Shen Qing and Song Kaiji's faces immediately darkened. As for Shao Nan, if they said they had treated him as a friend, it would be a bit too naive and flattering. He was the backbone of the military, highly valued and had a promising future. They were just a small team of private psychics with a little money, and they approached the military in the hope of having a backer at the base.
But at least, they can be considered friendly partners? From the first meeting, Shao Nan and his team asked Shen Qing's team to help enter the hospital, and later handed over seeds and taught iron cage tactics. Shen Qing's team did not just wait for the military to protect them, but paid a lot.
But what about the military? Not only did they keep their promise to protect them for these things, they also intervened when the institute wanted to arrest Shen Qing. Shen Qing knew that Shao Nan might not be able to do what he wanted, and he also had his own difficulties. He was just a middle-level person, not a person who had the final say in the military. He had no way to do what the higher-ups told him to do. Between them and the military, it was understandable that Shao Nan chose to listen to the military, but from now on, Shen Qing and the others would not be nice to him, which was also reasonable.
What's more, their new base is still under construction, and they don't want to be discovered by the Hongcheng base so early.
"What do you want to talk about?" Shen Qing asked.
Yu Le felt the chill in the words, shrank his neck and shook his head: "Sister Weiwei and Sister Jiaqian didn't tell anyone, they are waiting for you to come back and make a decision."
The two went upstairs. The entire second floor was an office area. A suite was converted into an office. Qu Weiwei and Chen Jiaqian were chatting together with some bottles and jars, and didn't pay much attention to Shao Nan. Shao Nan sat on the sofa nearby somewhat awkwardly. When he saw Shen Qing and Song Kaiji coming up from a distance, his eyes suddenly lit up.
He came several times to discuss serious matters, but Shen Qing and Song Kaiji were not there, and Chen Jiaqian just lied to him and said that she couldn't make the decision - and she really couldn't make the decision. But the Hongcheng base couldn't wait for anyone, and Shao Nan was extremely anxious.
He quickly stood up and took two steps forward, but when he saw the unfriendly faces of Shen Qing and Song Kaiji, he stopped and said awkwardly, "I've come here several times, and finally I've waited for you."
Shao Nan came here this time to seek cooperation and help. The arrival of the special commissioner from Beijing completely changed the situation of Hongcheng Base. The secret struggle between the military and the government is not only a phenomenon unique to Hongcheng Base, but also the same in other bases including Beijing.
Moreover, for the capital, if the people at the bases below are its own people and can have the final say, support for them will naturally increase.
Previously, the official Hongcheng Base used food to control the military, and this situation was very much to the liking of the higher-ups. Now the military has established its own farm outside Hongcheng Base, and because of exposing the Third Farm, some of the official middle and high-level officials have been killed, and the Third Farm and half of the research institutes are in their hands. Moreover, because the metal cage tactics have gained popularity in front of other bases, now there is a subtle intention to suppress the official, so the Beijing side sent a special envoy here.
They came not only to deliver some supplies and network systems, but also to play a role in the secret fight. At first, they were quite tactful, excluding the military from the discussion and directly issuing orders and notifying the results. Now, the truth is revealed: they can't control food, salt and sugar, medicine and gasoline, some of which they can't be self-sufficient.
The military often goes out on missions and needs a lot of gasoline. They search and rescue survivors in the city, but after bringing them back, they can only live in refugee camps outside the city because they can't afford the entrance fee. As a result, the refugee camps are getting bigger and bigger, and the burden on the base is not small. There are also refugees making trouble from time to time. The military and the authorities have been arguing over this issue for a long time. Now they are directly using this as an excuse to block the military's gasoline, indicating that it has been more than a year since the end of the world, and the probability of there being survivors in the city is very small. The military does not need to send teams deep into the city frequently, but should focus on clearing the zombies near the base to facilitate the expansion of the base and improve the safety around the base.
While the military was searching for survivors, they would also collect supplies from the city, which was an important source of income for them. The loss of gasoline was huge, not to mention the urgent need for salt.
Of course, the authorities did not want to completely break off relations. The security of the Hongcheng base still needed to be guarded and guaranteed by the military. However, those in power always had to prioritize. They hoped that the military could return to the past, mainly assisting, and obeying the arrangements of the authorities in everything.
But the military obviously doesn't want to go back to the past. They have never been tough with the authorities, and have even been tolerant on some issues, because they think it is difficult for humans to survive in the apocalypse, and they should focus on fighting zombies and preserving the fire, rather than fighting among themselves. But now, the military leaders can no longer tolerate it.
