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墨書 Inktalez
Anger aside, a solution still had to be found. Things had reached this point, and continuing to play the game of concealment was meaningless. After careful consideration, Song Jiu seemed to have come up with a plan. Whether it would succeed or not was uncertain, but at least it was worth a try given the current situation.
"You want to save your companions, and you want to protect the camp," Song Jiu broke the silence first, drawing the attention of the two women back to him. He spoke slowly and deliberately, "We should cooperate."
"It would have been great if you had agreed earlier," Pockmarked Girl said, a smile blooming on her face as she achieved her goal. "Now tell me, what do you plan to do? And what is your true intention?"
Chef Jia furrowed her brows, staring at Song Jiu for a long moment before coldly replying, "Why should I cooperate with you?"
"Whether you want to or not is up to you," he retorted.
"You have no choice," Song Jiu interrupted Pockmarked Girl's taunt and met Chef Jia's icy gaze. "The only way for you to stay out of this is to sell me and her out, but I don't think you would do that."
"You are too confident," Chef Jia scoffed, saying nothing more.
"Of course, you have the right to choose self-preservation," Song Jiu smiled lightly, shifting his tone. "But I could kill you right now, and she and I could still cooperate." As soon as he said this, the atmosphere in the room grew even colder. Not only did Chef Jia glare at him furiously, but even Pockmarked Girl, who had always been at odds with her, was taken aback.
"So this is the worst-case scenario," Song Jiu carefully chose his words while observing the reactions of both women. Fortunately, their responses were pretty much what he had anticipated. Although Pockmarked Girl and Chef Jia appeared to be at odds, there was still a hint of camaraderie between them. As long as he could carve out a path for himself, convincing Chef Jia shouldn't be too difficult.
Pockmarked Girl glanced at Chef Jia out of the corner of her eye and noticed that the latter remained silent. So she spoke up, "You go first; tell us how we can cooperate and what you want."
"I want this camp," Song Jiu straightened his back and looked intently at them. "We each get what we need without interfering with each other."
"Are you joking?" Chef Jia raised an eyebrow with a hint of mockery in her voice. "You're young but have quite an appetite."
"Save it; keep those words for later," Song Jiu dismissed her lightly and instructed A Hai and another person to keep an eye on the outside movements. He pulled up a chair and sat down at the table seriously. "I won't hide it from you; my original intention was to take over this fortress. I have quite a few people under my command who have been running around outside for some time now. With the resurgence of Zombies as spring arrives, we need a place to settle down. This place is perfect; I'm very satisfied."
Pockmarked Girl and Chef Jia surprisingly aligned their stance without saying a word, their eyes filled with doubt.
"Clearly, the complexity here exceeded my expectations. I initially wanted to observe for a few more days, but her actions forced me to act sooner than planned." Song Jiu pointed at Pockmarked Girl's fluctuating expression and admitted frankly, "That's right; I've placed quite a few people outside. The signal flare going up is our signal; if all goes well, they are on their way here."
"And so what? There are Zombies outside and Militias inside; can your people break through those two lines of defense?" Chef Jia squinted her eyes slightly, seemingly not doubting the truthfulness of his words but questioning their feasibility instead.
"Of course not, otherwise, why would I cooperate with you two?" Song Jiu replied matter-of-factly, casting a glare at Pockmarked Girl. "I hadn't figured out how to proceed until your argument just now reminded me."
"What do you mean?" Pockmarked Girl couldn't help but ask.
"Us teaming up to seize control here. You save your companions, and you take charge as the chef; no one will interfere," Song Jiu said with a thick skin, as if discussing something trivial.
"And then you sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor," Chef Jia scoffed.
"That's not how it works. The Survivors outside only care about food, clothing, and safety. I can provide all that; they have no reason to clash with me. Of course, Sister Jia, your influence here is undeniable. As for sitting back and enjoying the fruits of others' labor, where does that come from? Are you implying that the Zombies are the main threat? Isn't it better to drive away these landmines that could explode at any moment?" Song Jiu countered.
"First, the personnel change is imminent; the Zombies will be back soon. Second, we can't identify the Zombies mixed in with the camp; if there are any stragglers, it will only invite retaliation from them. Third, I don't recognize your leadership," Chef Jia stated firmly, not swayed by Song Jiu's words. She added rationally, "I don't know you or your subordinates well enough to predict what will happen if I let your people in."
"I understand; you still don't trust me," Song Jiu nodded and relayed Pockmarked Girl's earlier comment to Chef Jia: "Building trust takes time, but this isn't the moment."
"And once we tear our relationship with the Zombies apart, not to mention retaliation, our supply lines will be cut off first," Chef Jia continued, seemingly ignoring Song Jiu's point. "The current reserves in the camp can't sustain this many people."
"That's obvious; problems arise from indulgence," Song Jiu recalled the lavish scene he witnessed upon entering the camp and cursed, "This is a refuge, not a damn club! The camp has mountains and water; self-sufficiency is entirely feasible. Anyone who wants to eat meat and drink every day should be thrown out—it would lighten our burden."
"And what about Zombie retaliation?"
"Why are you so worried about that?" Song Jiu looked at Chef Jia curiously. "If a knife pierces through their skulls, can they still turn into corpses?"
