Innocent Man, Guilty by Possession
Chapter 75: Innocent Man, Guilty by Possession
After some consideration, the leaders each brought along ten men and followed Gao Qiang into the hotel.
The spacious conference room quickly felt cramped as so many people poured in.
Gao Qiang naturally took the head seat.
Once everyone was seated, he smiled and began,"Actually, the reason I invited everyone here today is to discuss some good news."
"What good news?"Song Linfei asked coolly.
Gao Qiang didn't answer directly but instead asked,"Since everyone escaped here to Phoenix Mountain, I guess none of you brought a lot of supplies, right?"
No one responded.
How many supplies each group had was their biggest secret! No one wanted to reveal it to outsiders.
After all, an innocent man is guiltless—yet those who carry treasure invite trouble.
"Come on, Boss Gao, what exactly do you want to say? Stop beating around the bush!"Zhao Xiong pounded the table, growing impatient.
"What if I told you there's a warehouse on Phoenix Mountain stocked with massive amounts of supplies?"
Gao Qiang's words dropped like a stone in a calm lake, instantly stirring a storm of excitement!
"Massive amounts of supplies?""You must be joking?""No way! If what you say is true, why would you tell us?""Where's this warehouse?"
The crowd clamored.
"Quiet!"
Gao Qiang pressed his hands down to calm everyone, then continued,"This warehouse isn't far—it's at the Yuelton Hotel to the north."
At the mention of Yuelton Hotel, Gao Xiangjun sneered.
"Boss Gao, do you really think we're idiots?""That guy you hate, Su Chen, right?""He and his team occupy the Yuelton Hotel.""You say there's a warehouse there, but really you just want us to help you get revenge!"
Though Gao Qiang's feud with Su Chen happened before Zhao Xiong, Gao Xiangjun, and the others arrived at Phoenix Mountain, no secret stays hidden forever.
The visitors had met Gao Qiang several times and learned about his feud with Su Chen through his men.
Hearing Gao Xiangjun's words, everyone looked at Gao Qiang differently.
But Gao Qiang seemed to have anticipated this reaction and remained calm.
He chuckled,"Yes, I have a grudge against Su Chen.""But this isn't about revenge."
"Old Xu!"
At Gao Qiang's call, a middle-aged man who looked honest and simple stepped forward.
He was Old Xu, the driver who had previously driven Su Chen.
"Tell them everything you know."
Gao Qiang said casually.
"Yes, Boss Gao!"
Old Xu nodded and began recounting everything he had seen and heard while driving for Su Chen, word for word, under the curious eyes of Gao Xiangjun, Xia Bowen, and the others.
After listening, everyone wore thoughtful expressions.
"So, Su Chen has hoarded all the supplies at the Yuelton Hotel?"
Gao Xiangjun stroked his chin and mused.
"Very likely! Otherwise, where else would he keep them?"
Gao Qiang countered.
In the RV community, the Nomadison was a huge asset.
Even if it was fully stocked, how long would the supplies last?
Abiao personally witnessed Su Chen living inside the RV since the arrival of the scorching apocalypse.
Now Su Chen was providing supplies to survivors like He Wang and Sun Yuan.
Logically, the supplies inside should have been used up long ago.
The only possibility was that he had prepared supplies in advance at the Yuelton Hotel!
"Are you sure he has massive supplies?""Be honest, or I'll deal with you!"
Zhao Xiong clenched his fists and asked in a low voice.
Old Xu was startled but quickly waved his hands and swore,"I swear I'm telling the truth. I overheard him telling the Walmart manager to order tens of millions worth of goods!"
"Oh, and there's also Lin Yingying from Captain Song's team. She knows too."
"Su Chen came to her before and ordered a large batch of medical supplies!"
Everyone immediately looked at Song Linfei.
Song Linfei nodded slightly,"Yes, that's true.""And that guy also asked me to help buy four to five thousand barrels of gasoline. I never heard where it was sold, so it's probably stored at the Yuelton Hotel as well!"
Gao Qiang added.
At the mention of gasoline, all the leaders' eyes lit up!
In the apocalypse, food was the most important resource.
But next to food, gasoline was the most precious!
Without gasoline, vehicles wouldn't start and couldn't travel far to scavenge more supplies!
Zhao Xiong and Xia Bowen had escaped to Phoenix Mountain precisely because they had gasoline.
Otherwise, they would have drowned in the raging floods long ago!
Despite the relentless rain outside turning the world into a vast ocean, if the heat wave suddenly disappeared like before, everyone would have to leave Phoenix Mountain to search for supplies again.
At that time, gasoline would be priceless!
"So, what do you say, bosses? Shall we join forces to take down Su Chen?""Then we can split the supplies evenly!"
Gao Qiang smiled broadly as he looked around.
Song Linfei didn't respond, merely watching coldly.
But Zhao Xiong and Gao Xiangjun seemed tempted, perhaps because their supplies weren't abundant.
"But all of this is just Boss Gao's guess, after all.""I heard Su Chen is very cunning. Boss Gao, I think you've taken quite a beating from him before.""An assault on Yuelton Hotel will cost many lives.""What if you're wrong?"
Xia Bowen spoke.
As the owner of several supermarket chains, he had ample supplies and the largest number of survivors under his command among the big groups.
So he wasn't eager to move against Su Chen.
After Xia Bowen's words, the others grew more cautious.
From what they knew, Su Chen was ruthless.
He had pepper spray and sulfuric acid in the RV, a short shotgun, even bear traps, compound bows, and Molotov cocktails!
Though they had many more men than Su Chen, if he entrenched himself in Yuelton Hotel with such weapons, they'd lose dozens if not hundreds of lives trying to take it.
"I don't have absolute confidence. I'll leave it to you all to decide."
Gao Qiang shrugged and left the question to Xia Bowen and the others.