The Max-Level Boss Just Wants to Be a Slacker [Apocalypse] – CH41

Chapter 41: Schemes

When Mo Xiu saw Xiong Mingyuan standing outside the door, he was a little surprised.

He truly hadn’t expected that the person who would come looking for him would be this man.

Xiong Mingyuan was a burly middle-aged man with broad shoulders and a thick build, someone who looked perfectly suited to his surname. His face always carried a stern expression. As the base commander of Shanhe Base, it was impossible for Xiong Mingyuan to lack presence. However, in his previous life, Mo Xiu hadn’t had much contact with him.

Although Mo Xiu’s impression of him wasn’t very good either. He felt that the man only appeared honest on the surface; in reality, his thoughts were complicated and calculating. Moreover, his abilities were limited. Even when he tried to scheme, his schemes were never particularly clever.

Still, compared to people like Xu Liang, Xiong Mingyuan certainly couldn’t be considered a great villain.

And Mo Xiu knew very clearly that the relationship between him and Xu Liang was only harmonious on the surface. In private, the two were very incompatible and had always been competing for power within the base.

But it was obvious that Xiong Mingyuan was one step behind in that contest. Not long after Mo Xiu arrived at Shanhe Base in his previous life, Xiong Mingyuan had been eliminated by Xu Liang.

So the reason why he had come looking for him now was quite intriguing.

Thinking of this, Mo Xiu stepped aside from the doorway and let the person outside walk in.

Seeing this, Xiong Mingyuan nodded and swept his gaze around the room.

When his eyes landed on Cheng Cheng’s signature rainbow-colored hair, he paused briefly. He guessed that this must be the plant-type ability user mentioned by the people below. And that girl must be the water-type ability user.

It had to be known that although Shanhe Base’s population wasn’t small, there were fewer than fifty ability users in total.

Yet there were only five people in this room, and three of them were ability users. That proportion was astonishingly high.

And one of them was even a high-level dual-element ability user. No wonder Xu Liang had gone to such great lengths trying to recruit Mo Xiu.

This morning, when he heard that Mo Xiu had followed Xu Liang’s team out to search for supplies, Xiong Mingyuan had felt somewhat displeased. After all, Xu Liang had just lost two subordinates—it would be unfortunate if he gained new strength because of it.

But by evening, he heard that Mo Xiu was nowhere to be found and hadn’t returned with the team.

Upon hearing the news, Xiong Mingyuan didn’t know whether he should feel happy or disappointed.

Although he didn’t want Xu Liang to gain additional support, given the base’s current situation, losing a powerful ability user wasn’t exactly a good thing either.

So even though Xiong Mingyuan was nominally the base commander, his actual power was roughly equal to Xu Liang’s, the vice commander’s. Occasionally, he was even suppressed by the latter.

However, no matter what, there were still quite a few of his people scattered throughout the base. By coincidence, when Mo Xiu brought Mo Qi back, they weren’t discovered by Xu Liang’s people but instead noticed by Xiong Mingyuan’s.

They reported the matter to him. Seeing this as an opportunity, Xiong Mingyuan immediately came to the door.

Although he didn’t yet know what exactly had happened to Xu Liang’s supply-gathering team today, the fact that they had returned while leaving Mo Xiu behind meant something suspicious had surely occurred.

If he could use this to drive a wedge between them—or even get Mo Xiu and his group to stand on his side—it would certainly be beneficial.

“I heard you didn’t return with the team today. Did something happen? Were you injured? If necessary, I have doctors and medicine available.”

Xiong Mingyuan’s attitude was gentle, his attempt at goodwill obvious.

Hearing this, Mo Xiu shook his head and smiled.

“No need. I’m not injured. Thank you for your concern, Base Commander.”

“Not injured?”

Hearing this, Xiong Mingyuan swept his gaze over Mo Xiu’s body again, clearly surprised.

Since he wasn’t hurt and looked perfectly fine, why had he returned alone? No, not alone—he had brought this fellow named Mo Qi with him.

He had heard from his subordinates that Mo Xiu kept a pretty boy by his side. The man supposedly had no abilities at all, and his mind didn’t seem particularly sharp either, yet Mo Xiu treated him like a treasure.

Previously, he had heard that Xu Liang had sent someone to Mo Xiu’s side and that Mo Xiu accepted the person, seemingly bringing them closer together. Xiong Mingyuan had assumed Mo Xiu had grown tired of Mo Qi and accepted Xu Liang’s goodwill.

But looking at the situation now, it was obvious he cared more about Mo Qi.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have specifically brought Mo Qi back with him so late.

Most likely, Mo Qi had secretly run outside the base, and after Mo Xiu found out, he had gone to look for him, which caused their late return.

As for someone leaving the base without being noticed, Xiong Mingyuan didn’t think it was a big deal.

They guarded the entrances to the base fairly well for people trying to get in. But leaving was much more loosely controlled.

After all, the base was huge, and their manpower was limited. Unless it involved certain key individuals, Xiong Mingyuan didn’t pay much attention to ordinary people’s movements, so he never realized that Mo Qi had actually disappeared suddenly.

When he saw Xiong Mingyuan’s attention drift toward Mo Qi, Mo Xiu naturally stepped forward a couple of steps, blocking his line of sight.

“Base Commander, you didn’t come all this way just to ask about my injuries, did you?”