"I know you have salt." Although it is unknown where Shen Qing got the channel, whether he exchanged it with the Lan Province base or searched for supplies outside, or whether the rumor is true, Shen Qing can really travel to another dimension.
Because he cared about Qu Weiwei, he had discovered this small base for a long time, but he had concealed it and had not reported it. This base has been running for several months, and has rapidly expanded from a few hundred people to more than 7,000 people. You must know that the Hongcheng base has official and military endorsement. Not counting the refugee camps outside the city, there are only more than 90,000 people registered in the city.
Song Kaiji and his team went to the black market to exchange for gasoline, diesel, generators, solar panels, arms... but never for food and salt. "If you are willing to provide us with salt and sugar, after the deal is done... Chen Jiaqian will be the highest director of the institute. The development direction of the institute and the treatment of Lu Yanghui... are all up to you. And on behalf of the military, I promise you that no one will ever explore your secrets again."
The military originally disapproved of the hunt for Shen Qing. If Shen Qing was originally from this world and really had antibodies to the zombie virus, then using tough measures to require Shen Qing to cooperate with the research was inhumane, but in order to end the apocalypse and save all mankind, they were indeed tempted.
But now it has been proven that Shen Qing does not have any antibodies in his body. Finding him is of no use to the development of vaccines. It is just to explore other secrets in him.
Even if Shen Qing is really from another world, what is the purpose of capturing Shen Qing? What will he do in another world? Is it really just to exchange some supplies?
The military does not approve of this behavior. A hundred years ago, their country was invaded. In fact, if a large number of people poured into another world, even if there was no invasion, but just to survive, who could guarantee that they would not bring a little zombie virus with them? The base's entry inspection was already strict enough, but occasionally people with a very long incubation period would slip through the net. Once... that would undoubtedly drag the other world into hell.
Chen Jiaqian was stunned for a moment. Before coming to this small base, she certainly hoped to become the head of the institute. But now, she suddenly found that she didn't want to leave this small base. Although it was still in the end of the world, the atmosphere of this base was incomparable to that of Hongcheng Base. Everyone was very hard-working and busy, but despite the hard work and busyness, there was no fear of not knowing what would happen next day. Everyone felt at ease after being tired.
She was the same. She was about to wave her hand to refuse, but she heard Shen Qing say: "You are just dreaming too much."
Shao Nan was stunned.
"We were going to kill Lu Yanghui anyway, and we don't need your military's charity. You can see that we now have our own base, and we don't have to go back to Hongcheng Base. The position you offer us is not attractive at all. Salt is so precious in the end times. You want me to provide you with salt without paying anything for Lu Yanghui and a research institute?" Shen Qing shook his head. "Besides, you no longer have any credibility with me. Why should I fall into the same trap twice?"
Before Shao Nan could speak, Shen Qing said, "I can give you salt, but don't mention any cooperation. It's just a pure transaction, one hand for money and the other for goods. The military is not without any bargaining chips, right?"
"As for the Hongcheng base... you want to overthrow the authorities, and we want to kill Lu Yanghui. It's not impossible for us to work together. But that's just each of us taking what we need, so there's no need to talk about cooperation."
Although he looked calm, Shen Qing's palms were sweating. He was not a native of the apocalypse, and did not understand the military's style of doing things. But even if Shen Qing knew that it was the apocalypse, would these military people still retain the style of doing things before the apocalypse?
Who can absolutely guarantee it?
The military came to seek cooperation, and in Shen Qing's eyes it would be best to agree to it, he had no choice. The military had 11,000 soldiers alone, more than half of whom were psychics, and there were also mid- and high-level psychics, who were the main combat force of the Hongcheng base. Now that his small base had been exposed, if the military really turned against them and sent these 11,000 people to attack and directly annex their small base, Shen Qing's more than 7,000 people, half of whom were old, weak, sick and disabled, were no match.
Of course they could hide back in Lantang Village, but they couldn’t take everyone back with them, otherwise the small base they had built with so much effort would be completely destroyed.
For now, he had to agree to the deal, but he had to make good use of Shao Nan's guilt and the resources he had at hand, and try to negotiate conditions that were beneficial to him.
Shao Nan felt a little wary, but still asked, "What do you want to change?"
Shen Qing looked at him: "Arms."
The military was restricted by others in other supplies, but at the beginning of the apocalypse, they had already built their own military factory at the Hongcheng base. Shen Qing and his men had always used supernatural powers as their main attack, supplemented by crossbows, and they did not have enough ammunition, especially bullets. Supernatural powers might be enough to deal with zombies, but not necessarily with people... Now Shen Qing's entire team had a dozen machine guns, six sniper rifles, twenty rifles, fifty pistols, more than two thousand rounds of bullets, and a box of grenades and a box of hand grenades. It looked like a lot, but compared to the more than 7,000 people in the base, it was not enough.
