Upon hearing this, Lu Chen glanced at Lu Jin'an, who was sitting at the very end of the meeting, remaining silent and acting as if she were invisible.

Lu Jin'an remained expressionless, as if the content of their conversation had absolutely nothing to do with him.

It must be said that Qi Hongshen's arrangement is indeed the best way for the base to minimize casualties and complete the mission.

Lu Chen didn't refuse immediately, but instead said tactfully:

"Because of the special nature of the Dragon Flame Special Forces, I don't yet have the authority to dispatch them. However, I will also report your request to my superiors."

At the same time, you need to submit a detailed plan for this mission.

Lu Chen's tone gradually softened, and Qi Hongshen understood what he meant.

The higher-ups spent a lot of money, time, and effort to acquire such an invincible team that can take on a hundred enemies single-handedly.

Their task assignments cannot be taken lightly.

Qi Hongshen readily agreed. Since the topic was raised, there was still room for negotiation and compromise.

"Okay, I will draft the plan as soon as possible."

The meeting continued, but Lu Chen was pondering the more urgent and important matters at hand.

Now that the Fu family's affairs are settled, it's time to have a frank talk with Li Xin'er.

When the meeting ended, Lu Chen immediately contacted Lu Zheng at the Xinghuo Base.

Lu Chen informed them of the current situation at the S City base and the troubles such as the drug crisis. After some discussion, Lu Zheng agreed to let Lu Chen, as a high-level representative, conduct initial contact with Li Xin'er.

That evening, Li Xin'er was invited by Lu Chen to dinner again.

As the safe zone expanded, some hotels and restaurants were also cleared out. This time, the place to eat was not the previous office building, but a high-end restaurant.

When Li Xin'er arrived, there was a soldier with a gun standing guard every few meters on the street where the restaurant was located, and there were also six people waiting at the door.

One of the young men stepped forward respectfully to open the car door and nodded slightly, saying:

"Miss Xin'er, Mr. Lu is waiting for you in the private room. Please come in."

Li Xin'er recognized this person; he had appeared with Lu Jin'an before.

After getting out of the car, she glanced around the restaurant and spotted several familiar figures, all of whom were Long Yan's men.

It seems that Long Yan has been assigned to be Lu Chen's personal bodyguard today.

Li Xin'er stepped inside. If you ignored the bloodstains and burn marks on the other streets that no one had time to clean up, and the faint stench of decay in the air, it really was no different from before the apocalypse.

Although the restaurant can't compare to a luxury five-star hotel, the decor is still quite nice. It has two floors, with private rooms upstairs and a lobby downstairs.

Upon reaching the second floor, Lu Jin'an was not wearing his usual combat uniform this time, but rather a white casual shirt with the cuffs slightly rolled up, revealing his muscular, wheat-colored forearms, paired with dark blue trousers.

He stood at the door of the private room with two team members dressed in black suits. When he saw Li Xin'er approaching, Lu Jin'an took two steps forward and extended his hand to greet her.

"Good evening, Ms. Li."

Today, Li Xin'er wore a beige cheongsam with a subtle floral pattern. The high collar and sleeves were trimmed with white rabbit fur, giving her a more dignified and gentle air compared to her previous sexy and mysterious look.

She reached out and gently touched her fingertips with her slender hand adorned with a jade bracelet, offering a perfunctory gesture, and then slightly curved her lips into a smile.

"It's nice to see you again, Captain Lu."

He then glanced at the young man leading the way, and then looked at Lu Jin'an meaningfully, saying:

"It's just a meal, but Captain Lu has quite a few hidden agendas."

After saying that, his smile vanished faster than a change of expression, and he stepped straight past Lu Jin'an into the private room.

His teammates all knew to call her Miss Xin'er, but Lu Jin'an deliberately tested her by calling her Miss Li.

Lu Jin'an suffered a complete defeat in his first battle. Standing there, watching her departing figure, his pupils contracted slightly.

His third uncle had warned him not to act rashly, that he was no match for Li Xin'er, but he hadn't believed him...

The two team members standing on either side of the door, seeing their captain lose, both looked away, pretending they hadn't seen anything.

Lu Jin'an looked down at his fingertips, his eyes flickering, his pupils deep and unfathomable, like a cold, dark pool.

Then, pretending nothing had happened, he went up and closed the door, continuing to stand guard at the entrance.

The luxuriously decorated private room had a large round table that could seat at least twenty people, with more than a dozen dishes on it, still steaming hot, indicating that the timing of the dishes being served was perfect.

The private room felt unusually empty now that only Lu Chen and Li Xin'er were inside.

After Li Xin'er entered, she sat down four seats away from Lu Chen, feigning ignorance:

"Mr. Lu, are you being so formal today because you have good news?"

Lu Chen picked up the bottle of white liquor that had been prepared on the table, and as he unscrewed the cap, a smile appeared on his face.

"As you wish."

Li Xin'er wasn't about to fall for his trap, and waved her hand dismissively.

"That's not right, it has little to do with me."

To put it bluntly, it's still them who want to deal with the Fu family. She wouldn't pick up on that topic at this time, as if it were something she requested.

Before the game even started, she was already half a point behind – this wasn't like her at all.

Seeing that she didn't respond, Lu Chen skipped the topic and spun the glass dish on the table, moving the poured wine glass to Li Xin'er.

"Haha, yes, yes, come, try this wine? This is Commander Qi's treasured wine, which I managed to get."

Li Xin'er nodded. She would accept any good wine offered; she just really liked it.

He picked up the small white jade wine cup and casually asked, "Base Commander?"

Lu Chen replied, "Yes, he is the current base manager of the S City base."

Qi Hongshen is the top leader of the base, and everyone also calls him the base director.

After a few casual words and a couple of drinks, the two got down to business for the evening.

Lu Chen spoke first: "There is no Fu family in S City now."

He paused for a moment after speaking before continuing:

"I'll be staying in S City for a while longer, and I'd like to take this opportunity to talk to you about our collaboration."

Even if the Fu family's affairs were a thing of the past, Li Xin'er didn't want to bring them up again. Now, when the topic of cooperation came up, she turned her head to look at them and asked a question in return.

"Discussing cooperation is no problem, but since we're talking about cooperation, Mr. Lu, are you representing yourself today? Or the Lu family? Or perhaps the entire nation?"

She definitely needs to find out this beforehand. She has the capability to supply the goods, but she just doesn't want the hassle and would prefer to talk directly with the most authoritative person.

Seeing that she asked directly, Lu Chen didn't beat around the bush anymore.

"Then I'll be frank. Tonight I'm speaking on behalf of the Lu family. We need to have a certain understanding of the cooperation you mentioned before we can move on to a higher level of discussion. I believe Miss Xin'er can understand this."

Li Xin'er understood; this was clearly a case of not acting until she saw the benefits. But it didn't matter; she had plenty of leverage.

He nodded decisively and readily replied, "Sure, no problem."