If Meng Chao’s betrayal did spread out, the losses Queen Bee Lu Siya would suffer would really be so great that she would go mad and throw all caution to the wind.
However, as a member of the old generation who had commanded the lair for decades, he still felt humiliated about having to accept a junior who was not even thirty years old yet, and she even convinced him with just a few words.
Phantom Bear Xiong Wei needed a dignified way to accept her proposal.
Lu Siya gave it to him. “Besides, without my help, do you actually think that you can capture Meng Chao?
“No one understands him better than I do. He was able to become an outstanding presence among the thousands of ambitious youths in Dragon City, so he’s definitely not someone simple.
“Meng Chao’s master is the abnormal beast who orchestrated the explosion in Leprosy Village, and it’s still lurking in the dark while plotting an even more nefarious scheme. We don’t have time to waste.
“Even if you’re locals of the lair, do you really have the confidence to capture Meng Chao quickly when this area is as complicated as a 3D maze?
“If Meng Chao succeeds in his scheme or manages to flee even if he doesn’t succeed and returns to the wilds controlled by the monster civilization, when will you be able to capture him, Gang Leader Xiong. Will you be able to wait?”
Xiong Wei thought about this for a long while before he said with a sour face, “Ms. Lu, do you have a way to capture him?”
“Of course?” Lu Siya smiled. “Over the past two years, we fought side by side all the time and went through all sorts of life and death situations. No one in all of Dragon City understands his fighting style, way of thinking, offense as well as defense methods, along with how he chooses hiding places better than me.
“Besides, he doesn’t know that I’ve reached an agreement with you two. He must still trust me.
“This trust will become the cause of his death.”
Xiong Wei and Su Lun looked at each other.
They appeared to be tempted.
“Of course, this is a trade, and since it is a trade, it’s definitely a situation where you help me, and I help you. We mutually benefit each other.” Lu Siya struck while the iron was hot and continued. “If you’re willing to help me, my father, Sky Pillar Corporation, and I will be willing to support both of you.
“Saber Jin Wanhao is not very healthy now. This is something the outside world has heard for a long time now. The Underground Emperor killed many monsters when he was younger and was injured far too many times. He’s already a medical miracle, considering the fact that he’s still alive. The outside world is already prepared to welcome the age after the death of Jin Wanhao and the impact from the unrest that will definitely come afterwards.
“I didn’t expect that Golden Tooth would be kept in such an orderly state under your management, Vice Gang Leader Su. It has been growing in power day by day, and even the conflicts between the gangs have been largely reduced. You’ve also created a lot of new profit points and many job opportunities. Through the use of advanced technology, you also resolved a lot of the rage among the gra.s.sroots citizens using all sorts of channels.
“One of the greatest threats to the present Dragon City is monsters, and the other is the millions of unemployed gra.s.sroots citizens who have nothing to do.
“The latter is an even bigger problem to the nine great mega corporations, because we control the order in Dragon City.
“The lair’s existence is a great way to vent their rage to the gra.s.sroots citizens. So, the nine great mega corporations don’t want to see the lair descend into chaos, let alone disappear entirely.
“If the lair continues to be in the hands of people who understand the larger issues, prioritize the general situation, and are people with whom we can a.s.sociate, like you two, then we can do our best to protect the order inside Dragon City. It’ll help the nine great mega corporations expand their territory and our civilization’s living s.p.a.ce while remaining completely at ease. Don’t you think so?”
Lu Siya’s long and narrowed eyes crinkled into a smile.
There were crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes, but there was no amus.e.m.e.nt in her eyes at all.
She extended her right hand to them and slowly opened her palm.
It looked like she wanted to shake hands with them, but also like she was holding a sharp blade that did not exist, but seemed like it was ready to spill blood at any moment.
Even if Phantom Bear Xiong Wei had just experienced the pain of losing his son, he did not hesitate for long.
Red Brows Su Lun also immediately grabbed Lu Siya’s hand.
“You think of things thoroughly, Ms. Lu,” Su Lun said sincerely. “Indeed, Meng Chao is the flag bearer of the young superhumans. His reputation doesn’t just belong to him, but the entire Golden Era. It doesn’t matter if his own reputation is ruined, but it will severely impact the morale of Dragon City and shatter the dreams of thousands of youths.
“So, while we have to kill Meng Chao, we must protect his reputation. This is the only way to take care of the general situation. Golden Tooth and I completely agree with your plan!”
“Black Bone naturally understands the importance of maintaining order as well.” Xiong Wei held Lu Siya’s hand as well and shook it vigorously, but he didn’t look happy. “But this is an easy end for that brat!”
“Gang Leader Xiong, calm down. Just think of it as showing me some respect.” Lu Siya sighed softly, and an expression of slight regret appeared on her face. She even did her best to squeeze a small, crystalline tear from her eyes. “No matter what, Meng Chao was once my best friend and savior. He betrayed our friendship, but I’m a kind person, so I still hope that he can die a dignified death.”