Mechanic endlessly amassing troops in the apocalypse

Chapter 180 A Plan to Turn the Tide

Using someone else to do the dirty work?

But Zhao Guangli felt a chill run down his spine.

"Brother Fei, you mean—" He glanced back at the four members of the Dawn Squad walking towards them, then turned back, lowering his voice, "those guys want to come with us into the Snake Forest and then deal with us?"

"Whether they want to or not is not important." Li Fei's gaze passed over Zhao Guangli's shoulder and landed on Lu Zheng, who was walking towards them. His eyes narrowed slightly. "What's important is whether the Iron Stone Camp wants to or not."

Zhao Guangli was stunned. Ironstone Camp? What does this have to do with Ironstone Camp?

"Think about it," Li Fei said, putting his hands in his pockets. "What did you just say to those guys from Dawn? You said you were going to the Snake Forest with your friends. They immediately said they wanted to come along. Why? Because they needed a guide, and you were the perfect candidate. Who told them that?"

"It's Wu Qiming," Zhao Guangli blurted out, then his expression changed. "No wonder these people were brought here by Wu Qiming's men. Wu Qiming must have told them that I happened to be in the camp to make some purchases today and asked them to come out and find me."

"Yes." Li Fei nodded. "Did Wu Qiming know that you entered the camp with me?"

Zhao Guangli opened his mouth, then instantly understood.

He and Li Fei had been traveling together since they entered the Ironstone Camp, and along the way they encountered at least a dozen refugees and guards.

Ironstone Camp is Wu Qiming's territory. With so many eyes watching, how could Wu Qiming not know that Zhao Guangli came with Li Fei?

"He definitely knows." Zhao Guangli's voice deepened.

Li Fei nodded and continued, "These people need your help, and I am your friend. If we have a conflict on the way, it will be good for Ironstone Camp regardless of who wins or loses."

"If we win, we'll offend a powerful force. They can inform others and use them to deal with me. If this squad wins, I'll die, and they'll get a New World camp for free. The best part is that Ironstone Camp won't shed a single drop of blood from start to finish."

"So what do we do now?" Zhao Guangli asked.

Li Fei shook his head, then raised his chin and gestured towards the alley entrance.

Lu Zheng had already led Ji Ran, Zhang Rui, and Zhou Yuan to within ten steps.

"Brother Zhao." Lu Zheng walked up, nodded to Zhao Guangli first, then turned his gaze to Li Fei, "This is your friend?"

"My name is Li Fei," Li Fei said, offering his name.

"Nice to meet you." Lu Zheng extended his hand.

Instead of shaking hands, Li Fei asked a question that stunned everyone present: "What did Wu Qiming say to you in the meeting room?"

Lu Zheng's hand froze in mid-air.

Ji Ran raised his head, his gaze under the brim of his hat turning wary.

Zhang Rui's fingers silently rested on the holster.

Zhou Yuan stopped two steps away, not moving, but the surrounding air suddenly became heavier.

"I don't quite understand what you mean." Lu Zheng withdrew his hand, his tone still polite, but with a hint of distance.

"Let me ask you another question." Li Fei stepped forward. "He told you that Zhao Guangli is the best guide in the area, right? And that he happened to be at the camp today to buy some supplies, and that you could find him as soon as you went out, right?"

"Yes."

"Did he tell you that I and Ironstone Camp are mortal enemies?"

A brief silence followed. The old scar at the corner of Lu Zheng's eye twitched slightly, then he shook his head. "No."

Li Fei sneered, "If we had gotten into a fight while rescuing the child, who do you think would have benefited?"

Hearing this, even a fool could understand the meaning behind Li Fei's words.

Lu Zheng frowned. "You mean Wu Qiming deliberately arranged for that child to be there?"

Li Fei shrugged. "I was just guessing. You can judge for yourselves whether it's right or wrong."

Lu Zheng's face finally darkened. He wasn't the type to be easily dumbfounded by someone's bluntness, but he did have a rather uncomfortable feeling right now.

"Brother Li Fei, what are you saying?" Lu Zheng didn't finish his sentence.

"I just wanted you to know," Li Fei interrupted him, his tone calm, "that you need Zhao Guangli to get into the forest. And right now I'm dealing with the Iron Stone Camp."

"Since we're all going into the woods together," Li Fei continued, "let's first figure out whose side you're going to take."

Lu Zheng's expression was not very good. "Brother, although Wu Qiming's actions are excessive and I am indeed very unhappy, this is the apocalypse. Strength is the only basis for speaking. Even if we help you, we cannot solve such a large area as Ironstone Camp."

