Chapter 283 Not Playing by the Rules
This was the first time Steven and Peter were meeting face-to-face.
But Peter already had all of Steven's info sitting on his desk for a while.
So, Peter knew a lot about Steven—at least, he knew who Steven was before the apocalypse changed everything.
Peter felt pretty sure he could convince Steven after going through his file.
To Peter, Steven was just some city kid with a bit of guts and ambition but not much else.
No political chops, never led a big company, not even a white-collar job.
A guy like that wouldn't have even gotten a meeting with Peter back in the day.
Peter's confidence showed in his calm, easy smile.
As soon as he saw Steven, he greeted him with a friendly smile. "Hey, you must be Steven, right?"
Steven, though, wasn't feeling too friendly toward Peter.
Even though Peter seemed nice, Steven knew from Lily's stories how ruthless Peter could be at West Mountain Base.
"So, you're the boss of West Mountain Base? How should I address you?" Steven's tone was flat, his smile just as empty.
"Name's Peter Martin," Peter replied.
"Mr. Martin, nice to meet you. What brings you here?" Steven asked, still smiling.
Peter's smile widened. His eyes suddenly sharpened, and just that look sent a chill down Steven's spine.
"Recently, two of our guys from West Mountain Base went on a mission. They vanished near your shelter. The last person they contacted was you. Mr. Rogers, did you kill our people?"
Peter jumped right into questioning, trying to throw Steven off balance.
But Steven wasn't scared.
Peter had been in politics for years, knew how to play the power game.
Steven wasn't dumb enough to play by Peter's rules.
So, he decided to flip the script and drag Peter into his own game!
Then, he'd use his own experience to take Peter down.
Without a word, Steven pulled a military knife from his extradimensional space and slammed it into the table!
Peter frowned at the move.
Such a bold move didn't fit Peter's usual negotiation style.
Steven pointed at the knife and said, "Recognize this? Your guys left it at my place! Even in peaceful times, breaking into someone's home and leaving a weapon is illegal and could get you shot! And now, in this apocalypse, your people dared to threaten me. So what if I killed them?"
Steven's strategy was to break the rules!
He was young and had no patience for Peter's political games and scheming.
If he tried to play it cool, Peter would just outsmart him.
So, Steven cut to the chase!
'Yeah, I did it, so what? Everyone knows what's up, so let's just be real about it!'
Peter looked at Steven's boldness with disdain.
Peter thought to himself, 'How is this any different from those low-life thugs? So crude!'
Still, Peter tried to reason with Steven. "They didn't mean any harm; they were just letting you know there are other survivors nearby. Our West Mountain Base often helps out survivors we find. That mark was a sign of our willingness to help, a promise of support. How could you repay kindness with hostility?"
Steven saw Peter's pained expression and sneered inside.
Lily and those students' stories had already shown how nasty West Mountain Base was.
'Peter, you're such a good actor!'
Steven waved his hand dismissively. "Cut the crap! They were intruders! That's all that matters. I did what I had to do."I
Steven's unyielding attitude left Peter at a loss.
Peter's plan was to reason with Steven and then use his manipulation skills to persuade him.
But Steven?
Steven just straight-up said, "Yeah, I killed them, so what?"
'I don't care what their intentions were; I've made my judgment. They're bad, end of story. Don't even try to lecture me on morality.'
Peter's face darkened, and he said sternly, "No matter what, isn't it wrong to kill people without knowing the facts?"
"Of course not!" Steven said confidently. "I kill if I want to, as long as I think they might harm me, even if there's just a 1% chance, I'll act."
Saying this, Steven pointed at Peter and said, "It's just a few people dead, why make such a big deal?"
Steven's behavior completely threw Peter off. This unreasonable attitude almost drove Peter mad.
He lost his patience and said coldly, "So, you're determined not to admit your mistake?"
Steven sneered back, "What mistake? You've already sent your troops to my doorstep, bombarding my house with guns and explosives every day, and now you say I'm wrong? How can you be so shameless?"
Steven had no intention of negotiating with West Mountain Base. He knew that the power to end the conflict rested in Peter's hands. Steven was just on the defensive.
If the other side backed off, peace would come. And according to Lily, Steven knew, without a doubt, that Peter was pure evil.
He couldn't have any hope for such a person and must not be swayed by Peter's words!
The reason he accepted the meeting was just to take the opportunity to test Peter and see how many cards he had left.
Peter dropped his fake smile, leaned back in his swivel chair, crossed his hands, and looked at Steven with a cold, indifferent gaze.
It was a look that Steven found very disgusting. He remembered that when he was working before, the big boss in the company looked at him with this kind of gaze.
That feeling of being looked down upon made him nauseous.
'What are you so arrogant about? It's the apocalypse, and you still think you're a big shot!' Steven thought and showed a disdainful expression, suddenly put his legs on the table, and from Peter's angle, two big feet in black socks were right in his face.
"You..." Peter was furious!
He had never been humiliated like this before.
