Chapter 453: A Once-in-a-lifetime Opportunity
"If we didn't come, we'd be dead before we knew it!"
"That's right! We don't want to die!"
"We want to quit the Angel Association!"
The man in charge looked absolutely livid. He tried to repeat what he'd said earlier, but the furious crowd cut him off before he could even speak.
"If you don't agree, we'll just have to do this our own way!"
They vastly outnumbered him. Dealing with this many members was beyond his authority.
The branch leader had no choice but to report it to his superiors.
"I've reported the matter to the higher-ups. Go home and wait for their decision."
"We're not going back! What if we're killed as soon as we leave?"
"We're all staying here today!"
The man in charge was helpless. All he could do was watch them to make sure they didn't cause any trouble.
They might have been ordinary Angel Association members, but together, their power was nothing to scoff at.
The Angel Association had massive ambitions—they had always aimed for world domination. Naturally, their members couldn't be just any small fry.
Any single person here, taken alone, was a formidable figure.
They were no match for the upper echelon—not even in the same league. But they had one thing going for them: numbers.
After a full half-hour, just as everyone's patience was wearing thin...
News from the higher-ups finally arrived.
They had relented, agreeing to let the members quit the Angel Association.
But there was a condition: they had to remain completely tight-lipped. Furthermore, they would never have the chance to rejoin the Angel Association.
Not only would they receive no more benefits from the Angel Association, but they couldn't even ask for help.
But the Angel Association had seriously overestimated its own appeal. With so many members, it was impossible for them to take care of every single one.
At most, they provided some benefits upon initiation. After that, they barely paid them any mind.
And while the organization could occasionally help solve a problem, most of the people here didn't have many issues that required the Angel Association's intervention.
Now that it was a matter of life and death, no one hesitated for a second.
Soon, they quit the Angel Association one after another.
Even so, they were still terrified. So, they went onto the underground network, started a thread, and posted their names, publicly declaring that they had quit the Angel Association.
Xiao Ye saw the post and smiled faintly. This was only the beginning.
'Still, the ones who quit deserve a small reward. Only then will more people follow suit in the future.'
The Angel Association, for its part, went on the defensive. They resisted as best they could and even dispatched numerous elites to protect the upper echelon.
But the upper echelon had never been Xiao Ye's target.
He continued to target the lowest-ranking members, and every strike was a kill.
Panic swept through the Angel Association's ranks. Soon, barely anyone showed up for the monthly assembly.
「Inside the cave where the gathering was held.」
Only a few scattered people were present.
They were all wearing masks. They exchanged helpless glances.
"There's barely anyone left now. I heard another group wanted to quit a few days ago. And it's true, the ones who quit haven't died."
"This L is just too much. I never imagined the Angel Association would end up like this."
"So, are you saying we should..."
Another person, holding a wine glass, walked over. "Of course we can't quit now. Don't you want to climb the ranks?"
"If we can just get in with the Angel Association's upper echelon, we can finally make a real leap in status!"
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As the old saying in the Dragon Country goes, 'It's easy to add flowers to brocade, but hard to send charcoal in a blizzard.'"
The others exchanged a look, thinking he had a point.
They clinked their glasses, about to drink.
Suddenly, the man who had just spoken collapsed.
The other two looked over and saw it—a bullet hole had appeared right between his eyes!
And the bullet came from behind him!
They were in a cave. That meant the killer was in here with them!
The two of them turned pale with fright. Without a moment's hesitation, they turned and fled, screaming as they ran.
"We're willing to quit the Angel Association! Please, don't kill us!"
The two of them scrambled away.
Because of the music, the others didn't know what had happened. Seeing the two running in a panic, they quickly stopped them. "Where are you going?"
"Get out of the way! I'm running for my life!"
The others finally realized what was happening.
They scrambled to run, too.
As for the Angel Association guards, they had no choice but to grimly enter and search the cave.
「Five minutes later.」
A figure in black walked out and quickly disappeared from the cave entrance.
Inside, the floor was covered with bodies. Not a single person was left alive!
News of the attack on the gathering spread like wildfire.
The Angel Association's upper echelon was furious. "This damn L! Will he ever stop?!"
"If this continues, our Angel Association is in deep trouble!"
"We're severely short on members now. The most important thing is to recruit some useful people first."
The whole Angel Association was in such chaos from the wave of resignations that they didn't even notice when one of their members was replaced by an outsider.
Once chaos set in, all sorts of things began to come to light.
Xiao Ye sent in several of his own elites at once.
The upper echelon was completely preoccupied with L and paid no attention to lower-level affairs. Whenever they needed people, they just contacted their subordinates.
They had no idea that people had already infiltrated their ranks.
「One week later.」
Just about every killable member of the Angel Association was dead.
The people Xiao Ye sent in also brought back important news.
They had discovered an enormous underground warehouse packed with all sorts of supplies.
Weapons were a given, but there were also medical supplies—in short, everything essential for waging a war.
It was clear this group's ambitions were no small matter. Who knew how many years it had taken them to stockpile all this?
Xiao Ye smiled. 'Since they've gone to all this trouble to gather so much, it would be a shame to let their efforts go to waste by not taking it.'
He immediately began to prepare.
Because of L, the Angel Association was a tangled mess.
Unable to take it anymore, they called him again. "L, let's talk. There's no need to take things this far."
"Your Dragon Country has a saying, doesn't it? 'Death is like the extinguishing of a lamp.' This was our fault, we admit it. But the person is already dead, so why can't you just let it go?"
"Whatever you want, if it's within our power, we'll give it to you!"
It wasn't for a lack of trying. The Angel Association had desperately wanted to find L and eliminate him.
But unfortunately for them, despite trying every method imaginable, they couldn't find him. All they knew was that he was somewhere in the Dragon Country.
What's more, they had no idea what powerful entity was backing L. No matter how they tried to trace him, they always came up empty.
He not only had people helping him hide his movements, but he even had expert hackers covering his digital tracks.