52: More friends, more roads

Chang Zhan seemed to have had a rough couple of days lately, his spirits not particularly high. Li Xiao took him to see the situation at the chemical plant and said, "So, any thoughts?"

Chang Zhan replied with complete disinterest, "What does your outsiders' infighting have to do with me?"

Li Xiao placed a hand on his shoulder and slowly explained, "You must be running low on ammunition and food lately, right? If you can help me get the locations of most of the attacking squad's bases, I'll give you a batch of supplies."

Chang Zhan looked at Li Xiao disdainfully, "Sorry, my duty is to eliminate the Black Hawk Empire. I don't have time to help you risk my life!"

Li Xiao said in surprise, "But this is exactly to eliminate the Black Hawk Empire!"

"How so?" Chang Zhan retorted.

"Look, actually, the armored combined regiment in Xi City doesn't have many troops left. The enemy is barely holding onto the Xi City headquarters only because of their large numbers of infantry fighting vehicles and tanks."

"So what?"

Leaning against the doorframe of the off-road vehicle, Li Xiao laughed, "Don't rush. Listen to me slowly. Right now, I'm not only short on resources but also on people. I need to unite all the forces that can be united to gather the strength to capture Xi City."

"You plan to attack the city?!" Hearing that Li Xiao actually had designs on Xi City, Chang Zhan suddenly became interested. He asked, "But what does that have to do with that squad?"

"Things like coercion and inducement, I'd rather not tell you, lest it tarnish my righteous image in your eyes. Anyway, you help me get the coordinates, and I still have a batch of food and ammunition there, enough for you to use for ten days to half a month."

"Actually, I've recorded all the surrounding bases one by one in my book. It's just a matter of spending some time to verify them. If you're really aiming to recapture Xi City, I can help you!"

"Nice! I like straightforward people like you!" Li Xiao said excitedly.

Li Xiao really loved people with Chang Zhan's straightforward personality. Once the coordinate issue was settled, things would become much easier from here on.

He opened the friend system and entered a name: Wu Chong.

This Wu Chong was the captain of the Night God Squad defending the chemical plant. Yun Dongliu had gone through some effort to find out about him in Xi City.

[Sorry, the other party has rejected your friend request!]

"Huh? This guy is a bit arrogant."

Li Xiao opened the application interface again. This time, he left a few words in the application note.

At the same time, in the office building of the chemical plant in the city outskirts, a man with naturally curly long hair, probably nearing thirty, was frowning as he listened to the intense gunfire outside.

Beside him, a woman wearing an indigo-blue cheongsam, elegant in demeanor with fair skin, stood in front of the table pointing at the chemical plant sketch and said, "Chong Ge, Hellfire has already cut off our three access routes. If we don't find a way to break the deadlock, we'll be in big trouble. The brothers don't have many Star Coins left to buy food."

"I know!" the long-haired man said impatiently. He stared at the table for a while, as if making up his mind, "If it comes to it, I'll send in the reserve team! Let's gamble!"

"The reserve team? Think carefully. Once someone leaks our information, it's all over!"

"It's not that easy! But your base's troops can't be moved." The long-haired man turned to look at the woman, about to say something, when suddenly a notification box popped up in his field of vision.

"This Li Xiao again! Where did this lunatic pop up from... Huh?"

The long-haired man was about to get angry seeing the pop-up, but then his peripheral vision caught a line of text at the bottom.

"Looking to destroy Hellfire?"

After a brief thought, the long-haired man casually clicked agree and sent a voice message.

The voice call connected, and a frivolous, unrestrained young voice came from the other end.

"Ha! Hello, Big Boss Wu Chong. I'm Li Xiao from the Xiaoyao Squad!"

"Xiaoyao Squad? Never heard of it. What do you want with me?"

Wu Chong thought carefully but didn't seem to recall hearing of this squad.

"Big Boss Wu Chong has nearly two hundred brothers under you. A small squad like ours definitely wouldn't catch your eye. I heard you're facing a tricky situation right now, and I, your humble brother, might be able to help you out."

Wu Chong smoothed his bangs. Li Xiao's words had caught his attention.

"Let's hear it!"

On the other end, Li Xiao's lips curved, and an expression of having everything under control unconsciously appeared on his face.

"As for the Hellfire squad, their four thousand troops are actually running on fumes. I can wipe them out anytime, saving you from this dire situation."

"Hmph, if it's about boasting, I might be better at it than you!" Wu Chong said, "I'm pressed for time. If you're bored, you can go take a stroll in Xi City!"

As Wu Chong was about to hang up, Li Xiao quickly said, "Don't be in such a hurry. Whether I'm boasting or not doesn't affect you much. You can give it a try. Whether it works out or not, you lose nothing."

Wu Chong was still very impatient. At that moment, the cheongsam woman came to him and advised, "You might as well listen. From his tone, he sounds like someone with too much time on his hands."

"Fine, what are the conditions?!"

Both were smart people, and Wu Chong didn't beat around the bush.

"The conditions are simple. I want the chemical plant. The Hellfire resource zones go to you!"

"Ridiculous!" Wu Chong said coldly, "You think I'll give you the chemical plant that I fought for with over a thousand troops lost?"

"It doesn't matter. Whether you give it or not is your business, but whether I take it is up to me. If you don't agree, forget I said anything. I'll just go discuss with Hellfire, wipe you out first, then take your territory!"

Li Xiao's words left Wu Chong unable to tell which part was false and which was true. He glanced at the cheongsam woman, hoping to find some advice on her face.

"Chong Ge, better to believe it than not. We can't afford to gamble!"

The cheongsam woman's words made Wu Chong decide.

"Alright! As long as Hellfire is destroyed, I'll withdraw from the chemical plant immediately!"

"Big Boss, you're a real sport!"

After hanging up the call, Li Xiao said to Chang Zhan, "Brother Chang Zhan, now it's up to you!"

To ensure the militia organization's execution, Li Xiao first paid Chang Zhan the promised food and ammunition.

Meanwhile, the confrontation between Hellfire and the Night God Squad remained deadlocked. The Hellfire squad's intelligence seemed convinced that the Night God Squad had limited funds and couldn't hold out for long, so they remained inactive.

Hellfire had continuous food supplies coming in from the periphery, so they weren't worried at all, just waiting for the Night God Squad to run out of steam and break out.

But these over two hundred players of Hellfire didn't know that their home base was about to be uprooted.

On the third day after Li Xiao and Wu Chong reached an agreement, in the early morning, the troops in the chemical plant suddenly launched a fierce attack. The already impatient Hellfire squad retaliated without holding back.

The battle between the two sides immediately entered a white-hot phase. The Night God Squad even organized two or three companies in an attempt to break through the encirclement but were ultimately pushed back by Hellfire's dense gunfire.

Meanwhile, near the Transit Yard, nearly three thousand soldiers were divided into thirty groups, each led by several players. Everyone gathered in the forest in an orderly manner, waiting for the next command.