“Compared to Ma Fei and Magoo’s generation, an increasing number of people from Earth have survived because of me.
“But at the same time, the butterfly effect brought about by so many people is also frightening enough.
“Because of how the rules of killing work, every time mankind falls, a foreign race will arise. If we don’t resolve this, I’m afraid I’ll become a “man without followers” in the new world!”
Driven into the wasteland to commit crimes, Zeus Shelter lived only to survive and journey to the new world.
An insignificant “little thing” such as this was like a microcosm of all mankind in the grand scheme of things.
The ocean disaster this time required not only the building of ships and stocking up of supplies, but they also had to guard against any possible covert attacks by foreign races at any time.
For the weaker people in the wasteland, this was absolutely beyond their capabilities.
Su Mo had anticipated none of this previously.
“This is not good. I don’t know what the situation is like over at Tundra Shelter. What happens if they encounter an invasion from foreign races or their firepower!”
As he ran and rapidly considered the situation in the wasteland, Su Mo felt a touch of panic when he thought of his younger sister.
Fortunately, after calling up the game panel to search for her name, the green dot behind Su Chan’s name was still lit. She also had not taken the initiative to ask for help, indicating that there were probably no major issues for now.
“I need to quickly find an excuse to fortify Tundra Shelter. Otherwise, the extensive supplies that they have…
“Will definitely be a target for the foreign races!
“As for now, it’s necessary to get hold of reports from the foreign races’ side to see what their plans and purposes are.”
Knowing oneself and one’s enemy would bring about victory on the battlefield.
The foreign races near the Underground Shelter had been disposed of in a clean sweep. However, since Zeus Shelter had been here first, it was entirely possible that the lioness might have revealed some information while she slept—something that could summon other foreign races and catch everyone off guard.
This time bomb had to be defused immediately.
“Whatever. If she doesn’t talk, just use the same methods our forefathers used, and we’ll see. Even… drugs are acceptable!”
After finalizing the plan, Su Mo clenched his fists and quickly arranged the next few little stratagems.
Everyone in Hope Village took a hand.
Su Mo walked up the mountain path and soon came to where the prisoners were held. Chen Shen had still chosen to leave two militiamen here.
“Alright, you can go outside and wait. I’ll stand guard here for now; I need to ask several questions!”
He sent away the two militiamen, whose faces were full of excitement, and glanced at the lioness, who was still stubborn and unwilling to surrender.
After closing the door, Su Mo mentally steeled himself and took two steps forward without hesitation.
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
The three sharp slaps were like the sound of firecrackers during the Chinese New Year, reverberating explosively in the cave where the prisoners were in custody.
Through the dim light shining into the cave, one could clearly see that the lioness’ face had immediately swelled up after the three slaps, even though she had initially been able to preserve her demeanor.
Furthermore, from her human-like expression, it was easy to tell that she was obviously startled.
Chen Shen’s two days of mild interrogation had lured the lioness into the illusion that Su Mo would come and converse with her in a civilized manner.
Right now, however, after her face had swelled from being slapped, she was…dumbstruck!
“You won’t talk, huh? Alright, I’ll make sure you can’t talk!”
Seeing how the lioness was still being stubborn, Su Mo did not stop. He pulled her face over and slapped her again three times.
At present, having entered and exited the ruins three times, Su Mo’s strength was terrifying.
He would barely need any effort at all not to be outdone by professionally trained strength-sport athletes on Earth.
Such great force, combined with Su Mo’s anger and anxiety, immediately made the lioness aware that she was merely a captive.
“There’s an excellent old saying that we Huaxians have—diplomacy before violence, leniency for those who confess, severe punishment for those who resist.
“Since you’re not willing to talk, I don’t think there’s any reason to keep you alive!”
He took out a handgun and released the safety with one hand. Before the horrified eyes of the two lion people nearby, Su Mo immediately pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Dong, dong, dong…
The violent sound of gunfire reverberated in the cave, sounding even louder because the area was sealed. It was as if the God of Thunder were angry.
A hole the size of a chrysanthemum tore open on the lioness’ thigh, and a trickle of dark blood spurted from it.
