Chapter 1 After Leaving the Marijuana Hideout

After leaving the marijuana hideout, Feng Bujue immediately walked some distance in the direction Buu had left.

He wasn't trying to tail the other man; he just wanted to scout out Buu's destination before continuing his exploration.

Before long, he found several clumps of trampled weeds, a few broken branches, and a number of not-so-obvious footprints.

"Not simple..." Feng Bujue muttered, looking at the traces. "He actually thought of counter-tracking..."

Clearly, Buu had deliberately created these "traces" to mislead a possible pursuer.

"And these disguises are remarkably well done... If I wasn't careful, even I might have been fooled..." Brother Jue thought to himself. "Hmm... if the NPCs in this script are all this clever, I'm probably screwed..."

Just as he was pondering this, suddenly...

"Don't be fooled by the illusion before you." A man's voice rang out not far behind Brother Jue. "He didn't move in the direction the footprints indicate..."

"Who's there?" Upon hearing the voice, Feng Bujue's expression tightened immediately. As he turned around to locate the source of the sound, he gripped the military shovel in his hand.

Brother Jue had lost his superhuman senses, so he couldn't sense the people quietly approaching him. This change made him, who was usually cautious, constantly feel a sense of unease... and that unease made him very aggressive.

"Calm down, Stephen, it's me." The speaker immediately appeared in Brother Jue's line of sight. It was the sixth contestant—Barack Hussein Obama.

"I am calm." Feng Bujue was indeed speaking to the other man in a very calm tone. "Raising a military shovel and making as if to chop you doesn't mean I've lost my composure."

"Heh..." Obama smiled. He didn't approach rashly, but maintained a distance of three meters, and added with a smile, "Is this how you usually greet people?"

"Hmph..." Feng Bujue snorted coldly. "When facing those 'scheming fellows who quietly approach me from behind,' I usually greet them like this."

As soon as he said this, Obama's eyes changed instantly, but he quickly concealed the change with a raised eyebrow and said with a smile, "Heh... sorry, Stephen, I didn't realize I was approaching you 'quietly'." As he spoke, he raised both hands and made quotation marks. "At least from my perspective, I walked over very normally and offered a friendly reminder..."

"I don't know when you started watching me..." Feng Bujue interrupted. "But that 'reminder' of yours shows that... you were already observing in secret when I was interacting with Buu."

Silence descended...

At that moment, the atmosphere between the two was very subtle. It seemed tense, yet contained a turning point.

"Hmph..." After more than ten seconds, Obama smiled again slightly. "Stephen, I didn't misjudge you."

Feng Bujue glared at the other man, not replying. He knew the former president wasn't finished speaking.

"Your talent is beyond doubt." Obama continued. "Work with me, Stephen, you won't regret it."

"Cooperate?" Brother Jue stared into the other man's eyes and repeated the key word.

"Yes, cooperate." Obama replied. "Someone like you should understand..." He paused. "In this game, even if it's just mutual exploitation... multiple people working together is far more advantageous than acting alone."

"Heh... as expected of someone who plays politics; this habit of forming cliques is probably ingrained in his bones..." Feng Bujue thought to himself. "However... these people do have their merits. Politicians are skilled in scheming, diplomacy, acting... their cunning is even greater than Buu's."

"You mean... you're prepared to temporarily establish a relationship of mutual exploitation with me?" Feng Bujue followed up.

This deliberate question allowed the other man to say a few more words, while giving himself more time to think.

"Heh... as I said, Stephen, I prefer to use the word 'cooperation'." Obama's reply had the usual smooth style of a politician. "Imagine, if you and I join forces, would anyone else have a chance to win? In my opinion... just fifty... no, forty-five hours! In just two days, we can eliminate all eight of the other people."

"Eliminate?" Upon hearing this, Feng Bujue felt suspicious. "What does he mean? What does he mean by 'eliminate'... does it mean attacking the other contestants, disabling them? Or... is there some other way?"

Since the opening script introduction didn't explain the full rules of *Wilderness Poisoning Survival*, Feng Bujue was at a considerable disadvantage from the start. What frustrated him was that he couldn't casually ask anyone about it... because the NPCs in this script were all quite intelligent. If Feng Bujue revealed that he "didn't know the full rules," heaven knows what kind of schemes he would face.

"That sounds very convincing... but do you have any concrete plans?" After a few seconds of mental struggle, Brother Jue thought of a probing question that wouldn't expose him, but would allow him to continue inquiring.

"Of course." Obama replied. "But I can't tell you right now."

"Why?" Feng Bujue asked again.

"Hahaha... alright, Stephen." Obama said with a smile. "Stop joking around with such a serious face." He raised his right hand, extending two fingers. "First, you wouldn't team up with an idiot who spills their strategy without getting any guarantees. Second, the best way to deal with such an idiot is to feign cooperation and then find an opportunity to kill them..."

He's right. In this situation, the one who isn't willing to reveal their plans is the smart one worth cooperating with...

"Hmph..." Feng Bujue also smiled, then laughed loudly. "Heh... hahaha..." He laughed like a mental patient, making it difficult for the other man to fathom his thoughts.

After laughing for a few seconds, Brother Jue suddenly stopped, instantly putting on a serious expression. "Looks like you and I have some things in common."

These words were undoubtedly Feng Bujue showing off his cleverness... it was as if he was saying, "My reaction just now was all to test you, just like your first sentence was to test me."

"Mm..." Obama also became serious, loosening his collar (his suit and tie had already been taken off, and he was now wearing a shirt). "So... you agree?"

"Fifty hours." Before the party who proposed the cooperation could set the rules, Brother Jue took the initiative and said, "For the next fifty hours, I will stand on the same side as you..." He licked his lips. "As for after those fifty hours... whether we have successfully eliminated the other eight, as you say, our cooperative relationship will end then."

"No problem." Obama nodded. "That suits me perfectly."

"Heh... very good, 'partner'." Feng Bujue used a slightly sarcastic tone when he said the last two words. "I hope your execution can keep up with your planning."

Hearing this, Obama grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth. "Yes, we_can!"