Chapter 230: Open The Door, Free Trade!
Outside the window, rain poured down, howling as it battered the window.
An old man with a white beard holding a shotgun stormed in angrily.
Looking at the messy bar, his broad chest heaved.
He bellowed.
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
Su Huan turned his head and looked at the robust Old Man Tie, finally showing a bit of seriousness in his eyes.
After all, Iron Mountain Shelter had built an armory, which might contain a superweapon.
He had originally wanted to probe more, but he hadn’t expected to meet the main guy so soon.
The people around him seemed to have found their backbone and quickly gathered behind Old Man Tie. Qi Zhiyuan’s subordinate even carried him over.
“Why are you here?”
Qi Tieshan saw Qi Zhiyuan being carried over and immediately frowned.
Qi Zhiyuan and his few subordinates shrank their necks.
“Grandpa, I couldn’t sleep at night and came out for a stroll with A-Ming and the others, then…”
“Then you got jealous over a girl and couldn’t even beat her?”
Seeing his grandfather’s ashen complexion, Qi Zhiyuan’s face twitched, and he felt a great sense of dread in his heart.
His grandfather was extremely rigid. Other families were close across generations and harmonious, but he insisted on running the family with military law.
The Qi Family clearly occupied an entire shelter, but their daily life was no different from before the apocalypse, or even worse.
Even he, the only heir, couldn’t get good food.
He had complained twice: once beaten by his dad, and once given a mixed double by his dad and grandfather.
Buying on credit was a small matter, but if the family found out he was bullying people in the shelter relying on the family background, he wouldn’t die but would shed a layer of skin.
Thinking of this, Qi Zhiyuan broke out in cold sweat.
Under this immense pressure, his brain suddenly became sharp.
“No, I saw this group of outsiders causing trouble, so I stepped in to break it up, then they indiscriminately tried to hit me. That long-haired pretty boy was the worst, even bullying the child in our shelter…”
“Is that how it happened?”
Old Man Tie’s slightly drooping eyes swept over the few bartenders.
The bartender who had served Su Huan’s food had flickering eyes and pointed at Su Huan, shouting, “This guy eats and doesn’t pay, and even threatened me!”
As he said this, the people around immediately sided with him in unison.
They hadn’t even spoken to Su Huan before, and now they started saying how overbearing Su Huan was.
Although Su Huan had ignored them from start to finish, didn’t that just prove even better how overbearing and vile Su Huan was?
Who Su Huan was didn’t matter.
What mattered was that he had offended Qi Zhiyuan.
Except for a few women who showed pity for Su Huan’s face, everyone else felt schadenfreude in their hearts.
Seeing everyone siding with him, Qi Zhiyuan gained confidence again and began exaggerating how domineering Su Huan was.
But he didn’t notice Old Man Tie’s increasingly gloomy complexion and the thick disappointment in his eyes.
He had lived seventy-eight years at least, from the hardest times of this country to its most prosperous period. He had seen too many people and experienced too many things—how could he not tell this kid was full of lies!
“Bang!”
Qi Zhiyuan, who was getting worked up, was slapped so hard stars burst in his eyes.
The few people carrying him were startled and let go, causing Qi Zhiyuan to fall awkwardly to the ground.
Burning pain came from his face, and the whole person was completely stunned.
“Grandpa…”
Old Man Tie looked at his grandson sprawled on the ground with great disappointment and said, “You can be lustful, you can be jealous over a girl, but you can’t act like a wimp and evade your failure!”
Old Man Tie’s hoarse, low voice was filled with anger at his grandson’s unworthiness.
The bartender and others were scared silent by this scene.
“Well said, but one correction: your grandson isn’t jealous over a girl, he’s a simp.”
In the dead silence, Su Huan suddenly spoke up.
Qi Zhiyuan jerked his head up and glared angrily at Su Huan.
From the corner of his eye, he instinctively glanced at the graceful Zhang Min nearby, and his hatred instantly peaked.
“Who are you!”
Old Man Tie looked up and stared deadly at Su Huan.
Su Huan countered, “You’re Qi Tieshan?”
Old Man Tie was like an enraged tiger, striding over, pulling the shotgun bolt with one hand to load the bullet.
“Zhiyuan did wrong and deserves to be hit! But young man, you shouldn’t cause trouble in Iron Mountain Shelter! No matter what backing you have, today you must give this old man an explanation!”
Shu Wei sighed silently in her heart. Just for those words, with the train conductor’s temper, there had to be a fight today.