“I…”
The lioness faltered in her words, the violent pain prompting her to crawl back up, but now that he had already decided on interrogation by torture, Su Mo did not hold back.
He fired another shot again into the lioness’ right thigh.
“Think about it carefully. Are you trying to meet your Lion God, bringing the allegiance of other foreign races with you?
“It’s better for you to be frank and rely on mankind!
“I’ll count to three. If you still can’t make a choice after that, I’ll make it for you!”
Su Mo articulated everything very clearly this time, practically telling the lioness that she should just die if she refused to become a traitor.
Once he finished speaking, Su Mo raised the handgun and placed it against the lioness’ head. At the same time, his finger curled around the trigger.
Many times, the results from threats that had no lures afterward were surprisingly good.
The moment Su Mo said the word “three”, the lioness came to her senses!
Even though both her thighs gave her severe pain, she still supported her weight on the ground with her hands and sat up, frantically nodding her head.
“Good. I’m very satisfied with your choice. I hope you don’t do something stupid.”
Su Mo pulled aside his mask and leaned right into the lioness’ face, showing his gleaming, perfect teeth as the corners of his mouth drew up in a smile.
This smile held more than a trace of nostalgia.
It was reminiscent of the first time when both of them were negotiating on the highlands about how to attack the Kobold base camp. Back then they harbored no schemes toward each other.
This time, however, there was only fear in the lioness’ eyes as she trembled despite herself.
“Demon—you’re a demon!”
“Hey, whether I’m a demon or not will depend on how you conduct yourself.
“Since you’ve already decided, I’ll give you another chance!”
He put away the handgun that had been against the lioness’ head and looked down at her thighs, which were still bleeding profusely. Su Mo used his mind, then took out the Mountain and Sea Painting Scroll and placed it on the lioness’ legs.
Poof…
An intense burst of starlight flared up. In the time it took for three to five breaths, when Su Mo looked down again, not only had the lioness’ legs healed…
Even her swollen, slapped face had returned to normal.
“Come on, spill it. What are the other foreign races up to now? What sort of epic plans are you scheming?”
After rapping on the door and beckoning the two militiamen to come and take away the other two lion people, Su Mo sat cross-legged on the ground, facing the lioness.
“Old Devil Su, I can tell you everything…”
“But you can’t tell anyone that you heard it from me. Otherwise, it’d be better for you to just kill me now!”
Gritting her teeth and realizing that she had already embarked on a path of no return, the lioness’ burden seemed to have eased, and she let out a long sigh.
Her reaction and her words registered in Su Mo’s heart, causing him to immediately be ecstatic.
Fine!
This was the tactic to use with every surrendering villain, was it not!
“I promise that as long as you do well, with my help, not only will the lion clan will survive, but they will continue to flourish under your rule and become one of the greatest clans in the wasteland.
“When the time comes, you’ll also be able to obtain the highest evaluation from the Lion God!
“My friends are friends to all mankind. With my protection, no one in this world can kill you!”
It was like the inducement of a carrot after a stick. Due to the outrageous amount of information that modern society had access to, everyone knew of this stratagem and how to use it.
For Su Mo, who had spent two or three years in the workplace listening every day to capitalists promising promotions and raises as long as one worked hard, using this stratagem was doubly not a problem!
Mankind was talented that way!
Once she had obtained this guarantee, the lioness behaved just like a newcomer to the workplace, having full faith in the promise of the “capitalist”.
Thanks to Su Mo’s provocation, her whole outlook seemed to undergo a new lease of life!
“Very well!”
Very shrewdly, the lioness did not continue negotiating terms but instead did something that dumbfounded Su Mo.
“Damn…”
In front of Su Mo’s gaze, spots of yellow lights appeared in the dark cave, fully materializing in the time it took for two or three breaths.
Su Mo was no stranger to this item.
It was a game panel with a different color!
Human game panels were mostly blue and green. So far, Su Mo had not discovered a third color.
However, the foreign races’ game panel was a flashing, eye-catching yellow and orange. Other than that, it was no different from the human game panel.
