Chapter 289: Negotiation Requires Strength

Chapter 289: Negotiation Requires Strength

The conflict came quickly but disappeared just as fast.

A group of hot-headed villagers attempted to attack the special forces team, hoping to seize their weapons and resist. But what could they use to fight against well-trained soldiers?

They were quickly captured, and three of the ringleaders were publicly executed on the spot. Seeing the heads of those three burst open, with blood and brain matter spilling onto the snow, steaming from the heat, brought the villagers of Xu Family Town back to their senses.

They realized they were no match for West Hill Base. The idealized image they had of the organization was shattered. Many regretted the warm welcome they had given these people, with some even cursing Xu Dongtang and the other leaders. But they also knew that refusing to welcome the special forces would not have led to a different outcome.

No, it wouldn’t have.

Ling Feng didn’t mind firing a few extra shots. Teaching them the rules with bloodshed would only make things clearer.

Life returned to its routine, but every villager in Xu Family Town lived under a cloud of fear. They continued digging tunnels, knowing they might suffocate deep underground at any moment. If they refused to work, the overseers from the special forces would beat them to death on the spot.

After executing the prisoners, Ling Feng had made their relationship clear. There was no longer any pretense; they openly used force to dominate the town.

Ten days passed in a flash. Thirty-two people from Xu Family Town had died, and the number continued to rise. The tunnel had reached a depth of about 500 meters. The shifts grew shorter—just digging for a few minutes required coming up for air.

“At this rate, will we be able to dig 1,500 meters?” Liang Yue asked Ling Feng.

“With the villagers' remaining strength, crawling 1,500 meters will leave them exhausted, let alone continuing to dig,” Ling Feng replied coldly. “But we have no choice. Without modern tools, this is the only way.”

“Since we’ve chosen to sacrifice, we have to see it through.”

“When the time comes, I’ll deal with Zhang Yi for them. That should count as revenge.”

Liang Yue felt speechless at Ling Feng’s twisted logic. Right now, the villagers likely hated Ling Feng far more than they hated Zhang Yi. People really have no self-awareness, Liang Yue thought.

Each meter of progress would now be paid for in lives.

---

In the shelter, Zhang Yi was keeping up with the outside situation through his conversations with Liang Yue. Liang Yue’s mental state had also become more composed, having witnessed death daily and listened to Ling Feng’s twisted rationalizations. Nothing could shake her anymore.

“At the current pace, it’ll take at least half a month to reach the designated spot,” she said. “But by then, hundreds more villagers will have died.”

“Zhang Yi, aren’t you going to act? Be careful you don’t let things get out of control. It’ll be hard to clean up the mess later.”

Zhang Yi smiled faintly. “I have a plan, don’t worry.” Searᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“No matter what I do, I’ll keep my promise to you. As for the rest, you don’t need to concern yourself.”

In other words, you’re meddling too much, Zhang Yi thought. We’re just partners, not anything more. You have no right to tell me what to do.

Liang Yue frowned slightly. “I was just trying to help.”

“Yes, and I appreciate that,” Zhang Yi replied indifferently. “By the way, I’ve noticed fewer attacks on the shelter lately. Apart from a few Superhumans like you, where did the others go? Are they on some other mission?”

“No, most of them are on standby in Xu Family Town,” Liang Yue answered. “They can’t really do much to help. The only thing they’re doing is ‘maintaining order’ in the town.” She couldn’t help but laugh at her own words. “Maintaining order? More like keeping the villagers in check, ready to suppress any riots.”

Zhang Yi nodded slowly. “Oh~~ I see.”

After ending the conversation, Zhang Yi had a plan forming in his mind. It was time to act after all this waiting. Surely by now, Ling Feng and the others had let their guard down a bit, thinking Zhang Yi would stay holed up in the shelter without doing anything.

“It’s time to give them a little surprise,” Zhang Yi said with a sly smile.

---

In Xu Family Town, Ling Feng was inside a house, eating heartily while discussing their next steps with Shi Dayong and a few others. The large table in front of them was piled high with food, enough to form a small mountain. And this was just for the five of them.