She just didn’t know if this shelter could hold.
Su Huan repeated in slight surprise, “Give you an explanation?”
After saying that, he couldn’t help grinning, his neat, dense teeth making people’s hearts chill.
Old Man Tie’s white beard trembled, and just as he was about to raise the shotgun, a hand pressed it down!
It was the Giraffe who had just arrived.
Dealing with those few outside wasn’t troublesome; the trouble was finding a place to stuff them to avoid blocking the doorway.
Only after stuffing all the toilets on the entire floor did the Giraffe free up to come over.
He happened to witness Old Man Tie slapping his own grandson.
Plus Old Man Tie’s distinct military bearing made him unable to resist lending a hand.
The Giraffe’s eyes held a warning, “Old Squad Leader, raising the muzzle will make this hard to resolve.”
Old Man Tie yanked twice but couldn’t lift the muzzle, already furious to the extreme, hair and beard bristling, spitting a glob of saliva on the Giraffe’s face, “You didn’t stand up when the organization needed you most, instead aiding the tyrant—you dare call me Old Squad Leader? If you were my soldier, I’d shoot you on the spot! For the sake that you served, get the hell out of my way!”
The Giraffe strongly suppressed his anger. If not for that bit of connection, who would care if an old man died!
Daring to point a gun at the train conductor—the entire Iron Mountain Shelter wouldn’t end well!
“Don’t be angry. He might not mean that.”
The gentle comforting voice fell into Su Huan’s ears.
Su Huan stopped, his tone curious, “I’m not angry. I just want to know what gives him the confidence to uphold order.”
“Shared Sound Field” unfolded in Su Huan’s ears.
Accompanied by light footsteps, he could almost see Yu Yue darting flexibly through the rooms of the abandoned underground floor like a kitten.
Until he could no longer hear her movement, he softly asked, “Found it?”
“Mm.”
“What model?”
“All cannons sealed up, can’t see the specific model, but they’re huge.”
Su Huan narrowed his eyes. The armored train lacked powerful cannons the most right now, and feared them the most!
With pre-apocalypse humanity’s extreme tech bonuses, let alone ten centimeters—even a pure iron block would be blasted to nothing.
“Stay there guarding it, and notify on the train to come closer.”
“They’re almost here.”
Su Huan glanced out; nothing was visible outside the window.
In front of him, Old Man Tie and the Giraffe were in a standoff.
Even if the former had evolved, it was only boosting the old man’s physical fitness, far inferior to the Giraffe at peak in all aspects.
The latter was still a specialized “Defender”.
Six abilities total, all close-combat ones.
Aside from difficult promotion, his combat power swept non-professional evolvers.
More than enough to suppress Old Man Tie.
Qi Jianguo’s burly figure squeezed in from the doorway, just in time to see the standoff.
His eyeballs instantly reddened, he kicked off and lunged, his scaled fist like a cannonball smashing toward the Giraffe.
Dense scales instantly extended to his chest.
The powerful oppression made the Giraffe’s complexion turn solemn.
At the same time, the air at the bar doorway slightly distorted.
But under the cover of Qi Jianguo’s commotion, no one noticed this subtle anomaly.
That invisible figure bypassed the chaotic crowd and walked straight to Su Huan, coldly raising the muzzle.
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, he suddenly found Su Huan and Zhang Min turning their heads toward him almost simultaneously.
One black and one red pair of eyes made his fine hair stand on end.
‘Discovered!’
Qi Zhendong’s heart felt like it missed a step, suddenly gripped by terror.
No one in the entire shelter knew his ability—why could these two see him!
Various emotions surged, not only messing up his brain but also scrambling his calm into a mess, even forgetting to maintain his ability.
He just blatantly stood in front of Su Huan holding the gun.
“Interesting.”
Su Huan curiously looked at Zhang Min beside him.
Just as that invisible guy at the door appeared, a general energy fluctuation had also erupted from her.
Shu Wei, standing nearby, changed expression and instantly stripped the air from the man’s side, seizing the firearm from his hand.
Only then did the man unable to breathe fresh air snap awake, mouth agape, hands clutching his neck as he knelt.
“Invisibility?”
Su Huan asked.
Shu Wei said with lingering fear, “Probably manipulation of light refraction for cloaking.”
“Light, huh…”
Su Huan thought, then extended his palm, turning into a glowing humanoid light orb under everyone’s stunned gazes.
“No good, lacking related ability.”
Su Huan stopped the energy conversion and said helplessly.
