288 Deal
Looking at it from the distance, Mathew’s meeting with the other group turned out to be pretty… turn-based.
The two groups would interact and exchange information and ideas. Then, Mathew would drop an information bomb on them. Following that, the other group would react before the entire process would start all over again.
The silence that ensued after Mathew brought up his proposal was no different from the moments of shock from before. If anything, the silence turned even more intense than before.
“That’s…” the leader of the other group brought his hand up and scratched his chin. His eyes escaped to the side. He then pursed his lips and lowered his head, avoiding Mathew’s relaxed stare. “I’m sorry, but I cannot decide that on my own,” he said. His eyes then looked towards the far end of the shopping alley, as far away from Mathew’s face as he could.
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Mathew shook his shoulders and turned around, seemingly walking away from the man. He stopped after mere two steps.
The young man didn’t bother to hide the nature of his theatrics. He had no need for masking his intentions. Because no matter what the other party said…
The lives of the people that they left behind were all firmly within Mathew’s hand!
“This isn’t over, isn’t it?” the leader muttered, shaking his head sideways.
Mathew didn’t bother trying to mask his theatrics as something natural. By making them all over the top, he was sending a certain type of message.
And the message’s receiver just proved he got it.
“I can’t ask you to declare for those who are not here,” Mathew said, turning around on his spot and showcasing his wide smile from before. “But I can ask you to declare for those present here now.”
“I…” the leader attempted to protest, only to cut his sentence short and purse his lips.
The man fought with himself in his thoughts, only allowing others a glimpse of his internal struggle through the rapid changes in his facial expression.
“I agree,” the system-owning kid from the group stepped forward, taking both his leader and Mathew by a surprise.
‘He was their greatest triumph card in those negotiations, and he just volunteered like that?’ Mathew thought, baffled by the development. ‘Well, I won’t waste such an opportunity!’
“You guys appear to know far more about this apocalypse than we do,” the kid continued, keeping up his calm and low-key cool demeanor from before. “The situation we are in isn’t one where the strongest prevail,” he added, using some fancy language Mathew didn’t expect to hear out in the nowhere in the middle of an apocalypse. “If we want to survive, we need to follow the smartest one instead.”
‘Is that the legendary sixth-grader syndrome?’ Mathew asked himself, throwing a puzzled look at the kid.
Yet, as dubious as the source of the kid’s words was, it didn’t matter. And now that the most valuable member of the other group took his stance…
‘Just like I thought.’ Mathew’s eyes twitched a little when he scanned his surroundings.
Even if they didn’t figure it out directly, all of the people he was facing could somehow feel the importance of what just happened.
Not a single one of them ended up speaking up. Yet, every last one of them soon took a step forward and raised their faces, all looking right at their leader.
“Fine, fine!” the man shouted, waving his hands again with a slight annoyance written on his face. He then shook his head, ignoring all the stares at him while he looked right into Mathew’s eyes. “Let me ask you one question first,” he requested, with no intention of giving Mathew a chance to deny this request.
“Why do you want us to join your group so much?”
Mathew didn’t reply right away. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes for a moment, and acted as if he was trying to come up with some sort of a smart response.
“Initial investment?” Mathew suggested after a moment with a confused look on his face. “I mean, given what we bring to the table, we will have more people trying to join us than we will be able to handle,” he stated. “So, in order for the news of our group to start spreading, we need to have some newcomers with us.”
Mathew’s logic was simple.
It didn’t matter if he could get the people in front of him to join his group. They just happened to be in a convenient spot for Mathew to exploit for his own benefit. But, in order for the fame of what they could offer to the survivors to spread… some people had to witness it firsthand.
And the group of seven that Mathew’s party stumbled into the shop only had their luck to thank for the encounter.
“I don’t really… understand,” the leader twisted his lips in an ugly grimace. He already denied Mathew’s offer once, back before the kid in their group made his stance known. And now, he acted as if he was stalling for time.
As such, it was no wonder when fat drops of sweat started to pour down the man’s forehead.
“Listen, we don’t lack resources. We don’t lack weapons. We don’t even lack safe space for non-combatants,” Mathew listed out. “What we lack, is manpower that could allow us to exploit the advantages of our situation.”
Mathew took a step forward and looked right into the leader’s eyes. Due to the small height difference between the two, he had to look up a little. ‘Does it makes me appear inferior?’ Mathew asked himself, only to shake his head and focus back on the face of the man ahead.
“Let it be, then,” the man sighed a moment later, unable to withstand Mathew’s passionate gaze. He then nodded his head before raising his chin and announcing, “if you help us ward off the horde, I will follow you and join your group.”