Chapter 282 Choosing Negotiation
Steven and Lily quickly hashed out a plan to team up. The catch? Lily had to help him take down West Mountain Base on the sly.
For Lily, this was a no-brainer. She'd been itching to see that place go up in flames for ages.
So, they were on the same page right away.
As for getting the students out, that was Lily's problem to solve.
Steven was willing to lend a hand, but there was no way he was diving in headfirst to rescue anyone himself.
Still, he was super curious about Lily's game plan.
He kept asking Cindy and Aubrey, "How sharp is Ms. Evans?"
They just laughed and said, "She's got a good head on her shoulders. She won't do anything dumb!"
Steven smirked, "Really? Can't wait to see how she pulls this off."
Over in Cox Town, Lily felt a bit more at ease after Steven's promise. At least she had a backup plan for the students.
Now, she had to figure out how to get them out of West Mountain Base.
If it were just a couple of people, her role as a special forces team leader would make it a breeze.
But sneaking out over thirty students? That was a whole different ball game.
'I need the perfect moment,' Lily thought. 'Something that'll shake West Mountain Base to its core.'
She couldn't rush it; if word got out, it would be a disaster.
She slipped her phone into her white boots.
She had a little secret—two phones.
When she first got to West Mountain Base, her phone was taken for inspection, and she suspected it was bugged.
Luckily, she had a backup.
So she handed over one and kept the other hidden to stay in touch with Steven.
Meanwhile, Charles, Shane, and a few other guys were in another snow house, eating and plotting their next move.
Charles and Shane were top dogs at West Mountain Base.
As elite fighters, they were already a cut above the rest, and after awakening, they were even more badass.
With all the tech from West Mountain Base, Charles was practically a super soldier. The only downside? He ate like a horse.
Despite being short, he could chow down like four soldiers!
And today, he was eating even more, thanks to using his powers a lot.
Charles grabbed a grilled fish and took a huge bite, nearly finishing it in one go.
While munching, he told the others, "Regular attacks won't cut it against that shelter. So stash your weapons and focus on perimeter security. We'll take care of Steven ourselves!"
The warriors, curious, asked, "If we're not dealing with Steven, who are we supposed to watch out for?" Charles gave them a sly grin and said, "Starlight City isn't just about our West Mountain Base. The ruckus we've been causing might draw in other groups. Plus, I've noticed the folks in Cox Town are starting to get restless. We need to keep an eye on them."
The warriors burst out laughing. "Those villagers? Captain Reed, you can't be serious. Do they even have the guts?"
Charles replied slowly, "People can do stupid things when they're desperate. Better to be safe than sorry. If they try anything, we'll shoot a few, and the rest will fall in line."
The warriors nodded; they'd done this plenty of times and knew the drill.
Just then, a female soldier walked over. "Captain Reed, Mr. Martin wants to talk to you!"
At the mention of "Mr. Martin," the mood got tense.
They'd been out for two days and had used up a ton of explosives from West Mountain Base.
But the shelter was still standing, and they'd lost nearly half their men.
Reporting this was sure to piss off Peter. Everyone felt a bit sorry for Charles.
But Charles stayed cool, put down the fish bones, and got up to go.
He was nervous, sure, but as the leader, he was ready to face the music.
Charles walked over to the communication device in the next room.
It was a special computer, way more advanced than a regular one.
Through it, they could talk to West Mountain Base, which was buried deep underground.
On the screen, Charles saw Peter's face, a mix of gentleness and authority.
Charles saluted. "Mr. Martin!"
Peter nodded. "Charles, how's the mission going? It's been two days; any progress?"
Peter didn't ask if the mission was done. He knew Charles well enough to know that if it were, Charles would've reported it right away.
So Peter knew Charles had hit a snag.
Charles, looking serious, gave Peter a full rundown of the battle, holding nothing back.
He detailed Steven's abilities and mentioned that they'd lost over twenty elite warriors.
Hearing this, Peter's smile faded, and a cold look flashed in his eyes.
'More than twenty special forces members! Not just any soldiers, but top-tier elites, including rare artificial Psychics! And Steven took them all out?'
This was a huge blow to West Mountain Base's combat strength!
Charles knew Peter was both disappointed and furious. He quickly added, "Even though we took heavy losses, we've figured out Steven's abilities over these two days. Next time, we'll definitely break his shelter! Please trust us."
Peter was silent for a moment, trying to calm down. He wanted to chew Charles out but knew he couldn't afford to lose his top fighter.
Even if he wanted to criticize Charles, it would have to wait until the mission was done and Charles was back at the base.
