Wasteland Hideout: Upgrading from the Sewers

Chapter 259: Display and Threat, Zhou Yuan's Choice

When Zhou Yuan regained consciousness again, he only felt mentally weak, as if he needed to sleep for a full day and night.

But his subconscious kept telling him there was a very important matter waiting for his decision.

Therefore, fighting against the mental fatigue, he opened his eyes.

He saw a young man in black wearing combat bulletproof armor not far away, reading a book that seemed to be about cold weapons under the light.

His previously muddled memories quickly flashed back in his mind.

He remembered now, he remembered everything.

This young man had suddenly found him tonight, holding a bottle of exquisite fine wine he had never seen before, saying he wanted to cooperate.

And he had displayed many unbelievable powers.

Zhou Yuan's gaze shifted, seeing the half-empty bottle of wine on the table, confirming the memories in his mind.

"Wait... if all this is true, doesn't that mean that rat..."Zhou Yuan had just thought this far when Yu Yuan already noticed he had woken up.

He put away [Weapon Fighting Techniques - Longsword] into the Rabbit Ring.

Checking the time, there were only half an hour left before the stay duration in the Motel Main Guest Room expired.

There was no choice, most of that time had been delayed by Zhou Yuan's fainting.

But Zhou Yuan was currently his best target for infiltrating the [Ring East City Resistance Alliance].

Although the Rat Tail Whip had an extremely tiny probability of triggering an enslavement effect.

But that probability was really hard to judge, and Yu Yuan held no illusions about his own luck anymore.

If he really tried to gamble on that probability with the whip.

He estimated that even if he gave Zhou Yuan 100 consecutive lashes, whipping him to death, it would still be difficult to trigger.

Moreover, he had just heard that the Humpback Whale was convening a collective meeting tomorrow, so naturally, he couldn't let Zhou Yuan get injured.

Then he could only achieve his goal through [Persuasion].

From the start of his negotiations with Zhou Yuan, the Excellent-level [Persuasion] skill in Yu Yuan's skill bar had been constantly flashing, exerting continuous effort.

But Yu Yuan never expected that Zhou Yuan would be scared into fainting twice by Zhi Zhi.

Who could have predicted that?

"Vice President Zhou, your health seems quite frail!"

Yu Yuan sighed helplessly as he spoke.

Having fainted twice, Zhou Yuan had indeed increased his tolerance threshold somewhat.

He took two deep breaths, then sat up.

"Sorry for making you laugh!"

"However, what exactly is that thing?" Zhou Yuan confirmed that rat was definitely not something the mutated creatures of the Aurora Animal Assistance Association could compare to.

Forget its body that seemed like black mist, just its ability to grow larger and smaller.

Whether it was an illusion or it could truly change freely, it had already exceeded the scope of science.

Yu Yuan handed a glass of rum to Zhou Yuan.

"Let's be clear first, we don't have much time, don't faint again."

"Don't worry!" Zhou Yuan slowly took a sip of the wine and nodded heavily.

He had a premonition that today's decision might determine his future fate.

The next moment, he saw the shadow beneath the person in front of him begin to change again.

A mass of darkness within the shadow quickly condensed into a fist-sized ball, landing on Yu Yuan's shoulder.

Time was short, so Yu Yuan got straight to the point, pointing at Zhi Zhi and saying:

"This is a creature that doesn't exist in our world, or rather, it transcends this world."

Yu Yuan looked deeply at Zhou Yuan.

"The world you know is still very shallow, including this bottle of rum, it's not a product of this world either, which is why you've never seen it before..."

"Not a product of this world?" Zhou Yuan never expected this answer.

"Having said that, you should understand why I said cooperating with me is your best choice!"

A confident smile appeared at the corner of Yu Yuan's mouth.

"Because whether it's the Aurora Animal Assistance Association, the Humpback Whale, or the Mechanical Vanguard Society behind the Thug Prison, although they appear powerful, their vision is limited to this one world. No matter how strong they become, there will ultimately be a limit."

"In other words, what they can achieve now, I can certainly achieve, but what I can achieve is something they couldn't even dream of."

As Yu Yuan spoke, the Stealth Rat Zhi Zhi, under Zhou Yuan's astonished gaze, transformed into the Rat Tail Whip, appearing in Yu Yuan's hand.

Yu Yuan gently stroked the whip in his hand, then suddenly lashed it towards the wall of the bathroom.

*Crack!*

A crisp sound echoed in the room.

The tip of the whip lashed out, grazing past Zhou Yuan's temple, striking the wall.

Then, a one-meter-long dent appeared on the previously intact wall, the deepest part even revealing the light from inside the bathroom.

*Bang!*

The freestanding coat rack leaning against the wall was also split in two.

Under Zhou Yuan's stunned gaze once more, the Rat Tail Whip changed back into the Stealth Rat, perched on Yu Yuan's shoulder and letting out a soft "squeak" towards Zhou Yuan.

"Don't you agree, Vice President Zhou? I'll say it again, cooperating with anyone is still cooperating, and besides, I have high hopes for you."

Yu Yuan picked up his own wine glass, gently clinked it against Zhou Yuan's glass, and took a sip.

Everything that needed to be said, everything that needed to be shown, had been said and shown.

Now it was up to Zhou Yuan's choice.

He checked the time, 25 minutes left, plenty of time.

A few seconds later, Zhou Yuan let out a long, heavy sigh.

He looked deeply at the black rat on Yu Yuan's shoulder.

Being able to change size, switch between a living creature and a weapon, merge into shadows...

If he hadn't seen these abilities with his own eyes, even if someone told him about them, Zhou Yuan would have thought it was just a novel plot or movie special effects.

But now, all of this had truly happened right before his eyes.

That made everything completely different.

And that whip strike just now, Zhou Yuan understood, was both a demonstration and a threat.

Information about the Aurora Animal Assistance Association, information about the Mechanical Vanguard Society, and the Humpback Whale's recent actions.

All flashed through Zhou Yuan's mind.

But still...

Zhou Yuan took a small sip of wine and asked the biggest question in his heart.

"Why did you choose me? And since it's cooperation, what exactly do you want me to do? What can I get in return?"

Hearing this, Yu Yuan slightly shook his head.

"There's no special reason for choosing you, I just thought you were suitable."

"What I need you to do is simple: be my nail within the [Ring East City Resistance Alliance]. Your position allows you to know high-level intelligence, it's quite suitable, isn't it?"

"And when I need it, provide combat power. Of course, this isn't mandatory; it's up to you to decide whether to participate."

"As for what you can get..." Yu Yuan tapped his wine glass with his index finger, appearing thoughtful.

"My intelligence network, my assistance at critical moments, a place to stand and participate in development when I occupy Green Forest City in the future..."

"And finally... the right to participate in future campaigns against other worlds..."

"How about these terms?"

Zhou Yuan looked at the man in front of him, his heartbeat suddenly accelerating.

His mind echoed with the last sentence.

—The right to participate in future campaigns against other worlds!

"Future campaigns against other worlds..." Zhou Yuan murmured to himself.

If anyone else had said this, he would have scoffed.

But after the experience with that rat earlier, Zhou Yuan understood.

This statement might not be empty talk.

At this point, the choice seemed to have no suspense left.

Zhou Yuan thought carefully for a few seconds.

He struggled to his feet and extended his right hand towards Yu Yuan.

"In that case, I hope we have a pleasant cooperation!"

Yu Yuan also stood up, smiling as he extended his right hand and shook Zhou Yuan's hand.

"A wise choice!"