Chapter 208

What the hell is “Xiaoba Jin”? The guy who ruined years of his own hard work is actually a cleaner from the Clearing Bureau in disguise! And it’s that same person who opposed me several times and will eventually bring an end to the Kingdom with his own hands in the future—Leon Lane!

I won’t forgive him! I absolutely won’t forgive him!!!

“Aaaaah! I’ll kill you!!!”

…

Hm? The hatred actually pulled through! Looking at the man whose eyes instantly turned blood red, climbing onto the long table with all fours like some kind of wild beast while roaring towards me, Leon couldn’t help but feel a spark of joy in his eyes. His plan to “keep him here” had unexpectedly succeeded.

Looking at the explanation for [The Door Beyond], which said it was impossible to capture, Leon had almost lost hope of catching the middle-aged version of Joshua.

But as he was about to escape, Leon couldn’t wait for Senior Emma’s support anymore. So, with a blind hope akin to a lucky cat stumbling upon a dead rat, he used the Black Goat’s horns to amplify Joshua’s anger to its maximum.

The result? Either because Leon didn’t prepare to kill him or because Joshua’s brain was completely filled with rage, making him unable to sense danger, the crisis relocation ability of [The Door Beyond] didn’t activate. Instead, Joshua charged toward Leon unarmed.

Perfect! I just learned fighting techniques two days ago!

Seeing Joshua charging recklessly with countless openings all over his body after losing his cool, Leon eagerly let go of the goat horn with his right hand, stepped on the long table, focused, prepared himself fully, swung his arm…

And delivered a clean and powerful slap!

“Slap!”

With a loud sound echoing throughout the conference room, the left cheek of middle-aged Joshua met Leon’s right hand in an incredibly close encounter. His body, which had rushed forward like an arrow, now flew backward even faster, spinning and crashing into the chair on Leon’s left, shattering it.

Even before hitting the ground, Joshua, who got hit hard on his left jaw causing his brain to shake, rolled his eyes back mid-air, lost consciousness along with half his teeth, and fainted without making a sound.

Let me teach you what happens when you shoot me from behind, bastard!

Feeling the familiar sensation of slapping his uncle’s face, Leon finally felt like he completed a puzzle piece. A tingling sensation ran from his spine to the top of his head, giving him a strange sense of comfort throughout his body.

Hmm… Just forgot to use the fighting skills I just learned.

After training with the female police officer for two days, Leon really wanted to try them out in combat. But when Joshua’s face entered range, for some reason, his right hand acted on its own and instinctively slapped him.

It must be due to the weird muscle memory formed from slapping him previously, making his hand move faster than his brain… What a pity.

Although he didn’t get to showcase his newly learned skills, looking at the pile of broken wood where Joshua lay with a rapidly swelling cheek, Leon still smiled satisfactorily.

You know what? After getting slapped by me, the two Joshuas finally look alike… Hmm… His face looks most comfortable when it’s swollen.

…

“What… What the hell is going on?”

Watching Joshua, who was ready to escape one second and then screamed while charging straight ahead the next, only to get slapped down, the group of rebels were utterly baffled by the rapid series of events.

“There’s nothing much. It’s just that the conditions for activating his ability weren’t met.”

After covering his collar to hide the [Holy Spirit Pendant], Leon subtly kicked the nail gun crushed in Joshua’s hand under the table and explained calmly: “Nathan… um… I’ll still call him that! He explained earlier that whenever any danger comes, he would be immediately relocated.

But I didn’t intend to harm him; I just lightly slapped him. Therefore, the anomalous item he uses for survival might not have considered this as real danger, so it didn’t relocate him.”

After briefly explaining why Joshua didn’t escape and putting the ram’s horn that triggered his inner anger back into the mirror, Leon, still waiting for Senior Emma to show up, decided to shift the topic to cover up any potential loopholes:

“Everyone, although there are issues with Nathan’s identity and past bias in commanding us, I still think the information he provided about the Crocodile Kingdom’s sniffers deserves our attention. What do you think?”

Us… How should we know?

Hearing Xiaoba Jin’s question and recalling the terrifying Crocodile Kingdom, the group of rebels hesitated, unsure whether they should speak up.