“Come, I’ve taken down the barrier set up against you. You can link it to your panel and check it out!”
In a manner indicating that she was risking everything, the lioness gestured with her hand and lay back down on the ground without saying any more.
Su Mo had linked his panel to Ying Xiong’s previously. After discovering that the middle operating procedure was no different, Su Mo did not hesitate any further and linked to the lioness’ panel with the ease of one who had done it before.
He sucked in his teeth…
It was awesome!
Compared to the connection with Ying Xiong, the connection with the lioness this time was more intimate and more comfortable. It was like soaking in a hot bath where even the soul was massaged.
[Record]: It has been detected that a foreign race core has requested to enter your sanctuary area. Do you agree?
[Record]: After agreeing, you will get 100% operation authorization for the normal core and 70% operation authorization for the foreign core
[Record]: Please note that once the setting is successful, unless the foreign race core host dies, it cannot be undone
The three notification tones came late, but they arrived at the moment when the game panel changed color after being linked.
After seeing that he still had a quota of five sanctuaries, Su Mo used his mind and agreed to it without any further need for consideration.
Apart from the three slots that were reserved for his family, the remaining quota could be used to connect with different races and listen out for information—which was just nice!
Voila!
Once the sanctuary had been selected, the game started to automatically link the contract.
With a muffled sound, a shelter core half the size of a human appeared out of thin air. At the same time, a small core resembling a lion’s head floated out from the lioness’ body.
Naturally, the sizes of both were not comparable, but when she saw how the turtle armor looked like and sensed a familiar aura…
“The wind! You have the wind of our lion clan!”
“Not only that…you even have my wind of blessings!”
When she saw the dark cyan energy that floated around the turtle armor, the lioness, who was still lying on the ground, looked as if she had seen a ghost. She nearly stood up involuntarily.
“There are other councils taking refuge in you?
“Impossible. I’m the only one from our lion clan who transmitted it!”
Appearances could be deceiving, and lights could hoodwink, but the lioness was confident that this aura that came from the same source had originated from her.
‘Did I give Old Devil Su a blessing before?
Huh?’
She extended her hand. When it approached the illusory turtle armor, she saw that all the energies seemed to dance as if they had found their mother.
Su Mo could now see that the rebellious look in the lioness’ eyes had disappeared, and had been replaced by…
Panic!
“Amazing, right? In the future, follow me and work hard. There are still many things that you haven’t seen yet!”
He patted the lioness on her shoulder. After he saw the mixed feelings in her gaze, Su Mo waved his hand, and the sanctuary ritual officially began.
Automatically, Su Mo’s turtle armor opened up the mouth on its illusory head and swallowed up the lion core in one mouthful.
After three to five seconds of tremors, when the lion core appeared again, an icon of Su Mo’s head the size of a grain of rice appeared in the middle of the lion’s head, indicating that this core was protected by Su Mo.
At the same time, a very close relationship was established between the two.
For Su Mo, this feeling was more like mastering the power of life and death and possessing control over the lion core.
For the lioness, however, it was a feeling of oppression as if she had lost something belonging to her.
At this point, though, what was done could not be undone.
When he saw the lioness sitting down on the ground dejectedly and evaluating her life, Su Mo smiled but did not comfort her.
“Switch to the auxiliary core.”
The sanctuary’s perimeter extended for 100 meters and below. As long as it was within this range, Su Mo could enter and check on it anytime he wanted to.
As soon as he uttered these words, after the game panel received the command, the green human panel disappeared and was replaced by a yellow foreign race panel.
There were many functions on this panel similar to the foreign race panel.
At present, however, after looking at the familiar World Channel, Su Mo accessed it right away without even needing to think.
Like the human chat channel, it was also divided into the World Channel and the Regional Channel.
With a mere thought, the World Channel panel automatically opened, revealing what it actually held.
“Good. Very good. I’ve finally caught all of you whelps in one fell swoop!”
The World Channel now was moving quickly with messages scrolling down.
With just one look, Su Mo, who was sitting on the ground, found it hard to contain his excitement. He clenched his fists tightly.
