Chapter 111: Chapter 111: The Classic Old Routine
"The anti-cold suits count for double. The space heaters and air conditioners are new, pre-apocalypse stock—energy-efficient and resistant to low temperatures. The anthracite coal is long-burning and smokeless, making it far more valuable than regular firewood. And that’s not even counting the twenty thousand heat packs, which is enough to last a long time even if every member of an away team uses one." Sue Lawrence’s voice was calm, yet every word hit its mark. "I want five hundred thousand Points."
Points were currently hard to come by and in high demand. However, as the apocalypse wore on, they were bound to become more plentiful. So, factoring in their future purchasing power, Sue Lawrence had directly set her price at five hundred thousand Points.
Even Silas Hawthorne was stunned. The normally aloof man’s eyes widened slightly as he sized her up like a complete stranger. "You’ve got quite an appetite."
"What can I say? My goods are in high demand."
Sue Lawrence kept hyping up her wares, but Silas Hawthorne was not easily fooled. He countered immediately, "The weather is warming up now. The deep freeze is almost over. If you don’t sell these supplies now, they’ll be useless later. You’ll just be stuck with them. I find it hard to believe you haven’t thought about that."
’Based on his understanding of Sue Lawrence, she wasn’t that foolish. On the contrary, she was incredibly sharp.’
"Of course I’ve considered it. But to me, this is just a small portion of my supplies. I’m already prepared for the coming heat waves, acid rain, and floods. If I keep these items, there will definitely be opportunities to sell them later. Resources like coal are always in high demand, no matter when..."
Sue Lawrence’s retort was even quicker, a masterful deflection. Claiming ignorance would have been too obvious; after all, they both knew the other was a Reincarnator and understood exactly what the warming weather implied.
’In her previous life, it had taken three and a half months for the temperature to go from its lowest point back to warming up. But this time, the entire timeline was different. The period of extreme cold was even a full half-month shorter. Would the warming-up period be shorter as well?’
But no one could be sure. They could only operate based on the patterns of their past lives while cautiously guarding against any new, unexpected developments.
’And Sue Lawrence had a point. Aside from the Liquid Nitrogen Anti-cold Suits, the other down parkas could still be used in winter. The heat packs were even more of a hot-ticket item. With everything being rebuilt post-apocalypse, central heating was impossible. Everyone had to endure the cold. There were even stories of people in equatorial countries freezing to death in twenty-degree weather. The thought was staggering.’
Heat packs would undoubtedly be in demand.
And then there was the anthracite coal—that was a genuine resource. Even Silas Hawthorne couldn’t dispute that.
’But, five hundred thousand Points?!’
’What did that number even mean? At the current rate, across all the bases in Veridia, not a single person had broken a thousand Points. The only person to have even broken one hundred was right here in his base—Sue Lawrence herself...’
"......"
Silas Hawthorne fell completely silent.
’He had no idea what to say.’
Hmm...
’What was he supposed to do? Sue Lawrence was already high-profile enough as it was. If he gave her five hundred thousand Points now, his superiors would probably call him directly for an investigation, auditing his every move for any violations.’
This was enough to rattle even Silas Hawthorne.
So he took a deep breath. "Let me think about it. I’ll get back to you."
Sue Lawrence calmly flashed him an OK sign. She wasn’t in a hurry to leave, though. She leisurely drained the second pot of tea before wiping her mouth, looking like she hadn’t quite had her fill. "Be quick about it!"
Silas Hawthorne: ...
It was so exasperating he almost laughed.
"Alright."
He nodded and watched as Sue Lawrence departed.
Only then did Theodore Frost sidle over, his eyes also fixed on Sue Lawrence’s retreating figure. "Are all you business people so sharp?"
"That was hardly a negotiation; it was completely one-sided. Not a single word from Sue Lawrence was wasted, and each one struck a nerve."
Silas Hawthorne shook his head. "But she was telling the truth. All those supplies of hers... aside from the Liquid Nitrogen Anti-cold Suits, which... no, wait. The Liquid Nitrogen Anti-cold Suits might actually have a use..."
"Huh? What use could we have for those things?"
"They can withstand temperatures of over a hundred and ninety degrees below zero, but the coldest it ever got during the apocalypse was only around minus one hundred and fifty Celsius. We’ll never see temperatures that low again. Plus, the damn things restrict your movement. What good are they?"
Silas Hawthorne took a deep breath. "For testing Ice Abilities."
"The government has made thorough preparations for the apocalypse, including establishing databases for every type of Superpower. A Liquid Nitrogen Anti-cold Suit that can withstand temperatures of over one hundred and ninety degrees below zero would be the perfect tool for testing."
Theodore Frost: ......
After a three-second silence, he murmured, "Then... Sue Lawrence probably doesn’t know about that, does she?"
The two exchanged a look. If Sue Lawrence knew, wouldn’t her asking price jump to 1.2 million? Making an exorbitant demand like that seemed very much like something she would do.
"Never mind that for now. I’ll discuss it with Leader Marcus Morgan first, then report it further up. By the way, we also need to arrange how our people will use the Superpowers Sue Lawrence seized. The most valuable gain from this mission was acquiring so many Skills. Let’s hope our civilization can be preserved..."
The two men stood up and walked toward Marcus Morgan’s simple office. As the door closed behind them, a new round of discussions began.
Sue Lawrence ducked into a deserted area, leaning against a wall to take a deep breath.
’Five hundred thousand Points?!’
’Hmm, Silas Hawthorne will definitely try to bargain me down, but!’
’It’ll be more than ten thousand Points, at least, right?’
She couldn’t help but feel a thrill of excitement at the thought of such a huge windfall.
Once she had composed herself, she turned to head back. Along the way, however, her path was blocked by Tiana Lynch.
Staring at her former best friend, she acted as if she hadn’t seen her, her face a blank mask as she continued forward.
"Sue..."
Tiana Lynch was the same as ever, her face a mask of sorrow, looking utterly pitiful. She lunged forward and grabbed Sue Lawrence’s wrist.
"Why do you always treat me like this? We used to be so close!"
Sue Lawrence yanked her hand back and shot her a look. "Ask yourself. Can you swear on your conscience that you haven’t done anything shameful?"
"..."
Tiana Lynch bit her lip, her entire body stiffening.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she cried, "Please, don’t be like this. There must be some kind of misunderstanding between us..."
"There’s no misunderstanding!"
Sue Lawrence’s words were sharp and final. She turned to walk away, but Tiana Lynch suddenly made a move. Already on her guard, Sue became hyper-alert, only to see Tiana abruptly fall to the ground. Before Sue could even process what was happening, Tiana was already in tears. "Sue, I know you hate me for taking Jason from you, but we’re truly in love! You’re the one who wasn’t loved—why can’t you understand that?"
Sue Lawrence: ...
She was utterly speechless. Turning her head, she saw, just as she’d expected, Jason Sterling standing a short distance away.
’Right. So this classic, cliché setup was finally being used on me.’
