Chapter153

Zhu Xiao had anticipated Xu Nuo's skepticism and remained calm, openly admitting, "Indeed, my abilities with these plants come from mutated ones. This particular plant's toxins naturally suppress abilities, which is why previous wood-type users we found could only slightly enhance its growth, but any growth was beneficial.

As for the robbery, I agree with your point; this is a world where the strong prey on the weak. If we were the weaker ones, others would loot us instead. We've experienced that.

However, I don't take everything from ability users; I only take what they've collected in Pingcheng since we plan to use this area as our base for now. If you've taken all from Pingcheng, what would we have left to gather?

Given our encounter, I'll consider taking only 80% of what you've gathered in Pingcheng, allowing you to leave with the rest."

Xu Nuo gave a cold laugh, "Let's not talk about whether you'd actually leave us 20%. How do you know what we've collected from Pingcheng versus other areas on our journey? Doesn't that sound a bit ridiculous?

Moreover, these resources are earned with our lives; why should we give them to you? If you want resources, why not hunt for them with your own abilities? Why resort to highway robbery?

With your capabilities and those speed-enhanced users in your team, you could probably gather just as much by hunting, couldn't you?"

Zhu Xiao wasn't angered by Xu Nuo's questioning; he just smiled gently. "We can estimate how much you've gathered in Pingcheng based on your ability levels and how long you've stayed there. We won't take everything you have, as you suggest.

I have considered your method, but few of the ability users here are original residents; most joined later, and at least half are ordinary people. I don't trust them enough to lead them out. If another group invades our village while we're gone, do you think these ordinary folks could defend it?

Or, if you hadn't encountered so many speed-enhanced users, do you think you'd have been captured?"

Park Su, listening to Zhu Xiao's argument, felt it was surprisingly logical, leaving him without a counterargument, so he kept silent, waiting for Xu Nuo to respond.

Xu Nuo looked at Zhu Xiao's righteous facade and found it laughable, "Mr. Zhu, don't tell me you genuinely care about the lives of these ordinary people. What you care about is the town you've worked hard to establish. You want this town to bring you benefits, to give you power, not to save these people's lives.

You speak so nobly, but all you want is to create another small base where you can rule like a local emperor. Am I right?"

Zhu Xiao could clearly sense the hostility from Xu Nuo, but he didn't refute his words; instead, he responded with an air of matter-of-factness, "You say this because you're viewing it from an ability user's perspective. But you haven't considered it from the viewpoint of an ordinary person. Ability users, aside from providing protection, are not always kind to them.

You've just come from another base; you should have seen this scenario. Yes, I admit I might not care as much about their lives as you might think, but I can at least give them the best treatment while they live, at least a fair treatment.

Do you think you're the only one who sees through this? People aren't stupid; they might not see it in a day or two, but after all this time, even the slowest would have noticed. Why do you think they don't leave if they've realized it?

It's because living here, even with limited life expectancy, gives them more dignity than being treated like dogs elsewhere. Moreover, I do my best to protect their lives.

You're right about my desire for power; I think any man would have some desire for it, especially in these chaotic times. 'In times of chaos, heroes emerge.' Leading ability users isn't easy with my current abilities, especially since most prefer staying in bases. So, I have to start with ordinary people. I admit my intentions aren't pure, but they align with what these people want."

Park Su, listening to their exchange, felt somewhat out of his depth; both made compelling points, so he decided to let Xu Nuo handle the conversation.

Xu Nuo gave a cold laugh, "Maybe you're right, but whether these people want to stay here or not is none of my concern, so I don't need to hear your justifications. What kind of future you've painted for them to stay doesn't matter to me. As for whether my partner and I will stay, let's decide after we see this mutated plant you're talking about.

Given my current situation, you wouldn't be too cowardly to let us have a look, would you?"

Zhu Xiao narrowed his eyes; this was the first time someone had seen through him so quickly. While he didn't show it on the surface, he was now wary of Xu Nuo.

Zhu Xiao glanced at Park Su, who appeared to be zoning out beside Xu Nuo. He wasn't sure if Xu Nuo's last statement was true or false, but he sensed that if he didn't show them the mutated plant, they wouldn't agree to help.

In short, showing them at least left the possibility of convincing them open, while not showing them eliminated that chance entirely. Initially, he had thought about using one to leverage the other into compliance due to their close relationship. However, after conversing with Xu Nuo, he dismissed that idea. Even though he could feel the strong bond between Park Su and Xu Nuo, he suspected that if he captured one, the other might not only refuse to cooperate but could even go berserk. Despite their current suppression, Zhu Xiao felt these two were not to be underestimated, especially since he didn't know their exact standing in their convoy.

Just from Xu Nuo's presence, Zhu Xiao guessed he held a significant position in the team. Who knew if the convoy might storm in to rescue them? The losses would be his village's to bear. In the past, he might not have minded such losses, having sacrificed much of his strength to tackle a larger convoy for more resources to sustain more people.

However, after selling off a considerable amount of serum to develop his power, the surrounding villages, now more robust and with diminishing serum production, were eyeing his main settlement. He didn't want his hard work to go to waste, leading him to expand his village's strength by any means, even if it meant accepting a mixed bag of individuals. He thought he could turn a blind eye to their actions as long as they didn't cause too much trouble.

But today's incident made him realize his previous decisions were flawed. He thought he was only half-blind, but it turned out he might as well have been completely blind.

In the end, he couldn't blame Park Su and Xu Nuo for the chaos; their request now was simply a matter of distrust, which, from their perspective, was only logical after what had happened.

While Zhu Xiao was mulling over his decision, Xu Nuo, unrushed, turned to Park Su, who seemed detached from the matter at hand, and communicated telepathically, "You're really laid-back, not even caring about what we're discussing. Aren't you afraid I'd sell you out?"

Park Su looked back at him, blinking his almond-shaped eyes, and cheekily responded, "I'm so good, would you really do that?" After saying this, he turned away, embarrassed.

Xu Nuo chuckled at Park Su's red ears, teasing, "I really can't bear to. You're quite popular; there are many who'd want you."

Park Su didn't reply but pondered internally how, since he started identifying as a '0', he seemed to attract so much attention. Reflecting on his past life as a '1', where he chased one man for years only to meet a tragic end, he wondered if he was just not cut out for being a '1'. Could it be?

While Park Su was grappling with his identity crisis, Zhu Xiao finally made up his mind, "Alright, I'll let you see the mutated plant, but I have one condition. No matter what it looks like, you must not spread any information about it."