Lei Laohu's voice suddenly turned cold: "Scorpion, that mad dog, has absolute control over B and C zones! I need a knife to chop off his claws and gouge out his heart!"

Lei Laohu's gaze burned as he stared at Lu Shiyan: "And you, Lu Shiyan, your appearance has shown me the prototype of that knife."

As expected, he wanted to use them to deal with Scorpion?

Lu Shiyan's expression remained unchanged. "Commander Lei," he slowly began, "a knife is a double-edged sword. Used well, it can cut through thorns; used poorly, it can also injure oneself."

"Moreover," he changed the subject, his eyes sharp as a blade, "whether a knife is sharp and useful, it must be given the appropriate treatment. To expect a knife to fight for you with just empty words, I'm afraid there's no such cheap deal in this world."

The air grew tense again.

Su Wan held her breath, her palms slightly sweaty. Lu Shiyan was bargaining with Lei Laohu!

A glint flashed in Lei Laohu's eyes. Not only was he not angry, but he laughed heartily again: "Hahahahaha! Well said! Well said indeed!"

"Besides fighting and killing, I enjoy playing chess," Lei Laohu picked up a black 'General' piece, toying with it between his fingers. "This base is like a chess game. Everyone is a piece."

He placed the 'General' piece heavily in the center of the chessboard, making a crisp "snap" sound.

"And I want to be the one who controls the game!" His gaze sharply swept over the three of them. "Scorpion is a disruptive piece on my chessboard, a poisonous piece that wants to jump off the board, and even bite back at the player!"

"What I want you to do is to help me clear out this poisonous piece." Lei Laohu picked up a red 'Cannon' piece and placed it in a subtle position, as if it was about to checkmate at any moment. "Of course, on the chessboard, dangers are unpredictable. If you succeed, you will be heroes."

"If you fail..." A cruel smile played on his lips as he gently pushed the black 'General' piece towards the 'Cannon's' mouth.

"A chess piece, once broken, is broken. I will find other pieces."

Inside the room, the scent of sandalwood mixed with blood grew even stronger.

Lei Laohu's wine had not yet arrived, but this blood-stained chess game was already laid out before Lu Shiyan.

To accept, or not to accept?

"What if we refuse to cooperate?" Xiao Han asked directly.

Lei Laohu's smile vanished: "Get out of the base! The storm is coming, and the fence-sitters will be the first to die!"

The meeting ended, and the three were sent back to their residence. A Mo and the others were indeed not there again; Lu Shiyan must have sent them on another mission.

Xiao Han leaned against the cold wall. "One is a ruthless madman, the other a cunning schemer. Neither path is a smooth one; both involve licking blood from the blade."

"Lei Laohu values our combat strength and wants to use us as a knife to stir up the situation, and even to deal with Scorpion. As for Scorpion, he probably prefers to completely control us, turning us into his sharpest tools, or... directly destroying us."

"So, we've chosen Lei Laohu just like that?" Xiao Han raised an eyebrow, a hint of inquiry in his tone.

Lu Shiyan's lips curved. "On the surface, yes."

Su Wan instantly understood his meaning. "You mean, we outwardly agree to cooperate with Lei Laohu as a temporary measure to gain a foothold in the base."

"Exactly." Lu Shiyan nodded. "Dealing with a tiger requires extreme caution. But for now, this is our only option. At least, Lei Laohu still needs us as a 'knife' and won't try to kill us for the time being."

"Grrr..."

A clear stomach growl abruptly broke the silence, shattering the stagnant air. Su Wan's cheeks quickly flushed a faint red, and she instinctively pressed her hand to her lower abdomen. As the intense mental tension relaxed, the ignored hunger surged in like a tide.

Xiao Han raised an eyebrow, glancing sideways at Su Wan, a playful smirk on his lips: "Oh, whose stomach is playing an empty-fort strategy? It seems even the biggest decisions have to wait until the stomach is appeased."

Su Wan gave him an embarrassed glare but didn't retort; she was truly hungry. "I didn't eat well for dinner... and then I was called to Lei Laohu's place..." she mumbled softly.

Indeed, Xiao Han hadn't eaten enough either. Lu Shiyan turned and went into the kitchen, and soon the aroma of food wafted out.

The meal was quickly served on the only small table. A pot of mushroom stew with meat and a pot of rice, simple but steaming hot.

Xiao Han was the first to pick up his chopsticks, unceremoniously grabbing a large piece of meat: "Eat first as a sign of respect."

Su Wan ate her rice in small bites, her stomach gradually warming up, and her taut nerves also relaxed slightly. She looked at Lu Shiyan; his eating movements were still composed, as if he were not in a crisis-ridden apocalypse base, but in a peaceful afternoon.

The meal ended in relative silence. After the brief satisfaction brought by food, the real problems resurfaced.

Lu Shiyan put down his chopsticks, picked up the water cup on the table, and took a sip, his gaze calmly sweeping over the two of them. He wiped his mouth, his voice steady and clear: "If Pan Yong comes again, tell him clearly that we accept Commander Lei's invitation and will join his faction."

Su Wan nodded, her mouth full, cheeks puffed out like a hamster storing food, mumbling an indistinct reply. After dinner, Lu Shiyan, as usual, took Su Wan to practice shooting.

The next morning.

"It's me, Pan Yong." The familiar, steady voice came from outside the door.

Lu Shiyan nodded slightly, and only then did Xiao Han open the door. Pan Yong was still in a neat uniform, his face slightly tired, but his eyes were still sharp. Behind him stood four heavily armed guards, each with a gleaming gun tucked into their waistbands.

"Commander Lei is anxious for your reply." Pan Yong got straight to the point, "How have you considered it?"

Lu Shiyan's expression was calm, showing no ripple: "We have decided to accept Commander Lei's invitation."

A fleeting, almost imperceptible look of relief flashed in Pan Yong's eyes, and he nodded: "Very good."

He paused, his gaze quickly sweeping over Su Wan's abdomen, then turning to Lu Shiyan, his voice lowered a few notches, carrying an undeniable tone of command: "The first mission, the time has come to prove your sincerity in defecting."

"Speak." Lu Shiyan seemed to have anticipated all of this.

"In the west of the city, Scorpion has a secret stronghold. On the surface, it's an abandoned cannery, but in reality, it's where they store and modify weapons, and possibly... it involves the research of some prohibited items."

Pan Yong unfolded a simple map, pointing to a location marked with a red circle: "According to our latest intelligence, it's heavily guarded, but at hai shi tonight, a batch of important supplies will be secretly transported in, and their defenses will be briefly relaxed."

"Your mission," Pan Yong's fingertip tapped heavily on the red circle, "is to infiltrate, and after the supplies arrive, completely destroy it. I want to see that place become a sea of fire and ruins by the time the sun rises tomorrow."

Pan Yong left with his men after speaking.

Xiao Han whistled, breaking the silence: "A sea of fire and ruins, quite a boast. This old Lei really treats us like a master key."

Lu Shiyan picked up the simple map, his fingertip gently tracing the red circle.

"If it succeeds, he reaps the benefits."

"If it fails, we're just cannon fodder exploring the way, and he loses nothing."

Su Wan looked at Lu Shiyan, "We..."

"So what do we do now?" Xiao Han also realized the seriousness of the problem, the playfulness completely gone from his face. "Are we still going on this mission? What if it's a trap...?"