Peter asked, "What's your plan?"Charles said, "Regular guns won't cut it against him. We might need to call in support from the upper military district and use missiles to hit his shelter."
Peter took a deep breath and stared at him. "That's too complicated and risky. Plus, I want Steven alive. What good is a dead man to me?"
Peter was after the massive resources in Steven's extradimensional space. Killing Steven might mean losing access to those resources.
Charles expected this reaction, so he calmly offered another idea.
"The second option is to have a few of our top Psychics keep attacking Steven's shelter. It'll take longer, though."
Peter asked, "How long are we talking?"
After a long pause, Charles finally said, "Six months."
Charles wasn't sure about this timeframe, but he knew Peter was pissed and didn't want to push it.
Even six months seemed crazy to Peter.
"Six months? And you want to use our top Psychics for that long? That would leave West Mountain Base vulnerable. What if we get attacked? What if there's internal trouble? Can you handle that?" Peter demanded.
Charles replied, "Mr. Martin, we're stationed in Cox Town, so we don't need supplies from the base. Plus, we've confirmed Steven is a Space Psychic. He's the one who stole the supplies from the Walmart warehouse! If we capture him, we can sustain the base for at least five years!"
Peter leaned back in his chair, tapping the table with his right hand.
After a while, he said, "But have you thought about what happens after five years?"
Charles was taken aback. 'After five years?'
He hadn't thought that far ahead. In the post-apocalyptic world, most people lived day by day.
Peter continued, "Right now, external resources aren't scarce, but they're buried under ice and snow, and we can't get to them. But Steven's abilities are like a natural warehouse! If we can get him to join us, it would be a game-changer. We could sustain ourselves not just for five years, but for fifty!"
Everyone knew there were tons of resources buried under the ice and snow.
The Astralium Kingdom had a strong production capacity, with so many resources they had to export them.
If they could dig up those resources, many people could survive.
But the Ice Age had made many modern tools useless.
For example, cars.
West Mountain Base had only one snowmobile, but it couldn't carry much.
They'd sent out troops to search for warehouses and big supermarkets nearby.
But even if they found them, then what?
How would they dig them up?
And after digging them up, how would they transport the resources back to West Mountain Base, which was miles away? These issues, which were no big deal in modern times, had become major headaches for West Mountain Base.
Peter saw the value in Steven's abilities.
He told Charles, "Steven's resources are crucial, and I value his skills. Negotiation is our best bet if we can't capture him quickly."
Peter didn't want this to drag on for another six months.
Plus, he wasn't even sure if six months was realistic.
"You want to negotiate with him?" Charles' face twitched, and anger flared up inside him.
They'd lost dozens of their special forces brothers!
Could they just let that slide?
"Everything is for the base's future! Charles, think about the bigger picture," Peter insisted, his tone firm, hands clasped tightly.
Charles couldn't defy Peter, his old leader from his military days and now the head of West Mountain Base.
As a soldier, Charles was all about discipline. "Yes, I will follow all your orders!"
Peter nodded, satisfied. "Good. In the next few days, don't stop your attacks on Steven's shelter. Ramp up the firepower! Create the right conditions for our negotiations."
Peter knew better than to negotiate with Steven right now. Steven had the upper hand, and approaching him now would only put Peter at a disadvantage.
So Charles had to apply enough pressure, and then Peter would step in to negotiate.
In the following days, the Tiger Special Forces didn't just keep up their attacks—they intensified them.
They split into three teams, launching 24-hour harassment attacks on the shelter.
Throwing grenades, setting fires, and shooting.
The attacks didn't do much damage, but they sent a clear message: West Mountain Base was dead set on taking the shelter down.
They didn't know that Steven and his crew were chilling in the basement, with active noise cancellation blocking out all the outside noise.
Unless they detected something big, Steven ignored the regular gunfire.
With Lily and Earl as insiders, he knew the enemy was bluffing.
During these attacks, their top guys only came to supervise but didn't get their hands dirty.
"What are these people trying to do? What's their game?" Steven couldn't figure out their angle.
But compared to the special forces freezing their butts off outside, Steven was living it up in the basement.
A warm, cozy room, cute and sexy women, plenty of food, and hot showers.
Stuff the people outside couldn't even dream of.
Just thinking about it made Steven feel pretty good.
But three days later, Steven got a video call request from West Mountain Base.
A conversation meant negotiations.
Steven finally got why the enemy kept up their weak attacks while pretending to go all out.
After thinking it over and checking with Cindy to make sure network security was tight, Steven accepted the video call from West Mountain Base.
A middle-aged man in a suit with neatly combed hair appeared on the screen.
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