Chapter 381 Negotiation
Earl was so frightened by Steven's outburst that he stood frozen in place.
He looked at the crossbow bolt in his hand and suddenly realized something, his face turning deathly pale!
He had been so focused on reporting to Steven that he forgot the bolt might be coated with poison or even contain a micro-bomb!
In this era where human life is as cheap as dirt, the enemy won't play by any rules. If they want to kill you, they'll stop at nothing!
"Slowly, put the crossbow bolt down!" Steven cautiously reminded Earl.
Earl slowly squatted down and carefully placed the crossbow bolt on the ice.
"Back off!" Steven barked at Earl, then swiftly opened his extradimensional space to stash the bolt.
His space could section off into isolated pockets—even if the thing was rigged to blow, it'd go off harmlessly inside.
Once secured, Steven unwrapped the white cloth.
No bomb. Just a handwritten note.
"A challenge? Or do they want to negotiate?" Steven didn't let his guard down and glanced at Earl.
He was wearing thick gloves, so even if the bolt was poisoned, it couldn't penetrate.
Steven reminded, "Throw away your gloves and get a new pair!"
Earl understood Steven's meaning and, despite the cold, quickly took off his gloves and tossed them far away.
Steven, along with Henry and Earl, returned to the shelter.
He first called Elinor to her medical room to examine the crossbow bolt and the cloth.
"Check if it's poisoned," Steven said, dead serious.
Seeing him so cautious, Elinor asked, "If they were just delivering a letter, they wouldn't go to these lengths, right?"
Steven shrugged, "Better safe than sorry. The second you drop your guard is when they'll hit you."
Henry nodded in agreement, "On the battlefield, any careless move can cost you your life. We've learned that the hard way."
Elinor blinked, understanding but still feeling that Steven and the others were being overly cautious about a crossbow bolt.
Nevertheless, she put on gloves and professionally examined the bolt and the cloth.
After applying a testing reagent, Elinor saw a color change.
Her face changed instantly! "It really is poisoned!"
Earl turned pale with fear. Realizing how close he'd come to disaster—thank God for the gloves—his knees nearly buckled.
Steven remained calm. "Never let your guard down with the enemy—they're always waiting for the kill shot. I figured this 'cause if I were them, I'd do the same. One down is better than none, right?"
Elinor took a glass cover and placed it over the bolt and the cloth. "There are words on this. Do you want to take a look?"
Steven cautiously walked over and saw a string of strange codes on the unfolded cloth. "What is this?"
He had expected a challenge letter or something similar but found a string of characters instead.
None of them recognized it, so Steven called over Cindy, who was skilled with computers.
He didn't hide it from Lily and called her over as well.
After all, the students' fate was sealed.
If Steven hid anything from Lily, it would only make her suspicious.
Hearing that something had arrived from Emberwick Base, Lily was very concerned and hurried to the medical room with Cindy and Aubrey.
The moment Cindy saw the string of characters, she knew. "It's a network address. Pretty sure we can use this to reach Emberwick Base."
Steven asked calmly, "Is it safe?"
Cindy flashed a confident smile, "Steven, come on. With me on this, you really think there's any danger?"
Steven grinned and nodded, "Good. I always knew you were the best, Cindy!"
Cindy blushed slightly, her smile growing wider.
Lily took a deep breath and nervously asked, "So, we're sure it's the people from Emberwick Base who took my students, right?"
Steven replied, "Unless something's off, yeah, it's them. Things don't just line up like that by chance."
Lily said, "Alright, contact them quickly! Let's see what they want."
Steven stayed silent, arms crossed, his mind racing.
The contact method they sent could mean one of two things.
First, they might be looking to cut a deal, using their leverage to squeeze out every advantage. If that's the case, the whole mess with Christian and the others could be swept under the rug. And with Lily's students in their hands, they'd probably try to barter for something big.
