Chapter 1345

"Damn!"

Upon hearing this, Hamid's heart instantly turned cold.

After all, he had been leading troops for many years, and his judgment of the strategic situation was extremely precise.

At this moment, he realized that he and Ye Chen each held half of the initiative.

"Inside this cellar, the initiative is entirely in the hands of this Chinese man, because he has a gun pointed at me and has also bought off my subordinates; he could kill me in this room at any moment..."

"However, I am not completely passive either. After all, no matter how capable he is, he couldn't possibly buy off the entire base of one or two thousand people."

"Because, if he really had that ability, he would have overthrown me directly long ago; why go to such great lengths to sneak into this cellar?"

Thinking of this, he immediately said to Ye Chen: "Friend, let's neither of us be too impulsive. We can talk things over properly; after all, I also studied in China for many years, and seeing you feels quite intimate!"

Ye Chen nodded and smiled: "If you want to talk, it's simple. I have only one requirement: you let me take the people away, and I won't make things difficult for you. Otherwise, I will kill you first."

As he spoke, Ye Chen said with utmost seriousness: "After I kill you, as long as I run fast enough, your subordinates might not be able to react in time. After all, when I came in, your subordinates didn't discover me; I believe they won't discover me when I leave either."

As soon as Ye Chen said this, Hamid, who was opposite him, immediately became nervous.

He was no fool.

A base defended by one or two thousand of his own men could still be infiltrated silently by a Chinese man; this showed that his defenses were worth nothing in front of the other party.

At this moment, Ye Chen continued: "By the time they discover your corpse lying in this cellar, I might have already left Syria. And you? You can only lie there stiffly and accept the funeral your one or two thousand subordinates have prepared for you. Given your high status in the military, I presume your funeral will be very grand!"

Hamid's face immediately turned green.

He quickly realized in his heart that the situation between him and Ye Chen was not the fifty-fifty split he had imagined.

Ye Chen was the one who could strike first.

If Ye Chen struck first and killed him, he would be the one to die first.

If he really provoked him and Ye Chen made a preemptive strike, killed him, and then successfully escaped, wouldn't he be the one suffering a huge loss?!

Thinking of this, Hamid's expression suddenly became extremely depressed.

Letting the people go was naturally something he was ten thousand times unwilling to do.

After all, he was still waiting to use these hostages to extort a sum of funds from the American embassy.

With one or two thousand soldiers under his command, the cost of feeding them was enormous, and there was a huge funding gap. He was just waiting for a windfall to stabilize his team. If there was any surplus, he could also buy a batch of new weapons from arms dealers to improve his troops' combat effectiveness.

However, while money was important, he was, after all, a commander—equivalent to a warlord or a local emperor. Even if he didn't make this money, as long as he had this team, he wouldn't have to worry about not having a chance to get rich in the future. If things went well and the opposition achieved final victory, he might even end up as a high-ranking official.

Therefore, for him, the most important thing was to stay alive—to live safely and securely.

Otherwise, if he were to lose his life here, he would truly be the biggest loser.

Precisely because his own life was more important, he didn't dare to confront Ye Chen head-on.

After thinking it over, Hamid gritted his teeth, trying to make a final effort, and said: "Brother! It's not easy for you to have come all this way, and since we have a connection, I cannot refuse all of your requests. But you must also give me some face; you can't leave me with nothing in the end. Don't you Chinese have an old saying? 'Leave a line for everything, so we can meet again in the future!'"

Ye Chen smiled: "I have to say, your Chinese is really not bad; you can even throw in a couple of two-part allegorical sayings."

Hamid smiled awkwardly and said: "To use a term to describe it, I was quite the top student back in the day."

Ye Chen nodded and asked him: "You said you wanted me to leave you some face; I wonder how you want me to leave this face?"

Hamid waved his hand and said with a face full of worldly air: "Brother, how about this! Of these eight people, half for you and half for me. There is an old Chinese saying: 'Guests from afar are guests,' so I'll let you pick first. You can take any four people you want, and leave the remaining four for me."

As soon as Hamid said this, the seven people beside Gu Qiuyi all went crazy.

What the hell is this!

Is this guy who came on the Concorde really that fierce?

The opposition commander came, and not only did he not kill him, but he was actually controlled by him.

What's even more outrageous is that these two are now negotiating conditions.

And what's even more outrageous is that this Hamid actually agreed.

He let Ye Chen take four people away; doesn't that mean four people can be directly rescued by him?!

Since Gu Qiuyi is definitely taking one spot, that leaves three spots!

Thinking of this, the Chinese-American boy blurted out: "Mr. Ye, save me! We are compatriots! We are compatriots! You can't just stand by and watch us die!"

Ye Chen waved his hand: "Hey, don't pull that with me. Don't you remember what you said just now? I do consider you a compatriot. Even if you hold a passport from another country, as long as the blood of our Chinese nation flows in your body, you are my compatriot in my eyes."

Having said this, Ye Chen said helplessly: "Look at what you said yourself just now. You were born and raised in the United States, and your motherland is the United States. Since you said that, I can't force you to be my compatriot, can I? Isn't that forcing you to betray your motherland?"

The other party burst into tears and choked up: "Mr. Ye, I was wrong! Actually, I wasn't born in the United States; I was born in China. It was just that my parents immigrated later and took me to the United States, and I obtained American citizenship. The reason I always claimed to be born in the United States was that I didn't want to be looked down upon by Americans. I wanted them to know that although I don't have an American face, I am a genuine American born in the United States..."

Having said this, he cried bitterly: "Actually, I'm just a person who worships foreign things. I have already realized my mistake now. I know that what flows in my bones is still..."

Ye Chen interrupted him: "Alright, alright, stop talking. I understand what you mean."

Upon hearing this, the other party felt as if there was hope for survival and immediately cried: "Mr. Ye, thank you so much! In the future, I will work like a horse and ox to repay you!"

A white American boy on the side also hurriedly said: "Mr. Ye, I apologize for my recklessness and rudeness just now. Please take me with you too..."

The Indian-American boy also cried, and while sobbing, he said with snot and tears: "Mr. Ye... blame me for being blind. Actually, I have always particularly yearned for the brilliant Chinese history and civilization, and I particularly admire lone heroes like you. Please don't hold a grudge against a small person like me, and give me a chance..."

When the others saw them all begging, they also hurriedly cried and begged.

Ye Chen smiled at this moment, turned to look at Hamid, and said seriously: "That, Commander Hamid."

Hamid hurriedly said: "Brother, meeting is fate, and fate makes us friends. Don't be so distant by calling me Commander! Also, brother, let me say a word from the heart: my surname is 'Hamid,' and these three characters are connected. If you can, please try not to split them."

After finishing, he hurriedly added with a smile: "Of course, if you feel that saying three characters is too tiring, just pretend I didn't say anything..."