Chapter 89

“I see,” Bai Xuechao clapped slowly, “Awesome, awesome.”

Upon hearing this, Yuan Lan, who was beside him, suddenly laughed and then clapped along under Mortar’s somewhat bewildered gaze, “Awesome, awesome~”

Xiao 6 couldn’t help but laugh along too, “Awesome, awesome.”

Mortar thought with a bewildered expression: What’s this inside joke?

However, he didn’t ask, because it was almost two in the afternoon. He manipulated the interface on the laptop screen and entered the video conference room right on time.

As they entered the room, the second hand of the clock displayed next to the screen just passed 12, exactly two o’clock.

The video call hadn’t started yet. The main interface of the room showed the avatars and IDs of two accounts.

On the left, the host was the Dark Organization’s account, with a pure black avatar and a string of garbled characters for an ID.

With the development of the times, for matters that could be discussed without meeting in person, organizations would arrange to talk online. However, they all used ordinary third-party software because they didn’t trust the software developed by each other. When using third-party software, each organization would have experts in computer technology responsible for blocking the software’s system monitoring, as well as concealing account information, and so on.

Bai Xuechao, of course, recognized this garbled account. It was created by the Dark Organization’s intelligence department. You couldn’t open its detailed profile, add it as a friend, or track its location. The person who used it most often was Jiang Yunyi.

On the right, the Apocalypse Society’s account had a very peculiar style. The avatar was a goat sitting in a chair with its legs crossed, its left hoof resting on the armrest and its right hoof holding a book. Below it was written, “Wait until I finish this magic book, then I’ll send you to hell.” The ID was Mortal, which seemed to be Mortar’s own account.

From the accounts, one could see the different styles of the two organizations.

The Dark Organization seemed more old-fashioned and solemn, and in fact, it was. The Dark Organization, ruled by the old leader, was like a feudal, centralized system where age and seniority were useless; only class status could determine a person’s right to speak within the organization.

Just like Bai Xuechao, even though he was young, as one of the four cadres, members of the organization had to respectfully address him as “Mr. Bai” when they saw him.

The atmosphere in the Apocalypse Society was much more relaxed. The leader bickered and acted like brothers with the cadres, and even the organization’s base was like a “home.”

They even had team-building gatherings. If one ignored what they did, the Apocalypse Society was more like a club than an evil organization.

Could it be related to the leader’s age?

At this moment, a message appeared on the public screen next to the main interface.

[■?%■A@■■: Let’s begin.]

Mortar replied in a second.

[Mortal: ok.]

The next second, video feeds appeared on both the left and right sides of the main interface.

The person on the left sat at a desk in a sharp suit, wearing a cute white rabbit mask that covered his entire face. A hint of dark gold could be seen behind the eyeholes of the mask, and black hair peeked out from the edges.

Bai Xuechao recognized him as Jiang Yunyi at a glance.

Looking at the background behind him, he should be in his office. There was a subtle shadow at the edge of the video feed, as if someone was standing next to him.

If you thought Jiang Yunyi’s mask was absurd, Yuan Lan was even more absurd.

The person in the video feed on the right wasn’t even human. An orange-colored big orange floated in the video feed, with Yuan Lan’s enlarged golden eyes and a mouth on it.

Bai Xuechao stood a short distance to the side of Yuan Lan, at a position and angle that allowed him to see the screen without being in the frame.

When the two saw each other’s appearance, they were both silent for a second.

They’ve met their match.

Although Yuan Lan had learned about the other’s appearance through the intelligence brought back by Boss Sun, and Jiang Yunyi through Ji Chuanze, it was only a description.

They had not yet seen the person in the flesh, so they had both tacitly blocked their faces, trying to create an information gap.

If one of them had blocked their face and the other hadn’t, the one who blocked their face would have the advantage, having not revealed their true face while knowing the other’s.

Even if the one who didn’t block their face wanted the other to take off their mask, they would likely be deflected with a deft touch, making them seem one step behind. The harm wasn’t great, but the humiliation was quite strong.

Jiang Yunyi spoke first.

His gentle voice came from the speaker, slowly saying, “Leader of the Apocalypse Society, isn’t this a bit too standoffish of you?”

“Aren’t you also being very standoffish?” Yuan Lan lightly tossed the words back, the orange baring a mouthful of white teeth. “You take off your mask first, and I’ll remove the special effect.”

He proposed that Jiang Yunyi take off his mask first. If Jiang Yunyi did as he said, it would be as if the Dark Organization was obeying the Apocalypse Society’s orders, thus putting them at a disadvantage.

But Jiang Yunyi easily resolved it.

He was heard chuckling and saying, “So the leader of the Apocalypse Society is also afraid of revealing his true face. In that case, to show my sincerity, I will take it off first.”

He portrayed Yuan Lan’s orange-head special effect as a sign of fear of exposure, and beautified his own act of taking off the mask first as an expression of sincerity, preventing the Dark Organization from being one-upped by the Apocalypse Society.

In just one exchange, they had already clashed twice in secret.

Jiang Yunyi took off his white rabbit mask and placed it aside, revealing a handsome and gentle face. He then picked up the gold-rimmed glasses on his desk and put them on. His movements were slow and deliberate, and his temperament was elegant and proper.

Behind the non-prescription lenses, those dark golden eyes curved slightly, revealing a gentle smile.

With a courteous smile on his face, Jiang Yunyi raised his hand, “Please.”

Mortar removed Yuan Lan’s orange head special effect.

A handsome, white-haired youth appeared in the video feed, wearing a pristine white suit.

The necklace and brooch added a touch of casualness and fashion to his look.

“So the leader of the Apocalypse Society is such a fine-looking man,” Jiang Yunyi smiled.

I don’t know if it was an illusion, but there was a hint of sarcasm in his tone, as if he was saying he thought Yuan Lan was too ugly to be seen.

Yuan Lan returned a similarly gentle smile, his voice as gentle and lingering as ever, but his words were not so polite, “I heard that the leader of the Dark Organization is an old man? Excuse me, who are you?”

He was just short of saying directly, “Is your status high enough to speak to me?” And he also said that the leader of the Dark Organization was an old man.

He had insulted two people with one sentence.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep