Chapter 356: Fear Bird's Explanation

"..."

Fear Bird gave Fei Yu a complicated look, unsure if those words were meant as a comfort or a threat.

She let out a soft sigh and continued, "That is exactly why this bas... anyway, it's why he didn't release the video right away. Instead, he let Tianji keep inciting class conflict."

"Of course, he wasn't just sitting idle."

"On the contrary, he was coordinating with Boss Rat, making moves that appeared to oppose Tianji."

"In reality, he was using those actions to force Tianji into escalating the situation."

"For example, when Boss Rat brought out the leader of Intellect Brain, Tianji reacted by expanding the active range of the Feral Gene."

"He turned the class conflict into an internal division, which prompted Tianji to drag the upper echelons into the mess."

"Without that step, even if Seven Stars were exposed as the mastermind, the higher-ups wouldn't have had much of a reaction, because their interests wouldn't have been threatened."

"Whether the bionic species went berserk or not, those elites stood to profit. They could have used the opportunity to eliminate dissidents and crush rival factions. But once they were dragged into the fray themselves, the nature of the situation changed entirely."

"They were forced to realize that Seven Stars could actually threaten them. The conflict shifted from Seven Stars against the public, to Seven Stars against the ruling class."

Fear Bird paused before continuing, "Bringing Zhou Mo onto the stage followed the same logic."

"If Zhou Mo hadn't appeared, this incident wouldn't have affected the conglomerates at all."

"But Zhou Mo did appear, and his name was dragged through the mud—so much so that the market value of the conglomerates behind him almost took a hit. Under those circumstances, what do you think those conglomerates would do?"

"Furthermore, the words he had Zhou Mo speak upon his appearance were very carefully chosen."

"It was a statement full of holes, especially with his other identity, Mao Si, standing nearby as a threat. We have to look at this outside the immediate context of the incident."

"Why did he control Zhou Mo's corpse specifically to mention Song Haozhe?"

"That was another trap."

"After this blows over, when people inevitably dissect that loophole-ridden statement during their downtime, they'll quickly dig into Song Haozhe. And they'll discover that the illicit Happy Water in Muke District comes directly from him."

"Moreover."

"Because he held that video, knowing he had a guaranteed victory over his opponents, he took the opportunity to do many other things to maximize his gains."

"Think carefully about everything he accomplished."

"He brought Mao Si to the center stage, showing his face to the entire country."

"He put Tianwei on screen, taking the opportunity to craft her persona as the perfect, peace-loving girl."

"Following this incident, the public image of the bionic species will take a massive hit. Under those circumstances, with all the groundwork he laid, guess what kind of effect Tianwei's appearance will have?"

"He earned Boss Rat's friendship, allowing his Luo Sheng identity to establish a preliminary relationship with the man."

"He drove up the value of his Mao Si identity. From now on, Mao Si is no longer just a street thug; he is the spokesperson for Mr. Luo."

"He dragged Song Haozhe into the mud, tearing down the Four Masters Society until only a single person remained."

"He brought the Law Enforcement Agency under his command. Combined with the politicians in Zeng Qing's pocket, he has essentially taken control of the entire Muke District."

"Not only did he kill Tianji of Seven Stars, but he also sowed discord between Yaoguang and the rest of Seven Stars."

"Think about it. Once Seven Stars regains their bearings after all this, who will be the most suspicious candidate for filming that rooftop conversation between Yaoguang and Tianji?"

"He eliminated his opponents, laid the groundwork for the future, propped up the people he wanted in power, and now holds more than half of Muke District in his grasp."

"He is the biggest winner of this entire event."

Fear Bird finished in one breath. Beside her, Fei Yu began to clap.

"Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant."

"As expected of my young master."

"..."

"..."

Fear Bird slumped backward.

Honestly, there were times when she felt utterly hopeless. The guy controlling her was exactly the kind of person she had just described, and the guy guarding her was the type to clap for him. When would she ever get out of here?

...

After Yan Jing's figure vanished.

Several minutes later, a beautiful silhouette arrived in front of the building where he had just killed Tianji.

"Miss, please show your ID card."

The building's security guard stopped the woman.

The woman pulled out a card.

It wasn't the building's ID card, however, but a black card that she gently tapped against the Information Component on the guard's wrist.

5,000 Eerie Points.

The number appeared directly on the guard's Information Component.

Beneath an oversized sun hat, the woman's lips curved into a perfect smile. She pointed at the camera on the side of the security booth and said softly, "I seem to have made a transfer error. If you don't need them, we can wait for law enforcement to arrive and discuss who these Eerie Points belong to."

Staring at the number on his Information Component, the guard took a deep breath. Finally, he opened the door for her.

"Thank you."

The woman walked through the doors and disappeared inside.

Soon, she reached the upper floors near the roof.

Looking at the devastation before her, she frowned.

Almost half the floor was shattered. White fur and bloodstains covered the ground. She stepped forward, picked up a strand of white hair from the remaining bones, and twirled it lightly between her fingers.

Soon, she sighed.

Speaking into her earpiece, she said, "Tianji is dead."

"We're a step too late."

"Huh? What the hell?" A young-sounding voice came through the earpiece.

"The boss told us to record a video and post it online."

Tianshu had given the order: they needed to record a video of themselves killing Tianji and upload it to the internet to dispel the negative public opinion surrounding Seven Stars.

But now...

It was clearly a bit too late.

"Nothing we can do about it," the woman sighed.

"I didn't want to fight that idiot anyway. He stinks."

"Tell the boss we'll have to issue a public apology."

While a public apology wasn't as effective a tactic as purging a heretic from their ranks, it would at least preserve some of their public standing.

"Who do you think killed him?" the man in the earpiece asked.

The woman shook her head.

"It will take time to run an identity match. The other party was extremely cautious. They didn't even leave behind much residual Weird Energy."

"That's it for here. We need to leave, or the Law Enforcement Agency will arrive."

"Taking Tianji's corpse with us is pointless, and it might just give the Law Enforcement Agency an excuse to pin things on us."

With that, the woman headed downstairs.

Not long after she left, a figure flew out from the shadows.

Xiao Xin fiddled with the Video Camera in its hands, looking at the picture of the woman's face. The composition was clear, the lines were smooth, and the lighting was just right.

It had quite a talent for this!

It spun happily in the air, then immediately followed in the direction the woman had gone.