Zuo Li made a pained expression. "Not great."
"After hearing what you said that day, I went back to the base, gathered my people, and came straight here." Thinking of what had happened, Zuo Li couldn’t help but fume. "Who would have thought it would be such a coincidence? Chaoyang Base was half a step ahead of us."
"Ningning, all the intel you gave us checked out. This Barbarian Base really lives up to its name—it’s a gathering place for psychos."
"You have no idea. When we got here, their leader, the Barbarian, was leading a huge crowd in some kind of bonfire party!" The memory made Zuo Li look like she was about to throw up.
Bonfires blazed as a horde of devils danced in a frenzy.
Strips of meat hung from the roasting racks.
It wasn’t pork, lamb, or anything like that. It was the real flesh of the refugees who had drifted here.
Every refugee who sought shelter at the Barbarian Base became a slave.
Slaves who made mistakes were locked in wooden cages, becoming the base’s reserve food supply.
When Zuo Li and her group discovered the secret, almost every one of them threw up until they were dizzy, their entire worldview shattered.
It was so, so disgusting.
They had never known that such worldview-shattering devils could exist in this world.
It was true evil. The people they had seen before, killing each other for a mouthful of food, were nothing compared to these devils in human form. They paled in comparison.
"After Chaoyang Base got involved, they demanded to split all of the Barbarian Base’s supplies and personnel with us."
"For the past few days, Zhou Jiangye—he’s the leader of Chaoyang Base—has been negotiating with us." Zuo Li’s expression soured, as if just thinking about the man gave her a headache.
"The man is incredibly eloquent and extremely patient. A true master of the negotiation table."
"I feel like I’m being boiled alive by his slow-and-steady negotiation tactics. It’s driving me crazy." Zuo Li clenched her fists. "Chaoyang Base has been making all sorts of moves within the Barbarian Base, recruiting the refugees."
"But I think we should respect the refugees from the Barbarian Base and let them choose their own path."
"Whether they choose Chaoyang Base or Golden City Base, they should be allowed to make their own decision."
Xie Ning nodded, not particularly concerned about the allocation of people.
’In the future, as long as Golden City Base builds its reputation, has plenty of supplies, and improves its infrastructure, we won’t have to worry about attracting people.’
Her main focus was on supplies, so she asked Zuo Li, "What’s the plan for the supplies? What’s Chaoyang Base’s position?"
"Oh, they have one. That bastard Zhou Jiangye made an outrageous demand—he wants seventy percent of the supplies. Says it should be distributed based on the proportion of refugees."
"Right now, about seventy percent of the refugees want to join Chaoyang Base."
Xie Ning just said, "Oh." "Chaoyang Base has been recruiting people all over the Barbarian Base. They’re just after the supplies, aren’t they?"
Zuo Li sounded resigned. "Zhou Jiangye claims the original refugees of the Barbarian Base should be the true owners of these supplies. Therefore, whichever base takes in more people should get the lion’s share of the resources."
"Bullshit! They planned this from the start. That was their whole scheme, which is why they kept trying to recruit everyone," Xiao Qi Zi cursed indignantly.
Xie Ning blinked. "In that case, why don’t we just fight them? All this talk is useless compared to settling things with a fight, don’t you think?"
"Great idea, sis." Zuo Li clapped Xie Ning happily on the shoulder. "I was thinking the same thing. If worse comes to worst, we fight!"
’She wasn’t the type to sit around and haggle with people anyway. It was much better to just let loose and have a good fight!’
Chen Xiao glanced helplessly at his own boss, then at Captain Xie, and cleared his throat. "Let’s all just calm down a bit. If our two sides go to war, we’ll both suffer losses in people and resources."
Xie Ning leaned closer to Zuo Li. "I have bombs."
Zuo Li couldn’t help but chuckle. Just as she was about to say things hadn’t gotten that bad, a clamor of shouting and cursing erupted outside the tent.
Xiao Qi Zi threw open the tent flap and ran outside. He exploded with anger. "Teng Hongming! You think you can just march into our territory with this many people? Are you looking for trouble?"
’Captain Xie was right,’ he thought. ’All this talking is useless. If a problem can be solved with force, there’s no point in dragging out negotiations.’
’Besides, these guys from Chaoyang Base just looked so damn punchable.’
"What is it, Teng Hongming? It’s already dark. What are you doing running up the mountain? We’re not saving you any dinner," Zuo Li said as she walked out, her eyes sweeping over the sturdy, dark-skinned man.
’This Teng Hongming,’ she thought, ’may look like a simple, honest farmer with that tan, but his heart is black.’
’He spends all day egging on the refugees in the Barbarian Base to join Chaoyang Base, constantly pulling people aside to brainwash them.’
’He was probably in a pyramid scheme before the apocalypse!’
Seeing Zuo Li and Xiao Qi Zi, Teng Hongming curled his lips into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. "My apologies for the disturbance so late at night, Captain Zuo. A small matter came up on my side, and I had no choice but to come."
"What kind of matter requires the Vice Base Chief to make such a fuss and bring so many people?"
Teng Hongming sneered. "What matter? Are you saying you don’t know, Captain Zuo? Don’t play dumb. It would be best if you just hand the person over."
"Zuo Li!" Zhang Biyun shrieked, taking a step forward. "Hand over Xie Ning! I know she’s hiding in there!"
Zuo Li glanced at Zhang Biyun and raised an eyebrow.
"Vice Base Chief, are you feeling alright? Who exactly am I supposed to hand over to you?" Zuo Li took a step forward and scoffed. "If the Vice Base Chief comes here late at night with this many people, I just might have to interpret it as a deliberate provocation—a declaration of war on my Golden City Base, you know."
Zhang Biyun shrieked in fury, "Xie Ning, get the fuck out here! Xie Ning!"
Teng Hongming glanced at the wildly gesticulating woman, then pushed her behind him with a look of displeasure. "Bi Yun, don’t be so impulsive. If you have something to say, explain it properly to Captain Zuo. After all, we didn’t really come here to start a fight."
"Zuo Li," Zhang Biyun turned her head to glare at Zuo Li and said angrily, "Xie Ning is the enemy who killed my father and brother. Hand her over to me, and we can consider this matter settled."
"That’s right, Captain Zuo. We didn’t come here looking for a fight," a disarmingly simple smile spread across Teng Hongming’s swarthy face. "We just came to ask for a person."
Xie Ning emerged from the tent, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her down jacket. She slowly walked to Zuo Li’s side and looked at Teng Hongming.
"You want me? You and what army?"
Teng Hongming narrowed his eyes, sizing her up as if trying to figure her out.
But unexpectedly, Xie Ning pulled a small hand from her pocket and immediately unleashed her ultimate move on them...
A grenade flew through the air, landing right at the feet of Teng Hongming and his men. Panic washed over their faces as they scrambled backward. One man even tumbled to the ground, rolling right into a pile of dirt.
The expected explosion never came. Instead, Xie Ning clutched her stomach and roared with laughter.
"Vice Base Chief Teng, your men are hilarious! A single toy was enough to scare you all witless! Haha."
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