Chapter 57: Desiring an Alliance

Bastards, if you push me too far, I swear I’ll risk my life to drag you down with me! At that moment, I held the sharpened stake in one hand, finally unstrapped the wooden bow from my back, and gripped it tightly in my other hand!

Because this wooden bow was quite exceptional, and more importantly, I had always sensed that its arrows possessed some mysterious quality, I had never dared to use them until now. But the sudden appearance of Peng Qian filled me with an immense sense of crisis.

"You—where did you get that kind of bow?" Peng Qian’s voice came from the dark, though he didn't step forward. Suddenly, Jia Lü emerged from the foliage beside him like a ghost, appearing almost agitated.

He stared at us from the darkness, his expression laced with cold, bitter hatred. His gaze locked onto me, his eyes seemingly glowing with a faint red hue. Though I couldn't understand why he looked like that, his demeanor clearly revealed a deep, inner agitation.

A wave of doubt and unease rippled through my heart, but I instantly handed the sharpened stake to Lan Fang, who stood behind Qu Xiang. Drawing two arrows at once, I notched them directly onto the wooden bow. Even if the first arrow missed, a second could follow immediately; I refused to let myself fall into danger.

I counted myself lucky that they hadn't directly swarmed us, giving me a moment to prepare. Even knowing I was at a disadvantage, I kept my voice calm. "You can try if you want. My patience is limited!"

"You..." Hearing my words, Peng Qian choked for a moment. Of course, he glanced sideways at Jia Lü, swallowing whatever else he had intended to say, and his voice turned ice cold instead. "See? I told you this brat isn't simple! Not only have they run into those people, but they've even managed to seize their weapons!"

"With the way he handles himself, no one would believe he hasn't had some kind of training in the past. Are you sure he couldn't find a job before and was just your coworker?" To my surprise, Jia Lü didn't look at me at all, but turned to question Peng Qian instead.

"Could that be fake? He was just a laborer under me, cutting stones. Why else would you think he stayed behind for Lan Fang?" Peng Qian looked naturally perplexed, still failing to understand how I had managed to survive with two people and no food.

Naturally, his gaze drifted back toward us, deep in thought. Yet for some reason, he didn't mention to Jia Lü that I had only been at the company for a few days, and that he actually knew nothing about my past.

"Kid, I admire you. And you know as well as anyone that your current situation means you won't last much longer! You have to join us, find food for us, and keep the fire burning. I promise not to harm the people with you!" To my astonishment, upon hearing Peng Qian's words, Jia Lü suddenly spoke in a chilling tone.

"Don't even dream about it! You can bring a mob to surround us, but push me too far, and I'll shoot whoever comes forward!" Though a tremor of shock ran through me, I understood that since these people hadn't all perished and had managed to stalk me, they were gradually adapting to the environment.

If they were to charge all at once, Qu Xiang and Lan Fang would be severe liabilities, leaving me with zero advantage. I knew deep down that if I joined their group, I would undoubtedly end up the most miserable of all. So, regardless of whether Jia Lü's tone was condescending or not, I had no intention of joining them.

Even though I knew they outnumbered us, I wasn't panicked at the moment. Aside from whatever effectiveness the wooden bow might have, I knew they hadn't yet triggered the crude traps I had set up in the surrounding brush.

If Peng Qian and Jia Lü advanced another two or three meters, they would definitely trip them.

While I didn't expect these primitive traps to achieve miracles, the surroundings were pitch black. If they dared to march forward and threaten us, I wouldn't mind using the terrain and my traps to teach them a lesson!

"Why be so difficult..." A fake, mirthless smile hung on Peng Qian's face as he glanced at us before shifting his gaze directly upward to Huang Jianfen in the tree. "Looks like Ah Fen has a cat's nine lives, managing to escape those people's ambush. But she must be heavily injured and won't last much longer, right?"

"Don't act rashly. Listen to me first!" Seemingly worried that I might fly off the handle—especially since his cold-hearted words nearly provoked me into letting loose an arrow—Peng Qian quickly interjected, "No matter what tricks you have up your sleeve, the three people with you are nothing but a burden! Actually, we can make a deal..."

"A deal? What is there for me to discuss with the likes of you?" My ears strained, twitching rapidly. The appearance of only Peng Qian and Jia Lü posed a severe danger, because their group consisted of more than just the two of them.

"Don't be impatient!" Looking confident, Peng Qian held his hands out, palms up. He was indeed holding a sharpened stake as well, likely scavenged from those men last night. "We're all from the same place, after all. We're giving you a chance..."

"Giving us a chance? Ha, don't you think that sounds ridiculous?" I stared at Peng Qian without a moment's hesitation. "You can't even take care of yourselves, and with danger lurking everywhere, you're going to offer us a chance? Pigs might fly!"

"Of course!" Looking quite smug, Peng Qian pointed toward us and said, "Sure, we couldn't retreat unscathed from that ambush, but it proved we have the capability! As long as you join us and pull your weight, we can protect you!"

Peng Qian's words certainly held a sliver of temptation, but having once been his coworkers, we had seen right through his true colors. Now, his words sounded less like an offer and more like a cruel satire.

"It's true you have more numbers, and if it comes to blows, I might not be able to protect all of them." I looked at the brooding Jia Lü, mindful of the other members who hadn't shown their faces yet, and turned my gaze back to Peng Qian. "I can supply you with fire, but I will not join you. If you want to burn bridges, we'll go down together!"

"You're surrounded right now. Do you really think you have the capability to take on all of us?" Refusing to give up, Peng Qian brushed my warning aside. "Especially Huang Jianfen and Lan Fang—they're going to die soon anyway. You know as well as I do that without food here, they..."

Hearing Peng Qian's shameless words, I ground my teeth so hard they felt like they might shatter. Though I could have ruthlessly abandoned these people and tried to take out Peng Qian on my own, I knew I simply wasn't that kind of person. Involuntarily, Peng Qian had struck right at my weakness!

"I can agree to your terms, but I need to see some sincerity from you first!" I glared coldly at Jia Lü, knowing full well they had anticipated my surrender all along.