The moment he heard those words, Gao Qiqiang immediately understood what Gao Xiangjun was up to.
Although all their forces were roughly equal, Gao Qiqiang still held a slight edge thanks to his battle-hardened, loyal men. Among the various leaders, he held a vague but undeniable upper hand.Especially since it was him who had personally negotiated with Su Chen and secured the deal.
Now, how the supplies would be distributed depended entirely on his word.
To Gao Qiqiang, it was obvious—Gao Xiangjun was trying to curry favor.
"Ah, Brother Xiangjun, you're being far too polite," Gao Qiqiang said with feigned modesty, shaking his head.
"So, when are we heading out?"
"Right now, Boss Gao! Please, after you!" Gao Xiangjun immediately stood and gestured invitingly.
Although Gao Qiqiang didn't suspect Gao Xiangjun outright, he wasn't the type to take unnecessary risks.After thinking for a moment, he decided to leave Zhao Xiong behind to watch the base, while he took Zhao Xiong, Old Xu, and several dozen men with him to visit Gao Xiangjun's camp.
That way, even if Gao Xiangjun had something up his sleeve, Gao Qiqiang would be prepared—and at the very least, he wouldn't risk getting his own base "home-raided" again.
Before long, they arrived at Gao Xiangjun's resort-style stronghold.
In the center of the main room was a table, atop which sat a traditional copper hotpot, surrounded by an assortment of ingredients.Most of the food was instant and preserved, but it still showed Gao Xiangjun had put in effort.
What really caught the eye, though, were the few packs of premium cigarettes and a bottle of Moutai on the table.
"Damn, Brother Xiangjun, you're really flexing during the apocalypse," Gao Qiqiang said, shaking his head and sighing dramatically.
As he sat down, he casually swept all the cigarette packs into his pocket like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Gao Xiangjun winced internally.It's fine. No big deal. I'll get them back soon anyway.He consoled himself while quickly sitting beside Gao Qiqiang and pouring two full glasses of the precious Moutai.
Gao Qiqiang picked up the glass and downed it in one go, his face immediately lighting up with satisfaction.
"Ah, nothing hits like the real Moutai!"
Back in the old world, Gao Qiqiang had been a top boss—the kind of guy who literally rinsed his mouth with Moutai.After all this time, tasting it again nearly brought tears to his eyes.
"Damn, Xiangjun! I didn't think you were hiding this kind of treasure!" Gao Qiqiang said, half-joking, half-accusing.
"Boss Gao, forgive me—I only had half a bottle left!" Gao Xiangjun quickly refilled his glass and replied in mock grievance.
"I get it, I get it. We're both Gaos—probably cousins if you trace back a few hundred years."
"How about this: from now on, whenever Su Chen delivers supplies, I'll give you enough for five extra people."
Considering Su Chen had only delivered enough for three hundred people total, giving away five extra shares was incredibly generous.
"Boss Gao, you're my long-lost brother from another mother!" Gao Xiangjun exclaimed with over-the-top excitement, raising his glass again.
"Cheers!"
They both downed another glass.As Gao Xiangjun poured again, he grew increasingly anxious.
Why hasn't Su Chen started yet?If this drags on, this half bottle of Moutai is going to be gone!
Luckily, he didn't have to wait long.
Just as the two of them picked up their chopsticks and took a couple of bites, a man burst in, breathless.
"Boss Gao, bad news! Our camp is under attack by Su Chen's men!"
"Brother Biao sent me to get you—he says we need reinforcements, fast!"
Gao Qiqiang immediately shot to his feet.
I was only gone a little while—Su Chen, you bastard, you're addicted to home-raiding, aren't you?!
Seriously? We just finished negotiating yesterday, and today you're already backstabbing me?
"Brother Xiangjun, sorry—but I've gotta go!"
He turned to leave.
"Wait, Boss Gao! If you head back now and Su Chen's set an ambush, what then?" Gao Xiangjun quickly stopped him.
"Besides, this kind of dirty work—leave it to the little guys."
"Song Shuai, take your men and go back with Boss Gao's crew!"
Gao Qiqiang paused.
That did make sense. If he rushed back with a large group, there was a good chance he'd run straight into an ambush.One wrong move, and it could be game over.
After a moment of thought, he turned to Zhao Xiong.
"Brother Zhao, take the men and back up Biao. Just drive Su Chen's people off—no chasing them down, got it?"
"Yes, Boss Gao!"
Zhao Xiong nodded firmly and left the resort with Gao Xiangjun's man Song Shuai, both leading groups of fighters.
Back at the base, Biao was already suspicious.
Su Chen had attacked once before, but that was in the dead of night—and only after Gao Qiqiang had sent out all his men.
But this time was different.
In broad daylight, Su Chen's men had marched up openly, getting spotted right away by a lookout who immediately alerted Biao.
There wasn't any close-quarters fighting—both sides were just lobbing explosives and molotovs from a distance.
It looked chaotic, but the damage on Biao's side was minimal.Only two unlucky guys got caught in the blast radius and had their clothes set on fire.
That was it.
Still, Biao stayed sharp.While tightening the defense, he sent someone to inform Gao Qiqiang at Gao Xiangjun's place.
Then, out of nowhere, chaos broke out among Su Chen's crew.
Moments later, they began retreating—fast.
In a matter of minutes, they were gone.
"What the hell?" Biao muttered, confused.
"Don't attack! It's us!" a deep voice shouted.
Biao looked up to see Zhao Xiong and Song Shuai approaching with their men.
Turned out the two had flanked Su Chen's group, forcing them to retreat.
"Biao, what's our status?" Zhao Xiong asked with concern.
"Minimal damage," Biao replied with a shake of his head.
"Good. That Su Chen bastard has no shame—completely untrustworthy! Luckily, we reacted fast today, or he might've gotten away with it again!"
Zhao Xiong snorted in disgust.But when he noticed the grim expression on Biao's face, he asked,
"What's wrong? You still feel something's off?"
"I don't know… something just doesn't sit right," Biao muttered.
"If there's nothing else, I'll head back," Song Shuai chimed in.
"Sure—do me a favor. Let our boss know Su Chen's been driven off. He can come back safely now," Biao said with a nod.
Meanwhile, back at Gao Xiangjun's place—
Now that Zhao Xiong and the others had left, only about five men remained at Gao Qiqiang's side, including Old Xu.
"Come on now, Boss Gao. No need to overthink it—drink up!" Gao Xiangjun said cheerfully, refilling his glass.
But Gao Qiqiang was distracted.He kept glancing toward the window, clearly worried about what was happening at his base.
Seeing this, a glint of malice flickered in Gao Xiangjun's eyes.