Chapter 280: Dowry
“——The military brought out a real evolver.”
Su Huan’s eyes darkened, “What tier?”
“Unranked ‘Manipulator’, able to manipulate flames.”
“There were classifications back then, huh?”
“No.”
Mister Shu’s straightforward denial made Su Huan slightly stunned.
“When they introduced it to us, it was called elemental ability user, but after years of subsequent research, it was found that there were too many types of elements, so the categories needed to be redefined. The current five-category division was a new standard formulated by the military leading, with Black Kite Special Operations, Deep Blue Data, Donghuang Heavy Industry, and over a dozen other force laboratory directors.”
Mister Shu said.
After Mister Shu filled in the details, combined with some information from his previous life, Su Huan’s exploration of the fog deepened further.
No wonder each professional lineage naming was a chaotic mess, but the basic categories were surprisingly consistent.
It turned out that they had been formulated even before the apocalypse.
“How did the apocalypse… appear?”
Mister Shu had anticipated this question and shook his head directly, “I don’t know, and you don’t need to waste your effort either. Including Deep Blue Data and all other major forces, none of us know.”
“At that time, the military only told our headquarters about the heavenly calamity we had to face, which was the Storm Zone, and then we signed a confidentiality agreement, took the distributed materials, and began accumulating for five long years…”
Su Huan glanced at Lin Xi; the little girl tilted her head, indicating nothing happened.
After thinking, his eyes suddenly turned dull and colorless.
Mister Shu, who was about to end the topic, seemed to have his floodgates opened, feeling an endless surge of desire to express.
“But we aren’t completely in the dark. Back then, besides personnel transfers, the military also had massive supplies, which we helped coordinate…”
Shu Wei and the others listened intently too; even if she asked, Mister Shu wouldn’t reveal so many details.
No one wasn’t curious about the ultimate secret of the apocalypse; it was just that there hadn’t been an opportunity before.
The afterpain of evolution was an insurmountable chasm for everyone, and all wanted to know where their pain came from.
“You mean, the military was fighting a war?”
Her black hair was blown by the wind, strands falling over her forehead, a cold glint seeping from her narrow eyes.
“Just a guess. We used every means but couldn’t find out where the war happened; those supplies vanished into thin air.” Mister Shu’s brows carried doubt.
“The army’s movement trajectory was northward; Changbai Province did show signs of major construction, but our investigation found no army there, and further north in Furry Bear, there were no military movement traces either. After leaving Changbai Province, all traces mysteriously disappeared.”
Su Huan, “After the apocalypse, did Changbai Province change?”
Mister Shu, “That’s the Extreme Cold Zone, like the Flood Zone, a heavily afflicted heavenly calamity zone with no force developing there, and our current sphere of influence only reaches the Spore Zone.”
This matched Su Huan’s guess roughly; each force’s spanned area was limited—or more precisely, human activity range after the apocalypse was limited.
From originally scurrying across the full map to being confined to individual “points” for activity.
Major forces could barely link these points into lines.
But they still had to fight endless newborn mutated beasts and mutated plants.
Back then, the most frequent tasks Su Huan executed for the Steel Council were routine cleanups within the sphere of influence.
He knew that Deep Blue Data crossed the most areas, but that was four years later; Deep Blue Data’s operations hadn’t expanded yet.
“Mm…”
‘Why did I say so much?’
Mister Shu felt a moment of daze, then frowned.
He should have just answered whatever was asked; much of it was speculative and fine to omit.
Seeing the old fox react, Su Huan lost interest in further questioning.
These major forces seemed to know a lot, but were actually just as clueless.
The clues ultimately fell on the military.
“If you can find Yang Cunyi, perhaps you’ll get the answers you want.”
Mister Shu wasn’t annoyed at being probed for information; instead, he instructed meaningfully.
“Yang Cunyi.”
Su Huan repeated the name, then asked softly.
“Do any of you have anything to add?”
This question was directed at everyone, including Shu Wei and Yu Jing.
Yu Yue looked around; her daughter was pondering the corpse at Su Huan’s feet, Goat was busy replicating, Lin Jin was hanging his head lost in thought. To not let Su Huan’s words fall flat, she hesitated and asked softly.
