Chapter 251: The Strategy of Driving the Tiger to Devour the Wolf

"Do you want more green powder?"

Zhang Su saw the other wasn't answering honestly, pulled out the plastic bag from his pocket and waved it, face expressionless yet radiating unspoken pressure.

Su Xiaoya's face turned green; she clutched her stomach and whined, "I really don't know—it must've been one of the uncles from the village who saw you while scouting. Do you have any other questions? Ask something else—I'll tell you if I know!"

She would carry a shadow of green for the rest of her life.

"Fine, then tell me—how did you get here? Don't say you walked. I'll break your legs!"

Zhang Su slammed the table.

A sharp *bang* made Su Xiaoya flinch.

"The strategy of driving the tiger to devour the wolf!"

"Alright, anything else you haven't told me? Think hard—spill more, and I'll get you something good to eat. Otherwise, you starve."

Whether they'd turn on each other after achieving their goal was uncertain, but before that, they could absolutely use the other's strength!

This was a complex game of strategy.

That Lei Village Chief in Kuanzhuang was indeed cunning, but an enemy's enemy is a friend. The methods might be underhanded, but the goal was to strike the Qinglong Battalion—if they could cooperate properly, he'd make a powerful ally.

Zhang Su pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and watched Su Xiaoya calmly.

Su Xiaoya shook her head: "A few uncles drove out and brought it back a long time ago. I don't know anything else!"

"What's going on?" Su Xiaoya didn't know how to answer.

"Population and composition—how many men, women, children, elderly; food and weapon reserves; special talents, etc." Zhang Su explained.

Yu Wen cleared his throat and continued: "If we apply this strategy to our current situation, it's like this: Kuanzhuang wants to create an irreconcilable conflict between us and the Qinglong Battalion. Whether Qinglong wins, we win, or both sides are destroyed, Kuanzhuang reaps the benefits. Even the worst outcome lets them form an alliance against Qinglong!"

Zhang Su nodded slightly, saying nothing—because in his mind, his thoughts differed from Wang Xin's.

The population breakdown made Zhang Su frown, but he understood—it was much the same as the United Village's situation before.

Yu Wen, sitting in the corner, suddenly spoke up.

Guo Dachao said: "It's been discontinued for thirty or forty years, but production was huge back then, and retirement was slow. Recently, they've been exported—most infantry brigades still have them!"

Zhang Su thought of Old Li, and his face instantly flashed in his mind—a golden seal stuck to his face, lifelike and gleaming…

As she spoke, Su Xiaoya mimed shouldering a wooden stick.

Zhao Dezhu immediately remembered what had happened back at the Wenhualu Battalion and snarled: "That Old Li was never honest! Damn it!"

This weapon exceeds the category of conventional arms—it's devastatingly lethal!

Zhao Dezhu wore the expression of "you should be grateful."

"Alright, excluding children and the elderly, can everyone else kill zombies and people?"

Zhang Su asked. Black cat, white cat—as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat. He never discriminated against women, but many women discriminated against themselves, thinking they couldn't handle men's work.

"You're being honest," Zhang Su said without surprise—only this made sense. He pressed on: "Explain why they sent you to our camp to poison the Qinglong Battalion?"

If they could produce rocket launchers, their other weapons mustn't be lacking either. No wonder they had such big ambitions—this kind of strength was real!

Yu Wen clearly knew a bit about this too, and asked curiously.

"What the hell?"

In this perilous end-time world, the number of men fighting outside would far outnumber women working behind the lines—the danger levels weren't even comparable.

A sense of security and prestige isn't built overnight—it's earned slowly through countless actions.

Whether someone was honest didn't matter—as long as they were one of us.

"Whoever this person is, they're ruthless. To use us against the Qinglong Battalion, they've deployed spies, framed us, stolen intelligence, and provoked conflict—all the lowdown tricks. Brother Su, this guy's evil!"

Guo Dachao exclaimed in shock.

Su Xiaoya pouted: "You only bully a little girl—you're heartless!"

Yu Wen gave Zhao Dezhu a bland look and said: "This is a strategy from Xun Yu of the Three Kingdoms. The gist is to incite two factions to destroy each other so a third can reap the benefits. Similar to 'borrowing a knife to kill' in the Thirty-Six Stratagems, but with finer details. Ke …"

"Damn! Why didn't we get this stuff back at the battalion?"

"Yeah, it's 'drive the tiger to devour the wolf.'"

!!??

"Rocket launchers?"

He looked at Su Xiaoya: "Where did you get military weapons?"

"Isn't this model of rocket launcher discontinued already?"

Su Xiaoya stared at the ceiling, thought for a moment, and said: "I heard them talk about it—it sounded like… uh, drive something… drive the tiger…"

Everyone nodded repeatedly, gazing at Zhang Su with admiration—he'd judged correctly.

Wang Longzhong shrugged helplessly.

Wang Longzhong remembered something and asked.

"Effective combatants under twenty," Zhang Su stated flatly, below his expectations. He urged: "What about weapons?"

"How could I? I've… never killed a zombie. The uncles and aunts can kill zombies—some aunts and elder aunts even dare to kill them. Yeah, they're strong!"

Su Xiaoya shook her head, downcast: "Grandpa Lei has been dead a long time. The current leader is Uncle Lei—he's Grandpa Lei's son."

Everyone exchanged glances. This bastard wasn't just fighting head-on—he was using military tactics too?

Zhang Su sighed inwardly. Human hearts were growing ever more treacherous. It felt like easy to dodge a spear, hard to avoid a hidden arrow. If he hadn't uncovered Su Xiaoya, he might've fallen right into their trap.

Zhang Su rubbed his stomach and said: "You've emptied everything out. Starve again, and you'll regret it. Think carefully."

"Okay, right now Kuanzhuang has thirty-seven people total—twelve men, yes, twelve men, twenty-five women. Elderly? How old counts as elderly? I call two people 'Grandpa' and 'Grandma'—one grandma, one grandpa. Children? Three younger than me—two boys, one girl."

"Yeah, yeah, they called it 'Six-Nine' something."

"No, I… the village uncles drove me here. Took back roads, didn't use the main road."

"Little girl, your attempt to spy on us failed. Now tell me about your side—do you have anything worth negotiating an alliance with?"

Zhao Dezhu asked, puzzled.

"Six-Nine rocket launchers!" Guo Dachao was even more shocked. He hurriedly asked: "That's the army's anti-tank weapon!"

Wang Xin gritted his teeth.

"Weapons? We have guns! And this weapon."

"What, Old Wang, you recognize it?"

Su Xiaoya nodded eagerly as the kind-faced old man spoke.

Zhang Su looked at Wang Longzhong.

"Girl, is your village chief named Lei Changhe?"

"Don't be ridiculous, little girl. My brother's been gentle with you. If it were a young man, you'd already be missing parts!"

"I know Lei Changhe—we've dealt before. But I don't know his son."

On the surface, this was just a frame-up—but he didn't think it was that simple.

Yu Wen spoke methodically, occasionally glancing at Su Xiaoya and giving her a friendly look.

"Cough… in war, we don't kill envoys. Mr. Zhang, I think the girl has done well enough. We have no past grudge against Kuanzhuang, and this small friction can be resolved in our shared goal of fighting Qinglong. Why not give her something to eat and drink?"

He knew well that in such moments, someone had to play the good cop and someone the bad cop. Since Zhang Su took the bad cop role, he naturally assumed the good cop's.

"Alright, take your time. Think and speak when you remember something. Wang Xin, Wu Lue—take her back, have her clean her room, and bring her something to eat and drink."

(End of Chapter)