Second, they might be trying to size Steven up, testing the waters to see what he's really capable of. Emberwick Base knows he's the one who took out Christian and his crew, but they're playing it safe, not willing to make a move without knowing what they're up against.
After thinking it over, Steven decided they should reach out to Emberwick Base.
They wanted to size him up? Fine. He'd use this chance to gauge their intentions too.
Plus, he needed to keep up appearances for Lily, make her think he was pulling out all the stops to save Warren and the others.
With his mind made up, Steven looked up and said, "Alright, let's see what they've got."
Lily's face lit up as she thought there was hope for rescuing the students.
But Steven looked her dead in the eye and said, "Lily, I need to be straight with you. I get you're desperate to save them, but dealing with these guys is a total minefield. If they sense any weakness, they'll pounce. So, you can stick around, but you've gotta keep it cool—don't let on how much you care about those kids. Otherwise, they'll milk it for all it's worth. Got it?"
Lily lowered her head, pondered for a moment, and then firmly nodded, "Alright, I promise you!"
"Good, that's settled," Steven said, turning to Cindy. "Cindy, get someone to contact Emberwick Base."
The negotiation didn't require too many people.
But since Lily was allowed to watch, there was no need for others to avoid suspicion.
Steven let them listen to the conversation but instructed them not to speak.
No one had any objections.
Steven decided to communicate with the people from Emberwick Base in the living room.
The others sat on either side, waiting nervously for the conversation to begin.
Cindy opened her laptop, sent a call request through the network address, and then placed the laptop on the table, facing Steven.
The call request dragged on, stretching for what felt like forever—nearly three minutes before anyone picked up.
"Hello." A low, gravelly voice finally broke the silence.
Steven's lips curled into a cold smile. "Hello, this is Steven."
There was a moment of silence on the other end. "Hold on."
The call continued, and soon a cold female voice appeared. "Are you Steven? The leader of the organizations around Cox Town and Emerald Estate?"
Steven asked, "And who are you?"
"This is Megan, head of the Emberwick Base shelter. The people I sent to HY Materials Factory—you took them out, didn't you?"
With the satellite phone already compromised, there was no point playing dumb. Whether Steven admitted it or not, the turf war was bound to push Emberwick Base into action.
He fired back, "Were the ones who snatched people from Cox Town yours?"
Megan snapped, "So you're not denying it?"
Steven countered, "So it was you?"
Neither gave a straight answer, but the message was crystal clear.
In the Emberwick Base office, Megan's eyes burned with rage. "You've got balls, killing my people! Nobody in Starlight City's ever dared cross Emberwick Base. Steven, I'm gonna kill you!"
Steven just smirked. "Heard that one before. Last guy who said it was already dead. You might know him—Peter."
Megan's eyes narrowed.
So, West Mountain Base's downfall was tied to this mysterious force.
Steven, just how powerful are you?
Militarily, West Mountain Base had been the the most powerful one in Starlight City.
If Steven could take them out, Emberwick Base wouldn't stand a chance either.
Still, Megan wasn't about to back down. She shot back with a sneer, "West Mountain Base got wiped out by that missile. Taking all the credit is a bit cocky, even for you. You think you're some kind of genius or something?"
Steven sneered, "Then why don't you think about why a missile hit West Mountain Base?"
Megan's tone faltered, and her expression grew more serious.
Indeed, that night, all the forces in Starlight City were shocked by the missile from the north.
They had no channels to communicate with higher organizations and couldn't figure out the ins and outs of the situation.
So Steven's words made her wonder—had the missile been his call for backup?
"You? A warehouse manager?" she shot back, her voice dripping with disbelief.
Steven said calmly, "Stop wasting your time digging for info. You think I'd just spill it to you? Wake up and smell the coffee—stay the hell away from me. If I can take out one round of your lackeys, I can do it again."
He then shot a glance at Lily, who was visibly on edge. "And those students you snatched? You better send them back to me, ASAP. Or else, I'll wipe you out!"
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