Chapter 112: Chapter 112: Come On, Let’s Make a Deal
Sue Lawrence sighed. She had already braced herself for a confrontation, but to her surprise, Jason Sterling walked right past Tiana Lynch as if she didn’t exist and stopped in front of her.
"Sue, you have a Superpower now. What is it?"
He had mentally rehearsed this over and over to keep his irritation and jealousy in check, but he truly wanted to know what Sue Lawrence’s Superpower was.
The Points ranking on the big screen only showed a string of numbers, no names. He wanted to investigate, but the people at the base wouldn’t give him the chance. This was the apocalypse; the Sterling Group’s status and influence were gone. Everyone was starting from scratch.
Sue Lawrence smiled cheerfully. "What’s our relationship?"
That one question made their positions perfectly clear. Jason Sterling wanted to say something, but he couldn’t get a single word out. He could only watch as Sue Lawrence waved a hand and said, "I’m off."
With that, she turned and walked away.
Jason Sterling’s head turned to follow her, his eyes fixed on her retreating back.
Tiana Lynch’s expression turned utterly foul. She was sitting on the cold ground, the rough concrete scraping her palms raw, yet she couldn’t feel a thing.
She stared daggers at Jason Sterling’s back. Her eyes, usually brimming with vulnerability and injustice, now roiled with a jealousy so thick it was suffocating, mixed with venom and hostility.
Her meticulously planned victim act, her accusations that twisted right and wrong, should have sent Jason Sterling rushing to her side to shield her while furiously denouncing Sue Lawrence for being cruel and vicious. Instead, reality slapped her hard across the face.
Not only did Jason Sterling not even glance at her, his eyes and thoughts were completely filled with Sue Lawrence. He was chasing after her, asking about her Superpower, his tone laced with an eagerness and concern that he himself didn’t seem to notice.
’Why? Why on earth? It was the same scheme, the same ploy as before, so why was Jason Sterling’s reaction today completely different?’
’Could it be... could it be...’
A thought she refused to acknowledge threatened to surface.
’No, it can’t be!!’
Tiana Lynch’s fingernails dug so deeply into her palms that they drew blood, but she didn’t even notice.
’Sue Lawrence had only just awakened a Superpower and gained a little clout in the base. What right did she have to steal everything that should have belonged to me?’
Jealousy gnawed at her heart like a viper, twisting her delicate, pitiful-looking face. Unconcealed loathing and hostility swirled in the depths of her eyes. She hated Sue Lawrence’s sudden rise to prominence, she hated Jason Sterling’s wavering heart even more, and she hated that he had personally shattered the illusion of deep affection she had so carefully constructed.
Meanwhile, Jason Sterling was still staring fixedly at Sue Lawrence’s retreating figure. He didn’t look away until she turned a corner and disappeared completely down the hallway.
’His heart was in turmoil.’
He finally, belatedly, realized what he had lost.
Once, Sue Lawrence had eyes only for him, too. She had trusted him without reservation, but he had hurt her and pushed her away time and time again, even personally putting her in humiliating situations.
Sue Lawrence had now awakened a Superpower. While it might seem minor, it was incredibly useful in this frozen apocalypse. He had thought he could use this as a chance to mend their relationship, but it was no use. Sue Lawrence had completely cut him out of her world.
Her question—"What’s our relationship?"—was like a needle stabbing straight into his pride, leaving him too stunned to even think of justifying himself, let alone trying to get closer.
’If I had still chosen Sue Lawrence back then, if I had tried to accept her even though I disliked her, would everything be different now?’
’At the very least, Sue Lawrence probably wouldn’t despise me so much.’
But in this world, there were no ’what ifs’.
Sue Lawrence was gone, without a single look back.
Jason Sterling couldn’t describe his current mood, and Tiana Lynch now hated Sue Lawrence to the bone.
But Sue Lawrence couldn’t be bothered with them anymore.
She hurried back to her father and older brother.
Jenny Norris was close to giving birth, sitting with her large belly in the sole office chair available. They had only managed to acquire it because the Lawrence Group had donated supplies and Sue Lawrence had made the largest contribution to the base. In this cramped space, everyone lived in tents without even tables for meals. People simply held their food containers, sitting, squatting, or standing. There were other pregnant women around, but only Jenny Norris had managed to secure an office chair to rest in.
Sue Lawrence gave a signal. Vivian Young, holding Leo Lawrence, Mia Keller, who slowly rose to her feet, and Jenny Norris, who dragged the office chair—it had wheels, after all—split up. Two of them stood guard, one at the entrance and one at the back, while Mia Keller casually strolled in circles around the tent, keeping a close watch to prevent anyone from eavesdropping.
"How did it go?"
Elliot Lawrence couldn’t help but ask.
Sue Lawrence looked calm. "We should get at least thirty thousand Points, but I think we can do even better. The only thing is, the Liquid Nitrogen Anti-cold Suits might not be very useful..."
"No, the Liquid Nitrogen Anti-cold Suits are very useful too."
Vincent Lawrence suddenly spoke up. "I heard from a former Lawrence Group employee that Silas Hawthorne and his people are preparing to test the levels and effects of Superpowers. For the Ice Element, wouldn’t they need our Liquid Nitrogen Anti-cold Suits?"
Sue Lawrence’s eyes flew wide.
"Dad, is that information reliable?" Elliot Lawrence asked.
Vincent Lawrence nodded. "It’s reliable. The person who told me just awakened an Ice Ability—an Ice Shield."
The group exchanged a look. Sue Lawrence was instantly beaming, murmuring, "Maybe we really can get five hundred thousand Points..."
’Five hundred thousand Points...’
Elliot Lawrence shuddered inwardly.
There weren’t many supplies available for exchange at the moment. One Point could be traded for two C-rank meals or one B-rank meal. A-rank meals were two for three Points. Daily necessities like bedding and tents could also be exchanged, but they only cost between 0.5 and 1 Point, five at the absolute most. And they were talking about five hundred thousand Points...
’Good heavens... if they used it all on C-rank meals...’ Elliot Lawrence began to calculate. ’That’s one million meals!’
’That seems like enough for us to survive the apocalypse. After all, as long as you have food, you won’t starve to death.’
’But, it’s not like we need it all, since we’ve already stockpiled quite a lot of things.’
The three of them sat together and discussed for a while, gradually finalizing an exchange list. After all, Points were a static currency, but the value of supplies would only increase, especially for items that would become scarcer later on.
Meanwhile, over on Silas Hawthorne’s end, a reply had finally come.
The reply was simple: they would take anything and everything useful to the base and to humanity’s survival.
"Hawthorne, I’ll leave this to you. You’ve had more dealings with Sue Lawrence than I have."
Marcus Morgan clapped him on the shoulder. Silas Hawthorne nodded, deciding to call Sue Lawrence over again to continue haggling.
After all, she had asked for five hundred thousand Points right off the bat.
Silas Hawthorne nodded. "I’ll handle the negotiations with her," he said seriously.
Marcus Morgan suddenly asked, "Do you think it’s necessary for us to have a long-term partnership with Sue Lawrence?"
Silas Hawthorne gave it some serious thought before nodding. "I do. In every respect, it’s necessary."
Her Robbing Superpower alone was enough reason for him to take Sue Lawrence seriously. This was only the frozen apocalypse; there would be plenty of times ahead when a Robbing Superpower would be needed.
"Good. I’m sure you already have a plan. I’m counting on you."
After encouraging Silas Hawthorne, Marcus Morgan went to take care of other work.
Silas Hawthorne knew what to do. And so, the two of them were soon sitting together again.
