Chapter 32: Conspiring with a Tiger

Hmm?

Blood General’s eyebrows immediately shot up. With a wave of his hand, the thugs’ excited shouts ceased instantly. In that moment, everyone’s gaze converged on Chen Chong—displeasure, cruelty, amusement… all kinds of expressions were there.

“A message that will make me feel regret, make me feel sorry… now that is interesting.”

The wind howled, and silence reigned in the ruins. Blood General’s inhuman, blood-red eyes stared coldly at Chen Chong.

“You… I can sense it, you seem to be an Awakener too? It’s a pity you’re so weak. Do you know what you’re saying? I shouldn’t have to tell you, you should understand the consequences of deceiving and toying with me, right?”

“Of course!”

Facing Blood General, this ferocious and cruel Transcendent, Chen Chong met his gaze directly, showing no fear as he smiled.

“I only have one life, how would I dare joke with it? This piece of news is extremely valuable, related to the rise and fall of Gathering Places, and it probably far exceeds your expectations. However, I think this news is best known only to the General for now.”

After speaking, Chen Chong swept his gaze intentionally or unintentionally over the bald Tie Shan and the surrounding thugs.

“Related to the rise and fall of Gathering Places?”

Chen Chong’s manner had undoubtedly piqued Blood General’s strong interest. He was silent for a moment, then smiled broadly and stood up.

“Very well, your scare-mongering has successfully aroused my interest. But if the news you tell me fails to satisfy me, I will let you witness what true terror is! Follow me!”

The surrounding circle of thugs parted, exchanging glances. Chen Chong smiled faintly, walked out of the crowd, and passed under Tie Shan’s vicious gaze to follow behind Blood General to another corner of the ruins.

At this moment, Chen Chong was only two or three meters away from Blood General. Under the moonlight, he could see this notoriously ruthless man’s gloomy, pale features, his demonic blood-red eyes, and his tall, lean frame that seemed to contain extremely dangerous power .

Blood General stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze upon Chen Chong full of amusement. “Speak.”

Truthfully, he simply couldn’t figure out where Chen Chong’s confidence came from. In his view, a Scavenger like Chen Chong usually offered precious information that was nothing more than the location of a Spiritual Plant patch or some unexplored city ruins. Yet Chen Chong had made such a boastful claim about the rise and fall of Gathering Places, which indeed sparked his curiosity.

“About sixty or seventy kilometers from here, there’s a river valley. Inside that river valley, an Experimental Base is hidden.”

Chen Chong wasted no words, getting right to the point. He pulled out the map he had obtained from the base and handed it to Blood General.

“This base is full of white people, no one knows where they came from.”

Base? White people?

This news made Blood General’s eyebrows shoot up sharply. He took the map from Chen Chong’s hand and unfolded it directly, examining it by the faint moonlight. The dim light didn’t seem to affect his vision. At the same time, he said,

“How did white people appear here? Tell me everything you know!”

Chen Chong sneered inwardly, but outwardly, he swiftly poured out everything about the human potential research, the whole story of their prisoner escape, the internal situation of the base, personnel configuration, and more, without holding anything back.

When dealing with a brutal dictator like Blood General, holding back information to wait for a better price was an utterly foolish act. Moreover, Chen Chong’s purpose in stepping forward was never to trade information in the first place.

As Chen Chong spoke, Blood General’s brows furrowed deeper and deeper, but his pair of blood-red eyes flickered with excitement like ghostly flames.

A base situated underground, powered by an underground river… abundant water sources, various precise and well-maintained electronic equipment… a large team of researchers conducting life experiments, over thirty guards, and a twenty-man, fully armed, tactical squad equipped with standard firearms… the base supervisor, Diris, a suspected Transcendent…

His initial indifference had been replaced by excitement. Blood General licked his lips, a strong bloodthirsty look appearing in his eyes.

Clearly, this mysterious underground base had likely been established before the Cataclysm. It was only because it was located underground that it hadn’t been affected by the disaster. Although it was unclear why a group of white people had occupied it, there was no doubt that this base, in the current wasteland world, was like a massive treasure trove! Especially for a Gathering Place leader like him!

“Very good, very good…”

Under the moonlight, Blood General’s gloomy face could not conceal his excitement. He turned his head towards Chen Chong and said hoarsely,

“So, you’re saying that currently, only you and these few Scavengers know about this base?”

Chen Chong met Blood General’s gaze, which had suddenly filled with danger. He keenly sensed something and chuckled coldly.

“General is thinking of silencing me to keep the secret? Trust me, it’s meaningless. Because the escaped prisoners are not just me. Those few prisoners from Dawn Gathering Place have much richer survival experience in the Wilderness than I do. If I could make it out alive, they certainly can too. I imagine Dawn Gathering Place will learn of this base’s existence very soon!”

