The Apocalyptic Queen Theresa
Chapter 558 Sincerity
Theresa gave a slight nod.
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“The Divine Academy reached out because they want to work with us. They’re willing to hand over the oil fields,” Bennie said.
“Did you ask what they expect in return?” she asked.
“They said they’ll decide after they’ve seen what we can do,” he replied.
That made Theresa’s lips curl into a smile. She lowered the binoculars and fixed her eyes on the island, drawing closer. “Good. I’d like to see just how strong Divine Academy really is—and whether they have what it takes to bargain with me.”
The warship slid into the harbor.
The islanders were already prepared to receive them. As soon as the ship docked, the heavy gates that had been sealed shut creaked open just wide enough to allow passage.
A group of people stepped out, dressed in white lab coats. Theresa recognized them all too well. They wore broad–brimmed white hats and face masks that hid most of their features.
Yeah, no doubt about it—it’s the same crew.
She had gone out of her way not to be recognized. Today, she showed up in a completely different look–a long black trench coat, a mask over her face, and sunglasses hiding the rest.
Quentin had gone with the same idea, covered up from head to toe.
Vinny, on the other hand, was way too easy to spot. Theresa hadn’t brought her along this time. The last thing she needed was someone remembering that face from before.
“Blazing Sun Alliance, right?” A man in a white lab coat stepped out from the group.
Theresa’s eyes caught the ID card on his chest–it started with the letter A.
“Yes,” Bennie answered from her side. He was the one talking to Theresa today.
“And who might you be?”
“My name’s Bennie Green,” he replied evenly. “I’m one of the administrators of Blazing Sun
Alliance,”
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“Mr. Green, if you’ll follow me.” The man in the coat gave their group a long, hard look before turning on his heel and leading them inside.
The island opened into vast, empty grounds, and Theresa quickly noticed the people scattered across it.
They wore the same white clothing, like hospital scrubs, while the rest moved about in those clinical lab coats.
What caught her attention, though, were the bands strapped to their wrists–numbered tags she knew all too well. Unlike the lab coats, these weren’t marked with letters–just numbers.
People were working out all around them. Some were jogging, others cranking out push–ups, and everyone wore the same look–casy, cheerful, and genuinely happy to be here.
Before Theresa could even nudge him, Bennie jumped in first. “So, who are those folks?”
“They’re our residents,” the man in the lab coat replied.
“And how many residents do you have?”
“Over three thousand.”
“Three thousand?” Bennie let out a low whistle. “How do you even keep that many mouths fed? Do you grow your own crops or something?”
The man didn’t take the bait. He cut Bennie off before he could push further. “We’re here,” he said, stopping in front of a tall building. “Let’s head inside and talk about cooperation.”
“Fine.” Bennie’s eyes lit up, but he kept the rest of his thoughts to himself. Bennie was too sharp for his own good–he caught every little detail about the people across from him.
He followed the man inside. They walked through the lobby and into a meeting room on the first floor.
As soon as the door closed, the man asked, “How big is your Blazing Sun Alliance?”
Bennie’s voice was calm. “Well, we sailed in here on a warship. I think that tells you enough about our size.”
The man hesitated, then pressed on. “How many people do you have?”
“More than you do,” Bennie shot back with a neat smile.
“And what’s life like over there? With that many to feed, aren’t supplies stretched thin?”
“In the apocalypse, nobody’s rolling in abundance,” Bennie said evenly. “But we’re managing.”
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Theresa, sitting beside him, looked thoroughly pleased with his answers.
The man’s line of questioning never strayed from numbers and population. And Bennie’s sharp, vague, deliberately slippery replies left him none the wiser.
Bennie never let a single word slip until he figured out what the other side wanted.
Theresa knew she’d made the right call bringing Bennie along. That old fox wasn’t someone the others could outwit easily. Nobody walked away from a deal with him without losing something -he had a mind like a maze.
After trading a few rounds of words, the man in the lab coat still couldn’t get a read on Bennie. Finally, he dropped the polite fencing and said, “Mr. Green, we want to work with you. Why don’t you show us some proof of your capabilities?”
Before Bennie could answer, Theresa tugged his sleeve and whispered something.
His cold eyes sharpened, almost glowing. He rose to his feet and fixed the man with a hard stare. “Friend, of course, we want to work with you. Why else would we risk crossing half the d*mn world in the middle of the apocalypse just to sit here?
“We came carrying nothing but goodwill. The real question is–are you here with the same sincerity?”
The lab coat frowned. “Naturally.”
Bennie’s palm slammed down on the table with a thunderous crack. “Then explain this. You say you want to cooperate but send a lackey to fob us off instead of your real decision–maker? That’s your idea of sincerity?”
The crack of his hand against the table echoed through the room. Under the full weight of his presence, the man in the lab coat faltered. He stared across at Bennie, shaken, with no clue how the man had sniffed out that someone higher up was pulling the strings.
And right then, the door at the back of the office swung open.
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