Chapter 213: Entering the Venue

As the morning sun just spilled into the safe zone, the negotiation venue at the central square was already heavily guarded.

Starfire Group members were dressed in uniform tactical gear, lined up on both sides of the venue, the barrels of the rifles in their hands pointing downward,

but their gazes were vigilantly scanning the surroundings at all times. The negotiation table in the center of the venue was covered with a dark blue tablecloth,

with four metal chairs placed on each side, and two recording devices placed at the corners of the table, their red indicator lights flashing, recording every slight movement at the scene.

Lin Chen arrived at the venue ten minutes early, followed by two team members,

one responsible for carrying the negotiation terms document, and one responsible for operating the recording equipment.

He walked to the main seat on the Starfire Group side of the negotiation table and sat down, his fingertips tapping the tabletop lightly,

his gaze scanning the entrance of the venue—the Iron Hand Group people hadn't arrived yet,

the abandoned shop on the east side of the square had been sealed off by team members, and the stone bridge on the west side had been checked, with no explosives discovered; everything was proceeding according to the predetermined strategy.

【System notification: Detected Iron Hand Group convoy approaching the venue, three vehicles in total; the first is the off-road vehicle Zhao Hu is riding in, the latter two are supply transport vehicles, no abnormal personnel inside the vehicles.】

Lin Chen received the notification and nodded to the team member beside him: "Notify the supply counting team,

prepare to stand by outside the venue; once the supply vehicles arrive, step forward to count immediately, and pay attention to checking the quality of the supplies." The team member took out a communicator and quickly relayed the order.

Five minutes later,

three off-road vehicles appeared at the entrance of the venue. The first vehicle stopped,

and Zhao Hu got out of the car with three key members of the Iron Hand Group, each wearing a black jacket, their waists bulging,

clearly hiding weapons. Zhao Hu walked to the entrance of the venue and was stopped by the Starfire Group guards: "According to the agreement, you can only bring one attendant into the venue, and you are not allowed to carry weapons."

Zhao Hu's expression darkened slightly, but he didn't refute, waving his hand at the key members behind him: "You wait outside,

I'll take Li Er in." He unbuckled the pistol at his waist, handed it to an attendant, and also had Li Er hand over his weapon,

before following the guards into the venue. Passing the rest area where the Lin Guodong family was located,

Zhao Hu deliberately stopped his steps, glanced at Liu Mei sitting on the bench, a sneer curling his lips, but he didn't speak, walking straight toward the negotiation table.

"Lin Chen,

you arrived earlier than us."

Zhao Hu sat down in the main seat on the Iron Hand Group side, Li Er standing behind him,

his hands behind his back, his gaze scanning the Starfire Group members in the venue uneasily.

Lin Chen didn't respond, pushing the negotiation terms document to the center of the table: "First confirm the terms; if there are no problems, sign, then count the supplies, and after that is completed, this negotiation will be considered finished."

Zhao Hu picked up the document, flipping through it quickly, his finger pausing on the clause 'supplies must be qualified products produced within three months': "This clause is too harsh;

in this world, it's good enough to scrape together the quantity; how can we guarantee the production date?" Lin Chen leaned back in his chair, his tone cold: "Either go by the terms, or terminate the negotiation; we'll go search for Zhou Bao right now, you choose."

Zhao Hu stared into Lin Chen's eyes, silent for a few seconds, finally compromising,

"Fine,

I agree to this clause."

He picked up a pen, signed his name at the end of the document, and had Li Er sign as a witness.

Lin Chen took the document, carefully checked the signatures, and after confirming there were no errors, handed it to the team member beside him to keep: "Notify the counting team to start counting the supplies."

Soon, two team members pushed a cart used for counting supplies to the outside of the venue,

and the Iron Hand Group's supply transport vehicles also slowly opened their cargo doors. The counting team members climbed onto the transport vehicles,

starting to check the supplies one by one—pouring out a small amount of bagged grain to check the color, opening antibiotic boxes to confirm the production date, and disassembling the machine guns to check if the parts were intact.

"Team Leader Lin, the grain is fine, it's all recently harvested, no mold."

"The antibiotic production dates are all within three months, the quantity is exactly two hundred boxes."

"Ten machine guns, two of which have slight wear on the barrels, but it doesn't affect use."

The voices of the counting team were transmitted to Lin Chen's ears through the communicator, and he nodded,

saying to Zhao Hu: "The supplies are fine, this negotiation is reached. According to the terms,

you are not allowed to harass surrounding survivors anymore; if we discover you have any violations again, we will immediately terminate the agreement and take necessary measures."

Zhao Hu stood up, his face expressionless: "Understood, we will abide by the agreement."

He turned to leave, but was called back by Lin Chen: "Where is Zhou Bao hiding?

You must know his whereabouts." Zhao Hu paused his steps, turned back, and sneered: "Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you. If you have the ability,

go find him yourself." After speaking, he took Li Er and walked quickly out of the venue, boarded the off-road vehicle, and soon disappeared at the entrance of the square.

Lin Chen watched the Iron Hand Group's convoy leave and said to the team member beside him: "Notify the west city patrol team,

strengthen the search of the abandoned warehouse area; Zhou Bao is highly likely still in that area.

Also, arrange for someone to send the Lin Guodong family back to the temporary dormitory, and tell them,

if they want to stay in the Starfire Group, they can report to the logistics group tomorrow." The team member acknowledged and left. Lin Chen walked to the rest area and said to Lin Guodong, who had stood up: "The matter is resolved; you don't need to worry about the Iron Hand Group people causing you trouble anymore."

Liu Mei held Lin Xiaoxiao and thanked him hurriedly: "Thank you, Team Leader Lin; if it weren't for you,

we really wouldn't know what to do." Lin Xiaoxiao also lifted her head and whispered: "Thank you, Uncle Lin Chen."

Lin Chen smiled, just about to speak, when the communicator in his pocket suddenly rang;

it was Xia Nuan calling: "Lin Chen, the medical station received two donated pieces of equipment,

one is an A20Pro, one is an A20Promax, they said you arranged it to record wounded information; now I need you to come over to confirm the equipment parameters." Lin Chen nodded to the Lin Guodong family and turned to walk toward the medical station: "I'll be there right away; have the technical team check if the equipment can be used normally first."

"One is an A20Pro, the other is an A20Promax; they said you arranged them to record the wounded's information, and now they need you to come over to confirm the device parameters." Lin Chen nodded to Lin Guodong's family and turned to walk toward the medical station, "I'll be there immediately; have the technical team check if the equipment can be used normally first."