Quadruple split.

Chapter 2884 Mantis
Ten minutes later
Game time: 11:48 AM
"Then I won't bother you any longer."

Foster stood up, extended his right hand to Mo Tan, and smiled, "It's been a pleasure talking with you for so long, Mo Tan. If you're not too busy, how about we arrange to have a casual meal and some coffee before you leave?"

Mo Tan reluctantly shook hands with Foster (he had been deeply traumatized by the pinch he received when shaking hands with Foster Theresa Tarosa last time), and asked bluntly, "If you didn't know that my time is really tight, would you still have extended the same invitation?"

"of course."

Foster nodded without hesitation and smiled, "I don't think anyone would be averse to spending time with you, Brother Mo."

"You flatter me, Captain."

Seeing that the other party was indeed not lying, Mo Tan sighed and said helplessly, "But you ruined my rare vacation."

"The capable should do more, Brother Mo."

Foster smiled and said cheerfully, "With great power comes great responsibility. Obviously, you and I are not naturally compatible with the concept of 'vacation'."

Just as she was about to refute Foster, she suddenly remembered that when she was in a state of 'absolute neutrality' she was completely focused on giving up, but now she was so busy that she wished she could split every minute in two. In the end, she could only admit with a wry smile: "Maybe what you said makes some sense, but I still think it has nothing to do with so-called 'ability'. It's just that everyone has their own strengths."

"Perhaps."

Foster said noncommittally, then nodded slightly to Mo Tan and smiled, "Then, starting today, I will fully support the 'Snake Catchers,' which is currently outrageously weak and centered around you, Brother Mo, and provide you with as much convenience as I can."

Mo Tan nodded: "Okay."

"I thought you'd at least say thank you or something, Brother Mo."

"As a bettor, I don't think you, who have extremely high expectations for the rise of 'Jester' in a short period of time, need me to thank you."

“Very good reason, Brother Mo, I’m growing to like you more and more.”

"It is my great honor."

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

……

After a brief farewell, Foster left the staff lounge, which was usually only used by Tianxingdao and Dabus, while Mo Tan let out a long sigh and sat back down, her expression neither happy nor sad.

To be honest, neither today's conversation, nor Foster's attitude, nor even the final outcome surprised Mo Tan. However, in his original plan, the other party in this conversation should not have been 'Mo', but 'Tan Mo'.

However, it is clear that Foster has a longer-term vision and is very familiar with the basic concepts of the "Clowns" organization, so it is reasonable for him to choose to 'avoid suspicion'.

To be more specific, as a high-ranking executive with great authority in the "Clown" card, this "King of Hearts" has no intention of taking sides with either of the two aces. Even Tan Mo, who recruited him into the organization, will not allow him to waver in his stance in the slightest.

At this stage, one of the most important 'projects' for the [Clown Card] is a seemingly far-fetched plan that targets the [Viper Merchant Guild] – [Code Name: Snake Devourer].

Because this project was jointly initiated by two aces, its priority is so outrageous that it has completely overshadowed the development of the Violet Empire's core branch and the Academy City's underground organizations. It is currently ranked as the top priority, on par with the development of the Liberty City's local headquarters.

Now let's take a look at the overall layout of the [Clown] cards—

First, the Violet Core Division, which is now taking shape, is completely controlled by the delinquent girl 'Queen of Clubs' under Futaba's command. Her core members are 'Jack of Diamonds' Lucia Yuuk and 'Six of Clubs' Sugar Rice Cake. Lucia is not a permanent member and is often elusive.

Next is an underground organization that has been secretly cultivated by [Clown Card] for a long time and is rooted in [Academy City]. It is personally managed by Foster Ward. Its permanent members are sixth-year high school students from Mercury Military Academy, who recently served as official commentators for the War League with their older sisters: '8 of Hearts' Reese Lugnica, 'Ace of Hearts' Theresa Tarosa, and 'Queen of Hearts' Ren Iris. However, Theresa and Ren have left Academy City for internships, so this organization has the fewest members.