Mo Xiu felt that his ability had now advanced, and the time had come to deal with Xu Liang.

Unfortunately, Xu Liang had been hiding inside the base like a coward lately. He rarely accompanied teams on external missions. Taking care of him inside the base would be far more troublesome than doing it outside.

Mo Xiu’s strength had improved a lot, but not to the point where he could ignore every threat. So he still had to act cautiously.

He wanted revenge, but he also needed to ensure his own safety—and more importantly, Mo Qi’s safety.

Mo Xiu knew very well why Xiong Mingyuan had come. His mind worked quickly.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If Xiong Mingyuan could help him from the side, things would become much simpler.

Hearing Mo Xiu’s words, Xiong Mingyuan revealed a meaningful expression. His gaze then shifted toward Xie Wu, seemingly indicating that Mo Xiu should have him leave.

Mo Xiu smiled.

“You can just speak directly. Don’t worry—he’s one of us.”

Xiong Mingyuan raised his eyebrows slightly, genuinely surprised.

He didn’t fully understand Xie Wu’s situation. In his impression, Xie Wu had been sent by Xu Liang, which naturally meant he was Xu Liang’s man.

Yet Mo Xiu had managed to tame Xu Liang’s subordinate so quickly and make him obey completely.

It seemed this Mo Xiu was more capable than he had thought.

Xiong Mingyuan decided not to beat around the bush anymore and spoke bluntly.

“Let me put it this way. I’m not someone who likes going in circles. Whatever benefits Xu Liang has given you, I can give you double—on the condition that you become one of my people.”

“Double the benefits?”

This was an unexpected delight.

But on the surface, Mo Xiu remained calm and smiled.

“Vice Base Commander Xu has given quite a lot of benefits. Are you sure?”

Hearing this, Xiong Mingyuan recalled how frequently Xu Liang had visited Mo Xiu lately, each time bringing generous gifts.

If he had to offer double that amount, it certainly wouldn’t be a small sum.

Just as he was thinking about it, he suddenly saw a sphere of lightning appear in Mo Xiu’s hand.

The lightning ball continuously expanded until it was as large as a washbasin. Then it slowly compressed again, repeating the process over and over.

The energy contained in that lightning sphere—Xiong Mingyuan, also an ability user, could clearly feel it.

It was definitely not just a Level 2 ability.

“Brother… your ability leveled up again?”

Xiong Mingyuan’s eyes widened as he stared fixedly at the lightning sphere in Mo Xiu’s hand.

Mo Xiu nodded with a smile.

“Not by much. I just reached Level 3.”

His tone was incredibly casual.

In truth, he had even concealed part of his strength. But even Level 3 was already among the top ranks within the entire Shanhe Base.

Especially since lightning abilities were highly offensive. Xu Liang’s fire ability was only at the early stage of Level 3, and it was precisely because of that ability that he had managed to reach his current position.

The moment Xiong Mingyuan heard that Mo Xiu had also advanced to Level 3, the small hesitation he still had vanished instantly.

If he could recruit such a powerful person to his side, why would he fear Xu Liang anymore?

“You leveled up so quickly! Brother Mo, you’re truly amazing!”

“I knew I wasn’t wrong about you. From the very beginning, I could tell you had great potential. Don’t worry—if you join my side, I absolutely won’t treat you poorly.”

“How about this: not only will I give you more than double what that man surnamed Xu offers, I’ll also form a new ability squad and put it entirely under your command. You’ll be the captain of this squad!”

Mo Xiu actually had no interest in becoming the captain of any ability squad.

What mattered was using this opportunity to squeeze another batch of supplies out of Xiong Mingyuan.

Their situation was different now.

Mo Qi had the ability to draw talismans.

Mo Xiu couldn’t bear to let Mo Qi bleed or get hurt. But he had already asked about it—Mo Qi said that even without blood, talismans drawn with ordinary pen and paper still had effects, though not as strong as those drawn with blood.

Still, that meant that even with ordinary talismans, they could carry away far more supplies more easily.

They could prepare several backpacks and suitcases, even stick a couple of talismans inside the trunk of a car.

Once they got rid of those annoying people and left this base, their lives would be much more secure.

Mo Xiu was calculating in his mind but didn’t reveal his true intentions.

After hearing the proposal about becoming captain, he deliberately showed a hint of excitement.

Then he said to Xiong Mingyuan:

“Base Commander, I can agree to your request. But first, I need to see your sincerity.”

“How about this—send half of the promised benefits to me first.”

“And I also need you to help me with one thing.”

“In a few days, the base will likely send another team out to collect supplies. I heard that this time the destination includes two food-processing factories, so quite a few teams will go together.”

“I hope you can find a way to have Xu Liang join this mission.”

“And for now, let’s keep the fact that we met today from others.”

Hearing that Mo Xiu’s request was simply to have Xu Liang participate in the supply mission, Xiong Mingyuan was somewhat surprised.

But when it came to dealing with Xu Liang—his old rival—he actually had quite a few methods.

Eager to bring Mo Xiu onto his side, Xiong Mingyuan thought for a moment and then nodded.

Somehow, he vaguely felt that Mo Xiu was planning something big.

A few days later, just as Mo Xiu had hoped, he saw Xu Liang’s figure among the team preparing to leave the base for the supply-gathering mission.

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