Under One Person, Engage in Black Technology

Chapter 218, we'll talk about it later.

The question of whether 'just one' Greyhound is enough is indeed a good one.

Upon hearing this, Liu Ke first raised his eyebrows, the arch of his eyebrows slightly raised, as if he had heard something interesting.

Then, a confident smile crept onto his lips, brightening his otherwise sorrowful expression over Chen Duo's situation. He said, "You, uh, maybe... have a slight misunderstanding about greyhounds."

"During the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, in order to avoid some...unnecessary trouble that no one wants to see, I set a lot of restrictions on its fighting style."

He paused here, his fingertips unconsciously scraping the edge of the ice cream cone, as if recalling the details of that time.

"Well, even at the very end, during the chaotic battle at Longhu Mountain, they didn't equip it with anything powerful. At most, they only provided some basic offensive and defensive equipment—such as a shell that could block punches and kicks, as well as miniature flamethrowers and projectiles."

"But now..."

At this point, Liu Ke drew out his words, his tone rising slightly at the end, carrying a hint of mysterious cunning. A barely perceptible glint flashed in his eyes, as if he were reciting a tired trope, "The various... toys on that thing have finally been released."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chulan's expression twitched violently, and the corner of his mouth twisted to one side.

He blinked unconsciously, his eyes filled with disbelief, as if some absurd scene had already been conjured up in his mind.

Then he leaned forward, lowered his voice, and asked tentatively, "You wouldn't... make that thing like steel too..."

But halfway through his sentence, he seemed to suddenly realize something, abruptly stopped, and made a muffled "uh" sound in his throat. He quickly corrected himself: "Uh, like Robert Downey Jr., able to fly and fire laser cannons, right?"

Liu Ke was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing as if he had heard something funny.

Then, he waved his hand and said with a flick of his wrist, "First of all, everyone in the world knows Iron Man, there's no need to use other ways to refer to him just to... deliberately keep it a secret."

He couldn't help but roll his eyes, the curve of his eyes carrying a hint of mockery. "Besides, Lao Zhang, don't you think it's even stranger to use the actor's name instead of Iron Man? It's completely unnecessary."

"Secondly..." He changed the subject, his smile fading, his tone becoming more serious, and his eyes showing a pragmatic consideration, "That greyhound thing, although I'm quite satisfied with it now, is at best a consumable, like disposable chopsticks, something you can throw away after using it without any regret."

"So, what's inside is very standard—you can't exactly gild disposable items, can you?"

"It's just a 'proxy' that does things for me when I'm too lazy to do them myself."

In Zhang Chulan's eyes, Liu Ke's casual words were all belittling of Xiquan, yet... he was also very confident.

Hearing this, Zhang Chulan's curiosity was completely piqued, and he asked with a hint of gossip, "So... what exactly did you install on it? Is it something very common?"

He really couldn't understand how a mechanical beast, which Liu Ke described as so "ordinary," could stabilize the battle situation that had put Biyou Village in a losing position. Most of the superhumans couldn't handle bullets, but dodging gunfire was not a problem for them.

Liu Ke first sighed softly, then raised his chin slightly, with a hint of certainty: "I already said, it's a very common thing."

“Flamethrowers, projectiles, machine guns, micro and small missiles, and some other miscellaneous things.” He held up his fingers, counting them one by one, pausing in the air with each word.

"However... the materials used are very 'new' and the 'ammunition capacity' is also very large. Considering all attack methods, it can fire for several hours in a row without any problem."

"After all, dogs are also beasts. In my initial vision, it was a lightweight assault tank, only it was 'cheaper' and had better 'off-road' and 'urban warfare' capabilities."

As Liu Ke spoke, he gestured to show how tank tracks rotated, drawing a circle in the air with his finger. "Well, of course, compared to the superhumans, he's not so 'lightweight'."

"So, if they go all out, and those people are too reckless because of the preconceived notions about the Greyhound in the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, they will die very quickly."

Upon hearing Liu Ke's assessment, Zhang Chulan inexplicably touched his head, scratched the back of his head, and said, "Hey... it really is true. No matter how many years have passed, guns and cannons can kill you in an instant."

He himself didn't know why he said such strange things, and his tone was somewhat sentimental.

……

Every circle has its own atmosphere, and the atmosphere of the supernatural world is essentially one of fighting and killing—after all, no one in this world has actually cultivated to become an immortal and mastered the ability to "turn the world upside down." What's the point if you don't fight with others? Just like a sharp knife, it can't stay hidden in its sheath forever.

But... originally, the superhumans were just a group that fought with fists and magic, emphasizing the flow of Qi, the exquisiteness of their moves, and the strength of their bodies. But after Liu introduced things like guns and mechanical dogs, everything suddenly changed.

The iron contraption that intimidated the young talents in the world of supernatural beings at the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony was nothing more than a limited, mass-producible "wholesale item".

So, could we also say that in the face of these machines and 'technological' methods, the superhumans are nothing more than 'worthless things'?
This idea, like a fine needle, gently pricked Zhang Chulan's mind.

Zhang Chulan experienced a long period of inactivity in his cultivation, leading a life of ordinary people. He endured rush hour subway rides and ate cheap street food, so he didn't value cultivating magic as much as he valued his life.

However… he could also understand how powerful this technological product was at suppressing superhumans—like a soldier with a bow and arrow encountering an army with guns, no matter how much skill and courage one possessed, it all seemed so pale in the face of absolute firepower.

But then Zhang Chulan suddenly laughed again. The laughter was soft and carried a hint of self-mockery. He then patted his head, as if trying to drive away those chaotic thoughts.

"What's wrong?" Liu Ke naturally noticed the other person's strange state—one moment frowning in thought, the next laughing inexplicably, like someone with a split personality. So he asked directly, his tone tinged with curiosity.

Zhang Chulan glanced at Liu Ke, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He sighed, a sigh that seemed to be squeezed from the deepest part of his chest, carrying a deep sense of exhaustion.

Then he looked up, as if suddenly remembering something, and asked curiously, "You mean... how do Inhumans survive in places like America or Mexico?" "No matter how long they cultivate, won't they still get shot dead with assault rifles?"

He paused, then gestured with his fingers in the air as if holding a gun. "And I remember they have Gatling guns over there, right? Thousands of bullets a minute. Even if you tempered your body to the point of having a body of copper and iron, you'd probably be riddled with holes."

Liu Ke smiled, a knowing look in his eyes. He took another big bite of ice cream and said, "Of course we can't beat them. Otherwise, why do you think our country's superhumans would all bow down to the company? It's because they're afraid of the company's iron fist."

He pointed to the police cars patrolling the street in the distance, their flashing red and blue lights. "Most of the people who get approved for company projects aren't exactly respectable people—either ruthless killers or madmen looking to cause trouble. But if it really comes down to a head-on collision, and the company deploys its firearms, who can withstand that?"

At this point, Liu Ke pondered for a moment, tapping his knee lightly with his fingers. He looked up, a hint of speculation in his eyes: "Actually... I personally think that the superhumans in America might not necessarily be doing very badly."

"Think about it, they have the freedom to own guns over there! The physical abilities and reflexes of those superhumans are still stronger than ordinary people. If ordinary people can use guns, superhumans can use them too, right?"

He spread his hands, palms up, as if stating a simple truth, "Then, given the same 'one-shot kill,' don't I think that an extraordinary person using a gun is even more awesome than an ordinary person?"

"After all, Inhumans can lock onto targets faster and pull the trigger more accurately. Moreover, killing with a gun makes it less likely to be noticed—who would deliberately think about whether the gunman is an Inhuman? There is also no risk of revealing one's identity."

After hearing this, Zhang Chulan couldn't help but smile and nod, agreeing that this statement made sense.

But his smile lasted less than two seconds before he suddenly stopped, his expression froze, and his eyes stared straight in a certain direction, as if he had been frozen in place.

Seeing that the other person was stunned, Liu Ke followed his gaze and saw Chen Duo standing in front of Lao Meng, holding the vanilla ice cream cone that hadn't been given away yet.

The few scattered red welts on her arms had now spread rapidly like vines, from her wrists all the way to her shoulders, and the color had changed from light red to dark purple, like congealed blood.

Not only that, her steps began to sway violently, her body staggering from side to side, like a small boat adrift in a storm, about to capsize at any moment.

"She's dying."

Zhang Chulan's voice was low and somewhat hoarse, as if something was blocking his throat. His gaze was fixed on Chen Duo, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Upon hearing Zhang Chulan's words, Liu Ke nodded. He licked his back teeth with his tongue, his teeth rubbing against his tongue, unsure of what to say.

Then, he swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing noticeably, his face blank, as if all emotion had been drained from him: "Yes... it's probably a good thing that I'm going to fail, that's all I can say."

In Liu Ke's mind, death might truly be a relief for Chen Duo, freeing her from the torment of the Gu poison and the clutches of fate.

Even so, he still felt uneasy.

Then he stood up, the chair legs scraping against the floor, and said, "I'm going to... take one last look at her, give her a final salute. Do as you please."

His voice was very soft, as if he was afraid of disturbing something, and he walked slowly, step by step, toward Chen Duo.

As Liu Ke closed the distance, when he caught up to Chen Duo, he saw the temporary workers all crowding around her.

Seeing this, Liu Ke slowed down and said to Erzhuang in his mind, "You... go too. Say goodbye to her via phone. I'll take care of the chores."

He wasn't just talking nonsense. As the group of temporary workers moved forward, more and more onlookers gathered around, pointing and whispering about Chen Duo. Many people took out their phones, wanting to get a clear picture.

When people encounter a girl whose skin is gradually ulcerating, their first reaction is not sympathy, but to take photos and upload them, as if it were just a topic of gossip for curiosity.

Liu Ke stared blankly at the people around him, his eyes devoid of any emotion. He merely glanced around, and an invisible signal spread out along his gaze, connecting to the phones of everyone around him, erasing all the photos and videos that captured Chen Duo's tragic state, not even sparing the cloud backups.

In addition, he controlled the communication signals in the area, preventing these people from sending any messages to avoid the situation from getting out.

Although doing so might disrupt these pedestrians' normal communications, preventing them from making calls or sending messages, but...

Liu Ke glanced at Chen Duo's swaying body and thought to himself, 'It shouldn't be long. Everyone's out shopping on a weekday, they probably don't have anything important to do, right?'

……

It probably only took two minutes. During those two minutes, Liu Ke stood quietly not far away, watching Chen Duo complete her final journey.

Aside from Chen Duo's physical changes, nothing particularly noteworthy happened. There were no heart-wrenching cries, only a restrained silence.

And just as the girl had said before, she successfully locked the poison within her body without leaking a single drop, causing no trouble for the world.

Just like that, very naturally, her legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground.

Sunlight fell on her face, revealing her final expression—a smile that seemed to have banished all pain, a smile of near relief, with the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, as if she had finally unloaded a heavy burden.

Liu Ke sighed, his voice filled with indescribable complexity. He turned his head and looked at a little girl selling flowers not far from the street. The girl was about seven or eight years old, with two pigtails. In front of her was a small bamboo basket containing a few sunflowers and carnations, the petals still glistening with dew.

Liu Ke walked over, took out a hundred-yuan bill from his pocket and handed it to her; the corner of the bill was a little wrinkled. Without waiting for the girl to give him change, he took a few sunflowers from the bamboo basket and then walked towards Chen Duo.

(End of this chapter)