Chapter 217: Solving the Mystery
Taotie had always believed that the items he lost in Villa No. 5 had indeed been taken by Han Xue, the “Goddess of Vengeance,” as the rumors on the dark web suggested. So when he saw the list in Fang Xiaocao’s hands, he was naturally shocked.
“Hahaha…”
“The rumors on the dark web were intentionally spread by Tom under my orders. Before the news was released, this list was already in my possession,” Fang Xiaocao said smugly while holding the document.
Hearing this, Taotie was momentarily stunned.
Then he laughed, “As expected of Your Highness! Even I was fooled. I really thought those brats from the Nemesis had taken it.”
Fang Xiaocao secretly rolled her eyes and muttered in her heart, With your brain, getting tricked is pretty normal, isn’t it?
She then raised the document toward Taotie. “So, what exactly is this list?”
Taotie chuckled. “This is a list of talented individuals that Blacklist wanted to recruit—rich tycoons, scientists, and high-ranking officials.”
“When this list was created, we had already sent people to approach them, either openly or secretly, attempting to recruit them.”
“Back then, none of these people were affiliated with Blacklist, so the list wasn’t that important.”
“But after a few years, quite a few of them, whether willingly or by force, have now joined Blacklist.”
Fang Xiaocao blinked in curiosity.
“So what’s the deal with the Zhi family?”
She was eager to know the relationship between the Zhi family and Blacklist.
“The Zhi family members are tough. No matter how much we threatened or enticed them, they refused to join us. In the end, we had to settle for an alternative approach—we infiltrated the Zhi Corporation by planting a large number of Blacklist operatives and external members, aiming to gradually consume the corporation from within.”
“After years of effort, many of our people have successfully entered Zhi Corporation’s management, and some have even climbed to high-level positions. That’s why they helped us in our attempt to assassinate Your Highness.”
Taotie didn’t bother keeping her in suspense and laid everything out plainly.
Fang Xiaocao was stunned.
She silently gave him a thumbs-up. “Impressive. Blacklist truly lives up to its name!”
“If you guys had enough time, I feel like Blacklist could actually hollow out Zhi Corporation completely.”
Taotie nodded indifferently. “It’s a challenging task, but given enough time, stripping the Zhi family of their power and absorbing their entire corporation into Blacklist’s domain is only a matter of time.”
Fang Xiaocao agreed with his statement.
“Has any direct descendant of the Zhi family joined Blacklist?” she asked.
Taotie shook his head. “The Zhi family has its own pride. None of the direct descendants joined Blacklist. Only some branch family members, who covet Zhi Corporation’s wealth and assets, chose to align with us.”
Fang Xiaocao nodded upon hearing this.
“How many people on this list have joined Blacklist?”
Taking the list from her, Taotie carefully examined it, recalling his memories before answering.
“About one-fifth of the people on this list have joined Blacklist. Another one-tenth were assassinated by us.”
“As for the remaining individuals, they didn’t join Blacklist, but not all of them are still alive. Some died due to accidents, while others passed away from illnesses.”
This didn’t surprise Fang Xiaocao. After all, years had passed, and people dying from accidents or sickness was natural. However, what did surprise her was Blacklist’s unexpected restraint. She had assumed that Blacklist would be a group of ruthless killers who would eliminate anyone who dared reject them. After all, that was how they treated her—they had tried to kill her multiple times.
Taotie laughed. “That’s not how we operate. Blacklist has plenty of ways to seize people’s wealth or whatever valuable assets they hold.”
“Killing everyone outright isn’t necessary.”
“If we massacred them all, it would trigger societal unrest and attract too much attention. That wouldn’t be beneficial to us at all.”
Fang Xiaocao thought about it and found his reasoning logical.
After all, the individuals on that list were top elites in their respective industries. If they all got assassinated at once, it would definitely create chaos.
Entire sectors would be thrown into disorder!
Even a fool would realize something was wrong, and it would likely attract investigations from various parties.
That wouldn’t be ideal for Blacklist’s long-term goals.
“Your Highness, the little maid is here!”
Just as Fang Xiaocao was about to ask more questions, Tom walked into the living room, dragging Wan Xiaozhou behind him.
Seeing them arrive, Fang Xiaocao turned her gaze toward the anxious-looking Wan Xiaozhou.
However, Wan Xiaozhou didn’t look at her. Instead, she locked eyes on Taotie with an expression of sheer terror. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably.
“This devil… is with you?”
“You’re Blacklist members?”
Wan Xiaozhou cried out in horror.
For the first time since she had been brought to the villa, she showed signs of resistance.
She struggled violently, trying to break free from Tom’s grip and escape.
She wanted to run. She needed to get away from Taotie.
After all, Taotie was the first person to give her a near-death experience. The suffocating, overwhelming feeling of impending death was still fresh in her mind.
Seeing Wan Xiaozhou’s reaction, Fang Xiaocao frowned slightly and glanced at Taotie and Tom, silently questioning them about what had happened.
Tom and Taotie exchanged a glance and let out helpless chuckles.
Neither of them had expected Taotie to leave such a severe psychological trauma on Wan Xiaozhou. Even after several days, she was still having an intense reaction.
Tom sighed, raised his hand, and delivered a swift karate chop to Wan Xiaozhou’s neck.
She rolled her eyes and instantly fainted.
Fang Xiaocao stared at Tom, waiting for an explanation.
(End of Chapter 217)
