Although Park Su's words seemed numerous, to Cheng Mingxu, who was no longer under the crushing pressure, it appeared as though the "cute little one" was merely speaking on his behalf. What struck him even more was how this young man was no longer cold toward him; he had smiled at him several times.
Looking at Park Su's almond-shaped eyes narrowing into a playful smile, the faint dimples on his cheeks, and the alluring curve of his lips, Cheng Mingxu found himself involuntarily drawn to him. His heart raced, and he couldn't help but feel that this boy's voice was as enchanting as his appearance—truly to his liking.
If only this young man could feel for him as deeply as he did for his current lover—it would be perfect. As for the words Park Su had spoken, Cheng Mingxu viewed them only as expressions of care for him.
The only regret he felt was that this "cute little one" and his lover did not intend to stay at S Base. This meant that, once he returned, there was a strong possibility he would never see this captivating boy again.
This thought saddened him, for S Base, under their leadership, was the largest and most advanced in the province, with state-of-the-art facilities and exceptional security.
Staying at S Base should have been quite safe. So why, after coming here, did they feel the need to leave so easily? Was it because his lover wanted to take him away, leaving him with no choice but to leave as well?
Had Park Su known what was going on in his mind, he would have certainly rolled his eyes and said, "Hey, you're overthinking it." But of course, he didn't know any of this at the moment.
Cheng Mingxu's unspoken doubts remained lodged in his mind as he listened to his "cute little one" ramble on, seemingly eager to clarify that he had no connection to the low-tier ability users.
In fact, Cheng Mingxu didn't believe for a second that his "cute little one" had any ties to those low-tier ability users, for he had already deduced that the boy was at least a Tier 3 ability user.
This was precisely why he found himself even more taken with the boy. Such looks, such devotion, and such power—he was the perfect match for him. To pair him with Xu Nuo would be a waste.
Now, hearing the boy speak of a wager, Cheng Mingxu's curiosity piqued, and he asked, somewhat indulgently, "What kind of bet do you have in mind?"
At this moment, Cheng Mingxu was thoroughly enchanted by the boy's beauty. However, standing beside him, Lin Fei and Lin Xiang were completely unmoved by Park Su. To them, Park Su was merely cute, nothing more.
Of course, they also recognized that Park Su's ability level was not beneath theirs—otherwise, he wouldn't have spoken so arrogantly. As strength mattered, they could tolerate his condescending tone, but what irked them most was the subtle mockery in Park Su's words. He seemed to be implying that Lin Fei and Lin Xiang were merely trying to ingratiate themselves with Cheng Mingxu to gain some advantage, which had made them appear overly compliant.
Moreover, Park Su had pointed out that their abilities were inferior to his and emphasized that their visit was not exactly friendly, which made it unnecessary for them to be overly polite in return.
This attitude incensed both Lin Fei and Lin Xiang. However, seeing Cheng Mingxu still so entranced by the boy, they swallowed their frustration and decided to hear him out before reacting.
Indeed, they had also felt Xu Nuo's pressure, but it was more directed at Cheng Mingxu. While they sensed the aura, they had merely assumed Xu Nuo was a peak-level Tier 3. They hadn't made the immediate leap to guessing that Xu Nuo was a Tier 4, as Cheng Mingxu had, though they had sensed that, in terms of raw combat power, they were certainly no match for him.
Rather than leave in disgrace, they decided to hear what kind of bet Park Su was proposing—it might just be their chance to turn the tables.
Perhaps it was this very thought that allowed Park Su to confidently present his wager, "I believe both of our teams are here for resources."
"As for the next target, Jiangcheng is relatively larger than the previous towns. I imagine it won't be easy for one team to take it all.
Since neither of us can fully claim it, why not set a deadline? We can divide Jiangcheng on the map and go out to collect supplies. When the time is up, we can meet in a village on the outskirts of Jiangcheng."
"Then we'll compare what each of us has gathered. Whoever collects the most wins, and whoever collects less loses."
"I assume with your large team, even though your abilities may be lower than ours, you should still be able to gather quite a bit. After all, we are a temporary team, and you've been cooperating for a long time. Your coordination should be better than ours. I imagine your chances of winning are much stronger. You wouldn't want to turn down such a wager, would you?"
The three men before him had not anticipated that Park Su would propose such a bet. After all, it seemed incredibly advantageous to them.
The more compelling the offer seemed, the more it felt like it concealed some sort of hidden agenda, invoking a sense of wariness that made one reluctant to agree. However, Cheng Mingxu didn't share this sentiment.