Qi Jianguo saw his captured brother, eyes cracking with rage, enduring a few punches from the Giraffe and a tail whip to his leg, then his thick arm like a guillotine directly seized the Giraffe’s throat.
Then he roared at Su Huan, “Everyone stop!”
Urgent footsteps sounded outside the door again.
The beast-like Qi Jianguo turned his head, then saw the scholarly Hu Shuo walk in.
The White Deer behind him dragged in Qi Zhenbang in the same posture.
Qi Jianguo was shocked, “Zhenbang!”
Old Man Tie, unable to intervene nearby, saw this and closed his eyes in despair.
Not even clear who the enemy was, yet two of his three sons were captured.
Forget status—even how many people the enemy had now, he hadn’t figured out.
That long-haired young man hadn’t moved a hand from start to finish.
In this lifetime, he had never fought such a frustrating battle.
“What do you want?”
Old Man Tie opened his eyes again, his previously slightly cloudy eyes now calm and clear.
“No more explanation?”
Su Huan raised an eyebrow.
Qi Jianguo nervously glanced at his two brothers, tightening his arm, “I still have your man!”
The Giraffe’s face turned red from choking, awkwardly smiling at Su Huan, “Train Conductor…”
Su Huan rolled his eyes, “His neck is so long; this was inevitable.”
Giraffe: “???”
Old Man Tie said coldly, “Don’t think you’ve got us cornered. The entire shelter is rigged with explosives. Worst case, we all go down together. No land for dozens of kilometers around—fall in the water, no one survives.”
Su Huan nodded in agreement, “No land indeed, but the explosives you mean—are they those cannons downstairs?”
Qi Tieshan’s heart sank, but his face remained tough, “We have more than just cannons.”
“Possible…” Su Huan asked seriously, “How many exactly did you bury?”
Old Man Tie was stunned, feeling this young man before him was a bit off.
He couldn’t follow the other’s train of thought.
Stubbornly, “None of your business, but enough to blow the building flat!”
“Just blow it flat? Can you guarantee killing all five thousand at once?”
Old Man Tie fell silent at that.
Do young people nowadays all talk like this?
He didn’t understand a word.
He felt himself old.
Extremely old.
Old Man Tie’s voice carried thick fatigue, “What exactly do you want?”
Su Huan thought seriously, then said, “Originally planned to find some things and do a little business.”
“Business?”
Old Man Tie seemed to see a turning point.
A booming whistle sound suddenly rang outside the building, its powerful tone piercing the storm.
Everyone in the room felt their hearts tighten in unison.
He suspiciously looked toward the bar’s only window.
“Bang bang bang!”
The next moment, even the sealed windows were all broken open.
Over a dozen fully armed soldiers burst into the room, with more than a dozen dark muzzles aimed at the shelter’s people.
Rainwater was torn into long whips by the gale, lashing against the indoor walls, leaving streaks of wet water marks.
Old San’s tactical boots crushed over the broken glass, making crisp cracking sounds, his line of sight sweeping around the room until he saw the calm Su Huan, then he grinned and said, “Train Conductor, the entire shelter has been completely controlled. Are we starting free trade now?”
For a moment, the entire room was filled only with the howling of wind and rain.
Zhang Min, who had been staring at Shu Wei, finally looked toward Old San and the others.
In fact, the perception range had already reached the armored train floating in the water.
The powerful auras on the train made her frown involuntarily.
How long had it been since the Steel Council split?
A month?
How had the armored train’s force expanded so much?
Old Man Tie looked at those well-trained soldiers, his eyes glazed over, and he arduously turned his head to look at his grandson in the corner.
Although he didn’t speak, the strong question in his eyes had already formed a sentence.
‘What kind of people have you provoked exactly?’
In the corner, Qi Zhiyuan stared dumbfounded at this scene.
He didn’t know either!
Who knew things would inexplicably turn out like this?
He was just showing off in his own shelter, stepping on a pretty boy, who the hell knew he had stepped on someone he shouldn’t have!
“Let him go.”
Old Man Tie sighed and said.
Qi Jianguo unwillingly gritted his teeth, but still flung the giraffe out.
The latter was caught by the gloating Old San, and it took half a day of panting for him to recover.
Those who had just badmouthed Su Huan all held their heads and turned away, the bartender even desperately burrowing into the crowd, afraid of being seen by Su Huan.
The remaining people were all deathly silent.
Su Huan patted the dazed Xiao Dong beside him, “I told you, I’m pretty awesome.”