Then there's the Freedom City headquarters, currently controlled by Futaba. Besides her own subordinates, 'Club 10' Evie Rayman and 'Club 3' Maleficent Lolita, there are also 'Queen of Diamonds' Leisa Caworth, [Clown] Cole Shuren, [Puppet] Luna Moonshine, and [Maid] Lizzie Bloodwing from the Tanmo faction.

In addition, the City of Freedom is also home to the relatively neutral '10 of Hearts' Totoron Air Pump, '10 of Diamonds' Cholera, and 'Ace of Spades' Snowsword.

In addition to the three main strongholds, the "Clown" group also has the following members outside: Spider, the "Ace of Clubs" from Tanmo's side; Ai Vanye, the "Manager" from Futaba's side; Gast Reeves, the "Lobbyist" from Futaba's side; Scarlett Diesel, the "Seven of Clubs" who is relatively neutral; and Tanmo, the "Ace" whose whereabouts are unknown.

Leaving aside the two number 2 cards, the above-mentioned people are the core members of the [Clown Card] organization at this stage. Given the current request for instructions, and considering that Futaba already has absolute control over the headquarters of Freedom City, and can also exert absolute influence over the core branch of Violet City, it would be perfectly reasonable for Foster from Academy City to side with Tanmo.

But he didn't do that.

In the major incident of "swallowing the snake," he did not hesitate to choose to cooperate directly with Mo, who was an equal partner of the organization, thus completing a brilliant attempt to avoid suspicion and make a statement.

This attitude is enough to definitively define his position in the "Clown Card," thereby creating a balance of power with the two Aces and ensuring that the organization's structure can develop in the healthiest and most stable way.

Given this premise, the final situation turned out to be bizarrely that the two aces were temporarily standing together, while Foster, as the King of Hearts, stood on the opposite side.

Of course, the "opposites" here are only relative. After all, when everyone shares the same goal, the "working together" and "reaching a consensus" within the organization will become smoother and more fluid in this event, making the "Clown Card" more united than ever before.

"An unprecedented unity..."

Mo Tan murmured softly, then shook his head with a wry smile, sighing to himself, "For an organization that has been established for less than half a year, this situation seems a bit outrageous no matter how you look at it."

Having said that, he raised the now-cold tea in front of him to Foster, who had already left, and then drank it all in one gulp.

After all, he had to admit that Foster Ward was indeed terrifying enough to see through the biggest weakness of the "Clown Card" when the trouble was still in its infancy.

That is, the subtle hostility between the two trump cards while the organization is still in its growth stage.

It is not so-called healthy competition, but genuine hostility. It is pure malice that will never let the other party go if given the chance, and will not hesitate to kill the other party.

This malice may not stem from 'hatred,' but from a purely consequentialist perspective, it is even more terrifying than simple 'hatred.' It's terrifying because of its unpredictable instability, and terrifying because if the two were to go mad, they might even choose to sacrifice the clown card.

Indeed, Foster quickly made a judgment based on the information he had, concluding that 'Tanmo' and 'Shuangye' were freaks who were completely consumed by chaos, or even capable of materializing chaos. Therefore, no matter how much time, energy, and effort they put into the [Clown Card], they could be discarded as sacrifices as if they were dusted off.

Caught between these two madmen, Foster made the most rational decision immediately: to use his inherent absolute rationality to counterbalance this chaotic square.

Perhaps he himself doesn't care about the future of "The Clowns," but at least for now, Foster Ward doesn't want to lose this relatively ideal work environment.

So he decisively made himself a threat to both of them, actively seeking greater influence and a stronger voice, becoming a highly intimidating "single card".

Such a 'single card' has a total of twenty enemies, namely the twenty-person committee of the [Viper Merchant Guild] composed of all the 'snake heads'.

