Starting Cultivation in Wasteland-Chapter 374 - 254: Information Discrepancy (First Update Dedicated to Master He Meng, Old Mu)

Chapter 374: Chapter 254: Information Discrepancy (First Update Dedicated to Master He Meng, Old Mu)

In the end, Gordo couldn’t hold out and voluntarily confessed his contact with the Star Thieves.

Indeed, he didn’t get along with the deputy captain of the Qingyun Rebels, who once tried to eliminate him, but the Star Thieves stopped it.

The Star Thieves then gave him a sum of money to act as an infiltrator, allowing him freedom of action, with no contact unless something major happened.

In Gordo’s words, he didn’t want to be a traitor, but he couldn’t resist the offer... it was just too much.

After joining Blazing Fire, he kept a close watch on the Star Thieves’ spies, giving an impression of reliability.

But most of the time, his responsibility was perception, not taking action personally.

In his view, those he discovered deserved it; if they lacked ability and still wanted to be spies, they had to pay for their recklessness.

In fact, those spies from the Star Thieves were mostly bribed or coerced, while professional spies knew how to hide better.

So the Star Thieves didn’t mind Gordo’s actions and sometimes deliberately gave him some credit—since there were internal strifes within the Star Thieves too.

This time, the reason he furiously dealt with that indigenous person was because he heard a secret code from them.

Whether the person really knew the code or said it by coincidence, Gordo wasn’t sure, but since there was a code, he acted.

Considering all these, that indigenous person was indeed bribed to tarnish the reputation of the Pioneer Team.

He sought temporary gain, only to bury his whole family in the end.

Then, Mu Guoguo asked Gordo some questions, like who was his superior, and who else had defected to the Star Thieves.

Gordo was originally not firm in will, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so easily bribed and coerced.

His superior was rather mysterious, they never met in person when connecting, and he thought that his capture had surely alerted them.

As for other moles, he identified four people as confirmed and suspected another five.

The four confirmed ones had long been identified by Qu Jianlei, but among the five suspects, two were considered reliable by him.

Mu Guoguo asked Qu Jianlei to re-evaluate them, and he found no problem.

Those two were only more acquainted with making strange comments, which was a way to vent pressure, unbeknownst to them they’d be misunderstood.

The last thing Gordo confessed was about the various Blazing Fire camps... most of which were pretty much exposed.

The Star Thieves were unsure of the exact addresses of the camps but had a general understanding.

So now there were more and more spies near the camps, analyzing Gordo’s data reveals the Star Thieves wanted to wipe out Blazing Fire completely.

While he was confessing, Qu Jianlei was quietly perceiving nearby, noticing nothing unusual.

No one would have thought that Gordo, known for his tough silence, was so weak at heart.

He complied so much, with only one request: a way out!

This wasn’t entirely out of the blue, previously he’d helped capture many spies without leaking any secrets while in Blazing Fire.

The biggest mistake he made was injuring an indigenous person, tarnishing the reputation of Blazing Fire.

However, this fit his persona and shouldn’t be too much of an issue.

Mu Guoguo remained silent for a while before delivering some unfortunate news: the entire family of that indigenous person was killed last night!

Gordo’s face turned white instantly; he knew what this news meant.

It turned out that the captain used information asymmetry and Gordo’s luck factor to exploit him ruthlessly.

With such an incident, Gordo was surely doomed; there’s no reason to be hopeful and should even be cursing out loud.

However, his survival instinct was too strong, and he revealed another piece of information.

"Captain, I can probably guess the Star Thieves’ backup plan this time... if you permit me a chance to make up for my crimes, I’d rather die on the battlefield."

He spoke passionately, but when a Wind Attribute Warrior is determined to evade, surviving on the battlefield isn’t too hard.

He might even seize the opportunity to escape and disappear from everyone’s sight.

How could Mu Guoguo agree to this? He blandly stated, "Looks like you still want a meeting with the Patriotism Team?"

Gordo’s face turned pale, "So I am doomed then?"

Mu Guoguo shook his head, "You violated the Pioneer Team’s charter; I’ll hand you over to the Black Rain for them to deal with you."

This was the biggest concession he could make.

Gordo understood the meaning of this promise, sighed lightly, "The target of the Star Thieves is likely the Black Rain..."

Blazing Fire is just an Earth Level team, and even with Black Heaven, they only have four B-level Warriors, are the Star Thieves really preparing for so long for this?

Gordo knew too, Black Heaven took down the seventh leader of the Star Thieves, Su Dafeng, their strength shouldn’t be underestimated.

Yet, he was also a Wind Attribute, well aware of the poor defensive capability of this attribute.

He thought Black Heaven was just a very formidable B-level, whether it could match against a Wood and Earth Attribute was uncertain.

All in all, with this strength, Blazing Fire couldn’t withstand the Star Thieves’ full siege.

The only reason the Star Thieves were still probing might be that they were waiting for Blazing Fire to call for help.

In other words, ambushing Blazing Fire might only be a secondary target; striking the rescuing Black Rain is the Star Thieves’ ultimate goal.

"Encircle and annihilate the reinforcements, nothing out of the ordinary," Mu Guoguo said calmly, "But I’ll relay it to Black Rain."

