24: Yun Dongliu

As these words left his mouth, everyone almost instinctively raised their guns, ready to fire, but Li Xiao immediately stopped them: "Everyone, don't shoot!"

Li Xiao calmed everyone down, his mind racing. The enemy had secured two intersections, giving them an absolute advantage in firing lines, but they hadn't chosen to open fire immediately. It seemed they weren't planning a fight, but rather had other intentions.

He put down his pistol, stepped forward, and said, "You have guts, sir. Come out and talk, shall we?"

After Li Xiao spoke, a tall, slender, short-haired young man emerged from the right waterway after a while.

He was at least six feet tall, wearing a baseball cap and a set of pitch-black combat fatigues that were clearly high-end. A beige scarf covered his face.

Although Li Xiao couldn't see his full face, the cold, starry eyes of his upper face revealed that this person was somewhat handsome... though Li Xiao was reluctant to admit it.

"Where are you from, and why are you following me?"

Li Xiao heard the man's voice, clear and bright, and guessed he was about the same age as himself.

"Isn't it obvious? We both want to enter the city, and you just happened to appear, so we followed to observe. Of course, it's strictly observation."

"Is that so? Unfortunately, I don't like people taking advantage of me."

Li Xiao's heart stirred, as if he understood the other party's intentions.

"Then, sir, state your terms!"

"Two hundred Star Coins per person for guiding us."

"What the hell! Are you robbing us?!" Liu Nian was anxious. Clearly, he didn't seem to have that much money, and even if he did, he probably wouldn't be willing to spend it.

"There are six more Fork in the Road ahead. Each Fork in the Road is one to two miles long, and the manhole covers at the top of these sewers have all been blocked by the Tian Yu Forces. Only I know the sole exit."

"Who would believe you?" Liu Nian clearly didn't believe him.

"Deal!"

"What?"

Just as Liu Nian was about to persuade Li Xiao to find a way himself, Li Xiao unexpectedly agreed. He lowered his voice and urgently said, "Lao Xiao, two hundred Star Coins is a lot! Besides, I don't have enough on me... Who knows if he's just bluffing us?"

"I'll pay for your share. It's getting late now. If we finish today, we can always come again next time. It's like buying a path for two hundred, which is quite a good deal."

With that, Li Xiao glanced into his backpack, transferred four hundred Star Coins onto a card, and casually tossed it to the other party.

The young man snatched the card without hesitation and put it into his backpack.

"Yun Dongliu, a pleasure to cooperate!"

"Li Xiao, his name is Liu Nian. A pleasure to meet you!"

Yun Dongliu didn't waste any words. He didn't turn back into the waterway behind him but walked into the waterway on the left.

"Damn it! That guy is truly cunning."

Li Xiao smiled faintly, "When you're out and about, it's essential to be wary of others."

...Just as Yun Dongliu said, there were quite a few Fork in the Road ahead, and they all went in different directions. Each Fork in the Road twisted and turned, and by the end, the direction was completely different from the beginning.

This meant that relying solely on memory would be impossible, and even with a compass, they would likely take many wrong turns.

After an hour or so of twists and turns, Yun Dongliu led them into a narrow waterway only one meter wide. Then he pointed ahead and whispered, "See the rebar ladder on that wall? Five meters up is the sewer entrance next to the main stadium of Xi City High School."

"Brother Dongliu, awesome!" Li Xiao gave him a thumbs up.

"Once we're up, we'll go our separate ways. Everyone, be careful."

Yun Dongliu dropped these words, then was the first to jump onto the ladder. His unit followed suit.

When the manhole cover above was opened and moonlight streamed in, Li Xiao began to get excited. Tonight would likely be very thrilling.

Li Xiao climbed to the ground and looked back. This really was a corner of a stadium, with the teaching building not far away. Yun Dongliu's people had already vanished.

After Liu Nian climbed up, Li Xiao said to him, "I think this Yun Dongliu probably isn't here for the first time. City resources refresh weekly, and there's probably nothing left at the school. Let's head straight south."

Liu Nian wiped the mud from his pant legs and asked curiously, "Yun Dongliu just sold us the entrance like that. Isn't he afraid we'll turn around and sell it to others?"

"Would you sell it to others?" Li Xiao countered.

"Am I stupid? Letting people in to oppose me?"

"Then that's it," Li Xiao shrugged. "The reason he brought us in is because we discovered his tracks. He had no choice but to maximize his profit. As for whether he's worried about us leaking it, I think his actions have already made it quite clear."

The battle in the north of the city was intensifying, and Li Xiao suspected that the Tian Yu Forces might lose control of Xi City tonight, so their time was very tight.

"Liu Nian, I have a grudge with the Tian Yu Forces. Let's act separately to avoid affecting you. We'll meet back here at six o'clock sharp."

"Okay!"

Liu Nian quickly led his unit swaggering out of the school gate, while Li Xiao chose to climb over the wall.

After leaving the school, there was a commercial street to the south. They rushed along it and found that the resource points on this street were already empty, so they had no choice but to go further south.

It wasn't until Li Xiao turned two main streets and arrived near a certain building that an unusual situation occurred.

At the main entrance of the building, two groups of people were confronting each other, using various vehicles as cover.

Li Xiao took a closer look and found that one of the parties was Yun Dongliu, while the other was a thirty-seven-person team formed by two players.

"Well, well, I didn't expect there to be other players in the city."

Li Xiao quickly had his unit disperse and ordered Yan Yizhou to enter a nearby tall building, ready to act at any moment.

Above the entrance of the building where Yun Dongliu and the two players were confronting each other, the Xi City Bank sign was prominently displayed. Li Xiao immediately determined that there must be good things inside this building. Otherwise, based on Li Xiao's first impression of Yun Dongliu, he should have retreated long ago given the enemy's threefold numerical advantage.

On the chilly street, the moonlight was gradually fading. Yun Dongliu's cold eyes were fixed on his target fifty meters away.

He slowly began, "Chen Jie! Those who don't keep their word won't have the last laugh. A week ago, we reached an agreement here: one week each for the collection rights of Xi City Bank. Today is the eighth day!"

"Yun Dongliu, didn't I tell you? Last week I didn't have enough Engineers, and I didn't finish collecting the resources from Xi City Bank. You have to wait for me to finish, right?"

"Whether you finished or not is your business. All I know is that today, this place is mine!"

"Heh heh!" Chen Jie, wearing a brown jacket, emerged from the darkness and said expressionlessly, "Yun Dongliu, I don't know whether to call you old-fashioned or naive. A week ago, I agreed to split the Star Coins here with you because I had two fewer combat professionals than you."

"And now..." Chen Jie looked back at his heavily armed unit. "Do you think you're worthy?"