<h4>Chapter 1745: Chapter 1746: On the Current Situation in Little Ba</h4>


    Rumus was a bit speechless. He just casually mentioned it, not expecting that Tie Zhuzi would actually take it seriously.


    "Don’t worry, I’m not here just to freeload," Rumus said, casting an annoyed nce at Tie Zhuzi.


    "That’s good," Tie Zhuzi nodded earnestly, then suddenly thought of something and excitedly asked, "Are you here to thank us? How do you n to thank us? How much money will you give us?"


    Rumus: "..."


    Xiang Yu had extorted a billion from themander yet still wasn’t satisfied, and now they expected him to pay a gratitude fee; this he was really unprepared for.


    "Zhuzi, don’t say such things. We helped them voluntarily. Rumus and I are friends; mutual assistance is expected. Talking about money creates distance," Xiang Yu said seriously.


    Only then did Tie Zhuzi nod and sit quietly without speaking.


    Rumus was somewhat immune to Xiang Yu’s shamelessness by now, so he didn’t react much.


    "Xiang Yu, I came today firstly to thank you for your help. Without your warning, we might have been doomed beyond redemption," Rumus said sincerely, looking at Xiang Yu.


    Xiang Yu waved it off, saying, "It was just a little effort, no need to thank me."


    Rumus nodded and said, "There’s another matter that’s troubling me, and I’d like to discuss it with you."


    Rumus’s voice was very subdued, his eyes void of spark, as though he was reminiscing about something.


    "I’ve been enlisted in the army for twenty years..." Rumus then recounted his background and journey in the military.


    Rumus was someone who rose from the grassroots to his current position through his own ability and hard work.


    But having reached this point, he started to feel a bit lost; high-level politics was beyond his league.


    When Keru used him of being an undercover agent for the rebels, he was terrified, already panicking inwardly, but only feigned calmness.


    At that moment, he made a decision—to leave the army, to stay away from that ce of trouble. But he also worried about what he could do after leaving.


    Now that Keru had been captured and subjected to severe interrogation, he couldn’t possibly surface again.


    Yet, Rumus always felt an indescribable helplessness in his heart.


    Xiang Yu sat there, quietly listening to Rumus voicing his thoughts, knowing that Rumus had taken him as a confidant.


    Tie Zhuzi, too, sat there, noticing Rumus’s low spirits before he suggested, "If it’s so tough, why not join us instead? We’d have drinks, food, and freedom together."


    "Zhuzi, don’t say things like that," Xiang Yu quickly interjected.


    Rumus was a senior officer; he couldn’t just resign. If it ever came to that, Rumus would surely be ced under house arrest.


    "Xiang Yu, what do you think I should do now?" Rumus asked, his voice tinged with destion as he looked at Xiang Yu.


    Xiang Yu smiled and said, "You no longer have a retreat. Since you chose this path, you should bravely move forward. The country won’t allow you to resign, because you hold many national secrets, and they also can’t let you join other organizations. Not only would that implicate you, but the organization you join as well."


    Xiang Yu thought for a moment and continued, "Now your only option is to courageously charge forward on this path."


    Rumus sighed once more. He had grown disillusioned with themander and other senior officers. If he continued dealing with these people, he’d go insane.


    "The path you choose is yours to walk," Xiang Yu reiterated.


    Rumus nodded in acknowledgment of Xiang Yu’s viewpoint.


    He didn’t really want to leave the national organization; he was just feeling down and needed to voice his grievances to someone.


    Within his national organization, he couldn’t find anyone to confide in, lest he be caught with leverage and branded a rebel spy.


    He was human too, needing to vent, which is why he came to Xiang Yu toin.


    To him, Xiang Yu was someone trustworthy. Plus, being outside their system, he couldn’t seize any leverage to report him.


    "Thank you," Rumus said very earnestly.


    At this point, Tie Zhuzi, nodding thoughtfully, said, "Oh, so if you joined us, it would cause us a lot of trouble; then maybe you better not join."


    Xiang Yu and Rumus both shook their heads with a smile, knowing Tie Zhuzi’s temperament, so no one took offense.


    "Rumus, what do you think will be the development of your country’s situation?" Xiang Yu poured him a ss of water and asked.


    Rumus thought for a while and replied, "ording to our intelligence, many international organizations are flocking here, wanting a piece of the pie. Of course, we will also strengthen our defenses in this area to prevent the situation from worsening. I believe that with our efforts, we can prevent this from happening. Additionally, we’ve already started formal engagements with the rebels; it won’t be long before wepletely eliminate them and finally achieve national stability and peace."


    Rumus, after all, was a national soldier; he looked at problems from a soldier’s perspective, but this inevitably had its limitations.


    As the saying goes, "the onlooker sees more of the game," Rumus was that participant.


    "Don’t be overly optimistic. The rebels have survived in Xiaoba for so many years and have even threatened your ****, which already indicates they’re not simple. If you underestimate them, thinking you can easily crush them, that would be very wrong," Xiang Yu objectively analyzed.


    Although he didn’t know much about the rebels, through exchanges with the Wolf King, Xiang Yu realized that the Xiaoba rebels had connections with a mysterious international organization.


    And it seemed this mysterious organization was quite powerful; relying solely on Xiaoba’s **** efforts couldn’t possiblypletely eradicate them.


    Talking about war, Rumus became spirited, his eyes glinting before he said, "Today’s warfare is all about technology. Although the rebels have been lurking for years, if **** really wanted to eliminate them, it’s just a matter of time. Now is different from the past; dreaming of overthrowing our government is just that—a dream."


    Rumus had strong confidence in his national regime; he didn’t believe the rebels could overthrow it.


    Xiang Yu merely smiled without debating Rumus, as it would be pointless.


    Though Rumus was amander of a military district and considered a high-ranking official, he didn’t determine Xiaoba’s national trajectory.


    "I’ve heard that the rebels already have a base in the south, upying several cities," Xiang Yu said.


    "That’s true, but that’s because we’ve been considering civilian safety and haven’tunched arge-scale attack. If we evacuated the civilians, we could take it back in a matter of minutes," Rumus optimistically said.


    "Perhaps," Xiang Yu said with a smile.


    Xiang Yu didn’t mention the Blue Eagle Organization to Rumus, fearing it would cause widespread panic if disclosed to him...