Faced with impending death, the residents of Building 25 began to cherish Yi's kindness again.
With someone leading the way, it was easy for others to follow suit during these chaotic times.
Especially now that they were hungry and could vividly recall the deliciousness of the food Yi had provided.
"Upon reflection, weren't we too demanding of Yi?"
"He ventured out alone in heavy snow to find food, which was pretty tough. Moreover, he needed to find enough for several dozen people."
"Yeah, it was just that he didn't find anything today, and no one would starve if we held out for another day or two!"
"Those killed by him totally brought it upon themselves. Who started trouble out of nowhere?"
"Exactly! What gives you the right to touch someone else's snowmobile? Scram, it's deserved if you die!"
"Hey, speaking of which, that Luan Qiang was the worst. He used to let his dog off the leash without a muzzle; it almost bit me!"
"Oh yeah? Damn, he truly deserved to die! He even endangered us before he died."
"Regardless, we must convince Yi to help us find food again!"
"That's currently our only way to survive."
"It makes sense; their houses are made of alloys, impossible to break in. We can only plead for his mercy!"
...
Just as Yi predicted, these neighbors would become slightly spoiled with a little kindness but would crawl back to him like dogs if treated harshly.
Confucius said it best: Of all people, females and servants are the most difficult to nurture. Neither can be approached too closely without losing respect, nor kept at a distance without resentment.
Returning home not long after leaving Building 25, Yi found new messages waiting in the main group chat of Building 25 residents.
Seeing these messages, Yi sneered but lazily replied.
Let them suffer and writhe in uncertainty for now.
"Should we have them serve as cannon fodder one last time before getting rid of them?"
Yi pondered as he stroked his chin.
"As long as I throw a couple of moldy bread loaves their way, they will probably rush forward to compete!"
Just then, a series of "Ding! Ding!" notification sounds came from his phone.
Curious, Yi checked since he had muted most of his group chat notifications.
Upon seeing the source of the alerts, he understood what happened.
It turned out Chen Lingyu, the building leader of Building 9, had added him to a new group chat.
Taking a closer look, he realized the significance of this group.
Thirty members exactly, including him.
Many familiar names were present: Li Sijiu from Building 18, Huang Tianfang from Building 26, Wang Qiang from Building 21, and Wu Yanzhu from Building 5...
These individuals were currently the spokespersons for each building.
A sharp glint flashed in Yi's eyes as he murmured, "Looks like they're about to show their hand."
Yi knew this day would inevitably come.
After all, not everyone had an endless supply of supplies like him.
Life in other buildings was agonizingly slow, with not a moment to waste.
Seeing Yi join, Chen Lingyu spoke up, "I've already added Yi; let's discuss that matter."
Saying nothing, Yi quietly observed as they deliberated in this group meant for negotiations rather than confrontation.
As Yi's nemesis, Wang Qiang from Building 21's Wild Wolf Gang was the first to speak up, his tone filled with hostility.
"Yi, I heard life in your Building 25 has been quite comfortable these past few days, with food available every day. Enjoying yourself while ignoring us poor neighbors!"
Yi snorted dismissively, unwilling to argue with them.
One voice couldn't outmatch twenty-nine; especially not online.
"If you added me here just to listen to you fart, then I'm leaving now."
Huang Tianfang quickly interjected, "Yi, wait a moment. If you leave now, we can't guarantee what might happen!"
Yi coldly laughed, "Are you threatening me? Huang Tianfang, I killed so many of your men; how dare you threaten me here?"
"Believe it or not, I could come over tomorrow and slaughter all of you!"
Feeling a chill run down his spine upon hearing this threat through the phone, Huang Tianfang hastily replied with a shaky voice, "Don't frighten us! Now that we've established alliances with the other building leaders, attacking any one of us would mean attacking all of us!"
"Even if you're incredibly powerful, could you possibly take on so many of us?"
Yi narrowed his eyes, spotting the crux of the issue.
Indeed, these people had now formed a united front and reached a consensus.
Good old Li Sijiu chimed in at this critical moment, "Alright, alright, let's all calm down a bit. We created this group to negotiate cooperation peacefully, not to fight each other."
Wang Qiang nonchalantly drawled, "Old Li, you're good with words; tell him our proposal."
Nodding, Li Sijiu explained the current situation to Yi.
Li Sijiu was quite skilled in communication and quickly laid out the agreement reached by the 29 buildings.
Firstly, they would form a united front against Yi's Building 25.
If any building came under attack from Yi, the others were obligated to provide support.
Secondly, they demanded Yi also provide supplies to ensure their basic livelihood.
In exchange, they promised not to assault Building 25.
Thirdly, to ensure Yi fulfilled his promises, they requested that use of his snowmobile be rotated among the buildings instead of remaining in his possession alone.
Lastly, Yi needed to disclose the locations of his resource points.
After all, with heavy snow sealing the city, even with a vehicle, not everyone could locate resources.
Li Sijiu concluded, "Yi, that's the gist of it. Have you heard it all?"
Yi wore a contemptuous sneer.
The ambitions of these people were immense, wanting to seize control of his snowmobile and force him to guide them to resources while ensuring the survival of the entire community with mere promises of non-aggression towards Building 25.
Did they think they were worthy?
Zhang Yi didn't lose his temper
Although these conditions are ridiculous and even seem very funny to him, from the perspective of the other party, they do have some truth
Negotiations are about grabbing benefits from each other bit by bit. The big mouth is also a preparation for better bargaining in the future
However, Zhang Yi could still laugh at them
Because the basis for their proposing these conditions is based on their serious misjudgment of the combat effectiveness of 25#
They think that as long as they unite, killing all the people in 25# will not be a difficult task
But how do they know that Zhang Yi has already mastered a large amount of weapons and ammunition
If a war were to break out, the disparity between the two sides would be of an entirely different caliber
It's not necessarily true that more people can win
A single drop of water from the Trisolarans can completely destroy Earth's space fleet.