Li Fei waved his hand, "Don't worry, I don't need you to deal with the Ironstone Camp."

Lu Zheng frowned: "Then what do you need?"

"I need you guys to put on a show." Li Fei glanced at Ji Ran and the other two who were walking towards them, then looked away and lowered his voice, "Not a real fight—just pretend to have an argument with me, the kind that almost escalates to the point of physical violence. Then you guys take Zhao Guangli into the woods first, and I'll follow behind."

Lu Zheng frowned slightly: "Why put on this show?"

"Because the guards from Ironstone Camp are standing at the alley entrance watching us." Li Fei tilted his head, gesturing with his chin to the two guards in the distance who were pretending to repair the fence. "They've been watching us for several minutes. If we chat too amicably, they'll turn around and report to Wu Qiming. If we start arguing, Wu Qiming will think his plan is going smoothly, that we're inside, and that he can rest easy."

Lu Zheng followed his gaze and glanced at the two guards, who were indeed monitoring the area. He then looked away and at Li Fei, asking, "So, what does your plan to deal with the Iron Stone Camp have to do with this play?"

Li Fei shook his head: "You don't need to worry about that. So, are you in or not?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Okay, anyway, it won't be a loss for us."

He then turned to Ji Ran and said, "Ji Ran, since you like causing trouble so much, this job is yours."

Ji Ran raised an eyebrow, a slow smile spreading across his lips, his tone filled with eager anticipation: "No problem, leave it to me!"

At the alley entrance, two guards would occasionally glance in the direction of Li Fei and his group, then quickly look away.

"They're still talking," the tall, thin man said in a low voice. "They've been talking for almost fifteen minutes."

The short, stocky man followed his gaze. Lu Zheng and Li Fei were talking face to face, their voices barely audible, but their expressions were clearly not pleasant.

Ji Ran stood next to the two of them, his baseball cap pulled low, occasionally interjecting with a comment, only to be pulled back by Zhang Rui.

"Who exactly are these people?" the short, stocky man asked in a low voice.

"They're from the Dawn area. They came by once before and swapped some goods with Manager Wu." The tall, thin man scratched his chin. "I don't know the other one. I heard his name is Li Fei. He got into a fight with the people from Li Family Village this morning, almost turning into a brawl."

"Li Fei? Is that the one Han Yan was talking about?"

"Yes, that's him." The tall, thin man tucked a file into his waistband and gestured towards the alleyway with his chin. "Han Yan suffered at his hands. Manager Wu said this guy is not to be trifled with and told us to keep a close eye on him. Look at those people, how long have they been huddled together? What are they talking about?"

The short, stocky man frowned and glanced at them again: "Could they be discussing something? Look at Li Fei's expression, he's been talking to the people from Dawn about something, and that scarred man doesn't look too good either."

"If they really are plotting something—" The tall, thin man straightened up and draped the tattered rag he was holding over the fence, "then we have to report to Manager Wu right away. If something happens and we, the two of us standing closest to it, don't even notice, we'll be the ones getting whipped."

Just as the short, stout man was about to nod, a furious shout suddenly came from the alleyway.

"What makes you think you can make all the decisions by yourself?" Ji Ran took a sudden step forward, her voice so loud that it could be heard throughout the entire alley.

He raised his finger and pointed at Li Fei, his face flushed red under the brim of his hat, looking as if he might rush up and grab Li Fei's collar at any moment.

Li Fei stood opposite him, not backing down: "Zhao Guangli is my friend. He owes me his life. If you want to interfere, you'll have to follow my rules."

"Rules? Your rules are that we follow behind like little shadows, right?" Ji Ran's voice was loud. He turned to face Lu Zheng, spreading his hands with a "See what I told you?" expression. "Instructor, listen to this. He said we should listen to him after we enter the forest. He's alone, and there are four of us. Why should we listen to him?"

Zhang Rui reached out to grab Ji Ran's arm: "Ji Ran, shut up." Ji Ran shook off her hand and continued to yell at Li Fei: "I just want to know, what makes you think you can handle those things in the forest? What if the plan goes wrong?" "Then do as you please, we won't take you," Li Fei coldly interrupted him.

"Enough!" Lu Zheng shouted suddenly, stepping between the two.

He first pressed down on Ji Ran's shoulder and pushed him back a step, then turned to face Li Fei, "Brother Zhao is your man, I agree to let you command him, but—"

He paused, his tone softening as if making a final concession: "When we get to the snake fruit collection point, you need to give us more time so I can arrange for them to collect more to take back."