The prisoners from Dawn Gathering Place Chen Chong referred to were naturally Lin Kun and his group. Although they weren’t Awakeners, they had roamed the Wilderness for years, and their survival experience was undoubtedly far greater than his own. Besides, Lin Kun had seen the map several times. The prisoners from other Gathering Places would certainly follow Lin Kun and head together to the nearest Dawn Gathering Place.

And the reason Chen Chong said this was precisely to preemptively dispel Blood General’s intention to kill him to silence him.

He never expected that Chen Chong would instantly see through his thoughts. Blood General’s eyes immediately narrowed. His venomous, snake-like gaze swept back and forth over Chen Chong’s face, his mind unreadable.

“General, I actually think that Dawn Gathering Place knowing about this base might not be a bad thing.”

Chen Chong seemed utterly unconcerned by Blood General’s earlier, hidden killing intent, and spoke confidently.

“This base is a truly scalding hot nail. Over thirty guards, plus a twenty-man tactical squad with standard firearms, and on top of that, a base supervisor who is a suspected Transcendent. Any Gathering Place that tries to swallow it alone will pay a heavy price. What does General think?”

Blood General’s gaze flickered as he calculated in his mind.

It was indeed as Chen Chong said. This mysterious white base, though small in scale, was extremely elite and tough. His established Crimson Territory had a total population of only about two thousand. Removing the elderly, weak, sick, disabled, and slave laborers, his truly combat-capable subordinates definitely numbered no more than two hundred.

But even if he wanted to take this base, he absolutely couldn’t sortie with his entire force. Such a large target traveling long distances through the Wilderness would probably attract endless waves of Radiation Species. Before they even reached the base, a large number of his men would die on the road, severely depleting his forces.

But if he only brought a portion of his most elite thugs, there was another problem. With the base’s defense force approaching that of a regular army, most of his thugs, who carried home-made firearms, probably couldn’t do anything to them. Add in the suspected Transcendent base supervisor, and trying to swallow this base was undoubtedly a fool’s dream!

Having figured this out in an instant, and savoring Chen Chong’s words, the corner of Blood General’s mouth curled up. “You mean, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind?”

“Exactly!”

Chen Chong nodded and said decisively.

“Once Dawn Gathering Place gets this news, nine times out of ten, they’ll be tempted too! And given the scale of that Gathering Place, they have enough power to take this base over. But they themselves will probably also pay no small price! Even more importantly, I separated from the other escapees, and they’ll assume I died out in the Wilderness. As long as you control Qiao Jun and the others, Dawn Gathering Place will never imagine that General also knows about the base’s existence. As long as General keeps a constant watch on Dawn Gathering Place’s movements, with me as a guide who knows the base’s details, you can devise strategies from afar and become the ultimate winner among the three! As for how to accurately grasp Dawn Gathering Place’s movements…”

Blood General’s blood-red eyes flickered intensely, seemingly greatly tempted by Chen Chong’s words. He said, “Continue.”

“It seems General wants to test me.”

Chen Chong smiled and glanced back behind him.

“The best way to grasp Dawn Gathering Place’s movements is naturally to let Qiao Jun return. I see that he seems to be a man of loyalty and feeling. General’s Bloodline Gu control isn’t completely foolproof for someone like him. I think it would be best to spare the lives of his teammates, giving Qiao Jun a sliver of hope, which also makes control easier for you. With the carrot and the stick, Qiao Jun will naturally serve General with all his heart.”

Blood General’s eyes lit up brilliantly, and he suddenly burst into loud laughter.

“Good, good, good! You are very good! It seems my greatest harvest today is you! Boy, you have great potential, what is your name? What do you want? You have fully proven your value. For people of value, I am absolutely not stingy!”

“My name is Chen Chong.”

Chen Chong’s face held a neither humble nor arrogant expression, but deep within his eyes was ultimate, icy coldness.

“I am honored to join General’s Territory. The world is dangerous; I don’t dare to ask for too much. I just hope to live on, well enough.”

“Just live on well enough? Very simple!”

Blood General’s eyes showed appreciation, seeming very satisfied with the attitude Chen Chong displayed. With a grand wave of his hand, he declared,

“As a reward for you, from today onwards, in my Territory, I grant you the material rations of a squad captain! No contribution required! Furthermore, I give you the right to freely choose your work within the Territory. No more hard labor, no more daily fear and dread, no more fighting with your life on the line!”

This! This was exactly what he wanted!

In achieving his own goal, he had also managed to save the lives of those few Scavengers. Chen Chong sneered coldly in his heart.