“What about other countries? Do they know about the apocalypse?”
Mister Shu glanced at Yu Yue’s position, then at Yu Jing and his daughter, and said thoughtfully, “Other countries don’t seem to know much about the apocalypse news; they prepared hastily, but their apocalypse intensity is also low, and evolution speed far below ours in Dong Huang.”
“Three Tier 2, is that considered slow?”
Lin Jin asked puzzled.
“The power of the entire nation.”
Mister Shu said calmly.
Yuri of Gunfire, hearing this, didn’t deny it.
With tonight’s main gains confirmed, Su Huan shifted his gaze to the two from Donghuang Heavy Industry.
“Speak, what’s your ransom?”
The woman pointed at her nose in surprise, “But we weren’t here to oppose you.”
Su Huan said indifferently, “Can you run?”
“Can’t run, so we’re captives.”
The woman hurriedly said, “We’re here to invite you to join the Dong Huang force alliance.”
“I refuse the alliance; say something useful.”
Su Huan said coldly.
Shu Wei, standing behind, expression shifted slightly, stepped forward and whispered two sentences in the Train Conductor’s ear.
Donghuang Heavy Industry’s background was much harder than Black Kite Special Operations, so after the organization vanished, they also took on connecting major forces.
The so-called Dong Huang force alliance wasn’t a force union.
But a force list.
Only major forces qualified to be on this list, achieving a name-dropping effect to avoid two major forces rashly enmity due to ignorance of each other’s details, escalating to real fire.
Of course, when true interests clashed, fights still happened.
With the Armored Train’s current strength, joining this list was more than sufficient.
So under Su Huan’s pressure, they wanted to invite him into the alliance naturally.
Su Huan’s complexion softened slightly, “I see, but without some real gold and silver, it’s hard for me; think it over first.”
The woman’s face fell, looking to her companion.
The Gunfire trio didn’t wait for Su Huan to ask and said candidly, “We’re purely here for transaction; as long as you give us evolution materials, General Energy Crystals, munitions, weapons, grain, purified water, women, vodka… we have everything, all tradable.”
Shu Wei said lowly, “Their apocalypse intensity is low, so correspondingly few evolution materials; they’re notoriously trade-loving—as long as there’s money, even daughters can be sold.”
Su Huan was noncommittal.
Because his home was in the North, he knew Furry Bear well.
They weren’t candid; just the weather too cold, half their brains frozen like ice balls, the other half sloshing with vodka.
He felt no malice toward them, but no fondness either.
If they were as clean as claimed, why send three Tier 2 all the way into Dong Huang territory?
“I don’t need basic supplies; I want your Gunfire full evolution lineage.”
“Friend, that’s not for sale.”
Yuri crossed his arms, frowning.
Su Huan leaned down, “Not for sale, for exchange—with your three lives.”
“You don’t even know where our Gunfire headquarters is.”
Yuri said indifferently.
“I do!”
The woman from Donghuang Heavy Industry hurriedly pulled a paper from her bosom and trotted over to hand it.
“This shows the approximate spheres of influence of major forces; the central position is probably their headquarters.”
Su Huan pinched the paper with two fingers, glanced, and shook it at Yuri.
He smiled, “Then I’ll drive the train to your headquarters for a spin.”
Yuri’s complexion stiffened; he was a bit reckless but not stupid—he knew better than anyone what letting a terror like Su Huan into headquarters meant.
That would be a disaster.
“Full set maybe not, but we can negotiate…”
……
Five minutes ago, as the Armed Corps launched the final encirclement on Black Kite Special Operations on the frontal battlefield opposite the train, they faced a desperate counterattack, tearing open a gap with heavy soldier losses.
After all, war wasn’t just paper data comparison.
Ultimately, it came down to seizing trenches one by one, pulling squads one by one.
He Jie’s injury and Xiao Ba’s withdrawal gave Black Kite a breath; the opponents seized this hard-won chance for a mad counterattack.
“Four o’clock direction, surviving target!”
“Armored vehicle advance!”
