"What do you mean?" I asked.
Du Xu said helplessly, "Between the two of us, neither of us should treat the other like a fool. I just tricked you into revealing that you want to deal with Zhou Liang and the others, but I also know that you've been trying to trick me from the beginning, right?"
I didn't deny it; I nodded in agreement.
Du Xu said, "It's settled then. Although we don't have much trust between us, at least our goals are aligned."
I stared at him, wondering to myself, "Could this guy be as smart as Pu Weichao? If so, have I already been tricked by him?"
Judging from his behavior just now, that's possible.
If that's really the case, I have to be on guard.
Du Xu continued, "My goal is simple: to break free from Zhou Liang's control."
I asked curiously, "Why do you want to break free from Zhou Liang's control? According to what you said before, since there was an exchange of goods between you two, shouldn't it be an equal relationship?"
Du Xu shook his head and smiled bitterly, saying, "When I first contacted Zhou Liang, I also thought that we had an equal relationship with him. But when they showed up at your door with guns, claiming that they wanted to cooperate with you, what were you thinking?"
I said with a smile, "They want to invade us."
Du Xu nodded slowly, "Yes, that's what I thought too. At that time, every one of them who appeared at the door was carrying a gun, and everyone was fully armed. Although they didn't coerce us during the conversation, Zhou Liang's words were very clear: if we didn't cooperate with them, we would only have one way out—death."
"So I believe that if I hadn't agreed, my team would probably be gone by now. And I also know something else..."
Du Xu didn't continue, clearly wanting me to guess.
I guessed, "Have they already wiped out a team?"
Du Xu nodded solemnly, "Yes, I learned about this by chance. A homeless man appeared near our neighborhood before. I felt sorry for him and let him in at first, but who knew he was indecent and liked to steal, so I kicked him out. I learned about this from him."
I was stunned. Wasn't the person Du Xu was talking about Yang Jian?
“Back then, this guy’s team was wiped out by Zhou Liang because they refused to cooperate. He was lucky enough to escape, but now I think he’s gone mad,” Du Xu said. “I reckon he’s still wandering around.”
I nodded, but didn't finish telling him about my encounter with Yang Jian.
Du Xu continued, "I've thought about it, and besides my team, Zhou Liang must have also sent people to contact other teams in Wutong City. The other survivors must have accepted his cooperation proposal. However, there's a high school in the north that's been resisting the city government. They must have had conflicts before Zhou Liang appeared, so Zhou Liang didn't bother to meet with them."
You mean Xu Le?
“Hmm.” Du Xu nodded and continued, “Putting him aside, Zhou Liang’s use of the military resources from the municipal government to cooperate with other survivor teams suggests he has an ulterior motive. At first, I didn’t think much of it and assumed he just wanted more resources, but after thinking about it these past few days, I’ve realized he actually has bigger ambitions.”
"What do you mean?" I asked. I had a general idea about this, but I wasn't sure. If that were the case, then Zhou Liang's ambition was far too great!
Du Xu said, "I think Zhou Liang wants to achieve his goal of ruling the entire Wutong City through cooperation."
really!
I squinted my eyes, and that's what I thought too.
Du Xu said, "If Zhou Liang wanted more resources, he could easily exploit other teams to work for him. With the power he controls, he could definitely do it. But he didn't do that. Instead, he used a cooperative approach to control the other survivors. This way, the survivors won't resist; instead, they'll thank him! I think, as time goes on, he will definitely be able to completely rule Wutong City!"
I raised an eyebrow and said, "So, you don't want to be unified by him, you want to rebel, but you don't have the means to do so. Why don't you think this is a good thing?"
Du Xu smiled. "Good thing?! Let me ask you, do you want to be ruled by others? Of course not, right? Unfortunately, I have no power, and Zhou Liang's people are too powerful. I have no way to resist."
I chuckled and shook my head, saying, "So you want to use my power to rebel?"
Du Xu nodded, "That's right."
I took a deep breath and said, "Why do I feel like our relationship has been reversed? You know, I was the one who kidnapped you before, but now you want to use me!"
Du Xu said, "Actually, I was also desperate. I came out of the neighborhood this time to find other survivor teams so that I could join forces with them to resist, break free from their control, and get away from Wutong City. Well, you just happened to run into me. Since that's the case, why don't I take this opportunity to tie you all to my side?"
"And most importantly, you are Zhou Liang's enemies!"
I was defeated by Du Xu in front of me. Although he was not as good as Pu Weichao, he was still a smart man!
I stared into Du Xu's eyes and said, "I hope you're not lying to me."
Du Xu said, "I was worried that you'd been lying to me all along."
I don't know if what Du Xu said is true or not, after all, this person's attitude changed too quickly!
Previously, we were at loggerheads, facing each other to the death.
But almost in an instant, it was as if we had reached an agreement to cease hostilities, shake hands and make peace, and now we are discussing cooperation.
Keep in mind that this entire process only took ten minutes!
It's truly unbelievable.
Du Xu continued, "I know you're definitely on guard against me right now, and I feel the same way about you. Although we've talked a lot, we haven't touched on the team members at all, which clearly shows that we both have a protective instinct."
I asked, "What are you trying to say?"
Du Xu shook his head. "I didn't mean to explain anything. Since we're going to cooperate, we have to trust each other, right?"
"right."
Du Xu stared into my eyes and said, "Then I hope we can be more open and honest with each other. What do you think?"
I was a little hesitant, so I glanced at Fei Lichao beside me and said, "How do you plan to be open and honest?"
Du Xu said, "I'd like to invite you and your team to sit in my neighborhood for a while, and then we can have a proper discussion about what we need to do tomorrow. What do you think?"
I laughed when I heard that, then shook my head. "Don't you think that's bad for my team?"
Du Xu nodded, "Yes, it's very disadvantageous for you. But this is how I can show my sincerity, don't you think?"
I shook my head. "What if you trick me?"
(End of this chapter)
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