Chapter 203 Negotiating Conditions

　　Li Mingsheng was taken into the main building by the Chi-Army soldiers, and then his body was checked by the other party at the side door.

　　When the Chi-Army soldier took out the tweezers that had been used on Su Tianyu's "back garden," Li Mingsheng's face turned green: "I am not carrying any electronic devices!"

　　"Mayor, you saying you're not carrying anything won't work." The Chi-Army soldier shook his head directly. "We have to see for ourselves."

　　"I don't need tweezers!"

　　"Then what do you need?"

　　"...I'll do it myself!" Li Mingsheng gritted his teeth and replied, forced to check his body.

　　……

　　Ten minutes later, third floor.

　　Li Mingsheng was taken into an empty room and looked up at the window with the curtains drawn, slightly stunned.

　　"Hello, Mayor." Zhao Weihu said with a smile.

　　"You came alone? You're pretty brave!" The look of astonishment in Li Mingsheng's eyes flashed by.

　　Zhao Weihu took a puff of his cigarette and replied softly, "You're pretty brave too. I called you, and you came."

　　"I'm not the same as you. You're a bandit, and I'm a cadre of Dragon City. This is my responsibility." Li Mingsheng replied casually, bending down and sitting on the sofa.

　　"Responsibility?! Seventy or eighty thousand laborers came to the city, but not only did they not get the rights of citizens, they were also blackmailed. Squeezing their blood and sweat is not enough; you also have to take their lives. Heh, is that what you call responsibility?" Zhao Weihu sat opposite Li Mingsheng, pointing his finger at his face, and said, word by word, "If you really understood a little responsibility, had a little backbone, I wouldn't have given up being a good civilian and officer to go to Sinaloa to fight for foreigners!"

　　Li Mingsheng waved his hand directly: "I didn't come in here for a political debate. The Dragon City development plan is not something you can understand! Let's get straight to the point."

　　Zhao Weihu looked at him with his arms crossed: "First, release that group of people you caught off the coast of Sinaloa."

　　"We can release some, but not all." Li Mingsheng shook his head and refused: "We need to rebuild trust. I will have eighty percent of the arrested members released. As for the rest, we'll talk about it after our hostages are released."

　　Zhao Weihu nodded slowly: "Okay."

　　"Then hurry up; there's no need to drag this out."

　　"Heh, don't be so impatient. Besides that, I also want 30 million in ransom for my men to take away directly." Zhao Weihu said, looking down: "A lot of my brothers died in the backyard just now. I have to give them an explanation."

　　"Don't go too far! Have you thought about your situation after this is over?"

　　"Heh, fuck!" Zhao Weihu replied with disdain: "I'm a desperado, I'm Lao Leizi. You're talking to me about my situation? I'm talking to you about life and death!"

　　Li Mingsheng was silent.

　　"Thirty million isn't much." Zhao Weihu curled his lips and said, "You guys embezzle several million a day from the laborers. Besides this, you shouldn't hate me; you should thank me."

　　Li Mingsheng looked at him with a complex expression.

　　"Emergency situation, hostages taken, we are a vicious extreme organization, and you are a glorious mayor who risks his life for the safety of the people and public officials." Zhao Weihu said mockingly, "I'm risking my life to make you famous! Asking for 30 million more isn't too much, is it?"

　　Li Mingsheng gritted his teeth: "Okay, I agree."

　　"Great!" Zhao Weihu got up and shouted, "Come on, get the mayor a phone so they can raise the money."

　　Li Mingsheng looked at the defiant Zhao Weihu and suddenly said, "You're very clever too."

　　"What am I clever about?"

　　"You're making such a big commotion to win over the laborers and expand your ranks, aren't you?" Li Mingsheng said softly, "Some corrupt officials in the city and the emergency policies have made the laborers dissatisfied. You're jumping out at this time to stir things up, doing a big thing for those who don't dare to."

　　Zhao Weihu replied with his hands behind his back: "I don't have as many tricks as you. My demands are simple: If you don't provoke me, I won't mess around in the main Han cities...after all, I once fought for this place, went to the battlefield, and shed blood. But if you people want to use me as a punching bag for political reasons, then I'm sorry. I'm willing to bear the infamy and be a real terrorist!"

　　Li Mingsheng looked at him, slowly got up, walked to the Chi-Army soldier, and took the phone.

　　……

　　Half an hour later.

　　The Chi-Army men arrested in Sinaloa, as well as the capitalists Lao Huang and others, were all brought out. Then, the SWAT team called out their names one by one, releasing eighty percent of the members, leaving only Lao Huang and a dozen other capitalist leaders.

　　The media didn't know about the people leaving, and the city government even had four trading companies pool together 30 million in cash for them to take away. The city government couldn't provide the money; it would be too embarrassing, as if they had completely compromised with the bandits. So, the money could only be shared among those unlucky bastards.

　　You get a share of the embezzlement, you get a share of the bribes, you get a share of the policy dividends; you get everything. So, it's inevitable that you'll bleed a little at a critical moment.

　　……

　　After the Chi-Army men were released, Zhao Weihu immediately found Pigsy and whispered to him, "Notify the men inside and outside the courtyard to prepare to retreat."

　　"What about the hostages?" Pigsy asked.

　　"We'll release eighty percent too." Zhao Weihu frowned and pointed at Pigsy. "Keep Karl, and suggest to the other side that Secretary-General Lu come back."

　　"Huh? Weren't we letting him go?" Pigsy was a little surprised.

　　"Let him come back. There's a reason for him to come back." Zhao Weihu waved his hand. "Go do it!"

　　……

　　Far away in the East, there was a super-region, vast in territory and stable in its political environment, known as the Hua Region.

　　In the southwest of the Hua Region, there was a land of rising dragons called Chuan Prefecture, and the capital of Chuan Prefecture was called Chongdu.

　　About a hundred kilometers from the center of Chongdu City, there was a small mountain range that was not even marked on electronic maps. It was surrounded by mountains and rivers, with beautiful scenery and rows of Hui-style courtyards.

　　In the central courtyard, a young man of about twenty years old was holding a phone, walking quickly, and whispering, "I'm going to the Old Triangle. Okay, Sis, I know...mm...!"

　　In the Old Triangle region, a young man sat in the residence of the commander of the Western Theater Command of the Hua Region, looking up at the news from Dragon City, and said faintly, "This Zhao Weihu has a bit of the makings of a general."

　　"I think he's too rash; he won't live long even if he gets out." A middle-aged man next to him shook his head.

　　"Let's make a bet. I bet he can rise up in Sinaloa."

　　"What makes you so sure?"

　　"...He hijacked the Regulatory Commission in Dragon City to establish his own brand." The young man peeled an orange and said calmly, "Once he gets out, he will be the spiritual leader of the laborers."

　　"You're being too arbitrary, aren't you?"

　　"We'll see!"

　　……

　　Dragon City, command center headquarters.

　　While Secretary-General Lu was discussing the plan to intercept the fleeing bandits with the commander of the Garrison Corps, Li Mingsheng's secretary walked in quickly and whispered, "Secretary-General Lu...I'm afraid you have to go back."

　　"Go back? Go back where?!" Lao Lu was a little confused.

　　"Back to the Regulatory Commission compound. The bandits specifically asked for you to go there to escort them out."

　　"...No, what do they want me to go back for? I'm already out!"

　　"We don't know. They just want you to go; otherwise, they won't release the hostages."

　　"What the fuck!" Secretary-General Lu's mentality exploded on the spot. "Are they making me go in and out for fun?!"