Chef Jia fell silent, her gaze toward Song Jiu changing subtly—there was no clear preference or aversion, just an imperceptible shift.
"I feel like I've been tricked into this," Pockmarked Girl said as she touched her nose in confusion. "In the end, you get such a large camp for free."
"That's a narrow-minded way of thinking. Sister Jia is right; survival is the top priority. If we take down the Zombies and I take charge, what’s there to complain about?" Song Jiu revved up his persuasion engine and subtly nudged Chef Jia. Seeing both of them lost in thought, he added, "Besides, this is a win-win situation. Your friends can be freed, the camp continues to operate smoothly, and my people can provide strong protection—you both won't lose out."
"That actually sounds quite reasonable." Pockmarked Girl was bewildered; she had initially planned to run after saving people but now realized she might not need to flee.
"I hope what you do turns out as beautifully as you say," Chef Jia slowly replied, leaving behind an ambiguous remark.
"What should we do now?" Pockmarked Girl asked urgently, sensing the compromise in Chef Jia's words.
Song Jiu raised an eyebrow and smiled, "So, it seems the agreement has been reached."
"The worst that can happen is death. Since we're going to fight, we might as well give it a shot," Chef Jia sighed. Although there were still many concerns, there was no other path to take at the moment. Rubbing her temples, she asked, "What do you need me to do?"
"Scarface Bald is listening to you, right? We don't have much time; we must control the situation inside before my people arrive. If it turns into a brawl, everything will fall apart," Song Jiu said, temporarily lowering her guard and laying out her plan. "Sister Jia, you need to convince the Survivors and the Militia to give up their resistance. As long as there’s no chaos in the camp, everything else can be managed."
"I'll talk to him. I can't guarantee that I'll be able to persuade him," Chef Jia understood Song Jiu's meaning and nodded in agreement.
"Guli, take me to the holding area. The Zombies are there, right?" Song Jiu asked.
"There are probably seven or eight Zombies there; the rest are mixed in here," Chef Jia replied, frowning. "That's also the most troublesome part. If those Zombies jump out on their own, it would be easier to handle, but what if they pretend to surrender along with the crowd?"
"You don't need to worry about that; I have a plan," Song Jiu reassured her with an invisible sense of calm. "That’s settled then. Sister Jia, go talk to Scarface Bald. Guli, do you have any weapons here?"
"A fruit knife..." Pockmarked Girl said cautiously.
Song Jiu's eyes widened in disbelief. "You plan to use a fruit knife to rescue people?"
"I... I was just thinking that maybe it wouldn't be that effective," she stammered.
"Forget it." Song Jiu sighed helplessly and turned to Chef Jia for help. "Sister Jia, is there anything useful in the kitchen?"
Chef Jia pulled out a set of keys from her pocket and tossed them to him. "Go get it yourself; just don’t mess up anything else."
"Wait a minute." Pockmarked Girl looked confused and asked, "Are we splitting up? Why can't we wait for Sister Jia to finish talking and then bring more people to the holding area? Otherwise, just the four of us won't stand a chance against the Zombie guards."
"What if Sister Jia can't reach an agreement?" Song Jiu shot her a look and swallowed her sarcastic remark. "We have to split up. Even if things go south on Sister Jia's end, at least we can accomplish one thing: as long as we rescue the captives and let them speak out, I don’t believe the Militia outside will still want to listen to orders and challenge us."
"Hey, you've got a good head on your shoulders," Pockmarked Girl said cheerfully.
"It’s you who are too foolish." Chef Jia looked at Pockmarked Girl with a mix of apology and affection, softly saying, "Be careful. Let him handle the fighting; we’ve fallen into his trap, so we need to be more vigilant."
Song Jiu chuckled lightly, remaining silent. Chef Jia's words served two purposes: to remind Pockmarked Girl and to give him a heads-up, making it clear that no one was innocent in this situation.
"Alright, let’s get to work." Song Jiu stood up, exhaling the tension in his chest, and discreetly signaled to Chef Jia. The latter adjusted his mood and walked to the door, knocking lightly. "Open up."
Given Chef Jia's status, the two guards naturally paid attention and quickly unlocked the door, asking with concern, "Sister Jia, what do you need?"
"Nothing much. I'm just going upstairs to take a look; you two keep an eye on things here." Chef Jia put his chef's hat back on and casually pushed the door open wide as he exited. Before the guards could ask anything further, A Hai and his companion sprang out from either side of Chef Jia, catching the guards off guard. Just as one guard was about to raise his weapon to shout a warning, he felt a chill at his neck and was swiftly dragged inside.
Chef Jia and Pockmarked Girl were stunned, frozen in place as they stared at the two guards who had their throats cut, unable to move for a long moment.
"Come on, what are you waiting for?" Song Jiu tossed two shotguns to A Hai and his companion while urging the dazed Pockmarked Girl.
"What are you doing? Why did you have to kill them?" Chef Jia's face turned pale as he pointed at Song Jiu, trembling with anger. "You... you..."
"We don’t have any skills that can just knock someone out with a tap on the neck," Song Jiu dismissed Chef Jia's concerns and casually took the guards' tri-blade knives. "We’re short on time; there’s no room for discussion. Hurry up!"
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