Chapter 367: Escape
Undoubtedly, this was the greatest challenge facing everyone. Although they shared a common external enemy, each had their own private agenda, making it impossible for them to truly unite and weather the storm together.
Large groups had their large group interests, small groups had their small group interests, and individuals had their individual interests. When these interests were not perfectly aligned, the efficiency of the entire collective's operation would suffer.
As for something that could potentially completely alter the balance of power, no party would easily relinquish it or grant authority to others, making the situation even more complicated.
While Cheng Mu and the others naturally didn't want Bai Mo to return and seize power, allowing Chen Bo to gain overwhelming power after becoming king was equally undesirable for them.
"First, we will dispatch avatars to Ethiopia to ascertain the true situation. If possible, we should try to resolve this matter through negotiation."
"Hoping to use reasons like national righteousness and the greater good of the country to persuade someone who left their homeland after their family was ruined by powerful elites is simply unrealistic."
Everyone present at the meeting had already considered this point, and they understood that "righteousness" was merely a veiled form of moral blackmail, while the "greater good" was simply a means of asserting dominance through power.
The former was useless chatter to someone filled with hatred, and as for the latter... Li Bida was now a combatant at the apex of the world's power. It was highly unlikely that mere words would make him surrender.
"What about exchanging the culprit?" Liu Zhen proposed that they could hand over the perpetrator from back then in exchange for whatever Li Bida possessed.
They had considered the considerable price they would have to pay: dispatching half of the Hua-Ya Federation's high-end forces for an encirclement and annihilation, while simultaneously crippling the defenses of this small African nation at the state level, seizing the foundation of Li Bida's power and reducing him to his original state.
However, doing so would likely be a futile effort. A person capable of enduring for many years for revenge, when trapped in desperation with no hope of vengeance, would be even more likely to choose to perish with dignity rather than be disgraced. Not only would he frantically drag down those who besieged him, but he would also disappear from this world forever, taking his secrets with him.
In that case, such a large-scale, costly battle would be meaningless. Ethiopia, a distant enclave far from their homeland, would be of little use even if the Hua-Ya Federation "swallowed" it, and they would ultimately just have to install another puppet regime.
"Exchange Zhao Feiling, who ran over his family, for Li Bida's cooperation?"
All of Li Bida's personal files and data had been urgently delivered by subordinates shortly after the meeting began. Each participant had completed their analysis of him in mere seconds.
"A profligate young master, if he could be exchanged for such a secret technique, it would be a highly profitable deal."
"But the Zhao family... it probably won't be easy to persuade them."
"As long as there's enough compensation, Old Zhao will agree. It's Zhao Feiyan who will be difficult to deal with. They're very close brothers; it's practically impossible to make him give up on him."
...
"What's happening?!"
Just as everyone was discussing how to handle Zhao Feiling, a giant palm made of Xuanhua suddenly appeared behind Chen Bo, and seized the scribe who was busy taking notes behind Liang Gong.
"Council Member Chen, what are you...?"
"He's leaking our meeting's contents!" Chen Bo declared sternly, his tone conveying irrefutable evidence.
"Ev... evidence? I... I..." With his entire body gripped by the massive hand, the panicked scribe stammered, unable to form coherent words. Few could remain composed in the face of such overwhelming power.
"Can you give me an explanation?" Watching the aggressive Chen Bo, Liang Gong felt obligated, both professionally and personally, to protect his direct subordinate, the scribe.
"I saw the information he sent."
"I absolutely did not leak any secrets!" After calming down from his initial panic, the scribe regained some of his defiance, though his constantly trembling muscles seemed to betray something.
"Just have them come over, and it'll be clear." Chen Bo offered no further explanation, simply whispering instructions to his secretary behind him.
"With their help, it really does save us the trouble of an interrogation." Cheng Mu understood exactly what Chen Bo meant, but as a neutral party, he merely sat by and watched the spectacle.
"Let him prove your innocence." Liang Gong said, looking at the person behind him.
"Council Member Chen, Council Member Cheng, Council Member Liang... good afternoon." A martial artist, dressed in ancient-style blue robes, arrived at Ziliu Sea, led by the secretary.
"Mr. Mo, please." Mo Buyan, one of the authors of the Martial Edict and a member of the Martial Arts Symposium, had successfully advanced to the Dharma Body realm a few years ago, making him the furthest along among the four original authors from that time.
"What do you want to do!" The scribe, his body completely restrained, could only watch helplessly as Mo Buyan's hand slowly approached his forehead. Soon after, his vision went black, and he immediately fainted.
"I... just... sent... the... information... to... Zhao... Feiyan..."
Seconds later, the scribe, completely devoid of expression like a living corpse, stammered out, in fragmented sentences, how he had used his hidden ability to betray the meeting's sensitive records.
A Dharma Body realm martial artist, when dealing with an enemy unable to resist, possessed the ability to forcibly hypnotize and directly extract all kinds of information. Using it here was perfectly appropriate.
Upon realizing this outcome, everyone present felt a heavy weight in their hearts. While they had sent out their own scouts, they had, unbelievably, been counter-infiltrated! Zhao Feiyan must have already received the news by now, and would be fully focused on trying to cover his brother's escape. The entire plan had become even more troublesome.
They had no time to waste on a pursuit. They had to seize every single second to grow stronger, only then would they have greater confidence when facing that person whose progress was unknown.
"Feiling, it's Feiyan. There's no time to explain. Take the cash from the basement and leave Huaxia immediately!" After receiving the news, Zhao Feiyan hastily concluded his meeting, and immediately contacted Zhao Feiling.
"What's wrong?" Zhao Feiling, still a bit groggy, was resting in bed when he received the call.
"The briefcase password is 6513. Repeat that. Leave Huaxia immediately. The higher-ups are going to sacrifice you. If you don't run now, it'll be too late. Remember, don't trust anyone, including those from our own Zhao family!"
"Throw your phone away. Don't contact anyone else by phone anymore. They'll soon be monitoring everything related to you! Try not to enter any cities, or you won't escape their ubiquitous surveillance."
Although he hadn't fully processed what was happening, his years of trust in his younger brother still prompted Zhao Feiling to obey the instructions. He quickly packed his belongings and disappeared from the heavily monitored city at the fastest possible speed.
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