aircannonsinc Page 60
Page 60
Su Hui patted him on the shoulder, a gentle smile on his face. "At least, you stood up."
He was referring to Ryan's earlier action of drawing his gun to protect him.
"Protect your wife."
Su Hui's gaze swept over Ryan's back, past the pale-faced but determined-eyed pregnant woman, Elavie.
"Wish ya'll good luck."
Under Ryan's gaze, Su Hui's eyes glanced very subtly at Mei's still-warm corpse not far away.
Ryan felt a sudden chill run down his spine.
He followed Su Hui's gaze and looked at Cole and his disciplined but cold-eyed subordinates.
He instantly understood the meaning behind Su Hui's glance.
Watch out for Cole.
This person is far more dangerous than he appears.
The Universal Group is by no means as "humanitarian" as they appear.
Ryan nodded solemnly, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
"Thank you, Mr. Su. Please take care of yourselves as well."
Su Hui said no more and led Harley, Tina and Mary toward the employee entrance they had come from.
Cole stood there, watching Su Hui and the other three disappear into the darkness of the passage. The smile on his face slowly faded, and his eyes became deep and unfathomable.
An adjutant walked up to him and asked in a low voice.
"Sir, should we mark that modified vehicle? We can try to track it."
Cole remained silent for a moment, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.
The combat capability of that modified Hummer was obvious, especially the young Asian man, who gave him an extremely dangerous feeling.
The apocalypse has truly changed a lot.
"No need."
Cole finally shook his head.
"At this stage, stabilizing the Torrance safe zone and consolidating available resources are the top priorities. As for that man... he's no ordinary character, and rashly following him would only alert him."
Cole's lips curled into a meaningful smile. "Los Angeles is only so big. We'll meet someone like him again sooner or later."
After saying that, he turned to look at the terrified survivors, his expression becoming formulaic once again.
"Pass the word: prepare to take these survivors back to the Staples Center for screening and registration."
"Yes, sir!"
The adjutant stood at attention and responded, then began directing his men to organize the still-shaken survivors to prepare for evacuation.
The atrium of the shopping mall quickly returned to its deathly silence, leaving only two corpses.
The wind and snow continued to howl, obscuring everything that had just happened.
..........
..........
The sound of tracks rolling over thick snow echoed through the empty streets as the Hummer H2, like a steel behemoth, silently drove toward Beverly Hills.
The atmosphere inside the carriage was somewhat tense.
What just happened at Grove Shopping Center still affected Su Hui and his group, or more precisely, Tina and Mary's mindset.
As for Harley.
This school beauty accompanied Su Hui through so much, and her personality made her increasingly indifferent to life and death.
She nestled close to Su Hui, wiping her "Sweet" revolver. Her face still bore traces of blood, but her azure eyes were unusually calm, as if the frenzied killing just moments before was merely a game.
Tina and Mary sat in the back row, their hands clasped tightly, their faces pale.
The shopping mall experience was like a heavy blow, completely shattering any remaining hope they had.
May's provocation and betrayal, Kenny's greed and arrogance, Harley's decisiveness and madness, and that commander named Cole, who ruthlessly decides life and death without making a sound.
All of this made them realize that this broken world was far more cruel than they had imagined.
power.
Without power, like May and Kenny, they could lose their lives at any moment because of a single word or glance.
Not to mention that as top-tier beauties, they have always been coveted by men, and it is entirely predictable what fate awaits them if they fall into the hands of those men.
At this moment, Tina and Mary were even more grateful that they had met Su Hui!
However, the sense of crisis weighed heavily on both of them; they didn't want to become playthings.
So the only thing we can do is...
The only thing to do is not to become a burden to Su Hui.
There were no further unexpected events on the way back to the villa; everything went smoothly.
The tracked Hummer H2 churned through the newly accumulated snow in front of the villa and drove heavily into the garage.
After the engine was turned off, Harley acted as if nothing had happened, humming an off-key tune as she jumped out of the car and affectionately took Su Hui's arm.
She was whispering to Su Hui, and her lip-biting gesture clearly indicated that she was thinking about something exciting.
Back in the warm, bright villa hall, in a familiar and safe environment, Tina and Mary's tense nerves finally relaxed a little, but the heaviness in their hearts did not dissipate.
This made the atmosphere at dinner somewhat dull.
Tina and Mary both seemed preoccupied and had no appetite.
Harley, on the other hand, had a good appetite. She ate the barbecue heartily while chattering away to Su Hui, trying to liven up the atmosphere.
Su Hui ate his food calmly, occasionally glancing at Tina and Mary, taking in their expressions.
After dinner, Su Hui sent Harley to take stock of the seeds and supplies they had collected that day.
Tina took a deep breath and broke the silence first.
She walked up to Su Hui, her emerald eyes now filled with an unprecedented determination, replacing the gentleness of the past.
"Mr. Su Hui."
Tina spoke first, her voice trembling slightly, but her eyes were exceptionally firm, "I want to become stronger."