He had thought about taking the Rainbow City Base into his own hands before, but he didn't plan to do it right away. Now it seems that it will not be possible to succeed in at least the next one or two years, as the low-level psychics they have absorbed still need time to grow.
But now the military has presented an opportunity to Shen Qing. He thinks it would be good to take this opportunity to develop his own base, and develop it into a base that is not inferior to the Hongcheng base. "I can provide you with salt and sugar for a long time, and we can also negotiate for food. But you have to provide me with arms of equal value, and promise to have friendly exchanges with my base and not to interfere with each other."
Shao Nan hesitated. He didn't have the authority, and his boss was an old fox who was only willing to give some light cakes. If Chen Jiaqian returned to the institute, Shen Qing and Song Kaiji would return to Hongcheng Base, and then absorb Shen Qing into the military, using promotions and salary increases to lure Shen Qing. They were all family, so why should the materials be divided into yours and mine?
But now Shen Qing is not willing to work for them. If real money is to be given, Shao Nan doesn't know whether his superiors will agree: "This, this I have to go back and communicate with my superiors."
Although he said this, Shen Qing could clearly see from his face that it meant "probably not possible". Shen Qing did not expose him, but just said: "It doesn't matter if it doesn't work, I don't have to build a base here. If we really can't get along, we can kill Lu Yanghui and don't want anyone in this base. We can go to Lan Province, Chicheng, or some place where no one knows I've been -" Shao Nan didn't know that the entrance to his cave was right next to the Hongcheng base.
Shao Nan suddenly shuddered, finally realizing that they didn't have the capital to waste time negotiating with Shen Qing. Now they were short of salt, and it was their military that was being controlled. And there was more than one base in the world, the Hongcheng base. The people in this base - were they Shen Qing's people? No, they were ordinary Chinese people, the people that their military should protect!
Their military had no ability to fight against the government, so they could only let a large number of people live in refugee camps outside the city. Now Shen Qing selected some of them to feed them and give them a place to live. Did their military still want to use these people to check and balance Shen Qing? Shen Qing had no responsibility or obligation to them!
The military does not have the ability to allow all civilians to enter the city without paying an entry fee, but Shen Qing is doing it!
Shao Nan wiped his face and said, "I understand. I will try my best to facilitate this cooperation."
Shen Qing and Song Kaiji rested for a night at the new base. They stayed in a suite at a four-star hotel. Shen Qing had never lived in such a well-decorated house before. It was different from the simple apartments and villas they rented at the Hongcheng base. The big round bed, the big bathtub, the floor-to-ceiling mirror, the colorful atmosphere lights...everything was new! Song Kaiji watched him bouncing on the big round bed, and he also felt the excitement of secretly renting a room, so he moved over hesitantly.
"I miss Sister Quan a little bit." Shen Qing put his arm around Song Kaiji's neck. Looking at the crystal chandelier above his head swaying, "Do you think Shao Nan will agree to my terms?"
Song Kaiji thought for a moment and said, "Maybe. But I definitely won't give it according to the market price. I guess they will just give me a bargain."
Shen Qing and his men had lost trust in the military, and the military had lost trust in them, too. Even if they were the ones who had done something wrong, how could they dare to give so many weapons to someone whose relationship had already broken down? Shen Qing was on guard against the military, and the military was also on guard against Shen Qing, and would never let Shen Qing's strength go beyond their control.
Shen Qing nodded and sighed, "If the cave was not located in a way that could not be moved, I really wouldn't want to stay in Hongcheng and fight with them. I'll just watch them fight each other. If they can't win, they'll know what's good for them."
As he was talking, he suddenly stood up. Song Kaiji was trying to take advantage of him, but he almost pushed her off: "Do you think there's something wrong with the way he looks at Sister Weiwei?"
Song Kaiji showed a hint of coldness on his face: "It's probably impossible, he's just dreaming. Sister Weiwei looks carefree, but she actually holds grudges. You can tell from her attitude towards the third farm." Especially in the context of the end of the world, if you want to win someone's heart, you have to double your sincerity. Shao Nan was completely out of the game after that action.
Besides, what's so good about Qu Weiwei? She's pretty and has high abilities. Isn't it normal for someone to like her? "There are so many people who look at Sister Weiwei with a strange look in their eyes."
Shen Qing lay down again. He didn't know whether he hoped they would be together or not. He just sighed and said, "Love is such a difficult problem."
