From Gotham to Night City, my infamy is known to all.

"I've gathered everyone here today to announce something important—the Taipingzhou strategy!"

Upon hearing this, the veteran members of the Eternal Life Squad were excited, rubbing their hands together and looking eager.

The two new members and the six members of Mann's team looked at each other, completely bewildered.

Taipingzhou Travel Guide?

That sounds amazing, but what exactly is it?

Leo didn't beat around the bush and directly posted the Taipingzhou strategy guide to the team channel—

Commission Name: Taipingzhou Strategy Guide

Objective: Conquer Taiping Island (excluding Dog Town). Eliminate the Voodoo Gang.

Client: L

Middleman: L

Threat Level: Medium to High (Battle is inevitable; the enemy numbers in the hundreds, but our forces outnumber them.)

Details: Lead the Wings of Liberty soldiers to conquer Pacifica, eliminate the Voodoo Gang and all hostile elements who take up arms to resist.

Compensation for the mission: The basic participation reward is 5,000 euros, and the kill reward is equivalent to the "Purge Order". All spoils belong to the individual, and there are generous rewards upon successful completion of the mission.

Important Notice: Warning! Except in special circumstances (such as local residents harboring hostile elements who have already joined the war), harassing or robbing civilians is prohibited, as is indiscriminate killing of innocent people. Violators will be dealt with according to military law.

After reading it carefully, they were dumbfounded.

"You want to... take over Taipingzhou!?"

Mann even stuttered a little when he spoke.

That's Taipingzhou!

Part of Night City!

That's not the sparsely populated eastern suburbs that nobody cares about.

According to unofficial statistics, at least several hundred thousand people live in the Taipingzhou area, mainly consisting of Haitian refugees, low-income laborers, and destitute people.

The reason no one is taking care of it right now is because the management costs are too high, and the people there are xenophobic, so no one wants to take over the mess.

However, launching a large-scale attack like Leo's would inevitably challenge the sensitive nerves of the city government and major companies.

"Are you sure? Even if it's publicly claimed to be a gang war, the fighting has spread into the city. I'm afraid—"

“You don’t need to be afraid!” Leo interrupted him forcefully. “I had already thought of and resolved all your concerns. Otherwise, what do you think I invited Chairman Kang Tao to Night City for?”

"Chairman Kang Tao? Xu Shiming? Wait, you said you invited him!?"

Leo nodded proudly, determined to take his boasting to the extreme:

"It was precisely because of the potential hostile actions from the municipal government, NCPD, and major corporations that I invited Mr. Xu Shiming to provide support. During our campaign in Taipingzhou, Kangtao will block the forces of other companies, and the Internet Police will provide public opinion support."

No need to worry about anything else, just focus on dealing with the voodoo gang and the locals who are on their side!

Chapter 385 The First Announcement!

Apart from V, who knew the answer in advance, everyone else was stunned by his bold statement.

This time, the mercenary gossip wasn't just talk—Leo really is one of Kang Tao's men!

He was not only a man of Kangtao, but also had extensive connections and influence, able to summon Emperor Kangtao from within the country to provide support!

It's like middle school students getting into a fight and calling for backup, only for one side to summon the president of a small to medium-sized country—it's utterly absurd and inexplicable…

"Are you... sure? That person is..."

Mann was so shocked that he didn't know whether to hope it was real or fake.

If being caught between two companies is considered extremely dangerous, then what level of danger is it if one of them is the absolute top leader of that company?

Seeing the disbelief on their faces, Leo casually pulled a unique bank card from his pocket, held it up between two fingers, and waved it in front of everyone:

"Not only that, I also closed a big deal and secured development funds from Kang Tao. Our own Blue Dream Company will be established the day after tomorrow, located in the Taipingzhou Grand Empire Shopping Mall. I will also invite Chairman Xu and other important figures to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony."

These things are already on the agenda; we must take Taipingzhou tomorrow!

The magical reality came true; the disbelief on the audience's faces turned into blank stares, and their brains began to refuse to think.

