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

"Mr. Hans, the middleman in Taipingzhou, probably received a distress call from the Voodoo Gang and wants to make some deals with me. Ignore him, I've already scolded him back."

Leo waved his hand dismissively and walked over to Vera, helping her install cargo-carrying components on the drone.

*

On the other hand, the person whose call was hung up on wasn't in a good mood.

"Emerald City, what kind of new slang is this?"

The bald, burly man in military uniform looked at the middleman, whose brows were furrowed.

Hanz slowly turned his head and looked around. “There are green plants and flowers everywhere here, so I sometimes joke that this is Hansen’s Emerald City.”

"It's quite childlike."

"Yes, because those were the words I said to my daughter. Looks like there's a traitor on my side too..."

"That's your business. Let's get back to the point. The negotiations seem to be going poorly?"

"To be exposed and ridiculed right from the start is not just a bad start, it's a complete failure."

Hansen cracked his knuckles and irritably hung up the phone labeled "Bridget".

"L has no intention of doing business or negotiating at all. He's the kind of person who's young and impetuous; he won't back down unless he suffers a major loss..."

"Then let him suffer a loss?" Hansen said thoughtfully.

"No—!" Hans quickly dissuaded, "At least not now!"

He turned on the TV, and unsurprisingly, all the news channels were broadcasting Kangtao Chairman Xu Shiming's "Peace Declaration"—he called on large companies to remain calm and not to drag Night City back into the quagmire of war because of a minor incident.

"L is one of Kang Tao's men. The fact that he chose to do this during Chairman Kang Tao's visit means he's fearless. Have the soldiers guard all the entrances to Dog Town and not get involved in Taipingzhou's affairs."

Let's wait and see what the other big companies, especially Arasaka, do. If even they don't step in to stop L, then no one can stop him from taking over Taipingzhou.

"Yes, you think the same way I do."

Hansen nodded silently, burying all his thoughts deep inside.

*

April 1st is April Fool's Day.

The atmosphere on Tai Ping Chau, however, was somewhat unusual.

The Voodoo gang members who used to gather in the streets and alleys, approaching, questioning, driving away, or even attacking strangers, were all called back to their secret hideout and given instructions to "mobilize their relatives and friends."

The beloved female leader, Maman Bridget, frequently appeared at various outposts to meet with important members of the gang.

Gradually, a devastating rumor began to circulate among the Haitian refugees: "An evil and ambitious man from the East has set his sights on the last home of the Haitian refugees; he wants to destroy the Voodoo Cult and seize the Pacific Island that belongs to the Haitians!"

"Too evil, unforgivable!"

"We only have this dilapidated shack left, but he still wants to wipe us out!"

"Voodoo... curse him with voodoo!"

Fueled by false rumors and instigation from malicious individuals, the Haitian refugee community became agitated, with many people brandishing weapons and preparing to defend their last remaining possessions and homes.

After dinner, there were countless private gatherings of anywhere from a dozen to several dozen people. When someone suggested calling the police or asking the city hall for help, they were ridiculed by the crowd.

Those high and mighty figures don't care about our lives. If they really wanted to, Taipingzhou wouldn't be in the state it is now.

Such poignant questions arose from time to time, rejecting the suggestions of those seeking help.

Just as the crowd was getting heated and the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, cards suddenly started raining down from the sky.

A sharp-eyed person spotted the Comtau drone distributing flyers and speeding away, but when they tried to hack it, they found that the drone's ICE was as thick as a city wall.

With the hard work of twenty drones, almost everyone living in Taipingzhou noticed the blue and green cards.

Upon picking them up, they turned out to be a series of strangely worded "announcement letters".

The front side features a declaration from the Wings of Freedom that they will eliminate the Voodoo Cult, while the back side lists evidence of the Voodoo Cult's crimes and provides the official websites of Contau and the Internet Police, claiming that the evidence is conclusive.

Some quick-thinking individuals immediately opened the company's website and, sure enough, saw the large-print label "Evidence of Voodoo Gang Crimes." Clicking on it revealed a dense array of evidence, detailed down to the date and the suspect.

The Voodoo Cult's top brass are all guilty of serious crimes such as murder, stealing data bank assets, breaching the Great Firewall, and illegal hacking activities.

