Upon hearing Lu Yuan's words, Xia He couldn't help but smile.

"You're overthinking it. Right now, everyone's too busy with espionage to be involved in anything. I just want you to help us search for those experts and scholars who are stranded outside. In order to preserve more resources in the base and prevent people's development from regressing during post-disaster reconstruction, these scientific and technological talents must be preserved. If you cooperate, our survival base can provide you with some necessary assistance!"

After saying that, Xia He gave Lu Yuan a sly look, her eyes flashing with a knowing glint.

Lu Yuan couldn't help but feel suspicious. He didn't know what the other party was really up to. After all, he had just started to make some progress and was planning to establish his own small base when the other party offered to help him. Could it be that they had already discovered his intentions? The people from Jincheng hadn't returned yet, and not many people knew about this.

"Please explain yourself more clearly, I'm a little confused. What kind of help are you referring to?"

Lu Yuan didn't want to be ambiguous with their words. If they wanted him to cooperate, they had to reveal their hand. Otherwise, Lu Yuan would never cooperate with them. Who knew what they were up to? If he was made a fool of, he would be sold out and still be counting the money for them. That would be too much of a loss.

Xia He smiled gently, then sat back down in her chair and whispered, "For example, I can ask some scholars and experts who aren't exactly top-tier to help you!"

Lu Yuan was shocked after hearing this. This woman was no ordinary person; she had already found out everything about what he was planning to do. However, Lu Yuan couldn't reveal his true intentions directly; he could only pretend to be oblivious.

"What do you mean by that? What do I need those experts and scholars for? I don't need them anymore!" Lu Yuan said this while trying to appear extremely calm. He didn't want this woman to discover his true intentions in his eyes.

"Alright, stop pretending. I know everything about you. Those things in your house, and that chicken, definitely didn't come from a simple source. You must have met some other scholars or experts who gave you these things, which is why you've been able to survive until now. We're just cooperating. You can rest assured, we won't have any designs on your things. If we need them, we'll find someone to retrieve them from you through legitimate means. Don't worry, we're not like those robbers outside. Don't think too badly of people!"

Lu Yuan had to admire the intelligence woman's abilities. She knew him inside and out. She could even anticipate his every thought. It was terrifying. Lu Yuan even had a fleeting thought of leaving, but now that he was in court, leaving would only allow her to continue investigating him.

Thinking of this, Lu Yuan said softly, "Alright, cooperation is fine, but let me make one thing clear first: since we're in a cooperative relationship, then you should stop trying to get information out of me and stop secretly investigating us. I don't want my little secrets to be discovered, do you understand?"

The other party smiled gently and nodded, saying, "No problem. We'll transfer the people around you later. But don't worry, even if our people find out some secrets about you, we won't make them public. Besides, our manpower is limited, and we can't keep an eye on you all the time, unless you do something too outrageous, like murder or other illegal activities. We've heard about those, so don't think too highly of yourself. We only arrest those who are a threat to society. Just do your job properly!"

After leaving his office, Lu Yuan returned to his residence, his mind filled with the words he had just spoken. Now that he was in a cooperative relationship with them, he could openly go to the back and find those experts and scholars who had been scattered in other places.

Fortunately, the other party said that once I found the person I needed to find and provided them with their information and address, I wouldn't have to worry about anything else.

Furthermore, Lu Yuan also learned that besides himself, there were many other people who were cooperating with them. Lu Yuan immediately understood that not everyone of them was so capable as to know everything about the outside world. This was because they had so many informants. If they wanted to know about someone, they only needed to conduct some simple analysis based on the information sent by their informants through their channels to draw a conclusion.

However, these things require specialized personnel to undergo long-term training before they can be completed. Even if Lu Yuan were given a large amount of information of all kinds, he would not be able to distinguish which information is useful, which is useless, which can be analyzed, and other things.

That evening, Gu Tong excitedly knocked on Lu Yuan's door again with a file in hand. When Lu Yuan opened the door and saw that it was Gu Tong, a helpless smile appeared on his face.

"Come in!" Lu Yuan said softly, then sat on his hard bed. Gu Tong was suspicious, but seeing Lu Yuan's smile, she didn't say anything and followed him into the room. Then she quietly took out a document from her pocket and handed it to Lu Yuan.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!