First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Negotiation

After Lian Sheng finished speaking, the group fell into silence once again.

"..." Lian Sheng raised her head and said, "What are you all doing? Why make things so awkward?"

Zheng Lei wiped his face: "Nothing, I'm just using silence to express my bewilderment."

Shen Yu clasped his hands toward her: "Thank you, oh mighty one, for your guidance!"

Meng Jiangwu asked: "So what do we do now?"

"Stay put and observe the situation," Lian Sheng said, then glanced at the others nearby. "Any objections?"

The others shook their heads.

When hungry, one doesn't even feel like talking.

Following Lu Mingyuan's directions, they headed up the mountain first to be prepared for any situation.

Regardless of position, they chose a relatively less crowded spot, prioritizing their own safety. In the current circumstances, anyone appearing in their line of sight would become an enemy.

Before long, brightly colored parachutes began descending from the sky, each carrying a rectangular crate. More were subsequently dropped at different locations.

After the supplies appeared, numerous figures could be seen running along the main road not far from their hiding spot, rushing toward the nearest supply drop point.

Lian Sheng and the others remained seated.

Students converged from all directions. Some passed by them, glanced their way, but didn't stop.

After the initial frenzy, the area quieted down again.

Meng Jiangwu shifted uncomfortably and pointed ahead anxiously: "Aren't we going to keep watch?"

Lian Sheng shook her head: "No."

Meng Jiangwu said: "No what? If we don't go, how will we know who took the supplies? Then they'll successfully get away with them."

Zheng Lei and the others also looked at her. They thought her plan was to intercept them halfway.

Lian Sheng casually grabbed her ankle and said: "If they take them, we can just take them back."

"..." Meng Jiangwu said with difficulty, "I forgot this is your first time participating."

Lian Sheng raised an eyebrow: "What?"

Lu Mingyuan explained: "Generally speaking, those who can secure supplies aren't just one or two small teams. Since each supply crate contains over thirty bread rolls and more than ten bottles of water, everyone can cooperate in distributing them. So the teams that successfully obtain supplies are usually quite large. Trying to seize them through combat has low success rates and isn't cost-effective."

Zhao Zhuoluo said: "In such large group activities, it's impossible not to have alliances. Naturally, those with greater numbers prevail."

This created a cycle where everyone's choices converged—cooperation, of course.

He thought someone as shrewd as Lian Sheng couldn't have failed to consider this.

Lian Sheng tilted her head back and said: "There's one type of person who's guaranteed to get food. And their numbers won't be too large either."

Meng Jiangwu: "Ji Fangxiao?"

"Ah..." Lu Mingyuan looked up and said, "You're not talking about the instructors again, are you?"

Lian Sheng crossed her arms and said meaningfully: "Instructors are good, instructors are very good."

The group: "..."

The instructors probably wouldn't agree.

What followed was locating the instructors' position.

After some discussion, Lian Sheng asked Lu Mingyuan if there were any spots nearby with good terrain, relatively open visibility for spotting approaching enemies, multiple access routes for easy retreat, preferably more secluded areas.

The criteria were too broad for Lu Mingyuan to be certain. He described the nearby terrain, and they discussed it together. After reasonable speculation, they identified several possible locations and began searching them one by one.

At this moment, the mountain was still on the brink of chaos.

They tried to avoid the fiercely contested areas but still encountered an insurmountable obstacle.

In this particular zone, the competition was so intense that the supply crate had already been opened, its bread and water snatched up in a frenzy. Those lucky enough to grab food and water fled in all directions, tossing their prizes to teammates waiting on the periphery. Others, unwilling to give up, gave chase, escalating the situation further.

After all, carrying an entire crate made one too conspicuous and hindered movement. When disputes among multiple parties seemed unresolvable and one might end up empty-handed, sharing became an understandable solution.

Except the bread, having been tightly clutched by students, was now so crumpled that Lian Sheng could probably swallow a piece whole.

Unfortunately, combat zones didn't permit eating. Stray bullets could easily hit someone.

Meng Jiangwu's face lit up as if he'd discovered something exciting: "This could work too."

Fighting over one piece of bread was definitely easier than fighting over an entire crate.

Lian Sheng said: "You'd also die faster that way."

Did hatred really come in varying degrees? One piece was enough to risk your life.

Since the combat area was so extensive that circumventing it would be too costly—it practically dominated an entire section of the mountain—they had no choice but to traverse it as discreetly as possible.

Lian Sheng looked back and asked: "If you use a supply crate as a shield, can bullets penetrate it?"

"Not allowed," Lu Mingyuan said. "Only completely filled crates placed horizontally can block bullets. Using empty crates or other objects to obstruct equipment and interfere with system judgments will be considered a violation and get you disqualified."

Otherwise, what would be the point? Everyone might as well go wild.

Lian Sheng nodded to show she understood.