"Today at the shopping mall... I felt so useless. It felt awful to be treated like merchandise!"
Tina's eyes were slightly red, and her reddish-brown eyes were filled with resentment and determination.
"I don't want to be like that again, just watching helplessly and unable to do anything."
"I want to be able to protect myself, protect Mary, and also... help you, instead of always hiding behind you and being the one who needs to be protected."
She raised her head and looked directly into Su Hui's eyes, where a flame of determination burned.
Mary, standing beside her, nodded vigorously. Although the timidity of a young lady was gone from her face, her eyes were still filled with determination.
"Me...me too!"
"I can endure hardship! I'll take any kind of training! As long as it makes me stronger!"
Mary stared at Su Hui, her hands clenched tightly. "I don't want to hold him back..."
After witnessing the cruelty of the apocalypse, Harley's strength, Cole's ruthlessness, and the tragic deaths of May and Kenny, the two girls begin to confront their own weakness.
They have a strong desire to possess power and to control their own destiny.
Su Hui watched them quietly.
Tina, who is usually gentle and kind, has a burning flame in her eyes at this moment.
Mary is a young lady from a cute, petite family, yet she possesses the courage to face fear without flinching.
Perhaps this is because they always had a desire to protect themselves while learning martial arts.
After their naive illusions were shattered, they quickly became strong.
Such a personality naturally made Su Hui like her even more.
"It's good that you're willing to become stronger. In this world, weakness itself is the original sin."
He nodded to the two women, his voice calm yet carrying a reassuring power. He stood up, walked over to the two women, reached out and patted Mary's head, and smiled at Tina.
"I will make the arrangements for you. Until then, just wait patiently. Also, remember to keep up your combat training and don't stop."
Upon receiving Su Hui's affirmative reply, Tina and Mary finally relaxed a little, their anxiety replaced by anticipation and determination.
Faced with Su Hui's affection, Mary no longer felt the initial resistance she had towards him.
Instead, she reached out and touched Su Hui's warm, large hand on her head, saying with a hint of embarrassment and annoyance, "Don't touch my head! I'm not a child anymore."
After saying that, Mary ran off. Tina nodded to Su Hui and caught up with the young lady.
Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Su Hui fell into deep thought.
Improving Tina and Mary's strength is indeed necessary; even if they didn't mention it, Su Hui was already prepared to do it.
Especially after encountering the well-equipped and disciplined private armed force of the Huanyu Group today, Su Hui realized more deeply that he alone could not handle all crises.
Improving the overall strength of the team is an urgent matter.
He brought up the system interface in his mind, his gaze falling on the synthesis conditions for Tina and Mary.
Caroline Tina: [Crafting Requirements: Source Energy Gauntlets (Rare), Tifa Set (Special Dimensional Dyeing Material), Source Crystal (Large) x5]
Mary Roland: [Crafting Requirements: Gothic Suit (Special Dimensional Dyeing Material), Source Energy Gauntlets (Rare), Source Crystal (Large) x3]
Su Hui didn't think the Source Energy Gauntlets and Source Crystal (Large) were problems; the key issue was the "special dimension-impregnated material" of the set, which made Su Hui frown.
“Dimensional Immersion…”
His first thought was the Hollywood Hills area.
The area was torn open by missile bombardment, leaving a massive purple dimensional rift that has yet to be healed.
The area around that crack, with its chaotic energy and distorted space, is undoubtedly the most likely place for "dimensionally impregnated" materials to be born.
But the risks are equally enormous.
That area is likely to be bombarded by missiles, and it may be inhabited by even more powerful mutated monsters. After being bombed, the monsters would become extremely violent in energy, and there may even be unknown spatial dangers.
Su Hui looked up at the window and seemed to be able to see through the wind and snow to the faint purple eye in the sky.
No, the risk is too high.
At least for now, it's not something we should easily get involved in.
Su Hui temporarily ruled out the option of going there.
Since we're not planning to go to the Hollywood Hills, we need to find an alternative.
His gaze fell on the [Source Crystal Particles] collected after killing monsters in the system's storage space.
These particles are remnants obtained from killing monsters, containing pure and stable energy.
A bold idea formed in Su Hui's mind.
The energy in dimensional rifts is powerful, but chaotic and unstable.
Although the energy of the source crystal is gentle, it is pure, stable, and can be quantified.
Is it possible to... use massive amounts of source crystal energy, through the power of the rules of the [Synthesis] system, to forcibly infuse and modify ordinary materials, simulating the effect of "dimensional immersion" and endowing them with special properties?
Su Hui attempted to communicate with the system, or rather, to conduct deductions and analyses based on the information fed back by the system.
The conclusion was quickly reached:
you can!
But this obviously comes at a price.
To replace dimensional energy-impregnated materials, an enormous number of source crystal particles would be required, far exceeding the amount needed for ordinary synthesis.
This is not just a modification of materials, but more like a forced enhancement of energy levels and a targeted shaping of attributes.
but,