Steven said calmly, "You'd better tell your people to get out of here quickly! Otherwise, none of them will leave here alive! And I'll contact other groups in Starlight City and tell them West Mountain Base is defenseless. Think they might take the opportunity to do something?"
Steven was just bluffing. In reality, he didn't know anyone from other groups in Starlight City.
But Steven knew that in a city with over twenty million people, there had to be other surviving factions.
Peter knew this too. He couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, but on the surface, he still pretended to be calm.
"Steven! You're so naive!" Peter pointed at Steven and sighed. "You always think of solving problems with brute force. Actually, I came here hoping for a peaceful negotiation. I know the supplies from the southern Walmart warehouse are in your hands. So many supplies! You couldn't use them all in a thousand years, so why keep them?"
Steven immediately and decisively denied it, "I don't have them; it wasn't me; don't talk nonsense!"
Even if there was solid evidence, he would never admit it.
It's fine to enjoy good things secretly, but never flaunt them!
Peter smiled slightly. "I already know, denying it is useless. I just hope you can consider the bigger picture. Our West Mountain Base has thousands of survivors. If you could provide those supplies, it would help thousands of people survive for many years!"
Steven sneered inwardly.
Did Peter take him for a fool?
Lily had said that the four Life Warehouses at West Mountain Base represented four different classes.
The higher you go, the better the quality of life.
And the lowest, the Fourth Life Warehouse, could only eat protein liquid made from cockroaches and corpses.
There was no shortage of supplies, just unequal distribution!
If everyone ate protein liquid, he believed West Mountain Base could support twice as many people without any pressure!
Peter himself ate well every day, enjoyed the company of young and beautiful female students, and now he came to Steven talking about sacrifice?
How ridiculous!
However, Steven kept these thoughts to himself. If he revealed them, Peter would realize that someone from West Mountain Base had reached out to him.
Steven just said calmly, "What does that have to do with me? Sorry, I'm not that noble, other people's lives have nothing to do with me. So many people have died in the apocalypse, this is just natural selection, survival of the fittest."
Peter frowned. "How can you have such selfish and shallow thoughts? Has the country's years of education on you been wasted? Self-sacrifice and contributing to the country is the duty of every citizen!"
"Moreover, you are an adult male. Do you know how many elderly, women, and children at West Mountain Base are going hungry? Where is your sense of responsibility?"
Peter did not give up on persuading Steven.
In his view, young people like Steven had a lot of passion.
As long as he used patriotism to persuade, it would be easy to move Steven and make him come forward to contribute.
But he didn't know that after experiencing the hell of two lifetimes, Steven's heart was harder than steel.
Steven just wanted to live well himself.
And helping others now would mean bringing danger to himself, which he would never do!
"Cut the crap!" Steven sneered at Peter. "If I were really the kind of person you say, I would've died at the beginning of the apocalypse."
Steven had seen such people before.
At least, in his previous life, Henry died because of his spirit of sacrifice.
He gave all his food to the elderly, women, and children, leading to his own death from cold and hunger.
There were also kind young people who did similar things for the sake of justice in their hearts.
Even Steven had a kind side. However, in the harsh reality of the apocalypse, he had sealed away that part of himself. He only revealed his kindness and gentleness to those he deemed trustworthy.
Steven's unwillingness to listen infuriated Peter. He finally realized that the cold-looking Steven in front of him was not so easy to deal with.
Since morality and responsibility didn't work, it was time to talk about benefits.
Peter said to Steven, "Actually, the main purpose of this conversation is to invite you to join the West Mountain Base."
Steven remained unmoved and just sneered, "Join your base? I bet it would cost me a lot!"
Peter said, "I can lower the standards. Just provide half of your supplies. You can keep the other half for yourselves! But believe me, what you will gain will far exceed what you give!"
Steven sneered. "The supplies I have were collected after the apocalypse, just enough for a few of us to live for a few months. Is that little amount worth your attention?"
Peter sighed, "Don't bother with the lies. I know the truth. There's no point in trying to hide it from me."
Steven sneered, "I'm telling the truth. Believe it or not."
"But I'm curious, why do you think I would give up my current shelter to go to your base?" Steven asked. He didn't understand where Peter's confidence came from.
How comfortable was his life now? The shelter had all kinds of facilities for living and entertainment, plenty of food, and a group of lovely women to accompany him. It was practically a paradise!
As for West Mountain Base, according to Lily, it was just a giant underground facility.
In terms of comfort and living conditions, it was far inferior to the shelter.
But Peter showed a meaningful smile.
"Steven, you're still young! Do you know what the greatest pleasure in this world is for a man? It's not money, it's not women—it's power!" Peter clenched his fist and said proudly to Steven.
"As long as you come to West Mountain Base, I can make you my second in command! Then, in the entire West Mountain Base, you will be the king, second only to me! Think about it, you can control the fate of thousands of people. Everyone who sees you will bow their heads sincerely, everyone will try their best to please you and cater to your every whim. Even if you fart, someone will chase after you to smell it. You'll be the king of the castle. Just a look, and everyone knows what to do. Wealth, women, everything will be at your fingertips. Don't you think such a wonderful thing is tempting enough?"
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