Chapter 406: X [2]

"The drug cartels are trying to band up together to go against us. They have already formed a temporary alliance—"

"So?"

The question made Michael think for a moment, before he smirked in return.

"Should I kill them all?"

Michael’s lips stretched further as the smirk on his face broadened in real time.

"There’s no need for a senseless slaughter."

Leaning back in his chair, X slightly massaged the back of his neck, as he observed the head placed on the table before him.

Stephen L. Delvic was dead.

The news had already reached every corner of the world, and its spread had caused greater chaos in return.

Stephen wasn’t some random guy, but one of the most dominant major players in the underworld.

His death had triggered a chain of events as the men under Stephen’s control had begun a search for their boss.

They wanted to confirm for themselves if the rumours were indeed valid, and if by chance they were... then it was their duty to avenge their boss.

At least that was the common emotion amongst the higher-ups of the criminal syndicate that Stephen had built across the span of several years.

These men who had pledged their loyalty to Stephen left no stone unturned as they investigated every other syndicate in the world as well as all the cartels to see whether any of them were even remotely connected to their leader’s disappearance.

Though Stephen’s syndicate was mighty, it wasn’t the only one with firepower available at their disposal, and so... within a span of mere days, every criminal network that Stephen’s men had investigated had launched a full-scale war against them.

The governments across the world, seeing this as an opportunity, had begun operations of their own, and decided to wipe out all criminals at once.

"Let Stephen’s dogs bite everyone, and then... leak the location of every cartel out there."

"..."

Michael frowned, as he tried to process the order given to him.

"Let the government eliminate a few of them."

"Though that would give us a fair amount of monopoly over the market, but... wouldn’t it make us the main target for the governments—"

Michael paused, as he raised his brows in realization.

"Humans... they value something after they lose it."

Glancing at Stephen’s head for the last time, X stood up from his chair before walking around the room, which was currently filled with men in black... all of them being the topmost commanders of the forces of D.X.

None of them spoke a word, as they silently listened to the conversation between their boss and the second in command of D.X., waiting for their chance to speak.

X observed each of them for a second longer, before moving onto the next.

His gaze had no threat or intimidation, yet... it was the utter calm in his motion that established his authority in their souls.

"Let the underworld be cornered by the governments and their protectors of justice."

Walking towards a nearby window, X stood in silence, as his ocean blue eyes reflected the city outside.

"Step in at the last moment, and save them from their pathetic demise."

Taking out a cigarette from his pocket, X placed it between his lips, before lighting the ’dessert’ in a single fluid motion.

"Anything else?"

Having said his part, X directed the question at Michael, and it was only after getting the permission to speak that Michael walked forward, closing his distance with the former.

"The lady butcher has initiated a new operation for arresting you."

The sentence made X turn slightly, as he stared into Michael’s eyes, who just shrugged his shoulders in return.

"You said to not kill her, so yeah... the outcome was inevitable. The woman had her eyes on you from the day she took the office."

Silence.

Every man in the room held his breath, as they waited for the response from their boss.

Within D.X. it was only Michael who had the guts to talk to X in such a manner without having his head detached from the body and fed to his own family—

Though Michael was an orphan, so the second part of the punishment couldn’t be applied to him.

"Let her be."

Staring into Michael’s eyes for more than a minute, X finally responded, easing the tense atmosphere in the room—

"Why?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

This time X didn’t look into Michael’s eyes, as he stared at the city before finally turning around.

Removing the cigarette from his mouth, X placed it in the pocket on the left side of Michael’s shirt before tapping his shoulder twice.

"She is one of a kind."

"..."

"I can’t say whether you will get to her, but... she will surely get your head."

The words struck Michael far deeper, as he turned around before blocking the path of his boss.

"She’s just a woman. Do you really think she can kill me? I have the best fucking forces to command—"

"Michael."

A single word was enough to silence Michael, as he took a deep breath before standing motionless at his spot.

"She is a threat to you, not to me. There’s no need to spend efforts on something that doesn’t have the capability to go against me."

"..."

"You are more valuable to me than getting her head in a meaningless war."

Saying the words X moved towards the exit, his steps light, but that in no way diminished his presence.

Michael just stood at his place, his eyes filled with an unspoken emotion.

The rest of the commanders present in the room had varying reactions to the words spoken by their boss.

Some appeared to be touched by his words, while others had apparent jealousy in their minds as Michael’s position in the hierarchy of D.X. seemed to have received another boost.

But amongst everything, no one could deny that the look in their eyes towards their leader was far above some mere respect or loyalty.

In the silence, as everyone had their own thoughts to process, no one noticed the small smirk that had barely lasted for a moment, as X made his way out of the room.

Click.