“Spread out! Spread out!”
Chaotic shouts mixed with the armored vehicle’s rumbling engine poured into ears.
Qi Zhenbang felt his ears deafened; every sound needed repeating two or three times.
Just now, he was clipped by a grenade; if not for a soldier blocking ahead, he’d be gone. When he finally dragged the brother back, shrapnel had pierced the brain—beyond saving.
Now he clutched an assault rifle, wore heavy bulletproof vest, huddled in a muddy trench; wounds on shoulder and thigh endlessly drained his body heat.
Called a trench, it was actually a drainage ditch scoured in the park by rainwater, then bombed by cannonballs into a deep pit over a meter.
Surging rainwater rushed underfoot, making him feel like a sewer rat.
Perhaps that blast damaged his brain.
His thoughts were scattering badly now.
Inexplicably, he began thanking the Old Squad Leader always pushing his promotion; recalling those trepidatious hard days, this drainage ditch wasn’t unbearable.
At least better than eating swill, frozen potatoes, digging shit, bare-handed…
By rights, he shouldn’t suffer this much.
But Old Man Tie feared insufficient tempering, placed him in the remotest company, hid all family background, drilled him harshly for two years—making him extremely averse to soldiering. Even with Old Man Tie’s repeated pleas to stay, he resolutely fled home.
Became the shortest-serving in the family.
As if fated, big brother guarded the Shelter, second brother Guanchao Island; he inexplicably stayed on the train by Old Man Tie, as Armed Corps private, naturally joining Black Kite combat task.
Hearing the gradually approaching wheels and tracks roar behind.
Qi Zhenbang smiled bitterly inwardly.
‘Dad, oh dad… this time you finally screwed me dead.’
‘Not really, mainly my luck too bad—turning a sure win into my name on the KIA list.’
‘Who knows how far the train can go in this chaos.’
Not sure if hallucinating, he heard an especially heavy footstep.
Overpowering gunfire and engine roar.
Like war drums, stomping hard on everyone’s hearts.
“Even beating a drowning dog takes this much effort, He Jie, tsk tsk…”
With the frivolous voice, terrifying lightning flashed from the distance, enveloping the whole park.
Whether advancing armored vehicles or Black Kite Special Operations cautiously behind trees, all froze like specimens in the lightning.
Qi Zhenbang puzzledly patted the water, finding lightning flowed away with it, no harm to him.
Propping up, he stood from the ditch.
Looking up, he saw a group descending from the mountaintop theater.
The leading figure had hands in pockets, black hair wrapped in strands of lightning, face eerily handsome, deep blue eyes gazing at him from afar.
Like two cold flames in darkness!
“Train Conductor!”
Qi Zhenbang blanked for a moment.
The instant he appeared, past displeasures and grudges were cast aside.
An inexplicable sense of safety seeped from his bones.
Without danger, Train Conductor was the biggest danger; with danger, Train Conductor was the biggest assurance!
“Tch, with your level, I can’t guarantee safe delivery.”
From afar, Su Huan’s biting words drifted to his ears.
Qi Zhenbang crawled out to show his valor, but found the war quietly ended the moment Su Huan appeared.
Facing an evolver of Su Huan’s level, numbers meant nothing.
Forget them; even the theater’s Tier 2 group together couldn’t trouble Su Huan.
Tier 2 “Energy Storage Core” + Tier 2 “Fighting Expert” represented energy and flesh extremes.
All extremes stacked forged a terror monster like Su Huan.
Moreover, his “Energy Storage Core” neared Tier 3.
So Mister Shu honestly accepted this war indemnity.
……
“Giving him these resources, your director position won’t hold.”
Wang Yi said coldly.
Mister Shu stood outside the theater door, gazing at the rolling lightning below.
He turned to his ex-wife’s face lit deep blue, suddenly smiled, “Even if he waives one percent, I might not survive the internal backlash in the company.”
Wang Yi stunned, said coldly, “About to die and you can still laugh?”
Mister Shu gently shook his head, voice softening like when he vowed to Wang Yi in the auditorium.
“Just consider it dowry for Little Tail.”
