Chapter 261 - 239: Yu Dong’s Mercy

Chapter 261: Chapter 239: Yu Dong’s Mercy

He was a regular soldier and had participated in military exercises. He knew how devastating drones could be to ground forces. Without any countermeasures, they were just a group of sitting ducks, hunted down by the drone pilots...

At this moment, sweat pouring down his face, Qiao Yunliang finally understood what Yu Dong had just meant.

He... had no power to pass judgment on Yu Dong.

In all of Yanhai City, no one could pass judgment on Yu Dong.

He thought of Zheng Zhonghu’s squad at the ammunition depot... ’Can they handle these suicide drones?’

’If Yu Dong is dead set on taking the ammunition depot, can anyone really stop him?’

All of this was because Yu Dong was a man who played by the rules.

But if he stopped playing by the rules...

’This... is this what a Reincarnator is?’

Qiao Yunliang braced himself and shouted, "Yu Dong, what are you going to do now? Are you planning to take us all down with you? Do you really think you can just be reborn, that you’re not afraid to die? Why don’t we each take a step back? We can go home, think this over, and talk on the phone."

If Yu Dong truly wasn’t afraid of death and decided to take them out before he died, Qiao Yunliang would be helpless.

He could only hope that Yu Dong was afraid of death, so they could talk things over properly, put this incident behind them, and both go back... as if nothing had happened, and rule their respective territories from then on.

Sun Yu was stunned.

"Holy shit, Boss! We’re this fucking badass? You should have said so earlier! I was all fucking ready to die a hero’s death!"

"And here I was getting all emotional about my own sacrifice..."

"Don’t just let them run off! Make them leave their guns, then they won’t dare come onto our turf anymore!"

The other members of the Battle Group also visibly relaxed. So the boss had an ace up his sleeve, and they had never even known...

In contrast to the extreme tension on Qiao Yunliang’s side and the complete relaxation of the Battle Group, Yu Dong’s face showed no smile of a successful ploy. His expression was neither happy nor sad, but one of bewilderment.

’He’d won. So now what?’

’What’s done is done. Can we really act like nothing happened?’

’After this, can we still work together?’

’When the corpse tide comes, how are we supposed to fight it?’

Everything that happened today would become a permanent rift between the two teams.

’When Zhao Youcai gets back, he’ll definitely seek revenge against the military. They play with drones too... What if he goes behind my back and bombs the military’s home base?’

’And the military? Will they be able to just swallow this? Won’t they fear a sneak attack? Won’t they launch a preemptive strike late at night, when the drones are at their weakest?’

’Both sides will be on extremely high alert. They might retreat at noon, only to start fighting again by nightfall!’

’Even if they agree to some treaty and stop fighting... what happens when the Wilderness Battle Corps that Qiao mentioned arrives?’

’Won’t they just blow me to smithereens with a single cannon blast?’

A treaty born from violence will only be torn apart by greater violence.

His men weren’t wrong, and Qiao’s soldiers weren’t wrong either. They should be fighting for humanity, not dying in a civil war.

An end born of civil war was an outcome Yu Dong refused to accept!

For the sake of Yanhai City, for the soldiers, for his own people, for the people on the cruise ship... he had to choose a better path.

He had to ensure his brothers could step down safely...

Yu Dong looked at Wang Dingbei.

"You win, Wang."

Then, he walked over to Qiao Yunliang and said in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"Qiao, I will step down and transition power to the military. From now on... you’re in charge here."

Hearing these first words, Qiao Yunliang stared at Yu Dong in shock. He never expected that Yu Dong... would be willing to step down while holding the upper hand.

"What I need is this... neither I nor my people will face any kind of trial. We will step down peacefully. The military will award us medals of honor, commend us for our work, and recognize our achievements."

"The people from the Battle Group and the Logistics Group—if any are willing to fight alongside you, you can take them in. Most of them... are good, experienced people. If you dare to use them, I will persuade them to keep working."

"After you take over, I won’t interfere with how you manage things. But you must support Professor Meng’s vaccine work. Even if... you do it your way, taking it slow, you can’t stop it."

"Lin Mo is a good person. She only supported me in order to stop me... If you’re not going to use her anymore, then let her step down with us in honor and live as an ordinary person."

"My drones... explosives... incendiary bombs... crossbows... I’ll leave them all to you. That way, you’ll never have to fear me threatening you again."

"I can give you everything I have in exchange for the safety of my brothers and me. They will step down with honor. They will forever be respected people on the cruise ship. They will live out their lives with dignity..."

"Old swindler, if you agree... give me your promise, in front of everyone. I’ll trust you one last time."

For the greater good of Yanhai City, Yu Dong chose to hand over power.

This was Yu Dong’s final act of mercy to this world.

To Qiao Yunliang, Yu Dong’s demands sounded no different from charity. His objective had been achieved, and he never planned to kill Yu Dong and his people anyway.

If he couldn’t be put on trial, then so be it. All that mattered was that their objective was met.

"I agree!"

Then, Qiao Yunliang announced their decision in front of the soldiers and the Battle Group. The people on both sides were stunned... and then relieved.

If they could avoid it, who would want to open fire on their own countrymen?

The guns were lowered, the crossbows were put down, the drones withdrew... Snowflakes began to drift down from the sky. It was snowing.

After the dust had settled, Yu Dong said to Jiang Zhuoyu:

"Call Youcai. Tell him... we’ve stepped down peacefully. It’s time to come back."

His final gambit had won his brothers a peaceful exit.

He planned to drink with Youcai, Huang, Kai, Wen Jie, Uncle Yu, Ye Ye, Xinyi... tonight. They would shoot the shit and talk about all the great things they’d done these past few months.