The more Xiong Wei listened, the more he felt that something was off.
The frequency of Meng Chao's name appearing was too high.
Besides, with this sort of synchronized introduction, were they really not shills?
Xiong Wei was very familiar with creating public opinion.
Half a day ago, he had sent out dozens of shills to spread the news that Jin Wanhao was irresponsible and only cared about hiding to heal himself. He did not care about the survival of the gangs and citizens, which was why such a major tragedy happened.
Xiong Wei smelled a scheme.
He narrowed his eyes and wanted to see just who the people who were praising Meng Chao were.
Suddenly, there was a commotion in front of him. Song Jinbo, a group of Golden Tooth members, Poison Scorpion, and eight other higher-ups from the second-class gangs walked out together.
Xiong Wei's heart let out a loud thump.
Song Jinbo and the Golden Tooth members had blood-stained black gauze wrapped around their arms.
This was the sign of an important person in a gang dying.
But on their faces, besides sorrow and worry, there was also a wisp of faint excitement hidden within.
The expressions of the higher-ups from Poison Scorpion and the eight second-class gangs were even stranger.
They looked at Xiong Wei with an unfathomable and profound gaze.
Before Xiong Wei could think much about it, Song Jinbo had already arrived in front of the microphone. He cleared his throat and said in a grave voice, "Thank you for protecting the lair with Golden Tooth for so many years. During such a complicated and dangerous time, you still responded to Golden Tooth's call and gathered here to plan the development of the lair for one hundred years.
"But before we get to the main topic, I would first like to represent all Golden Tooth members and announce a piece of news that everyone has been guessing for a long time and that has caused a lot of panic.
"That's right. Half a day ago, our gang leader Jin sacrificed himself while fighting against the mastermind behind the destruction of the lair, the Vortex!"
"What?!"
Once he said this, the crowd burst into an uproar.
Thanks to the rumors Xiong Wei spread, everyone knew that Jin Wanhao had died a long time ago.
But shouldn't he have died in the medical cabin due to brain death and organ failure? He should have left behind a huge mess that no one could take over?
What was the meaning of sacrificing himself in a grand manner?
Moreover, "before we get to the main topic," did that mean that the main topic today wasn't as simple as announcing Jin Wanhao's death?
For a period of time, the leaders of the third-class sects who were not well-informed were dumbfounded. They looked at each other at a loss, and in the end, they cast their gazes on Bear Might's face simultaneously.
Xiong Wei narrowed his eyes and stared at one of the leaders of a third-class sect, who was usually close to Black Bone and could practically be considered as Black Bone's vassal.
The leader of the third-class sect groaned in his heart, but he could only brace himself and say, "What's wrong? Did Sect Master Jin die in battle? Why did we hear that he couldn't eat or drink for a few months and fell into a coma? He couldn't handle the sect's matters, and in the end, he passed away?!"
"I heard about it too."
Song Jinbo's expression was calm as he said faintly, "But this is a rumor spread by the abnormal beasts. Anyone with the slightest bit of common sense wouldn't believe it. If anyone believed such a clumsy rumor and even helped spread it, then they either had ulterior motives or were completely bewitched by the abnormal beasts."
His words rendered the leader of the third-class sect speechless. His face turned red, and he stuttered, "I-I naturally don't believe it. I just heard about it."
"Ever since the zombie crisis began, Sect Master Jin has been fighting for the lair. Up until now, he has protected the lair for nearly half a century. Even if he died, he wouldn't abandon the lair," Song Jinbo explained further.
Song Jinbo explained further. "That's right. Since half a year ago, Gang Leader Jin has rarely appeared in public. He has also handed over all the matters in Golden Tooth to Vice Gang Leader Red Brows Su Lun. It seems like he has gone underground and doesn't care about the matters of the world. He's focused on training, which is why the traitors and abnormal beasts have the chance to take advantage of him.
"But no one knows that this is just Sect Master Jin's plan to lure the enemy out of its hole."
"Lure the enemy out of its hole?" The middle and higher management members of the gangs were stunned again.
"Yes. Sect Master Jin has long since used his sharp instincts and outstanding intelligence to notice that the abnormal beasts, wanted criminals, and former Reaper Squad members have infiltrated the lair. In fact, there are quite a number of traitors in the gangs."
Song Jinbo shook his head and said, "The problem is, the abnormal beasts are ever-changing, and they're incredibly cunning. The wanted criminals and former Reaper Squad members are all real humans, and it's not easy to identify them. There's no need to even mention traitors. Over the past few years, the gangs have been working quite happily with Red Brows Su Lun. He's the God of Wealth who can bring endless cash flow to everyone. Before he revealed his true colors, did any of you ever suspect him or say anything bad about him?"
"That's …"
The betrayal of Golden Tooth's vice sect master was a huge blow to Golden Tooth, but Red Brows Su Lun was not a traditional gang leader.
But Red Brows Su Lun was not the traditional leader of a gang. He was more like a professional manager that Golden Tooth brought in to coordinate their relationship with the other gangs so that they could integrate and optimize their resources.
