Chapter 23 Cooperation

After leaving the hemp stash, Feng Bujue immediately walked some distance in the direction Buu had left.

He wasn't trying to tail the other man; he just wanted to scout out where Buu had gone before continuing his exploration.

Before long, he found several clumps of trampled weeds, a few broken branches, and a few not-so-obvious footprints.

"Not simple..." Feng Bujue muttered, looking at the tracks. "He even thought of counter-tracking..."

Clearly, Buu had deliberately created these "tracks" to mislead any possible pursuers.

"And the degree of completion of these disguises is quite high... If I wasn't careful, even I might have been fooled," Jue-ge thought. "Hmm... if the NPCs in this script are all as smart as him, I'm afraid I'm in trouble..."

Just as he was pondering, suddenly...

"Don't be fooled by the illusions before your eyes." A man's voice rang out from not far behind Jue-ge. "He didn't move in the direction the footprints indicate..."

"Who's there?" Feng Bujue immediately tensed up when he heard the voice. As he turned to face the sound, he gripped the military shovel in his hand.

Right now, Jue-ge had lost his superhuman senses, so he couldn't sense those who were quietly approaching him. This change made him, usually cautious, feel a constant sense of unease... and that unease made him very aggressive.

"Calm down, Stephen, it's me." The speaker immediately appeared in Jue-ge's line of sight. It was Player Number Six – Barack Hussein Obama.

"I am calm." Feng Bujue was indeed speaking to the other man in a very calm tone. "Raising my military shovel as if to chop you doesn't mean I've lost my cool."

"Heh..." Obama smiled. He didn't rashly approach but kept a distance of three meters, smiling as he continued, "Is that how you usually greet people?"

"Hmph..." Feng Bujue snorted coldly. "When facing those 'scheming fellows who sneak up on me from behind,' that's usually how I greet them."

As soon as he said this, Obama's expression changed instantly, but he quickly concealed the change with a raised eyebrow and laughed. "Heh... sorry, Stephen, I didn't realize I was approaching you 'quietly.'" As he spoke, he raised both hands and made air quotes. "At least from my point of view, I was walking over normally and kindly reminding you..."

"I don't know when you started watching me..." Feng Bujue interrupted. "But your 'reminder' shows that... you were already observing in secret when I was talking to Buu."

Silence descended...

At this moment, the atmosphere between the two was very delicate. It was as if swords were drawn, but there was also a turning point hidden within.

"Hmph..." After more than ten seconds, Obama smiled again. "Stephen, I didn't misjudge you."

Feng Bujue stared at the other man without replying; he knew the former president wasn't finished.

"Your talent is beyond doubt." Obama continued. "Work with me, Stephen, you won't regret it."

"Cooperate?" Jue-ge looked directly into the other man's eyes and repeated the key word.

"Yes, cooperate." Obama replied. "If it's you, you should be able to understand..." He paused. "In this game, even if it's just mutual exploitation... multiple cooperation is far more advantageous than acting alone."

"Heh... as expected of someone who plays politics; this habit of forming gangs is probably ingrained in his bones," Feng Bujue thought. "But... these people do have their merits. Politicians are skilled in scheming, diplomacy, acting... their cunning is even better than Buu's."

"You mean... you're prepared to temporarily establish a relationship of mutual exploitation with me?" Feng Bujue continued.

This deliberate question could make the other man say a few more words while giving himself more time to think.

"Heh... I've said it before, Stephen; I prefer to use the word 'cooperation.'" Obama's answer had the usual smooth style of a politician. "Imagine, if you and I join forces, will anyone else have a chance to win? In my opinion... as long as fifty... no, forty-five hours! In just two days, we can eliminate all the other eight people."

"Eliminate?" Feng Bujue was suspicious when he heard this. "What does he mean? What does he mean by 'eliminate'... does it mean attacking the other players and incapacitating them? Or... is there another way?"

Since the opening script introduction hadn't explained the complete rules of *Wilderness Poisoning*, Feng Bujue had been at a considerable disadvantage from the start. What frustrated him was that he couldn't just ask people about it... because the NPCs in this script were quite intelligent. If Feng Bujue revealed that he "didn't know the complete rules," who knew what kind of schemes he would be subjected to.

"Sounds plausible... but do you have any specific plans?" After a few seconds of internal struggle, Jue-ge thought of a probing question that wouldn't expose himself and would allow him to continue asking questions.

"Of course." Obama replied. "But I can't tell you right now."

"Why?" Feng Bujue asked again.

"Hahaha... alright, Stephen." Obama laughed. "Stop joking around with such a serious face." He raised his right hand and held up two fingers. "First, you wouldn't team up with an idiot who 'reveals all his strategies without any guarantee'; second, the best way to deal with such an idiot is to feign cooperation and then find an opportunity to get rid of him..."

He was right; in this situation, the one who was unwilling to reveal his plans was the smart one worth cooperating with...

"Hmph..." Feng Bujue also laughed, then burst out laughing. "Heh... hahaha..." He laughed like a mental patient, making it difficult for the other man to fathom his thoughts.

After laughing for a few seconds, Jue-ge suddenly stopped and instantly put on a serious expression. "It seems we have some common ground."

This sentence was undoubtedly Feng Bujue's attempt to show off his cleverness... He was as if saying, "My reaction just now was all a test of you, just like your first sentence was a test of me."

"Hmm..." Obama also had a solemn expression, loosening his collar (his suit and tie were already off; he was wearing a shirt at this time). "So... you agree?"

"Fifty hours." Before the party proposing the cooperation could set the rules, Jue-ge took the initiative and preemptively said, "For the next fifty hours from now, I will stand on the same front as you..." He licked his lips. "As for after fifty hours... regardless of whether we have, as you said, successfully eliminated the other eight people – our cooperative relationship will end at that time."

"No problem." Obama nodded. "That's exactly what I want."

"Heh... very good, 'partner.'" Feng Bujue used a slightly sarcastic tone when he said the last two words. "I hope your execution is sufficient to keep up with your planning."

Obama heard this and grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth. "Yes, we_can!"