Chapter 302 - 275: Only the Powerful Can Be Neutral
"Chairman, just as we expected, the people from the Urban Village aren’t making a move," Cao Biansheng reported, striding quickly toward Qin Ziwen.
Qin Ziwen’s gaze fell on the distant, hole-riddled building. He nodded slightly. "They have Bed Crossbows. Don’t let your guard down."
In the sky, a Beaked Eagle spread its wide wings and circled silently over the Urban Village. Its eyes were like radar; it would issue a warning the moment there was any sign of them bringing out the Bed Crossbows.
Deng Guang squinted at the dense cluster of low-rise buildings. "Looks like they don’t plan on coming out to fight to the death."
Yuan Dajun grinned. "The Chairman’s move was brilliant. The other side really isn’t united."
After the Lost Home reached the shore, Cao Biansheng had originally proposed bombarding the Urban Village directly, suppressing them with firepower before charging in to eliminate that group of enemies.
But Qin Ziwen had ordered them to attack the high-rise instead.
Now, it seemed the people in the Urban Village had no intention of getting involved.
They weren’t fighting, but they weren’t surrendering either. They just remained silent.
It was all rather strange.
Qin Ziwen knew that while the barrage from the Car-Mounted Crossbows looked impressive, it was far from enough to bring down a modern, reinforced concrete skyscraper.
If a dozen Bed Crossbows could destroy it, then every single one of its contractors would have ended up in jail.
This was also why Qin Ziwen was reluctant to engage in close-quarters combat.
The enemy could use the terrain to their advantage, easily turning the fight into urban warfare, battling from street to street and building to building.
It was a well-known fact that even in modern times, urban warfare remained one of the most complex, bloody, and high-casualty forms of combat.
Even if they had an advantage in equipment and the quality of their troops, the enemy was more familiar with the terrain.
In a direct assault, even if they won, their casualties would be anything but low.
In Qin Ziwen’s eyes, every able-bodied man from his Gated Community was a precious human resource. Expending them in large numbers wasn’t worth it.
What he truly wanted was never a frontal assault.
It was to divide, to break, to pry them open from the inside.
To make the enemy fight the enemy.
"I want to know what the people in the Urban Village are thinking right now. Does anyone dare to act as an envoy and ask them what their intentions are?" Qin Ziwen asked with a smile.
Behind him, a burly man stepped forward without hesitation.
"I’ll go!"
"What’s your name?"
"Chen Jingsi!"
"Good. Then you shall be the envoy."
"Thank you, Chairman." Chen Jingsi was overjoyed.
Seeing this, a few of Chen Jingsi’s friends nearby wrung their hands, feeling they had missed their chance.
"You better be careful. They might just kidnap you and take you hostage," one of Chen Jingsi’s friends said sourly.
"Haha, I know what I’m doing." Chen Jingsi was full of confidence.
’Dangerous? Of course it was risky.’
’When would a risk-free opportunity ever fall to him?’
’The bigger the storm, the more valuable the fish!’
Ever since joining the Qin Alliance, he had trained relentlessly, building his strength. While others rested, he was honing his skills in the Martial Arts Arena and the Celestial Star Arrow Gallery. He had even obtained an Enhancement Card during the last map settlement.
All of it was for a single chance to prove himself.
The Qin Alliance had nine hundred and seventy-six members. Without doing something spectacular, how could he ever stand out?
He rappelled down a rope to the sea, swam to the bank, and climbed ashore. He took off his jacket, wrung it dry, and put it back on.
Chen Jingsi strode toward the Urban Village.
From dozens of meters away, he noticed figures moving behind a nearby window.
He laughed loudly. "I’m here to see your boss. Lead the way."
Chen Jingsi stood at the entrance for over ten minutes. Then, a man in a hat came running out from a straight, concrete road in the center of the Urban Village and beckoned to him.
Chen Jingsi didn’t move from his spot. Instead, he raised his voice. "Beckoning from so far away, is this how you treat your guests? If you don’t want to talk, then let’s fight. But can you handle the consequences?"
His voice wasn’t loud, but it echoed through the empty streets.
The man in the hat stopped twenty paces away, his eyes flickering under the brim of his hat.