Leo waved his hand dismissively, putting the corporate bank card given to him by Compo back into his pocket. There was only 100 billion euros in it for now, serving as Compo's initial payment. The remaining 200 billion euros would be deposited into the card once the first batch of seeds successfully germinated and the awakening reagent officially entered mass production.

At this stage, money has become almost just a number to him!

"Don't just stand there! Mann's team is heading ahead to Stone Ridge to announce the good news about the mobilization meeting at noon. The Immortal Team is coming with me to the garage; there's some extra work to take care of. Hurry up, get moving!"

Leo took the lead in standing up, and the others naturally couldn't stay seated either, so they quickly got ready to leave.

After V put out food and changed the water for the two cats, the others changed into clothes suitable for going out.

"GOGOGO!"

Leo led the team off with great enthusiasm.

Because there were so many people, they even had to split into two groups to take the elevator.

The group of twelve walked out with an imposing presence, attracting the attention of the apartment management staff.

Leaving the apartment, Mann's team set off first, while Leo turned around and stared intently at the familiar upscale apartment.

"What's wrong?" V whispered in his ear.

Leo smiled slightly and shook his head gently: "It's nothing, it's just that we're moving, and I'm a little reluctant to leave."

"Didn't we say we should keep our accommodation as a temporary place to stay?"

Hearing him say that, V also felt a little reluctant to part with this cozy little home where she and Leo met and fell in love.

"We'll keep it, but we'll definitely be spending most of our time in Tai Ping Chau from now on. There's a big house waiting for us there!"

Leo suppressed his slight melancholy and turned to leave.

This temporary residence upon arriving in Night City is quite memorable, but it's still too small to accommodate his large harem. It's time to get a luxurious residence like Wayne Tower and move all his wives in!

He turned around, got into the car, and did it all in one smooth motion.

Two luxury armored vehicles drove towards the Meiquan District.

Soon after, the salty sea breeze squeezed into the room through the cracks in the car window, and Vera's garage came into view.

Leo sent the others to the garage to check on the Batmobile, and took only V to a vacant pickup truck in the corner.

After entering the carriage, he released some of the food he had brought back from Gotham, enough to feed more than a thousand people for a week.

"Alright, starting today, we'll raise the food standards so the soldiers can see a bright future."

V stood guard at the door for him, his gaze fixed on the garage: "I always feel that your actions are not reliable enough. An extra truckload of ingredients appears without warning. If this goes on for too long, the other members of the team will inevitably notice something."

Leo strode over and pinched her cheek:

"First of all, as you said, only those in the team who are close to me could gradually notice something is wrong. Secondly, I've reached the highest level of not eating beef, so even if others find out, they can't do anything about it. If they really annoy me, I'll bring out the ancient law of exterminating three generations of their families and send them all to the underworld!"

Listening to his nonsensical ramblings, V rolled his eyes helplessly.

After getting the ingredients, the two returned to the garage and met up with the others.

Leo walked around the cool-looking Batmobile and patted the car twice:

"Tomorrow, V and I will ride in this car to eliminate the Voodoo Gang's higher-ups. As for you guys... Vera and Panan will be in one group, driving the thugs Weller and Mackintosh 'Warhorse' as the mobile force. Jack will be the on-site commander for the ground forces. Sasha and Lucy will join the Pure White hacker team to deal with the Voodoo Gang's hacking attacks."

The specific battle plan will follow Crimson's instructions. I will create an encrypted combat channel and bring in all high-ranking commanders. Any questions?

The crowd slowly shook their heads, completely convinced by his words.

Leo smiled with satisfaction: "That's good. Next, we need to make a pre-announcement letter. Since the odds of winning are 100%, we should do something noble and show our colleagues in Night City how magnanimous we are."

"A notice? Who's it for?"

"Bring a computer to all the residents of Tai Ping Chau! I want to do the software myself!"

"Oh~!"

Sasha's curiosity grew uncontrollably, and she presented the computer to him with both hands.

Leo's gaze lingered on her impressive breasts for a moment before shifting to the computer screen.