Li Fei remained silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking, "For Captain Lu's sake..."

Ji Ran was still stubbornly trying to say something when Zhang Rui tugged at her, and she finally let out a reluctant hum.

The group then began packing their equipment.

We walked along the gravel road on the outskirts of the mining area toward the snake forest.

"I thought they were going to fight." The short, stocky guy still had a hint of excitement in his eyes. "That guy in the baseball cap has a really bad temper."

"It would be better if they started fighting. If they started fighting, we wouldn't have to worry about it." The tall, thin man said with a hint of regret.

"That's right. If we can start a conflict here and kill a couple of people, it'll save us a lot of trouble." The short, stocky man nodded in agreement, then put down his tools and said, "Let's go, let's report to the lord."

The two went to the reception room.

Wu Qiming was sitting at the table flipping through an account book.

"Manager Wu," the tall, thin man spoke first, "I have something to report."

Wu Qiming didn't even look up. He turned a page of the ledger and slowly traced a line of numbers with his finger: "Speak."

"It's Li Fei and Shuguang's people." The tall, thin man took half a step forward and lowered his voice. "They bumped into each other at the alley entrance just now, and started arguing after chatting for a short while. The guy named Li Fei wanted Shuguang's people to listen to him, but Shuguang's side wouldn't agree."

A guy wearing a baseball cap almost got into a fight with the guy surnamed Li, but their instructor stopped him.

Wu Qiming's finger stopped on the ledger. He slowly raised his head, his gaze shifting from the ledger: "They started fighting?"

"They didn't really fight," the short, stocky guy quickly added. "The scarred-faced instructor came out to break it up. But neither side looked happy. In the end, they reluctantly left together, and the guy in the baseball cap even spat on the back as he walked out."

The tall, thin man added, "I bet they'll be fighting again on their way into the woods. The only reason they're managing to walk together is because one of Li's men knows the way; otherwise, they would have scattered long ago."

Wu Qiming didn't ask any more questions. He picked up the glass of tea on the table, which had gone cold, took a sip, and then slowly put it down. "It's good that they're arguing. The more they disagree, the better it is for us. You all continue to keep an eye on the entrance to the woods, and report back immediately if anything happens."

"Yes!" the two replied in unison, then turned and left.

Two days later, before the morning mist had even dissipated, the Lijiazhuang campsite was already bustling with activity.

Tie Tou stood at the camp entrance, directing several team members to move supplies to the back of the modified truck.

Boxes of compressed biscuits, canned goods, and bottled water were neatly stacked, covered with a tarpaulin, and tied securely with rope.

"Be careful, everyone!" Iron Head shouted at the top of his lungs. "We're not going hunting today, we're heading to join the main camp! Make sure you have everything you need, so you don't have to turn back to look for something missing halfway there!"

The team members quickened their pace again.

Old Xu stood under the old locust tree at the entrance of the camp, leaning on his cane, squinting at the camp where he had lived for more than half a year.

"Old Xu," Han Yan walked up from behind, adjusting his glasses, "You've lived here for so long, you still can't bear to leave, can you?"

"We have to leave, even if we're reluctant." Old Xu withdrew his gaze and tapped his cane heavily on the ground. "Li Family Village is too small, with only a few hundred people in total. It's already quite an achievement that they've managed to hold out this long. Now that we have the opportunity to join the main camp, it's a stroke of good fortune."

Han Yan nodded, a smile playing on his lips: "You're right. I've already taken care of things at the Iron Stone Camp. Manager Wu personally agreed to take us in. It's a large camp with over a thousand people; it's much safer than here."

"Han Yan," Old Xu turned his head, his cloudy eyes filled with gratitude, "we owe you so much this time. If it weren't for your mediation, we don't know how long we would have survived."

"You're being too polite," Han Yan quickly waved his hand. "I'm also from Lijiazhuang. I'm just trying to find a way for everyone to make a living."

It's my job.

As the two were talking, Tie Tou jumped off the truck, dusted off his hands, and said, "Old Xu, everything's loaded. The gas tank's full too, enough for a round trip."

"One round trip is enough," Old Xu nodded. "Anyway, I won't be coming back."

He turned around and looked at the dark mass of people at the camp entrance.

There were seventy or eighty people, men and women, young and old, each carrying large and small bags. Their faces showed both anticipation for the unknown future and a touch of reluctance and trepidation.