14: Chapter 14 Exchange and Cooperation

Three people were sitting in the room.

The one in the middle was over fifty, with graying hair, but in high spirits.

The one on the left was a young woman wearing glasses, looking very refined.

The one on the right was a burly man with a fleshy face; he looked like a thug at first glance.

The old man in the middle stood up and reached out his hand: "Hello, I am the leader of the Alliance, Zhou Jianguo."

Wang Jie shook his hand: "Wang Jie."

Zhou Jianguo invited him to sit down and had someone pour water.

"Zhang Hai has already told me," Zhou Jianguo said. "You came from the west? What is the situation over there now?"

Wang Jie thought for a moment and briefly described his own base—of course, without mentioning the Red Alert system.

After listening, Zhou Jianguo was silent for a moment.

"You mean to say that you, by yourself, leading dozens of soldiers, repelled a zombie horde?"

Wang Jie nodded.

Zhou Jianguo looked at him, his eyes filled with a certain complex emotion.

"Young man, you are not simple at all."

Wang Jie didn't respond.

Zhou Jianguo continued: "Our Alliance has over three hundred people, with over a hundred who can fight. But when facing a zombie horde, we can only defend; we dare not go out and fight. You, by yourself, with dozens of soldiers, were able to completely annihilate five hundred zombies. Who are those soldiers of yours?"

Wang Jie had already prepared his story: "Retired soldiers. I took them in after the apocalypse."

Zhou Jianguo nodded, though it was unclear if he believed it.

The young woman beside him spoke up: "Mr. Wang, I would like to ask, what is your opinion of the person called King Kong?"

Wang Jie looked at her.

The young woman introduced herself: "My name is Qin Yu, and I am the chief of staff of the Alliance."

Wang Jie thought for a moment and said: "I haven't met him. But I heard from Chen Xue that he is not a good person."

Qin Yu's eyes lit up: "Chen Xue? You know Chen Xue?"

Wang Jie was taken aback: "You know her too?"

Qin Yu nodded: "Chen Xue was originally one of us. She went out with a few other nurses to find medicine and was captured by King Kong's people. We searched for a long time without finding her and thought she had already..."

Wang Jie understood.

"She is with me now," he said. "She is alive and well."

Qin Yu let out a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on her face.

Zhou Jianguo also smiled: "Good, good. It's good that she's alive."

He paused, then added: "Mr. Wang, since you are one of us, I won't beat around the bush. We want to cooperate with you."

Wang Jie looked at him without speaking.

Zhou Jianguo continued: "King Kong has about seventy or eighty people, half of whom can fight. They have guns, knives, and a few vehicles. If our Alliance fights alone, it will be a bit difficult. If you can help, our chances of winning will be much higher."

Wang Jie was silent for a moment.

He weighed the pros and cons in his mind.

Helping the Alliance meant going to war with King Kong.

War leads to casualties, consumes resources, and carries risks.

But if he didn't help, King Kong would eventually discover his side, and they would have to fight anyway.

Furthermore, if what the Alliance said was true, then King Kong was indeed not a good person.

Wang Jie recalled the things Chen Xue had said—the women who were bullied, the survivors who were beaten.

He thought of the zombie wearing a wedding dress, the mother holding her baby, the child wearing a school uniform.

The apocalypse was already miserable enough.

Did humans still have to kill each other?

He raised his head and looked at Zhou Jianguo.

"Cooperation is possible," he said. "But I have conditions."

Zhou Jianguo nodded: "Go ahead."

"First, after defeating King Kong, we share the spoils. Second, in the future, the relationship between the Alliance and me will be equal cooperation, not superior and subordinate. Third—"

He paused.

"Third, if I find out you are lying to me, I will turn against you."

Zhou Jianguo was silent for a few seconds.

Then he smiled.

"Young man, you are very direct."

He reached out his hand.

"Deal."

Wang Jie shook his hand.

The two hands clasped together, like a promise.

By the time he left the Alliance Base, it was already getting dark.

Zhang Hai saw him to the door.

"Mr. Wang," he said, "you are a good person."

Wang Jie was taken aback: "How do you know?"

Zhang Hai smiled: "Because of the look in your eyes when you look at those survivors. That is not the look of someone viewing tools; that is the look of someone viewing people."

Wang Jie was silent for a moment.

Then he nodded and turned to walk toward his convoy.

Behind him, the Alliance Base appeared exceptionally quiet in the setting sun.

The children were still playing, and the elderly were still basking in the sun.

Wang Jie suddenly felt that this trip had been worth it.