Chapter 209: Chapter 209: This Month’s Friendship Fee Has Been Credited
"Long time no see, Cummings. Looks like you’ve picked up some new injuries." It pained Qi Suian to see this.
Not for any other reason, but because Cummings, this mutant from the Steel Brotherhood, had brought him five Level 5 Fire Seeds and three Level 4 Fire Seeds.
If he had gone himself, it would have taken a considerable amount of time. But Cummings was different; he had gathered eight in just seven days. ’What a talent.’
For a talent who could bring him such benefits, Qi Suian would feel the pain of even a single scratch.
"It’s all for our mutant brethren. Besides, these kinds of injuries are nothing for us mutants," Cummings said nonchalantly.
He had, of course, deliberately shown up injured to see Qi Suian, all to close the distance between them.
"By the way, I’ve established a mutant camp. The north is full of purebloods. Do you want to move into the camp?"
"There’s safety in numbers," Cummings said, revealing his true purpose.
’First, get the man under my nose, then slowly build a rapport. Finally, getting him to join the Steel Brotherhood will be a matter of course.’
If he let Qi Suian keep wandering around aimlessly, the effort invested would be a trivial loss.
The real fear was that Qi Suian’s lawless nature would attract a siege from a Level 1 Sanctuary.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that Qi Suian had wreaked havoc in a Level 3 Sanctuary; that was only because the Level 3 Fire Seed Armor had been dealt with beforehand.
Otherwise, Qi Suian would have certainly been the one to die.
Therefore, Cummings had to protect Qi Suian’s safety.
He had already sent intelligence back to the Steel Brotherhood, explaining Qi Suian’s situation in detail.
The Steel Brotherhood naturally placed great importance on Qi Suian’s Steel Armor technology. They had instructed Cummings to retain Qi Suian at all costs, and that it would be best if he could obtain the technology before their reinforcements arrived.
They were even willing to pay any price for it.
"Well... I don’t know about that. You know I destroyed the Frosty Noble Sanctuary. The Level 2 Sanctuary it split from must know about it by now."
"So, I’m sure they won’t let me go."
"If I go to your camp, I’ll just bring you trouble," Qi Suian said, feigning hesitation.
Hearing this, Cummings quickly replied, "Jack, don’t worry. Those purebloods don’t know who did it. Even if they have suspicions, they’ll fall on us."
Qi Suian had directly co-opted the name of the original Boss Jack; using a Chinese-style name would have been very strange.
He, of course, understood what Cummings meant. The Steel Brotherhood would simply take the blame.
This was actually quite normal. Especially after Cummings had destroyed eight more Sanctuaries, the purebloods wouldn’t believe them even if they denied it.
"I can go, but I won’t stay for long."
"As you know, I need to optimize and perfect the Steel Armor, which requires not only a large number of Fire Seeds but also various resources. So, I need to travel around to collect them," Qi Suian continued.
This sounded like a refusal, but in reality, he was planning to use the Steel Brotherhood as his personal ATM.
"Well... if you’re willing to make Steel Armor for us, Jack, we could actually help you collect Fire Seeds and resources," Cummings asked tentatively.
"I’m afraid you can’t afford it. After all, the Steel Armor I’m wearing took the resources of three Sanctuaries," Qi Suian refused him outright.
This made Cummings feel a bit dejected.
But Qi Suian wasn’t finished. "However, if you’re willing to provide additional Combat Armor, I can modify it for you so that you can use it too."
This sudden, surprising twist made Cummings lose his composure.
"Then on behalf of my other mutant brethren, thank you, Jack!" Cummings said hurriedly.
"But I have conditions. Due to the limitations of us mutants, I need at least five suits of Combat Armor to modify a single one."
"If you’re willing to use ten suits, I can guarantee success. With five to nine suits, there’s a risk of failure."
"Secondly, every time I perform a modification for you, I’ll require Fire Seeds and specific resources as payment. We can negotiate the quantity."
"Finally, there’s the time. Because I need a lot of time for research and modification, I can only provide you with one suit per day." Qi Suian laid out a series of conditions.
Among them were many outrageous and unreasonable terms.
As for the modification, one suit was indeed not enough, as mutants were bizarrely shaped and required multiple suits to piece together. But it definitely didn’t require ten, unless the mutant had twenty arms, twenty legs, or ten heads.
As for the rest, Qi Suian was definitely planning to line his own pockets with them.
In a way, the fuel value of Combat Armor was even higher than that of a pureblood Warrior.
"One suit a day... that’s a bit low. Do you think you could do more?" Cummings thought for a moment. ’That’s nowhere near enough.’
So, he was actually after Qi Suian’s modification technique.
This modification technique was also very simple: just remove the genetic lock from the Combat Armor and then piece it together according to the mutant’s body shape.
The rest was basically left unchanged. The most difficult part was the assembly.
But this could be offloaded to the Tai Sui God to handle automatically; Qi Suian wouldn’t have to lift a finger.
"I don’t have the time." Qi Suian spread his hands, indicating that even if he wanted to, he couldn’t do it.
Cummings had anticipated Qi Suian’s refusal. After all, what he wanted wasn’t for Qi Suian to modify more suits, but to obtain the technology itself.
With the technology, the Steel Brotherhood could mass-produce the modified armor themselves.
Qi Suian was just one person, so of course he was slow. Not to mention he had other things to do, so his efficiency was bound to be low.
But getting their hands on it required finesse, not brute force.
"That’s true. You’re so busy, Jack. It’s great that you can spare any time at all."
"So, Jack, you agree to stay at the camp temporarily, then?" Cummings understood the need to proceed step by step. He used the words "stay temporarily," not "join."
The next step was to slowly build the relationship and extract the technology.
"Of course. With such a sincere offer, how could I refuse?" Qi Suian was indeed short on time.
Now that someone was offering to help him collect resources, even knowing they had ulterior motives, he was definitely going to fleece them for a while.
And if they were no longer valuable later on, he could still slaughter the sheep for mutton.
He wasn’t afraid of their ulterior motives, because Qi Suian was harboring his own.
They were six of one and half a dozen of the other, so neither had the right to judge.
"But can *our* camp withstand a Level 2 Sanctuary?" Qi Suian pressed his advantage, shamelessly claiming a part of the camp as his own by using the word "our."
"It definitely can’t. But don’t worry, Jack, we will prioritize your safety." Cummings thought Qi Suian was worried about his security and quickly added, "Besides, the Steel Brotherhood has arranged for reinforcements."
"They’ll arrive in about ten days at most."
"With reinforcements, we’ll have the ability to defend against even a Level 1 Sanctuary."
Cummings was giving Qi Suian a full sense of security, indicating they could even hold their ground against a Level 1 Sanctuary.
"So... can we destroy a Level 2 Sanctuary then?" Qi Suian asked again.
"..." This question left Cummings speechless.
A Level 2 Sanctuary wasn’t some small fry. Even the Steel Brotherhood had only ever destroyed a few of them.
And here he was, asking them to risk their lives right off the bat.
"The reinforcements can’t do that for now, but they can provide you with Level 4 and Level 5 Fire Seeds, and occasionally a small amount of Level 3 Fire Seeds." Cummings’s refusal was very tactful.
"It seems a Level 2 Sanctuary really gives you trouble," Qi Suian said with a smile.
He understood that storming a Sanctuary and defending against a pureblood attack were two completely different levels of difficulty.
The former meant facing Fire Seed Armor, while the latter, at most, only involved Warriors and Combat Armor.
That’s why they were confident in defending, but attacking even a Level 3 Sanctuary would be a stretch.
Otherwise, Cummings wouldn’t have used the words "small amount."
"But rest assured, Jack, the reinforcements are bringing a Level 2 Fire Seed for you as a reward for saving us."
"It’s a pity you haven’t joined the Steel Brotherhood. Otherwise, all the Fire Seeds we capture could be given to you for research." At this, Cummings sighed, looking extremely regretful.
"It’s fine. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future." Qi Suian understood his meaning—it was just a probe to get him to join—but he gave a noncommittal response.
It was like giving him hope, but one that wouldn’t be realized so quickly.
***
"Everyone, rest and eat! We move out in half an hour!" a mutant called out to the others.
He was Kemp, the Sixth Elder of the Steel Brotherhood. Following the leader’s orders, he was leading an elite force from the Steel Brotherhood north to help Cummings establish a foothold.
Of course, this was just the public mission. The real purpose was a mutant named Jack.
The man could actually use Combat Armor and had even mastered the production technology.
He had two objectives for his trip: first, to get Jack to return with him to the Steel Brotherhood in the south, and second, to acquire his technology.
The latter was to be executed only if the former failed.
And this squad of elite mutants was, naturally, meant to protect Jack.
If the situation became critical, they could even abandon their plans for the north, as long as they brought Jack back south safely.
Faced with his leader’s command, Kemp was determined to carry it out without fail.
If necessary, he could even use violent means against Jack to obtain the technology in his possession.
’I know this is all for my mutant brethren and the Steel Brotherhood,’ he thought. ’If sacrificing one person can bring true freedom and equality to all mutants, then it is worth it.’
At the same time, he also understood that the situation in the north was not good. Cummings and Jack had previously destroyed a Level 3 Sanctuary, which was a blatant provocation to the purebloods.
In all likelihood, the pureblood Warriors were already massing. If he arrived too late, not only would he fail his mission, but he himself might be left behind in the north.
He could die, but not like this.
If he had to die, it had to be a worthy death—a death for the survival of all mutants.
Not an obscure death in the northern territories occupied by purebloods.
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