Section 101: Intersecting Lines of Thought

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A Revolutionary Army soldier in front lunged forward with his blade.

The soldier tilted his shield, barely blocking the strike. Beside him, however, a Han soldier was run through the abdomen by a spear.

He opened his mouth wide; he must have screamed, but Red Lightning couldn't hear it—the surrounding noise was too chaotic and overwhelming.

Some soldiers were still putting up a desperate resistance, but most were already fleeing. Behind the Han soldier who had been stabbed, an officer was dragged off his horse by several soldiers with their left arms bared. He struggled and shrieked until his throat was slit by a blade.

Those who did the deed were not the volatile elements from the ferry, but the officer’s own guards.

The scene was in total disarray; he could no longer locate his comrades. Before, to the left, to the right—everywhere, there were the battle cries of the enemy. The soldier stumbled backward, using his shield to fend off the bloodthirsty enemies closing in on him.

He tripped over a corpse on the ground. A Revolutionary Army soldier caught up, raised his blade, and swung it down toward his head...

"Ah!" The soldier let out a loud cry and sat bolt upright before the blade could land.

It was a dream. The battle was over, and he had been captured.

His friends nearby were still resting. They, too, were exhausted from yesterday's fight.

The soldier broke out in a cold sweat. "Nightmare" was an insufficient word for yesterday’s battle. It was nothing short of a hellish terror.

As for why they lost, he still didn't understand. After hearing the enemy’s explanation yesterday, he only felt: *They seem incredibly powerful!* And he had a vague sense that the other side was in the right. As for what exactly had happened, he had no clue.

In any case, it was roughly this: That man had used petty favors to buy people off, making everyone lower their guard and mistake him for a weak newcomer who simply had good luck. Then, after they were defeated, he played the part of an extortionist.

Actually, the terms weren't that harsh. If not for the fact that they were so short on funds right now, the soldier felt there was nothing unacceptable about it. Paying some General Points to save one's life... it could hardly be called an excessive demand.

Thinking of the General Points he had spent earlier to better pursue the enemy, the soldier felt a pang of heartache—if only he hadn't spent so much back then.

The commander was right. If only they had listened to her at the time...

Her opposition back then wasn't to prevent them from profiting, but because she had sensed the danger. And they...

Recalling his attitude at the time, the soldier felt deep regret.

Yes, she would never have allowed it. With her temperament, she would never have tolerated the loss of Wuzhou.

...And she would never forgive them, either.

He thought of Red Lightning and sighed softly. Red Lightning hadn't been kept with the rest of them; he had been taken away separately. Perhaps the enemy wanted a private audience with him. Red Lightning would agree to leave, and then lead them...

He let out a long sigh. Perhaps joining Wang Luo’s new team wouldn't be such a bad choice after all.

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----

"Those are his demands."

Lin Feirui lay on her bed in the prisoner camp, recounting the bargaining with Wang Luo to Huakai and Ling'er nearby. "What do you think?"

"Agree to him," Huakai said without hesitation. "Then have the insects parasitize him and find a chance to kill him."

"I’m not against it..." Lin Feirui sighed softly. "But parasitism is still classified as an attack. Our team intentionally left that restriction open. If his team’s regulations forbid members from attacking each other, what can you do?"

Huakai fell silent. This kind of thing was not her specialty.

"They don't yet know the value of mobile team spaces," Ling'er said. "But they also forbid us from leaving. If that's the case, we have no way to sell our equipment..."

"Has Red Lightning still not returned?" Lin Feirui asked.

"No," Huakai answered. "That bastard! If it weren't for him before..."

"That man promised me five days to raise the funds," Lin Feirui said, her tone hesitant. "What is he planning?"

"Ask Su Yan," Ling'er suggested. "Didn't she agree to plead for everyone?"

"Yes," Lin Feirui said. "Though it probably won't do much good."

"Are Yang Wentian and Zhou Yingxiong of any use?" Huakai said resentfully. "If I had known, I would have implanted larvae in them too!"

"It will be of some use, at least. If we're lucky. For some reason, I always feel like he doesn't have any ill intent." Without any reason, Lin Feirui made this judgment. "Yet, I also feel like something bad is about to happen."

Perhaps because of her tone and expression, Huakai stared at her and asked, "Do you like him?"

"He looks ordinary, his build is on the thin side—not my type."

----

When Wang Luo woke up, it was nearly noon. Zhou Suyan brought him a cup of tea.

"Thank you." He looked at her and smiled. "It feels better having you by my side."

She blushed. "Is that so? I can't afford the ransom; I won't be able to stay with you for many more days."

"You don't need to." Wang Luo pulled her into his arms. "The ones who came before didn't need to, either."

Her body stiffened slightly. "They say you are a shameless liar and a despicable kidnapper."

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"Undoubtedly, my previous leniency and the fact that I am a newcomer gave them certain illusions. But it doesn't matter; after a while, they will wake up."

"Aren't you afraid that they will join your team and then harm you?"

"That's a valid point. How about we set a penalty of ten thousand General Points for team members attacking each other?"

"I'm not joking..." Her voice carried a hint of tears. "Everyone is in such a difficult position."

"Because they spent too many General Points in the battle to attack me," Wang Luo's voice softened. "I understand."

"They... they had no choice back then."

"I have no choice now, either. To prevent them from looking down on me, I must make these demands. If they can't afford it, they can join my team; it doesn't necessarily mean they have to die."

She seemed to want to say something more, but Wang Luo was already growing impatient with this conversation. "I don't want to hear you talk about this again. If you say one more word, I will kill a Wuzhou prisoner."

Zhou Suyan gently hugged him. "You wouldn't."

"Perhaps. Who knows?"

---

"No problems after being captured, I hope?"

Faced with Wang Luo's inquiry, Zhou Yingxiong gave an affirmative answer. "It's fine. They said you didn't harm the captives before, so they won't kill me."

As he spoke, he glanced at Zhou Suyan, who was standing behind Wang Luo with her head bowed.

Wang Luo laughed. "By now, they probably wish they had killed you back then."

"Speaking of which, how did you come up with such conditions? Were you prepared from the start?"

Wang Luo did not answer the question. "How are the statistics on the captured supplies?"

"The data is out." Zhou Yingxiong pulled a form from his pocket and read it aloud. "There is enough grain to feed ten thousand people for a month. There are five hundred and thirteen pack horses, as well as over a thousand head of cattle, donkeys, and other livestock; oh, and three thousand bows, forty thousand arrows, three thousand long spears, and six hundred and forty-two sets of armor. No iron ore or iron ingots. Over eight hundred bolts of cloth, fourteen carts of dried meat, seven carts of medicinal materials, three carts of oil, three carts of salt... and a lot of money, over two hundred thousand guan."

"The supplies aren't as abundant as the camp we broke before. But the special items for contractors are better than last time."

"Sounds pretty good." Wang Luo grinned, chuckling to himself.