Xiong Wei's youngest son, Xiong Ying, worked together with Su Lun and did quite a lot of business.
The middle and higher management members of the other gangs also benefited a lot from Su Lun.
If they really decided to punish Golden Tooth, Golden Tooth would definitely have to bear the blame, and the other gangs would not have the right to criticize Golden Tooth for not discovering the traitor's true colors beforehand.
"In truth, Sect Master Jin has been suspicious of some people, including Su Lun."
Song Jinbo changed the topic and said, "But no matter what, Su Lun is involved in the businesses of many gangs. He's just suspecting him, but he doesn't have any concrete evidence. It's impossible for Sect Master Jin to capture him directly. If he really did that, you wouldn't agree to it, right?
"On top of that, Old Gang Master Jin suspected that his every move was being closely monitored by the exotic beasts. If he continued to stay in the outside world, it was inevitable that the exotic beasts would find an opportunity to harm him with all kinds of despicable tricks. That's why he decided to retreat in order to advance, luring the snake out of its hole.
"On the surface, he pretended that he was terminally ill and that his organs were failing, so he had to hide in the underground chamber to receive treatment.
"In truth, he contacted the two most outstanding youngsters of the Golden Era in Dragon City, Meng Chao and Lu Siya, and asked them to investigate the truth in secret."
"Wh-What?!"
His last sentence caused a ruckus. Everyone was shocked. "Sect Master Jin contacted Meng Chao and Lu Siya a long time ago?"
"Of course. Everything is within Sect Master Jin's plan, or else why do you think Meng Chao and Lu Siya would appear in the lair for no reason?"
Song Jinbo said calmly. "During the case of the murderous pets in Blessed Paradise, Meng Chao and Lu Siya entered the lair alone to investigate the truth. Even though they caused some trouble, Sect Master Jin saw their methods and courage." Sect Master Jin admires these two outstanding people of the Golden Era a lot. Later on, they kept in contact with each other. He gave them pointers and became good friends despite their age difference.
"Once he noticed that there was an unknown enemy hiding in the lair, Sect Master Jin immediately realized that if he relied on the gangs' own strength to investigate the matter, he would definitely alert the enemy. There was also a possibility that the enemy would be able to monitor our actions. So, he had to bring in external forces, and that was Meng Chao and Lu Siya.
"In the end, everyone saw it. With Sect Master Jin's planning, Meng Chao and Lu Siya discovered the truth and found the traitor. They extinguished the flames that could destroy the lair, and all of this was within Sect Master Jin's control!"
The more Song Jinbo spoke, the more ridiculous he sounded.
Many of the details could not stand up to scrutiny.
The crowd whispered to each other and discussed the matter. The buzzing grew louder, and the hall looked as if it was about to turn into a market.
"Manager Song, this is an important matter. You can't joke about it so easily. Since you dared to say this, you must have concrete evidence in your hands, right?"
Xiong Wei saw that the third-class gang leaders who had been actively trying to get close to Black Bone had been intimidated by Song Jinbo and were starting to look a little timid.
He could only personally take action and ask with a dark expression.
"Gang Leader Xiong, you're right. This is an important matter, and I don't have concrete evidence. I naturally wouldn't spout nonsense."
Song Jinbo smiled faintly. Then, grief filled his face. He sighed and said, "What you saw over the past twenty-four hours is just the tip of the iceberg of Sect Master Jin's ingenious plan.
"With Sect Master Jin, Meng Chao, and Lu Siya working together, they secretly set up an ambush. Sect Master Jin used his life as bait and finally lured the Vortex, who was about to flee. Then, he killed this heinous demon in Golden Tooth's underground chamber!"
"He really killed the Vortex?"
"That's impossible!"
"That thing can't pretend to be anyone and seep into any crack. How could he capture it and even kill it?"
Puzzlement appeared on the people's faces.
Xiong Wei snorted repeatedly. He did not believe it at all.
"Sect Master Jin, Lu Siya, and Meng Chao's achievements are real," Song Jinbo said.
"Even though the Vortex doesn't have a fixed form and was reduced to ashes and bubbles by the flames, we still managed to gather some of its carcass tissue, and we'll send it to the abnormal beast research department for examination.
"Everyone, please believe me. This is an important matter. Even if Golden Tooth has the courage to lie to you, it doesn't have the courage to lie to the abnormal beast research department and the Supernatural Tower, right?"
Song Jinbo's words were firm, and it caused the originally puzzled people to sink into deep thought.
Indeed, the lair had suffered such a serious attack, and it was closely related to the Deification Capsule serial robberies that happened outside a few days ago. They might have been done by the same mastermind, so they had to be investigated together.
This was not something that the lair could solve on its own. The secret police, abnormal beast research department, and even the core organizations of the Supernatural Tower, which were even higher up, would be involved.
Meng Chao and Lu Siya were the ace investigators of the abnormal beast research department. Without concrete evidence, it was impossible for them to help Golden Tooth tell such a huge lie.
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