After leaving Gordo, he found Qu Jianlei and said with a wry smile, "I really didn’t expect your intuition to be that accurate."

Qu Jianlei shook his head and answered nonchalantly, "I’m just afraid of dying."

Mu Guoguo didn’t take this seriously at all. Could a B-level who dares to challenge an A-level warrior really be afraid of death?

In fact, he had another purpose in finding Qu Jianlei, "Is it convenient for me to disclose your intuitive ability to Black Rain?"

Qu Jianlei immediately caught on to the other party’s intention, "You want me to help Black Rain identify the spies?"

Mu Guoguo nodded, "Currently, that’s the idea, but we still have to consider your willingness, as well as Black Rain’s reaction."

A mere Earth-level team wanting to help a Celestial-level team’s employer identify spies, the other party may not be willing to accept.

Qu Jianlei directly changed the subject, "Captain Mu, the star thieves are pressing us step by step, what should we do?"

Of course, it’s to resist stubbornly and engage in guerrilla warfare! Mu Guoguo had already designated a plan to engage the enemy.

The Pioneer Team is, after all, a civilian organization that does not reject guerrilla warfare. Who doesn’t know how to strike and then run?

Captain Mu had a plan but did not answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Do you have any suggestions?"

Qu Jianlei responded seriously, "I think merely defending is too passive. It’s necessary to send some people out of the encirclement."

"Then, when the star thieves want to attack, someone could keep harassing them from behind and assist Blazing Fire in making some counterattacks."

"You fight your way, I’ll fight mine... We can’t let them lead us by the nose!"

Upon hearing this, Mu Guoguo’s eyes lit up, "That’s a good idea. That’s right, you fight your way, I’ll fight mine."

He understood the benefits of this kind of warfare, but previously the team didn’t have the conditions for it.

Without the ability to pull out such a team to penetrate deep into enemy lines, it was unnecessary to even consider such a plan.

He looked at Qu Jianlei and said with a smile, "Looks like this task can only fall to you?"

Qu Jianlei nodded, "I think I’m the most suitable, with an intuition for danger. Getting out of the encirclement is no problem."

Mu Guoguo’s expression turned a bit peculiar, "Just you alone?"

Qu Jianlei couldn’t figure out the other party’s intention for the moment and answered subconsciously.

"It would be fine to bring along a few able ones, but with the war about to start, isn’t the camp in need of guards?"

Previously, the camp didn’t really need guards, but now it’s different. With the power plants built and many machines in operation.

So this guerrilla warfare is not something you can just choose to engage in; often it’s a choice out of necessity by the poor.

Now that we have shoes on, we can’t act like we’re still barefoot.

"You can take three people with you, and be careful," Mu Guoguo replied lightly, "and take a radio too."

He wasn’t worried at all about Qu Jianlei leaving and never returning... the key was that worrying wouldn’t help!

Qu Jianlei had no intention of leaving either, as he had finally made contact with the Pioneer Team and established himself through contributions. Why leave? 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

By maintaining a position here and fighting outside, he wouldn’t be too constrained and could better exert his strength and protect himself.

Incidentally, he could also gather information about Youyou, so why not?

So he only said, "The radio might remain silent for a long time. This is the necessary caution for operations behind enemy lines."

"Understood," Mu Guoguo nodded and smiled as he asked, "I shouldn’t mention your capability to Black Rain’s people, right?"

This guy really is outwardly simple but clearly insightful, seeing right through the other person’s motive to take the initiative and fight.

Qu Jianlei replied without changing his expression, "As for the trump card, the fewer people who know, the better... Anyway, I’ve already screened everyone in the camp."

"Alright," Mu Guoguo nodded without hesitation, "just be cautious about the team’s safety, and also learn a bit about the radio’s application."

When Qu Jianlei saw the three people allocated to him, he finally understood what Captain Mu meant by "pay attention to the team’s safety."

The highest Cultivation Level among the three was Sedifei, exactly the combination of the "suspect group."

The combination originally had four people, one of whom was an observation sentry arranged by Mu Guoguo.

The observation sentry naturally didn’t accompany them, but the other three teamed up with him.

The person responsible for operating the radio was an ordinary person, a handyman within the team who knew a little about everything but was not particularly specialized in anything.

But even so, he was more adept with the radio than the other two.

Would the star thieves buy off ordinary people within the Pioneer Team? They actually would.

Ordinary people mostly have professional skills with poor combat strength, which is exactly what the star thieves need.

Because of their poor combat strength, these people usually have relatively smaller courage and are less able to withstand harsh environments, making them easily swayable.

Anyhow, this person, being an ordinary person, was sent to infiltrate behind enemy lines, reasoning it as his "radio specialization."

If Qu Jianlei didn’t know how to deal with these people before, Captain Mu’s emphasis on "team safety" was a good endorsement.

Mu Guoguo previously had great faith in Sedifei, but now that Gordon had been exposed, the screening of others was also quite effective.

So he handed over the authority to deal with Sedifei to Qu Jianlei.

(First update, congratulations to Master He Meng, "Laom Mu of Huaguo Mountain.")