Song Kaiji was amused by him and pressed him back on the bed: "You should worry more about your own love."
The next morning, Shao Nan came again. He had dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept all night. This time, he was followed by a person with spatial abilities. Shao Nan asked him to bring out some samples for Shen Qing to see: "Our leader has agreed, but this is the first cooperation, so we can only take out these for now." He said a number and the share of salt he wanted. Chen Jiaqian didn't even need to calculate, she knew in an instant that it was about 70% off the market price.
Song Kaiji was right indeed, he was very stingy.
Moreover, these guns are relatively old models. Although they can be used without any problems, I still feel uncomfortable.
Shen Qing said nothing and just agreed.
Shao Nan heaved a sigh of relief. He knew that the price was not right, and he was afraid that Shen Qing would be angry and unwilling to cooperate with them. Now their team only put half the salt in their cooking, and they were very short of salt. Shao Nan didn't know why his leader wanted to do this.
Fortunately, Shen Qing didn't care. They chatted for a while and agreed on a time to start. Shao Nan left, and Shen Qing and Song Kaiji also wanted to take Zhang Sujuan back to Lantang Village.
Zhang Sujuan didn't quite understand where her son was taking her. Qu Weiwei and Tang Wenjie were also curious. Why did they not only run away, but also take their aunt with them? Chen Jiaqian, on the other hand, immediately guessed that Shen Qing had probably found a way to get Song Kaiji and Zhang Sujuan through the cave.
But she turned her head away and never tried to pry into Shen Qing's memory again.
After arriving at this new base, Chen Jiaqian discovered that even though it was a very small base, less than one-tenth of the Hongcheng base, and had everything they needed, their family's living standards had risen sharply. Why did she and her husband work so hard to climb up? Wasn't it just for the sake of their children's food?
But following Shen Qing, she doesn't need to worry about life and death, and can live a good life. It's not that she didn't want to follow Shen Qing before, but Shen Qing didn't give her the opportunity to join the team. Qu Weiwei and Tang Wenjie have always lived such a good life, and Chen Jiaqian is very envious.
It was not until she was captured and tortured by the research institute and refused to betray Shen Qing no matter what that she got the chance to follow Shen Qing.
Chen Jiaqian thought, should she blame Shen Qing for not giving her a chance at the beginning? Their first encounter was not a pleasant one, Shen Qing was quite accurate in judging people, and she did have some thoughts later, secretly reading Shen Qing's memory. Qu Weiwei and Tang Wenjie, those two little idiots, would never do such a thing.
Shen Qing didn't wrong her. She didn't live as well as Qu Weiwei, but she didn't lose out. This is what they call a fool having good fortune, and this is what they call being too clever.
This time, she earned this opportunity by herself. She lost her future in Hongcheng Base and even her whole family was imprisoned. She should cherish the trust she gained. Don't be like Shao Nan. Once the trust is broken, it is difficult to repair.
As long as she follows Shen Qing and is loyal to him, she will have a good life. No matter how much supplies there are in the other world, she doesn't need to go and get them, Shen Qing will deliver them to her himself.
Shen Qing and Song Kaiji brought Zhang Sujuan to the entrance of the cave. Zhang Sujuan was able to see the cave as soon as she arrived, and she poked her head in curiosity: "What is this place? Why did you bring me here? It's so mysterious."
Shen Qing and Song Kaiji pulled her into the cave and told her the truth: "Mom, Qingqing is not from our world. This cave is Qingqing's world. Now we will take you to live there."
Shen Qing took out a set of ancient costume from the space.
Zhang Sujuan was stunned. What did that mean? What the people from the research institute said was actually true? However, because of the research institute's statement, Zhang Sujuan was surprised, but it was limited. But Song Kaiji's next words made her dumbfounded: "Qingqing's world is an ancient world, so you have to change into this set of clothes... They are in a village over there, but we live in a manor on the mountain, a large house, so if you don't want to, you don't have to interact with the villagers too much."
"There are maids and servants at home. In the future, we are also considering letting Weiwei and Wenjie come over, as well as Mother Tang, to keep you company. Now we have Qingqing's mother at home, and..."
Song Kaiji took a deep breath: "In this world, there are actually three genders: men, women and boys. Qingqing is actually a boy. She hasn't come back for a few months. She has been hiding here to give birth to a child, my child." Song Kaiji couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth wildly.
"We have a daughter named Quan Jie'er, your granddaughter. She is very cute! You will be able to see her soon."
Zhang Sujuan was surprised and excited at first, but then became completely stunned.
What the hell? A child? Shen Qingsheng's?
Men, giving birth to children???
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