After a standoff that lasted several breaths, he finally walked ten paces closer and cupped his fists. "My apologies for the discourtesy. Please, follow me."
Only then did Chen Jingsi start walking to follow him.
The two of them walked to a three-story building, where seven or eight men were gathered at the entrance, their gazes hostile.
The man in the hat waved his hand, signaling the others to disperse.
As if he hadn’t seen them, Chen Jingsi just smiled faintly and walked straight inside.
𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
In the first-floor living room sat a burly man.
To his left and right stood a line of equally burly and powerfully built men.
Clearly, it was an attempt to intimidate him.
Chen Jingsi glanced around, chuckled, and shook his head. He had actually spotted a middle-aged man in the crowd with graying temples, who looked to be in his late forties at least.
’They’re even calling on men this old to fill out their numbers,’ he thought. ’It seems this Urban Village really is short on people.’
Seeing his reaction, the man in the main seat looked displeased, and the burly men on either side glared at him angrily.
Chen Jingsi spoke as if to himself, "I’m just an envoy. Your little welcoming party is useless against me. Besides, who’s really setting the trap here? I’ve come bearing our Chairman’s intentions. If you don’t accept his mercy, then all that awaits you are blades and spears."
"What do you want?"
"I’ve come to ask a question on behalf of my Chairman. You won’t fight, you won’t retreat, and you won’t surrender. What exactly is your intention?"
"We didn’t even provoke you, but you came attacking us!" someone beside him spat angrily.
"Didn’t provoke us? Or was it that you lacked the ability to provoke us? Or maybe you just haven’t had the chance yet! Or perhaps... your attempt to provoke us failed!" Chen Jingsi sneered. "The man who just died in our Gated Community claimed to be the leader of the Blood Words. Don’t you dare say you knew nothing about it."
"We are not with the Blood Words," the man in the main seat said in a low voice.
"Enough." The man in the hat who had led Chen Jingsi in spoke, and the room instantly fell silent.
He took off his hat, revealing an ordinary face.
The most striking feature was the pair of diagonal scars at the corners of his eyes.
"Brother Long." The man who had been sitting in the main seat stood up, surprised. He didn’t understand why Brother Long would suddenly reveal his identity.
Yang Long frowned. "We... we don’t want to clash with you. That’s why I didn’t let my brothers make a move. We were all compatriots before. There’s no need to fight to the death."
"If it weren’t for the fact that we’re compatriots, I wouldn’t be here as an envoy right now," Chen Jingsi said with a faint smile.
Yang Long looked at Chen Jingsi. "Your conflict with the Blood Words is your own business. We are the Jianghu Association, not the Blood Words."
"So you want to remain neutral?" Chen Jingsi feigned surprise. "Chairman Yang, I wonder if you’ve heard this saying: only those with strength can be neutral. Those without are just sitting on the fence. And the ones on the fence are always the first to get hit."
Yang Long’s expression darkened instantly.
The words were vicious, stripping away all pretense.
’You want to be neutral? First, ask yourself if you’re even worthy.’
"Insolent!" A sturdy man at his side couldn’t hold back. He strode forward, his finger nearly poking Chen Jingsi in the nose. "Saying we have no ability? Let’s see how tough you are!"
Chen Jingsi’s eyes turned cold. He sank his stance slightly, his left hand clamping onto the man’s wrist like an iron pincer while his right foot stepped forward half a pace, locking the man’s ankle.
"THUD!"
With a shoulder throw, he slammed the 1.9-meter-tall man flat on his back.
Seeing this, the others started to surround him.
"Back down!" Yang Long barked.
He suppressed the brewing confrontation. A one-on-one could be passed off as a spar, but if they all swarmed him, the nature of the situation would change completely.
Besides, judging from that exchange, an ordinary person was no match for this man.
In the entire Jianghu Association, besides himself, no one could guarantee a win against him.
"You’ve got some skill. No wonder you dared to come as an envoy. What’s your position in the Qin Alliance?" Yang Long asked.
"Just an ordinary member of a Hunting Team, that’s all." Chen Jingsi’s tone was humble. He paused, as if remembering something, and added nonchalantly, "There are dozens more like me in the Qin Alliance."
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