They wandered through the woods, cautiously moving deeper. Fortunately, their analysis and general direction were correct—it didn't take long for them to find their target.

Ahead were six instructors who had already finished their meal and were sitting on the ground drinking water. The supply crate was placed nearby, showing that about half its contents remained intact.

They might carry the remaining bread with them since they wouldn't know when the activity would end and needed to stay until the very last moment. Or they could use it as bait—also a good option.

Lu Mingyuan turned his head and mouthed: "Now what?"

Lian Sheng: "Give me all your bullets."

From their previous transaction, Lian Sheng had given Instructor Fu some bullets but not all. The group still had quite a few left.

Everyone took out the bullets they'd been saving and placed them before her.

Lian Sheng stuffed two handfuls into her chest pocket and held another in her hand. She switched her weapon to Zheng Lei's small handgun for easier carrying, then stepped forward alone.

A familiar scene, a familiar picture.

The group silently watched her depart.

Lian Sheng made several large leaps forward, quickly closing the distance before ducking behind a tree.

As she landed, her foot stepped on a dry branch—the sharp snap was particularly noticeable in the quiet surroundings.

Although the instructors were eating, they hadn't let their guard down and weren't chatting. Hearing several consecutive noises, they immediately understood and stopped what they were doing, raising their guns in defense.

The six of them spread out, cautiously moving to flank the tree and eliminate the intruder.

"Hey, don't move," Lian Sheng said. "Do you need more bullets?"

This greeting was extremely compelling and carried a strangely familiar tone.

They paused and exchanged glances.

Instructor Fu said in a tone suggesting he'd seen a ghost: "Lian Sheng?"

"Huh?" Lian Sheng also sounded surprised. Still crouched behind the tree, she said: "Instructor Fu? You again?"

Instructor Fu: "..."

That was what he wanted to say!

Lian Sheng adopted a cheerful tone: "That's great then. After all, we have prior cooperative experience. I'm sure you can trust my character."

Instructor Fu said: "...I don't think you have any."

"Let's keep this simple and skip the unimportant details," Lian Sheng said. "I have bullets."

To hell with her bullets!

"Heh." The mention reminded Instructor Fu. "You said you'd give us hundreds of bullets last time? We only got a small deposit before you left. You broke your promise."

Lian Sheng chuckled: "Isn't that why I'm here to repay you?"

One instructor had already moved to Lian Sheng's side, aiming his gun at her. Lian Sheng saluted him and voluntarily stepped out.

She dropped the bullets in her hand to the ground and placed her gun at her feet as a show of sincerity.

Instructor Fu snorted: "Are people chasing you again?"

Lian Sheng's eyes darted—that had been her original plan, but with Instructor Fu here, it would seem too fake. She quickly replied: "How could that be? I just wanted to cooperate with you."

Instructor Fu: "What do you mean?"

"Don't worry, since I came to you, I understand both sides' positions. We want your points, and you want our heads. Right now, we want food more." Lian Sheng said, "We'll provide the bullets, we'll lure people in, and we can help you from the inside—just like last time. The condition... is naturally the bread you have left."

One instructor nudged the crate with his foot and laughed: "There's still half left."

"I only want eight pieces of bread and one bottle of water," Lian Sheng said. "Believe me, you won't find a better deal."

The instructors exchanged glances and chuckled, finding her quite amusing. Especially the way she'd delivered herself to their gun barrels and was now earnestly negotiating with them—it all seemed rather impressive.

Apparently, this was the second time too. Quite bold.

One instructor kept his gun raised as he tilted his neck and asked: "Why come to us instead of your own classmates? Wouldn't they be safer?"

Lian Sheng said: "Compared to them, we'd naturally choose you. The risks are too great, and the rewards too small. By cooperating with you, I only need to give up bullets I don't need anyway. I'd rather believe that cooperation with direct interests is the most stable."

"Your team has eight people? Why send a girl to negotiate?" Another instructor peered behind her and called out loudly: "Hey—! Those shameless boys, where are you hiding now!"

"Hey, no need to provoke your future teammates like that," Lian Sheng said. "They chose me because I'm the most suitable. Negotiating isn't that hard. Even if I die, it's the least damaging loss for them. Bringing gender into this, Instructor—that's not good, is it? Exactly which side are you discriminating against?"

The instructors fell silent—they needed to discuss this.

Instructor Fu gestured to them.

—Agree to her terms, and use this chance to teach her a lesson.

Lian Sheng was too arrogant—they needed to take her down a peg.

They nodded and said: "Fine, then go lure people in. Leave some bullets behind—we're running low."

Lian Sheng happily agreed, taking out the bullets from her chest pocket and placing them on the ground. She retrieved the gun she'd set down earlier, gave them a meaningful look, then turned and quickly left.

Once out of the instructors' sight, she rejoined her teammates. Pointing ahead, she signaled for them to follow as they departed.

---

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