As Park Su laid out the wager, Cheng Mingxu became increasingly convinced that the boy truly had an interest in him, proposing such a bet, which seemed entirely beneficial to them.
What he didn't know was whether Xu Nuo would agree to such terms, and he was also curious about the stakes, so he immediately asked, "And what would the prize be?"
Park Su feigned deep thought for a moment before responding, "The losing side will have to give half of the supplies they've gathered in Jiangcheng to the winning side. And absolutely no using this as an excuse to create trouble, nor will we allow anyone to interfere with the others' subordinates. After all, we have two Tier 3 ability users working with us. If it comes to trouble, it's your team that will lose too."
"I think this wager and its terms are not unreasonable. What do you think?"
Lin Fei and Lin Xiang, upon hearing the terms, realized that, for them, the stakes carried little risk. If they won, they would simply gain half of the supplies gathered by Park Su's team and the others, which would serve to alleviate some of their earlier frustration.
More importantly, Park Su had explicitly stated that even if they lost, they couldn't use the outcome as an excuse to cause trouble for the losers. It was clear: if Park Su and Xu Nuo lost, they couldn't leverage their higher abilities to suppress the lower-tier ability users.
If they lost, the worst-case scenario would be losing half of the supplies they gathered in Jiangcheng. However, since their hunt was not limited to Jiangcheng alone, they could still return and gather more supplies. The time frame for the competition was short, and even if they suffered losses in Jiangcheng, it wouldn't be catastrophic.
From their perspective, the supplies gathered in Jiangcheng seemed far less important than the opportunity to get back at Park Su and Xu Nuo for the tension earlier.
But they needed to confirm something before proceeding—did Park Su's team have any space-type ability users? After all, if they did, who could say whether they might not pull supplies from their space storage to inflate their total?
Lin Xiang voiced this concern, and Park Su, with a smile, responded, "That's exactly what I was worried about. We have only a small team, so it's easy to check. But you, with your large convoy, surely have a space-type ability user among you. Who knows whether you might use such a trick? Originally, we hesitated to even bring it up since you're Cheng Er Shao's people, and it would be rude to suggest such a thing outright."
"However, since you raised the question first, I trust that you won't resort to such tricks. The best solution would be for everyone to disclose their ability types. If there is a space-type ability user, we can compare the supplies from their space. That way, we'll know exactly what was gathered in Jiangcheng. Of course, if you find this too uncomfortable, we can skip the check altogether. I'm confident that Cheng Er Shao wouldn't engage in such underhanded behavior, especially when he clearly has the upper hand."
"Since you're unwilling to be checked, we won't insist. While our team may be smaller, our two leaders aren't just here for show. Agreeing to an imbalanced wager like this would be a loss of face for us. Although this may be our only collaboration with you, we won't tolerate a deal that undermines our dignity. So, it's up to you to decide what you want to do."
Park Su's reasoning was sound, and Lin Fei and Lin Xiang had nothing further to say. After all, their team did indeed have a space-type ability user, who served as their designated storage for supplies.
Thus, the vehicles they brought weren't many, while Park Su's group, with their ten members, had so many containers, which made it seem unlikely they had any space-type ability users. Besides, after a cursory inspection, it appeared that there was no space-type ability user among the eleven members of Park Su's team.
Even if they were mistaken, the space abilities of their low-tier ability users could never compare to theirs. Moreover, they felt fairly certain that Park Su's group had no space-type abilities.
And so, for such a small wager, they would never expose the secrets of their team. If Park Su and Xu Nuo knew about their space-type ability users and the supplies they had gathered, it would not benefit them in any way. Who could say that after seeing what they had gathered, they wouldn't act with malicious intent? They might just seize the supplies and leave.
After all, the abilities of these two were no trivial matter. If they disregarded the lower-tier ability users, it was entirely possible that they could simply take everything and leave. In that case, the loss would far outweigh the potential gain.
The truth was, they had no intention of staying at S Base. Once they moved to another base under a different name, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to track them down for revenge.
Just as Park Su had pointed out, the terms of the wager were indeed favorable to them. There was no reason not to accept it, and they didn't feel the need to resort to underhanded tactics like inspecting the other team's supplies.
Furthermore, ever since Park Su proposed the bet, Xu Nuo had remained silent, his displeasure clearly evident as he stared at them. If things escalated, they certainly wouldn't be able to match Xu Nuo's strength. Given the circumstances, it seemed more advantageous to accept the wager.
Thus, Lin Fei and Lin Xiang had no more words to offer, deliberately adopting the stance of leaving everything to Cheng Mingxu, as though they hadn't spoken a word.