"Since we're all operating within this area, let's not be too absolute. After all, it's always good to leave room for maneuver, so we can meet again in the future," Gao Duowei said coldly to Si Cheng with a tense expression, his tone carrying a hint of threat.
Si Cheng said, "Anyway, we can't meet your demands. As for whether we can meet again in the future, we can discuss that later."
Ning Zhiyuan stepped forward and stood in front of Gao Duowei. "My brother here is a bit blunt. I just don't know where we got these weapons from. If possible, we can order them from them ourselves."
Seeing him back down like that, Gao Duowei immediately objected, "I'm going to take what he has today, whether he wants to or not."
After saying that, he waved his hand to signal, and at that moment a row of gun barrels on the city wall were pointed at them. Even the refugees who had been making a ruckus fell silent, and the whole scene suddenly became tense.
Captain Xiao ran over at this moment, "This is all a misunderstanding. We can clear things up. There's no need to make such a fuss."
Yun Jianying said in a very aggressive tone, "Captain Xiao, we've entered a tiger's den. They see us as a big piece of fat meat and want to take a bite out of us."
Captain Xiao frowned and looked at him. "Could you explain it more clearly?"
Wu Tianxiang: "They want our weapons and want us to hand them over. Captain Xiao, what do you think? What do you think we should do?"
Captain Xiao looked at Gao Duowei and the others in surprise. "Impossible. There must be a misunderstanding. Let's sit down and talk it over. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, everything will be fine."
Si Cheng said, "This is no misunderstanding. Didn't you see all those gun barrels pointed at us? Without prior preparation, we wouldn't be so coordinated."
Captain Xiao didn't expect Si Cheng to be so straightforward in speaking out, leaving absolutely no room for maneuver.
But he quickly made a choice in his mind and said to Gao Duowei, "No matter what, we are all neighbors. I believe that Leader Gao does not want to be an enemy of our base!"
Gao Duowei said, "They seem to be just some villagers from your base, and they don't have much to do with the base. This is between me and them, so it's better if Captain Xiao doesn't get involved."
Captain Xiao's tone became somewhat firm, "You can't say that. We all come from the same base, and Pinghe Village only came here at the invitation of our base. Their affairs are naturally the base's affairs."
Gao Duowei scoffed, "You think you can take all the blame? You think we'll be afraid of you just because you bring out a base?"
Si Cheng said, "Even without the base's intervention, we are not to be trifled with."
As soon as these words were spoken, all the people of Pinghe Village revealed their spare weapons, and a row of gun barrels simultaneously aimed at Gao Duowei and the people on the wall.
Yun Qi pointed his pistol at Gao Duowei and said, "Want to test if our marksmanship is as accurate as our archery?"
Sweat immediately beaded on Gao Duowei's forehead. "How do you have so many guns?"
Si Cheng said, "We are all used to using crossbows. If you hadn't reminded us just now, we would have almost forgotten about them. But don't worry, our bullets are quite accurate and we won't waste them easily."
Gao Duowei was really anxious now. He had brought his men to negotiate, intending to intimidate them and make them hand over the items. He never expected that he would end up in a crisis.
Ning Zhiyuan said, "It really is a misunderstanding. We just wanted to exchange bows and arrows with you. Everyone, please put down what you have and sit down to talk properly. There's no need to make things so tense."
Wu Tianxiang: "Why didn't you say this before? Anyway, you all think that whoever has the bigger fist has the final say. Why don't we give it a try? Let's see who has the faster and more accurate marksmanship. We can discuss terms after the results are in."
Ning Zhiyuan turned to look at Captain Xiao, "Captain Xiao, we really didn't mean any harm. If we had other ideas, we wouldn't have let you rest here yesterday. Could you help mediate?"
Captain Xiao was now even more firmly on the side. "I wanted both sides to sit down and talk things over before, but what did you say? Did you really think our base was easy to bully? Don't forget, our entire team isn't going to be trifled with either."
Gao Duowei realized that this stalemate couldn't continue, so he had no choice but to back down, "We don't want this weapon anymore, you can leave!"
Yun Jianying said, "Are we that easy to get rid of? You think we'll just leave when you tell us to? This whole morning has given me a fright, and my heart isn't feeling right. Other brothers are experiencing similar issues. What if there are long-term consequences? Tell me how we're going to handle this?"
Gao Duowei said, "Don't go too far, at worst..."
Before Gao Duowei could finish speaking, Ning Zhiyuan stopped him, saying, "We were in the wrong first. What do you think we should do?"
Upon hearing this, Gao Duowei immediately objected, "Ning Zhiyuan, what business is this of yours? Get out of here."
Ning Zhiyuan leaned closer to him and whispered, "Let's get rid of these plagues first. Otherwise, if we keep going like this, we might not come out on top. Besides, I saw that they have other weapons. We're staying here for a long time, so there's no need to fight them to the death."
The other weapons Ning Zhiyuan mentioned were actually personal items that Yun Qi had secretly taken out of his spatial storage and shaken around, with the aim of creating a deterrent effect.
Gao Duowei looked around suspiciously, but found nothing, so he looked at Ning Zhiyuan with some doubt.
Ning Zhiyuan nodded affirmatively to him and confirmed it with him again.
Gao Duowei was unsure whether the other party had any other lethality when so many handguns suddenly appeared, so he could only lower his head and accept Ning Zhiyuan's decision.
“There are so many of us here, and we’ve been through so much, we must be worried about not having enough to eat along the way. We don’t need much, just give each of us a pound of salt.” Yun Jianying, having received a hint from his companion, laid out his conditions.
Upon hearing his condition, Gao Duowei curled his lip in disdain.
"One pound of salt per person, right? No problem, we'll go in and get it for you in a bit." Ning Zhiyuan hadn't expected the other party to be so gentle; they could easily afford a few dozen pounds of salt.
Yun Jianying clapped his hands happily, "Brother, you're so generous! Quickly, everyone thank them!"
When Yun Jianying said the last sentence, he shouted it loudly to everyone.
Ning Zhiyuan was stunned. Wasn't the compensation only for Pinghe Village? How come his statement meant it applied to everyone?
Ning Zhiyuan quickly stopped Yun Jianying, "Isn't there a mistake? This is just a conflict between us, there's no way we could compensate so many people?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com