Chapter 454: I Want Him Dead!
The long and short of it was that they had suffered a massive loss without even finding their target.
It was arguably the Angel Association's most crushing defeat in a century.
L's voice was synthesized, a composite of several different vocal lines that activated automatically with every call. "So you can give me anything I want?"
Seeing that he seemed to be relenting, the person from the Angel Association quickly replied, "Yes!"
"We are deeply sorry about what happened to your relative." The representative from the Angel Association spoke with a much gentler tone than before.
"We've already punished the man who went after your relative. If you don't feel that's enough, we can hand over his family for you to handle as well."
L, who was Xiao Ye, sneered. "You people are truly shameless. You wouldn't even spare the lives of his family."
"Aren't we just doing this so you can let off some steam?"
Xiao Ye crossed his legs. "No need for that. But since you're showing such sincerity... alright, let's talk."
"Not with you, though. Get someone else."
The other party agreed without hesitation.
About ten minutes later, the phone rang again.
General He's team immediately began monitoring and tracing the call, determined to find out who this new person was.
They had managed to identify a few high-ranking members of the Angel Association, but that was all.
They needed more!
A somewhat raspy voice came from the other end of the line. It was obviously computer-synthesized, complete with electronic static that made it sound distorted.
"L, your actions have caused the Angel Association tremendous losses."
"But, considering there were mitigating circumstances, we are prepared to call a truce. You can name your price."
"Whether it's money or power you want, I can grant it!"
Xiao Ye sneered. "So this is your 'sincerity'? You don't even dare to reveal your own voice?"
"It's a precaution. Besides, we don't know who you are either, do we? Who's to say your voice is even real?"
Xiao Ye didn't press the issue. Instead, he changed tack. "I'm done wasting my breath on you. I lost a lot in this operation against you, too."
"In the end, all I did was let off some steam. I got nothing out of it, and my relative isn't coming back."
A long, relieved sigh came from the other end of the line. "Good. Name your price."
"Alright. What I want is simple: one of your labs. Laboratory 3. I want all of it, including the personnel inside."
"I know that lab is basically a fortified container. You just have to move it out whole. I'm sure you can manage that."
So he just wanted a laboratory? In that case, there was nothing to worry about.
"Fine, I agree. Can you call off your attacks now?"
Xiao Ye needed to stall for time, so he let out a soft chuckle. "You don't really believe that after all I've been through, I'd settle for... just one laboratory, do you?"
"Who do you think is the fool here, you or me?"
The man on the other end's breathing grew heavy; he was clearly furious. "What else do you want?"
"Oh, and I hear you have several very high-end cruise ships. I'll take one of those."
Large cruise ships are incredibly expensive to build, and the Angel Association's were more than just pleasure craft—they were outfitted with a host of costly heavy weapons.
"Absolutely not!"
"Then there's nothing more to discuss!"
After a long silence, an exasperated voice finally came through. "Fine, I agree!"
Just then, a message came from General He's team: they had successfully pinpointed the target's location.
Since that was the case, there was no need to keep up the pretense.
"You old fool, did you really think I was interested in any of that junk? Do you have any idea how many resources I expended just to kill your Angel Association members?"
"It was enough to build several new labs, or even a few cruise ships!"
"Let me tell you, this is the Angel Association's reckoning!"
"And this is just the beginning. My goal is to utterly destroy the Angel Association, to turn you into nothing but a bad memory, a notorious footnote in history!"
With that, Xiao Ye hung up.
The old man on the other end of the call was so enraged that he spat out a mouthful of blood.
He roared with unbridled fury, "I want him dead!"
After this call, the Angel Association understood perfectly. This "L" was like a stone in a cesspit—hard and foul, and utterly impossible to move.
And so they decided to press their attack!
No matter the cost, they had to find L and kill him!
An enemy like that, lurking in the shadows, was simply too great a threat.
It was clear that he would become a mortal threat to the heart of the Angel Association.
He was the first and only person to ever push the Angel Association this far!
In the days that followed, the Angel Association acted as if they'd gone mad.
They dispatched agent after agent, hunting for any trace of L.
They even activated many of their sleeper agents within the Dragon Country.
Anyone even suspected of being L was targeted for assassination.
Needless to say, there was only one outcome for them: death.
These decoys were all put in place by General He, with the aim of luring the Angel Association into a trap.
They were now sparing no expense in their desperation to kill L.
Every time General He saw another one of their sleeper agents eliminated, he was in high spirits. "That Xiao Ye is a true prodigy, to have come up with a plan like this."
"We tried so many times to excise the cancer of the Angel Association and failed, yet he's backed them into a corner with nothing more than a fabricated persona."
Xiao Ye might have been able to achieve this on his own, but it would have taken a great deal of time.
With General He's help, however, it was a different story entirely.
The Angel Association had suffered a crippling blow. Even if they weren't completely toppled, they would need decades to recover.
They hadn't expected to topple their opponent in a single blow. After all, they were dealing with a true behemoth.
After handing everything over to General He, Xiao Ye washed his hands of the matter.
He began to turn his attention to the Xiao Family's corporate affairs.
Those who had previously sided with Xiao Qi were now genuinely terrified.
Their families pleaded on their behalf, begging for mercy.
"Patriarch, please let my father and the others return!"
"Patriarch, my brother said he wasn't in his right mind! He swears it will never happen again!"
Xiao Ye looked at them and gave a cold laugh. "Since you all shared in the glory, it's only natural that you share in the hardship."
"They can return, but they will never be allowed to touch the core of the Xiao Family's business again."
In the end, most of them returned.
As for the ones who remained, they were either outcasts in their own families or simply too foolish to understand the situation.
Even their own families were ready to give up on them.
They reasoned that bringing such people back would only cause more trouble down the line; it was better to leave things as they were.