Ling Feng, Shi Dayong, Zheng Xuerong, Shen Hong, and Yu Lang were all Superhumans, and their appetites far exceeded those of ordinary people. Since much of their power came from the energy in food, they consumed more than ten times what a regular villager would eat.

This left the villagers in Xu Family Town bitter. Watching their hard-earned food being wasted like this was like a knife to their hearts. At this rate, their stores of food would be gone in a few months.



Xu Dongtang arrived at Ling Feng’s residence, hoping to talk about the issue. After the guards announced him, Xu Dongtang walked into the room, his eyes immediately drawn to the piles of food on the table. The amount these five Superhumans ate could easily feed seventy or eighty people.

Ling Feng glanced at Xu Dongtang and greeted him warmly. “Old Xu! Come on over, have a bite with us.”

Xu Dongtang quickly waved his hand. “No, no, I’ve already eaten.”

“Ah, don’t be shy. Come, sit with us!” Ling Feng insisted, forgetting that he was a guest in this town and Xu Dongtang was the host.

Reluctantly, Xu Dongtang sat down next to Ling Feng.

“Old Xu, you’ve been working hard lately,” Ling Feng said sincerely. “I know you’re under a lot of pressure. But hey, that’s what being the town leader is about. With great power comes great responsibility. So keep up the good work, alright?”

Xu Dongtang smiled awkwardly and nodded.

After exchanging pleasantries, Xu Dongtang got to the point. “Captain Ling, how much longer until you can take down Zhang Yi’s shelter?”

At his question, everyone turned to look at him.

Shi Dayong grumbled, “What, you don’t want us here anymore?”

Ling Feng immediately shot him a glare. “Shi, what are you talking about? Old Xu isn’t like that.”

“We’re here to help, after all. Isn’t that right, Old Xu?” Ling Feng said with a smile.

“Yes, of course, I didn’t mean that,” Xu Dongtang quickly responded. “It’s just that, recently, we’ve lost a lot of people, and the food situation...”

He was about to say that they were eating their food, living in their houses, and sending their people to die, hoping Ling Feng and his group would leave soon. But before he could finish, Ling Feng interrupted him.

“Oh, speaking of food, let me tell you something!” Ling Feng picked up a grilled fish. “We’ve been eating fish for almost a week now. It’s well-cooked, but eating the same thing every day gets boring.”

“We’re soldiers. We need proper food! You should bring us more red meat.”

Xu Dongtang was dumbfounded. He had come to ask them to cut back on food, but now Ling Feng was demanding better quality?

“Captain Ling, I... I wanted to ask if you could simplify your meals,” Xu Dongtang said. “The villagers rely on the fish from Lu River to survive. With your arrival, most of the fish have gone to feed your soldiers.”

Ling Feng raised an eyebrow. “Oh? So you’re saying you’re running low on food now?”

Xu Dongtang nodded reluctantly. “It’s getting difficult for us.”

Ling Feng put down his fish, paused for a moment, then said, “I understand your situation. Times are tough for everyone.”

Xu Dongtang let out a sigh of relief. “It’s great that you understand, Captain Ling.”

Ling Feng slapped his thigh and said, “Well then, since you’re having such a hard time, we won’t trouble you any longer.”

“I’ll take my team and leave tomorrow. We’ll head back to West Hill Base.”

Xu Dongtang’s eyes widened in surprise. “What, you’re leaving?”

His heart raced with excitement. Sending these people away meant Xu Family Town could finally breathe. Living under the barrel of a gun was a torment.

Ling Feng continued, “But once we leave, you’ll need to be more vigilant.”

“We’ve spent a lot of time here in Xu Family Town, and Zhang Yi knows that. We’ve been attacking his shelter for days, bombing everything around it.”



“With his personality, he won’t just let this slide. While we’re here, we keep him in check. But once we’re gone, who do you think he’ll come after?”

Ling Feng turned to look at Xu Dongtang with a mocking smile. “Old Xu, what do you think?”

A chill ran down Xu Dongtang’s spine. He understood perfectly—if Zhang Yi learned they had helped West Hill Base, Xu Family Town would be the next target for revenge. They had already seen what Zhang Yi was capable of.

Author's Note