Mo Tan could foresee that from now on, there would be more and more single cards in the [Clown Card]. As the two aces gained more and more influence internally due to their various achievements, the ecosystem of their respective factions would be gradually compressed. Eventually, they would become so that if they did not cooperate with the nose, they would be restrained by third, fourth, fifth, or even a dozen or twenty parties to the point that they could not move an inch.

Only in an atmosphere where the two most unstable time bombs are tightly restrained and can only choose to cooperate closely depending on the situation, can the "Clown Card" avoid self-destructing before giving everyone a surprise.

However, Foster's arrangement also carries huge risks, because as Mo Tan just thought, by choosing this method to ensure the stability of the organization, he has also indirectly forced those two trump cards into the same camp. And at least for the time being, the only one who can stand on the same level and compete with those two is Foster himself.

Facing both 'Tanmo' and 'Shuangye' at the same time would be an absolutely terrifying and unlucky situation for anyone who truly understands these two guys, and they might even feel that it would be better to just die.

But Foster did exactly that—

One reason is that, thanks to his superior intelligence network compared to Shuangye, he knows that 'Mo' is one of the uncrowned kings of the [Clown Card], so there's a high chance that Tanmo won't go all out.

Yes, considering that Tan Mo is Tan Mo, there's a high chance he might actually kill him.

The second reason is that there is no fundamental disagreement on the basic stance of everyone in the "Snake Swallowing" plan. So even if the two trump cards are forced into the same small camp, everyone is still in agreement on the big camp and the big direction. Therefore, it is not fun to go all out against Foster now.

The phrase "not fun" was very effective in dampening the enthusiasm of the two aces.

The third reason, and the biggest reason Foster dared to do this, was that he believed he was capable enough to do it.

Such boldness was enough to warrant a toast from Mo Tan at this moment.

"How peaceful..."

Walking slowly to the window, Mo Tan looked at the Isaac College students and teachers in the distance, who were strolling, playing, chasing, fighting, writing papers, or memorizing under the blue sky and white clouds, and revealed a gentle smile.

He wanted to protect this beautiful scene before him, even though he might not know anyone in the scene, but that didn't stop him from wanting to safeguard it.

So he wanted to eradicate the disgusting filth and cut off the multi-headed serpent that lurked in the damp darkness.

"If we could do that, the world would probably be a little closer to the way I like it, right?"

Mo Tan lowered her eyes and said softly, "If I can't do it... then I have no right to cause trouble for 'myself'."

Recalling that 'side' that, though only a blurry silhouette in his memory, was almost suffocating, Mo Tan's gaze gradually sharpened.

Although he had no basis for it, he instinctively felt that the multi-headed serpent that had plagued the [Innocent Realm] for countless centuries was probably not even one-thousandth as threatening as his own other side, which was probably lurking somewhere.

As clues gradually come together, as intelligence becomes clearer, and as the sense of foreboding intensifies...

The chilling outline in my mind seemed to gradually become clearer.

This is the only consensus that 'Mo Tan' can reach with itself.

Thus, the "Clown Card" came into being.

Thus, the Black Vatican priests of the Holy Church Alliance rose to prominence as if by miracle.

At this very moment, Mo Tan was also doing what she was supposed to do.

An invincible staff;
A deadly and insane poison;
Very good, very strong, very powerful.

But that's not enough—

Before them, there should be an invincible sword.

This sword now urgently needs to be honed, strengthened, and proven itself.

And that snake was just the perfect target for testing the sword.

Of course, you can also try sticks, knives, guns, axes, halberds, daggers, and fans.

In short, no matter how arrogant he may seem, Mo Tan will still raise his weapon against that snake and fight it.

The praying mantis, which abandons its attempt to cause trouble for the cicada and instead tries to behead the oriole, is certainly laughable...

But what if the thing it wants to block with those double-bladed arms is a semi-trailer?

Thinking about it this way, the oriole seems much cuter.

Chapter 2875: The End