【Pure White, quickly project the phantom thief's warning letter into my psychic eye; I need to draw it from there!】

[Wait a minute... It's done!]

PureWhite's efficiency remains as high as ever; it brought up the image in the blink of an eye.

After observing carefully for a moment, Leo suddenly felt that the red and black color scheme was not suitable for Wings of Freedom and Blue Dream Company. He had a flash of inspiration and changed the color scheme to dark blue and light green, and also changed the magician's hat to a pair of wings.

He kept the distinctive little square text box, and the content was—

To the people of Taipingzhou:

The evil Voodoo gang members have committed unforgivable crimes against humanity!

We have obtained conclusive evidence and submitted it to the regulatory authorities.

To prevent the world from being destroyed, to safeguard world peace,

We are the Wings of Freedom.

At the break of dawn, evil will be purified with steel and fire!

P.S.: Friendly reminder: Please avoid going out on the morning of April 2nd. If you must go out, please do not point weapons at members of the Wings of Freedom. All residents who intend to help Voodoo Gang members may be attacked by us. This is a public announcement!

A bizarre-looking "phantom thief's notice" was born in Leo's hands.

"Hmm, not bad at all!" Leo was quite satisfied with his masterpiece. "Next, I'll attach the official website addresses of Kangtao and the Internet Surveillance to the end, using their credibility to verify its reliability. Keep the size at palm-sized, print 100,000 copies, and distribute them to the Taipingzhou area by drone after dinner!"

"Isn't this... a bit too high-profile?"

Vera was a little worried.

The others nodded in agreement.

In accordance with Night City's usual practice, such combat operations should be conducted as discreetly as possible, ideally without being noticed, to avoid subsequent trouble.

It's somewhat illogical that Leo would make such a big show of publicity before attacking Taipingzhou.

"What's there to be afraid of? All these years, the Voodoo Gang has been doing nothing but breaking into the Great Firewall, engaging in online fraud and crime. From big companies to ordinary people, how many people like them? I'm going to attack them fair and square, and see who dares to stand up for me! Don't worry, Kang Tao will hold up the sky if it falls, nothing will happen!"

When he brought up Kang Tao again, the others became afraid.

What kind of strong relationship would it take to get Kang Tao to do something so unreliable?

Despite everyone's objections, Leo gave his sudden idea the green light and used his right of first vote to approve it!

"We can wait until after the mobilization meeting to print the cards. Let's go to Shijishan first, so we don't rush things like last time."

After saying that, Leo sent Vera, who had the best driving skills, to drive the truck and lead the team to the town of Stone Ridge.

Throughout the journey, he spoke freely in the chat channel, asking what everyone had done during the four days he was away.

The vehicle was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation, showing no trace of the tension that a major battle was about to begin the next day.

Chapter 386 The Flower of Hope Blooms in the Bad Soil!

As they chatted and laughed, the steel jungle of Night City was left behind, and the desert wind and smoke rushed towards them.

Leo leaned to the car window and looked out. He was pleased to see that Highway 9, leading to the Eastern Border Inspection Station, was once again full of vehicles and traffic had returned to normal.

Unlike the time when the night ghosts roamed the area, he also saw many mobile stalls set up on both sides of the road, selling food, travel supplies, and emergency car repairs. All kinds of small vendors gathered together, vaguely resembling an open-air market.

Passersby no longer rush by, and you can often see families stopping by the roadside to shop and rest.

A vibrant scene of life and everything flourishing is right before our eyes.

As Leo watched, a smile crept onto his face, successfully piquing V's curiosity.

"What do you see? Let me see too!"

She slammed on the brakes and looked out the window, following Leo's gaze.

The roadside was full of various vendors. Judging from their clothes, most of them were homeless people, and they sold ordinary things.

What's so cool about this?

"It's nothing special, what are you laughing at?" she couldn't help but ask.

Leo turned his head and gently straightened her face, making her look at the road instead of him.

"Does happiness always require a reason to laugh? If I had to say, it's because I've seen changes, and it's these changes that make me happy."