On Xu Renjie’s side, the situation was tense. Upstairs, A Cheng and Wen Quanxin were both anxious from watching. Several times they wanted to make a move, but remembering Lei Tong’s instructions not to act without Old Xu’s orders, they ultimately held back their thoughts of intervening.

Besides, they really weren’t confident in hitting the target from such a height and distance.

Wen Quanxin only regretted not training seriously during practice sessions; otherwise, if Hu Xiaodong were present, he would definitely be able to deliver a fatal blow at a critical moment.

“Haha, gentlemen, don’t be so tense, it’s just a pack of cigarettes.” As he spoke, Old Xu took out a few sticks and passed them over through the door frame.

Yet, this so-called “fearless” move undoubtedly angered the leader, a man with a cigarette, who immediately waved his hand and knocked the cigarettes Old Xu handed out to the ground, all the while cursing, “Don’t try this sh*t on me!”

Old Xu didn’t mind this. He simply lit a cigarette for himself, took a few deep drags, and then calmly said in a low voice, “Why the fuss? I just explained to your brothers earlier, you came here unannounced and without stating your purpose; how can I not be on guard in times of such chaos?”

“Fine! Since you’re so eager to know our purpose, let me be blunt with you.” Suddenly pulling back the 92-style pistol in his hand, although the two beside him still had their guns pointed at Old Xu, warning both Old Xu and the villa’s survivors against any drastic actions, or Old Xu’s head would be blown off in minutes.

“Looking at your life here, pretty good eh? Living in a western-style house, solar power setup, those earth stoves, your life seems decent. Honestly, when I first saw it, I was a bit envious, y’know. Look at me, leading a bunch of men scrounging for a living outside, always worried about food and drink, life’s tough. So, we have no choice but to come out for supplies. But hey, I’ve mixed in the circles long enough to know reason, I’ve been surviving this apocalypse too. So, my request is simple: prepare a truckload of supplies for me every month, and I’ll let you live peacefully here. Otherwise, heh, I’m reasonable but my impatient brothers under me might not be. If they come with guns to take it by force later, don’t say I didn’t warn ya!”

No doubt, these words were bare threats, saying outright, whether you give or not, you’ll have to.

What to do? Old Xu’s mind spun rapidly, several plans flashed quickly through his mind.

First, directly refuse.

No way, that would only anger the other party, and he and Yue Guishan might directly lose their lives under the enemy’s guns—this plan is not viable.

Second, lure a few into the villa, then look for an opportunity to take them down.

Also not feasible, doing so not only risks failing to annihilate them completely, but even if successful, it would result in significant casualties on our side, and doesn’t guarantee there aren’t others coming for revenge.

So this option was also dismissed by Old Xu.

Third, simply agree with them.

This way, the risk of being wiped out can be avoided, but over time, it would only lead to them indulging more. Today they ask for supplies; tomorrow, they may ask for women. To these greedy folks, there’s nothing they wouldn’t do.

This thought only briefly flashed through Old Xu’s mind.

It seems the only choice now was this fourth option: pretend to stabilize them for now, wait for Old Zhao and the others to return, and decide after discussion.

Fortunately, Old Xu was clever earlier, assuming the role of an aide to the leader, now just utilizing this identity for a buffer.

Old Xu still wore a smiling face, “Oh! So, you all came for this, huh? But, as I said earlier, my boss is sleeping right now; he doesn’t like being disturbed at this hour. If you insist on starting something now, haha, I think neither of us would end well.”

After saying this, Old Xu instinctively lifted his shirt hem, revealing the gun handle inside.

“What I mean is, why don’t you guys head back first? After I report to my boss, we can discuss it further? My boss is also in the circle; I think the supply issue shouldn’t be a big deal. But if you force it, heh, we have over 20 good men here and 7 or 8 guns, not just for show!”

Though Old Xu was bluffing, his calm face didn’t reveal any truth or lies.

At least, from the moment he revealed the gun handle, the man with the cigarette was taken aback.

After weighing things for a moment, the cigarette man waved his gun again, “Don’t bullsh*t me, I don’t give a damn about whatever sh*tty habits your boss has. I’m telling you, I’ve said what needs to be said—half a month’s time, you’d better hurry and prepare the supplies. Otherwise, next time, if he can’t produce a truckload of goods when I come, he he, even if there are 100 of you, I’ll slaughter the lot. Let’s go!”

With this, the cigarette man viciously threw the cigarette butt in his mouth to the ground and beckoned his men to leave with a swinging arm.

Watching the still-fizzling cigarette butt on the ground, Old Xu let out a long sigh of relief.

To be honest, he’s worried the other party might have torn their faces and used force just now.

If that were the case, with just these people and weapons on our side, it’s really hard to say if we’d win. Even if we did, it would likely come at a very painful cost.

Watching the bunch of troublemakers disappear at the end, Old Xu dared not linger, quickly retreating back inside the house.

Upon entering, barely catching his breath, Old Xu rapidly issued several orders.

First, Old Lin, Bi Dahu, closely monitor for any abnormal people and vehicles passing through and report immediately.

Second, Hua Biao, Li Xiaoxin, Shen Lian, quickly transport half the supplies at the base into the vehicle.

Third, Lei Tong, He Jing, Fangfang, Wei Yang, stay in the room connected to the bus on the second floor, ready to evacuate at any time.

Fourth, Wang Zhongyu position the Shepherd Jeep across the villa entrance, as a sniper shield.

Fifth, A Cheng and Wen Quanxin, keep the bow and be ready for battle at any time.

Sixth, no personnel are allowed to leave the villa without permission from now on.

After completing the above deployments, Old Xu felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion all over, he quickly poured hot tea and drank it down, to barely maintain some spirit.

He knew the next few hours would be life-and-death crucial, and now, his most hopeful wish was, undoubtedly, that the outside team could return as soon as possible.

This way, on our side, not only would we be fully staffed for combat, but also could ensure, when evacuating, everyone moves together. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep