Chapter 148: Speculator Grade A

Liu Mu still did not use a gun; alone and empty-handed, she held two Dog-leg Knives and collided with the incoming squad in white.

These people were extremely arrogant in both equipment and tactics; before she entered the fray, the Barrier Army had almost no ability to resist them.

It made sense; for soldiers of this era, once they encountered an enemy that bullets could not kill, it was a major problem.

"Twelve?"

Liu Mu leaned against a half-height concrete defensive wall riddled with bullet holes, blocking the path of the white-clad squad, "Go kill other dogs; leave them to me."

The twelve-man squad in white had crisp uniforms, with black lotus patterns covering them from their chests upward. The patterns seemed to transcend space, extending from their collars onto their necks and faces, with the ends disappearing into their helmets.

They had entered after attacking other Tianting Viper People at the Barrier, not even utilizing any cover, advancing all the way with such arrogance.

Seeing Liu Mu arrive, the surrounding Barrier Army soldiers who could still move retreated in an orderly fashion, and the twelve people opposite did not attack again, the scene falling into an eerie silence.

"Your clothes are quite nice," Liu Mu touched her vest, which had several holes burned into it by bullets, and asked with a hint of envy, "What material are they made of? Tell us so we can learn a thing or two."

The leader of the white-clad men spoke in a tone like a machine, "Liu Mu, gender female, 26 years old, height 173cm, Mutant. Hunting priority: Level One, kill on sight."

As the man spoke, the twelve people quickly shifted positions, surrounding Liu Mu in the center.

Strangely, the guns in their hands looked very much like early short matchlocks, and it seemed their attack power and accuracy would not be very strong.

The muzzles were aimed at different vital points on Liu Mu's body, even tacitly avoiding angles that might accidentally injure their companions.

"Liu Mu, these bullets are specially made for mutants like you. Once we kill you, we will become the Great Leader's reserve personal guards. Please allow us to thank you for your contribution."

The surrounding battlefield was filled with fire a bit further away, and here, too, the muzzles were menacing; they were all confident that the hunt would be successful today, yet they did not see a trace of panic in Liu Mu.

"No need to thank me. First of all, my current height is 1.81 meters, and secondly, I'm still a month away from being 26." Liu Mu looked around and said faintly, "Finally, I'm curious, this isn't the first time you've used the guns in your hands, right?"

Although they all gripped their guns cautiously, the twelve had already determined they could easily kill Liu Mu; after all, they had specifically trained for two months for this. They had expected to have to search and chase, but now the prey had actually delivered herself to their door, greatly reducing the difficulty.

"Of course not," as if to thank the target for her 'self-awareness', the leader replied even more politely, "Thank you for your honesty; we will make corrections when reporting the mission. Based on this, you have the right to know who is hunting you."

"We are the best of the Sequence Black leader's personal guards, the Black Lotus Team, with hunting you as our primary objective. Miss Liu Mu, you can feel honored; this time, the killing formation and anti-mutation weapons were personally designed by our direct leader."

"Then say thanks to Black Lotus for me? Heh, you Tianting Vipers are so troublesome, one or two of you claiming to be leaders. Small-time nobodies the size of sesame seeds, with only that much ability, shouting every day that you want to kill me. So confident, is your leader a narcissist?"

"The Black Lotus leader is different from the others, Liu Mu. What else do you want to know? Our mission is to kill you anyway, so we can let you go to hell with a clear understanding."

"I'm not going; I'm going to Tianting to become an immortal. Alright, I've asked what I wanted to know, but since you have such sincerity, I can tell you one of my secrets."

Under the gaze of the twelve, Liu Mu flipped her hands, and the sharp blades vanished into thin air.

To this, the twelve did not show any surprise.

In the known intelligence, there was indeed a magic trick where she could change things, but at this moment, her action of putting away her weapons looked more like a surrender to them.

"What other secret do you have that we don't know?"

"It's just..." Liu Mu moved!

The sound of gunfire rang out almost simultaneously; at such close range, there was no room for Liu Mu to dodge.

The bullets hitting the target did not make the normal squelching sound, but rather a clinking and clanging of metal impacts.

By the time the twelve realized something was wrong, the guns in their hands had vanished one after another during their head-on engagement with Liu Mu.

The bullet heads had only a thin layer of gold; the moment they hit the target, the high-temperature gold would automatically shatter, and the potent agent inside would flow into the target's body from the wound made by the bullet, reacting with certain substances within the Mutant's body in a very short time to kill the target.

Therefore, its destructive power did not lie in physical impact, but in chemical and biological reactions.

The whole round took only a dozen seconds.

"Actually, I'm a scrap collector!"

Liu Mu, having stopped, shook her body amidst the panicked eyes of the opponents, and bullet heads, squeezed and deformed, clattered to the ground.

"It's starting, hunting time."

The bullets not only failed to cause a malignant change, they didn't even break the target's skin, but this did not discourage the twelve, because this was also within the Black Lotus leader's expectations.

But their preparation had one fatal flaw, which was that they knew nothing about the evolved New Human Complete Form.

The surface of the target's body presented a matte metallic texture, as if covered by a layer of hard metal shell.

"Thermal blades," the leader immediately issued a new command.

The twelve moved in perfect unison to draw their daggers; in the falling raindrops, the daggers appeared flame-red, simultaneously emitting a faint white mist.

The temperature of the blades was very high, and Liu Mu also took out her own pair of Dog-leg Knives.

What Liu Mu felt was unfair was that these people, seeing her take out knives, actually drew their Handguns at the same time. Their movements were so uniform that Liu Mu thought they were the same person.

"Are you guys playing dirty? I have a gun too, you know!"

Liu Mu put away one knife and replaced it with a silver Desert Eagle; the action of switching guns was accompanied by a blind shot, randomly blowing up the head of one unlucky soul.

The sound of gunfire and the glint of blades rose again; Liu Mu did not defend at all, the coordination of her gun and knives being much more proficient than these specially trained people.

But these people's clothes were not worn for nothing; the defensive power was truly high. Every time she used two parts of force, she could only break their skin.

Consequently, Liu Mu used five parts more force for every strike, striving not to waste any effort.

People in the eleven-man squad fell one after another, then were finished off by Liu Mu with a shot, but what she found fresh was that these people did not hesitate for a second because of their teammates' deaths, and the attack formation even tightened as their numbers dwindled.

Liu Mu was also slashed several times, leaving white marks on her alloy skin; she had to admire that these people were very brave.

Even though they already knew her defense was this high, they still tried every way to attack her face, thinking they could use it as a breakthrough.

Throwing away the empty gun, Liu Mu met the blade wind of one person and snapped their neck.

In the heavy rain, the blood dripping from her tattered hem still pulled into threads, "Looks like this Black Lotus is also a piece of trash, not even as good as the Night Owls."

Twelve people, four remained; stronger than their combat power was the leader's stubbornness, "The Night Owl leader didn't kill you, it doesn't mean the Black Lotus leader can't! The Black Lotus leader will definitely avenge us!"

"For humanity..."

The leader had just shouted one phrase when a blood line burst open on his neck; a blade flashed, taking away his remaining words and his life.

Liu Mu appeared behind him like a ghost; in fact, her first strike had been at this person's back, but it had been defended by his clothes, only poking a small hole.

She couldn't help but sigh that it was fortunate she was fast enough, otherwise this person would have reacted.

"How about you guys?"

"For the eternal existence of humanity, eliminate the traitor!"

"For the eternal existence of humanity, for the birth of the New World!"

"For the eternal existence of humanity, resolutely resist the alien thugs!"

After shouting the slogans, the three of them immediately charged toward Liu Mu as if they had gone mad.

Their actions were very puzzling; just a moment ago they would only act in unison, but once this so-called creed was uttered, they finally possessed individual consciousness.

Liu Mu stood still this time, and when the three of them lunged at her, she directly detonated all the explosives on their bodies.

It actually generated a small mushroom cloud.

As the smoke dissipated, Liu Mu had already changed into a white suit with black lotus patterns; she patted the ashes of the corpses off her clothes, and it actually fit quite well.

"I said this person's build was about the same as mine; it's a good thing I saved him for last to kill."

Humming a little tune, she was in no rush to go elsewhere to help, but instead stripped the clothes and equipment off these people one by one.

The wounded not far away had originally admired Liu Mu's unfathomable combat power to the point of prostration, but now their jaws had dropped in shock.

Pitiful!

Too pitiful!

To die in battle and then be stripped down to nothing but underwear—there would be no face left even as a ghost.

It's a good thing Liu Mu is an ally; if she were an enemy, one would lose their life and their dignity too.

Of course, these operations were just routine in Liu Mu's eyes; who told her to be a scavenger.

In these years of natural and man-made disasters, leaving someone their underwear was already the limit of humanitarianism; she also had professional ethics.

As for why she didn't go to help, that was naturally because Zhuo Qing and the others had already arrived.

These people had directly surrounded the Sky Viper people from the perimeter; there was no need for her to get involved at all.

But, Liu Mu glanced at the flashy seat in the distance, thought for a moment, and took off running toward the fishing village closest to the county town.

Given that the distance was not too far, running was faster for her than driving.

But by the time she reached the fishing village, she was still a step too late.

After dawn, the thick fog on the sea dissipated, and one could see a submarine slowly sinking into the water amidst the black waves.

On the back of the light gray submarine, a man in white stood looking at Liu Mu from afar.

Without any reminder, both sides understood each other's identities in an instant.

Liu Mu took out her Sniper Rifle and fired a shot without a word.

But the man opposite showed no panic at all; instead, he twirled his wrist and bowed slightly toward her with his hand pressed to his chest.

The man in white sank into the submarine, and Liu Mu put away her gun and turned back to the Barrier.

She used the Communication Equipment left by Zhuo Qing to contact the Headquarters, and only felt slightly relieved after learning that home had not been attacked by the submarine.

The goal of Heitao A was the Haicheng Barrier, so it was unlikely they would go to attack the Shengli Group again; after all, there wasn't much profit to be gained from fighting another battle.

Unlike the Shengli Group Headquarters which was undergoing reconstruction, the situation here at the Haicheng Barrier was miserable.

The remaining half of the army had suffered heavy losses, many civilians had died, and most importantly, the construction of the past few months had now been largely destroyed.

Liu Mu, who had intended to go home, was stopped by Qi Zhengxun; the old man did not have the roundabout way of planning that Yang Shuo did.

"Yang Shuo is seriously injured; he hopes you can temporarily stay to guard the Barrier," Qi Zhengxun's graying hair was a bit messy, and there was a slightly scorched wound on his cheek, showing that he had also been on the front lines earlier.

"I am going to take him back to the General Command hospital for treatment. Little friend Liu Mu, I hope you can help me persuade that kid. With old wounds not yet healed and new ones added, if he keeps pushing himself like this, I'm afraid he won't last a few years even if he is saved."

Yang Shuo looked like a robust middle-aged man; apart from always appearing a bit tired, there was no sign of illness.

When she arrived, Liu Mu had only seen him shot in one arm, which logically shouldn't count as a serious injury, so Qi Zhengxun's grave tone was rather hard to understand.

"Can't surgery be done here?"

After thinking it over, Liu Mu could only assume the medical conditions at the Barrier were inadequate; if it were a comminuted fracture, it might truly be untreatable.

"Just now, this brat insisted on going up and got shot again," when Qi Zhengxun said this, his graying eyebrows were trembling, and his large fists were clenched as if he were trying hard to restrain himself from rushing into the ward to beat Yang Shuo.

"Alright, I'll go take a look." Liu Mu did not want to deal with Qi Zhengxun; how to put it, this old man had a temperament that did not allow others to disobey him, which clashed with her own aura.

Of course, she was also genuinely worried about Yang Shuo.

It was just a pity that Yang Shuo was still in a coma, and Zhuo Qing said he could not be woken up, otherwise it would be even worse for his body.

He had injured his arm before, and this time the bullet had entered his lungs; although emergency treatment had been performed, the situation was very grim.

"The Chief has old wounds in his heart and lung area that current medical care cannot cure; since the rain began, he has been in pain almost every day. This wound has triggered a full recurrence of the old injuries, and after consulting, we attending physicians cannot provide the most effective treatment plan for the time being."

"Right now, we can only keep using sedatives and painkillers, but surgery must be performed as soon as possible, otherwise... it will be beyond saving."

"I am going to accompany him personally. Xiao Mu, what are your thoughts?"

Zhuo Qing explained the current situation, her face full of worry; if Yang Shuo were to die now, no one knew what kind of chaos would break out in Haicheng and even the entire Southeast Three Provinces.

Looking at the person in a coma on the hospital bed, and the instrument wires that were almost covering his entire body, Liu Mu did not answer directly, but instead asked, "There is a question I have always wanted to ask. Since the Southeast Three Provinces all listen to Yang Shu, there should be figures like a second-in-command or third-in-command, just like the Sky Viper. You wouldn't really bet everything on him alone, would you? Besides, there are several other Barriers in the Southeast Three Provinces, right?"

"There are seventeen Barriers in total," Zhuo Qing did not hide it, but she also found it incredible that Liu Mu did not know this; according to the importance Yang Shuo placed on her, such basic information should have been told to her long ago.

Unless... Yang Shuo had other plans.

But regardless of what this plan actually was, all Zhuo Qing could do was try her best to save Yang Shuo's life.

"The other Barriers are also under construction and are even more resource-deprived; they might come over, and you can discuss it with those people in the office when the time comes."

As for the other figures in the Barrier, Zhuo Qing had already answered; it was none other than that group of officials in the office.

Qi Zhengxun's plane took away the seriously injured Yang Shuo, and also took away half of the doctors led by Zhuo Qing.

The massive transport helicopter took off from the Barrier's helipad, and Liu Mu squinted her large eyes, which were calculating gains and losses, as she watched them go.

The sky, where the rain had stopped again, did not seem as black as the bottom of a pot today.

Good, good, good; one person seriously injured, the whole team incapacitated, leaving the mess to her...

Liu Mu was secretly pleased, "Then don't blame her for being impolite."

If she didn't take this opportunity to use her own group to control the lifeline of the Haicheng Barrier, then she, Liu Mu, would not be worthy of walking the Merchant Path!

Sure enough, Heitao A appeared with a very fitting prompt:

【Congratulations to the host, the Path has been promoted to: Speculator Grade A. Rewards obtained: Item Refining and Rational Synthesis (free), Goods Restoration Ability +1, Business Opportunity Intelligence within range (free), Insight into People +1 (focused on commercial transactions), Persuasion Ability +1. Friendly reminder: Helping creatures under the system's protection get rich can now also grant upgrade experience!】

【Please actively engage in trade activities and increase commercial heat to achieve further upgrades.】

After reading through it once, Liu Mu noticed that there was actually a progress bar in the Path column now; it seemed the system had finally realized the need for a clear progress indicator, otherwise she, as the host, would have continued to muddle along and slack off.

Of course, Liu Mu also felt that this was indeed more convenient. Without hesitation, she transferred one-tenth of the assets under her name to Niu Boyi and Xu Xiaofeng respectively; as expected, the progress bar shot up by one-third.

Helping protected creatures get rich, isn't that simple?

However, when she wanted to continue distributing assets to them, Heitao A actually reminded her that the quota available to be drawn from her name was already exhausted, and she could only earn money from external sources.

【No, you really have a strict grasp on this balance.】

Heitao A: 【Precise service is one of my principles.】

Liu Mu gave a disdainful cold snort; this damn system only knew how to talk big, and if she asked a few more questions, it would only be able to "self-check."

The helicopter disappeared on the distant horizon.

Liu Mu stood in front of the crowd in silence; the officials who had originally wanted to cozy up to the temporary leader were so put off by her abrupt cold snort that they dared not step forward, and for a time, everyone continued to wait for someone else to take the lead.