Regardless of anything else, compared to the old leader “Nathan,” the new leader Xiaoba Jin clearly seems… well… Is he really Xiaoba Jin? But based on the sensible things he says, whether or not he’s Xiaoba Jin doesn’t matter anymore.

We’ve worked hard for so many years, doing quite a bit, but when you think about it, it feels like we’ve accomplished nothing, always working aimlessly. In recent years, we can’t even be sure if what we’re doing is right or wrong.

But today, just sitting on the chair listening to Xiaoba Jin talk for a few minutes feels like suddenly having a street lamp light up during a night walk or a door being forcefully opened in a dark room. Our hearts brightened up, finally knowing which direction to take steps in. This feeling could be described as…

Right! Following him is reliable! Seeing nearly the same meaning in each other’s eyes, the group of rebels finally relaxed their expressions.

Although we don’t know everything else, this new leader is obviously much more reliable than the previous one and clearly smarter.

Our brains aren’t even as good as Nathan’s, let alone Xiaoba Jin’s. We know nothing about the Crocodile Kingdom or their sniffers. On such critical matters, there’s no need to voice opinions. Just following the smart one is enough! …

“I’ll follow your lead!”

The short man with the temporary body control ability spoke first:

“Leader Xiaoba… Leader! I don’t understand anything about the Crocodile Kingdom, but I believe whatever you say is definitely correct! I’ll follow your lead!”

“Right!”

Encouraged by the short man’s words, one after another, voices of agreement followed.

A thin man stood up and said: “I agree! Although attacking the boarding tower is dangerous and may provoke the Crocodile Kingdom, I trust you! Leader, you surely have a way!”

An old lady holding a sleeping little girl nodded slightly.

“I follow the leader’s decision!”

The burn-scarred man flared his nostrils slightly.

“Whatever, I can smell that you’re trustworthy!”

“…”

Seeing the unanimously approved “wonderful situation” before him and hearing the continuous calls of “leader,” Leon’s smile involuntarily stiffened…

Don’t mess around! I wanted you guys to discuss whether to attack the boarding tower and buy some time for Senior Emma to come and catch all of you. When did I say I want to become the leader of your rebellion?

Besides, not to mention my plan to arrest all of you, considering my true identity, I am currently the Duke Lionheart of the old nobility and a prince of the Travelling Thrush Royal Family! I occupy both the nobility and royal positions! Moreover, if counted from the Lane family side, I own hundreds of factories of various sizes and the largest arms company in the kingdom! If you choose me as the leader of the rebellion, it’s like choosing a Jew to be the German Chancellor! “This… Let’s talk about the boarding tower first.”

Unable to explain his true identity and fearing that he might accidentally exceed the “expectations” of the Red-haired Bureau Director, becoming the leader of the rebellion after just one day and eight hours undercover, Leon awkwardly said:

“Everyone, I’m still young and haven’t dealt with too many practical matters. If you really make me the leader, it’s definitely not feasible.

So let’s talk about the boarding tower first. I haven’t done much of this before. If I were to lead the attack on the boarding tower, I wouldn’t even know where to start… Um… Do you have any suggestions?”

“Our leader is being modest.”

Seeing the “Xiaoba Jin” who wasn’t as aggressive as before, refusing the leadership position and handing over partial authority instead, the portly middle-aged man showed satisfaction in his eyes. Standing up, he smiled and said: “Age isn’t an issue. Lack of experience can be made up over time, but foresight is innate! Leader, stop declining. This position suits only you. Also, if you ever need support in terms of experience, Oliver will always be available to answer!”

“I… I have no objections…”

Discussing the boarding tower has been completely forgotten now. Among the remaining seven rebels, the only member of the “former leader faction,” the bald woman, touched her head and sighed: “Although Nathan saved me, …but his true identity is a prince, and he’s been using us as tools all along. I can’t trust him anymore.

Xiaoba Jin… No! Leader! As long as you can lead us forward, I will forever recognize you as my leader!”

“Hmm…”

Seemingly to match the scene, the sweetly sleeping Phoebe twitched slightly and revealed a cute smile in her dream.

“So… Sweet…”

“Sizzle…”

[After meticulous planning, you completely destroyed the rebels’ trust in the original leader and gained unanimous recognition from the seven surviving core members. You have obtained the Silver Hidden Badge “Usurper”]

(End of Chapter)