Some citizens who disliked the Voodoo Church or were not Haitians at all backed down on the spot, leaving the rally to declare their absolute neutrality and not take sides.

Many Haitians are also wavering, feeling that while L is certainly not a good person, the Voodoo Gang isn't much better either. Big companies have already listed the evidence of their crimes, so it's best to stay away from the eye of the storm.

Ultimately, only those related to the Voodoo Church and extreme xenophobes stood with the guardians of the Haitian refugees.

Despite Bridget and several other prestigious leaders' assertions that "as long as we unite, we will surely defeat the invaders and protect the last home of the Haitians."

But a strong sense of crisis still lingered in everyone's hearts.

Tonight, things are not peaceful in Tai Ping Chau...

Chapter 391 The Strategy for Taiping Continent (Part 1)

September 2, night.

4 points in the early hours.

Undercurrents were swirling in Taipingzhou, and many people couldn't sleep all night.

The approach taken by those who initiated the war is rather unusual.

After a brief rest, the members of the Immortal Squad, who had reunited, looked at Leo, who was writing furiously at his desk, with puzzled expressions.

They exchanged a glance, and Sasha gently nudged Vera's waist.

The good-natured blonde mother granted Sasha's wish, then stepped forward and asked V, who was sighing and rubbing his forehead, "What's Leo doing?"

V paused, rolling his eyes speechlessly: "Going crazy..."

As his physique improved, Leo's five senses became very sharp, and he easily intercepted the bad talk coming from 0.5 meters behind him.

Without turning his head, he retorted, "This isn't madness! This is a limited-time, precious souvenir—a pre-announcement letter personally signed by the middleman, L! Limited to thirty... well, fifty copies worldwide. I'll make a few more, just in case we don't have enough later!"

After working for a while longer, he finally wrote in the upper right corner of all fifty notices: "[April 2, 2076, a day filled with emotion, written as a memento, by middleman L.]"

After it was written, it was handed over to Assistant Minister V to be personally laminated and placed in a simple and elegant photo frame.

Leo picked up a finished product, examined his masterpiece, and nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, not bad. When the company is established and we have a big celebration banquet, I'll give one to each of the heroes and friends. It'll be a very meaningful souvenir!"

Seeing V about to roll his eyes again, he teased, "What kind of expression is that? This is the only souvenir left by the great L during his short career as a middleman. It will be priceless in a few years!"

V was slightly taken aback: "What, you're not planning to be the middleman anymore?"

Leo hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: "I can't say for sure. Think about it, tomorrow Lanmeng Company will be officially established, and I will be the founder and chairman of the company. Is it appropriate for me to still be a middleman? By then, how many people in the world will be qualified to be my client?"

The other listeners thought about it and realized that it made sense.

Leo didn't keep things secret in the early stages. Big companies and people with extensive connections all know that he is L. Once he becomes the chairman of the company, probably no one will have the guts to approach him to place a commission.

"Good brother, your career as a middleman is quite short, less than two months at most."

Just as Leo was about to nod, Jack continued,

"However, your track record is far superior to that of other middlemen. The number of people you've killed in just a few commissions is enough for other middlemen to kill for years!"

“This is called making up for quantity with quality. Besides, I only killed people who deserved to die. I was eliminating a scourge for the people.”

Leo proudly acknowledged his "achievements," since he had killed the Cleaners, Night Wanderers, and Voodoo Gang—none of the three groups were human!

After V finished making the souvenirs, Leo glanced at the time and sent a text message to Li Qixuan.

"Leo: We're about to move in. You must stop the other companies' troops, or I'll have no choice but to go on a killing spree!"

Li Qixuan: Try not to kill innocent people indiscriminately, as public opinion will be difficult to control afterward...

Leo: What are you saying? I'm not a serial killer!

"Li Qixuan: In the past two months, you've killed the most people in Night City..."

Leo was speechless and gave up trying to communicate with him.

With Kangtao on board, it's time for the actual operation.

To minimize the risk of civilian casualties, Leo had a backup plan: "Pure White, begin the operation. Issue evacuation notices to the residents of Taipingzhou, instructing them to stay indoors."

"Pure White: Received, commence execution!"

*

At the same time, in Taipingzhou.

Almost all the mobile phones rang.

"Ring ring ring ring——"

"Cuckoo-cuckoo-"

"Buzz...buzz..."

As the alarm rang suddenly, the volume automatically turned up to the maximum, waking more and more people from their sleep.

For a time, all sorts of vulgar language could be heard.

However, when they turned on their phones, they didn't see harassing calls, but rather a strongly worded warning to stay indoors and not go out no matter what happened outside.

If you must go out or are already outdoors, do not participate in the Wings of Freedom's righteous trial of the Voodoo Gang, as any hostile action against Wings of Freedom members could provoke endless retaliation.

Furthermore, many people found that their computer screens lit up automatically, and safety notices popped up on the displays of vending machines and home terminals.

Even the holographic projection above the door, which originally displayed the rent payment status, now showed the words "Please do not go out unless necessary."

There is no doubt that this was a massive hacking incident that covered the entire Pacific Island region outside of Dogtown.

“Taipingzhou is about to change dramatically.”

Even the most oblivious person realized that last night's unexpected message wasn't an April Fool's joke; Wings of Liberty and L—they were serious…

*

"Saloperie! (Bastard)"

"These cowardly bastards, these hypocritical scoundrels, they said they were willing to help yesterday, and today they've all gone back on their word! These disgusting Ranyons!"

A tall, muscular black man, swearing profusely, paced irritably around the church, occasionally knocking over a few simple folding chairs without even glancing at them.

Standing beside him was a middle-aged Black woman wearing a hacker jumpsuit and a down coat; she was Maman Bridget.

"Stop complaining, Placid. Mercenaries can't be trusted, the hounds in Dogtown can't be trusted, and big corporations are even less trustworthy. We can only rely on ourselves!"

She looked around at the bustling crowd in the church and made up her mind.

"Plasid, take the men and guard the church. Neptune and I will lead the hackers to the secret room, enter cyberspace, and launch an attack from the network layer using the 'Poseidon' system."

Even someone as hot-tempered as Placid knew this plan was unlikely to succeed: "They have a lot of people, and a formidable hacker team. You can't handle that many people; you'll pay the price..."

“I know.” Bridget turned her head resolutely. “But we don’t have time. The Wings of Liberty have over a thousand men. Even if only half of them come, it’s still more than twice our number. Our investigation shows they’re using Compton’s smart connectivity and smart weapons. We have no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation. Fortunately, they haven’t deployed personal ICE on a large scale. If we can eliminate those commanders, we still have a chance.”

She took one last look at the Haitians who had volunteered to help and made the painful decision: "Let our compatriots form the first line of defense and block the invaders outside the church. Tell them...we will remember their sacrifice; they are heroes of Haiti."

After saying that, she winked and strode toward the small door inside the church.

Neptune and several hackers followed behind her, hurrying to rejoin the main force.

Placid grabbed a handful of his dreadlocks in a fit of rage and turned to set up a defensive line.

The Voodoo Gang is not good at direct combat; they must stall for time to create opportunities for the hackers.

Chapter 392 The Conquest of Taiping Continent (Part Two)

As it approached 5 a.m., the pitch-black Batmobile sat silently on the cross-sea bridge like a midnight ghost.

Ten meters further ahead, we would cross the border between Heywood and Pacific Island and enter tonight's battle zone.

Behind the sleek Batmobile were more than twenty modified vehicles fitted with bulletproof steel plates, inside which sat the passionate Wings of Liberty soldiers.

After today, they will be able to escape the barren land and become half "city dwellers".

Even better, if you perform well in tonight's battle, you can not only earn a high reward, but also be promoted to sergeant based on your merits and be allocated housing!

A bright future awaits them: promotions, raises, and the return of their homes!

Compared to his jubilant subordinates, Leo himself was, of course, calm... but quite ecstatic!

According to the unwritten rules of the underworld, the gun that appears in the first act must be fired before the third act. However, he has had the Infinity Gauntlet for 24 hours and has not yet been able to use it effectively, which is making him very uneasy.

Fortunately, the opportunity to go on a killing spree has finally arrived!

"You promised V, you're not allowed to steal my kills. Let me deal with the enemies on the surface! I'm going to use my invincible strike to flatten the surface of the church!"