A Generous Mantis, an Unexpected Windfall

While the Iron Beetle was still in shock,

Su Yi stared at his Powered Armor, his eyes burning with desire.

[Name: Advancing Wolf-HQ500 Civilian Modified Model]

[Category: Powered Armor]

[Quality: A]

[Armor: 4000]

[Combined Strength: 400 kg]

[Combined Energy Level: 800 entropy]

[Requirement: Level 7 or above]

[Effect: None]

(Of all the Wolves, this one offers the most freedom!)

A-grade Powered Armor starts at 2,000 Void Abyss Coins on the market!

Wearing it was like gaining an extra 4,000 health and 400 kilograms of strength.

Its two triple-barreled heavy machine guns could unleash 800 entropy of destructive force.

Its overall combat power rivaled that of a level-20 Gifted!

One person standing here could pin down a hundred-man company without heavy weapons!

The longing in Su Yi's eyes flashed and vanished. He cleared his throat. "Do you have an exhaust fan? I'm choking in here."

The Iron Beetle came to his senses. His armor had an air filtration system, so he hadn't noticed the smoke.

He hurriedly stepped back and tapped the wall.

The wall tilted, revealing a hidden room.

The Iron Beetle led Su Yi inside and switched on the air purifier.

It appeared to be the Iron Beetle's private office.

About twenty square meters, it held two sofas, a coffee table, a desk, and a filing cabinet. The furnishings were rather plain.

As the wall closed, the Iron Beetle glanced again at the charred bodies and shuddered inwardly.

He's a Gifted, and a powerful one at that!

He hid it well. Even I misjudged him.

But he doesn't seem to mean me any harm. Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to kill those Wolf Fang Gang members.

With that thought, the Iron Beetle pressed a switch. The machinery across his back unfolded, and he stepped out of the armor.

"Give me a moment. I'll have someone deal with the mess outside."

Su Yi nodded and sat down.

The Iron Beetle made four calls. Then, seeming to relax, he took the sofa opposite Su Yi.

"My friend, you really can't judge a book by its cover!"

Su Yi smiled. "I'd rather say that hardship shows who your true friends are."

The Iron Beetle knew Su Yi was hinting at what he had done.

He could dispose of the bodies, but the credit had to go to Su Yi.

He had no other choice now.

The Wolf Fang Gang had found this place without warning. Clearly, they already knew what was going on here.

And of the distributors he had recruited, none of the other four had shown up yesterday or today.

Either they had been captured and killed, or they had been working for the gang all along.

By killing Niu Dao, Su Yi had proved two things to him:

My loyalties are clear.

You can count on me.

The Iron Beetle had not risen this far without knowing how to read people.

He smiled. "Hardship does show who your true friends are. Thank you for today, Mr. Gheros."

Su Yi waved it off politely. "Haha, you're too kind, Mr. Iron Beetle."

He glanced at the Advancing Wolf. "With that thing, dealing with them would've been a piece of cake for you!"

The Iron Beetle was pleased. He liked working with people who knew where they stood. "Have you come to stock up today?"

Su Yi nodded. "I have. I've only just set up shop, and my men are hungry for supplies!"

That caught the Iron Beetle's attention.

Su Yi had expanded his operation despite the Wolf Fang Gang's stance.

Looks like he has backing and ability of his own.

The Iron Beetle stood again. "Please wait here. I'll contact my boss."

He went into the back room.

About five minutes later, he returned and sat down. "Our boss appreciates your help and your sincerity."

"To show our gratitude and good faith, the boss has decided to give you a shipment worth 800 Void Abyss Coins."

Su Yi's heart skipped a beat.

Eight hundred Void Abyss Coins! That's no small sum!

A broad smile spread across his face. "What's all this? You're far too generous!"

The Iron Beetle looked sincere. "Our boss values sincere, powerful friends."

"The Wolf Fang Gang has controlled this area for too long. It's time someone shook things up."

"The boss believes that together, we can take this market."

Su Yi rose and shook his hand, his face full of admiration. "I knew the boss of a man as capable as you could be no ordinary person."

The compliment flattered them both. The Iron Beetle laughed. "Mr. Gheros, your words are like a warm breeze sweeping away the gloom of my entire day!"

After a few more warm words, the Iron Beetle went down to the storeroom. He returned with workers who had appeared from somewhere, and together they carried in six crates.

When the crates were opened, Su Yi saw just how well stocked the Iron Beetle was.

Mongoose, Assault Scorpion, Casey 191 assault rifles, AXS155 Shotguns, Ballin 119 Sniper Rifles—

There were ten kinds of firearms in all.

Su Yi also spotted modification parts unavailable to ordinary buyers. Besides the Dark Star Suppressor he had kept promising people, there were Sunspot EMP Grenades!

Every one of them was contraband on both sides of Rhode Star.

"Eight hundred Void Abyss Coins," the Iron Beetle said generously. "Take whatever you like."

"Here's the price list."

His cybernetic eye projected a hologram showing the price and specifications of every weapon.

Dark Star Suppressors cost 80 Void Abyss Coins each, and Sunspot EMP Grenades cost 40 apiece.

Casey 191 assault rifles cost 50 Void Abyss Coins each.

AXS155 Shotguns cost 61 Void Abyss Coins each.

Ballin 119 Sniper Rifles cost 152 Void Abyss Coins each.

Without hesitation, Su Yi spent the entire 800-Coin allowance on sixteen Casey 191 assault rifles.

He added another 900 Void Abyss Coins and bought fourteen more Casey 191s and a Dark Star Suppressor.

He spent the remaining 120 on 7mm Armor-Piercing Rounds.

Armor-piercing rounds were more expensive than the ammunition he had bought before: one Void Abyss Coin bought only three.

That gave him 360 rounds, plus the ten that came with each rifle—a total of 660 armor-piercing rounds.

That would be enough to tide Enns over for now.

Su Yi ran a hand over a Casey 191, feeling its black metal body and white markings.

Then he expertly stripped it down for inspection.

The Iron Beetle was surprised by how practiced he was.

The Casey 191 had a simple design, tremendous power, and an effective range of 1,200 meters.

More importantly, its stock folded. And thanks to advances in materials science, even its forty-centimeter barrel could retract.

Fully collapsed and folded, the rifle was only thirty centimeters long.

That made it easy to carry.

Su Yi packed the thirty disassembled rifles and their magazines into bags. With the Iron Beetle watching him go, he left the blue townhouse in high spirits.

After Su Yi left, the Iron Beetle picked up his phone and called Mantis again.

"Boss, that was 800 Void Abyss Coins' worth of goods. We're just giving it away?"

Mantis's voice came over the phone. "The Wolf Fang Gang won't let this go."

"He may be our only steady, reliable distributor for quite some time."

"And he's strong enough to draw a good deal of the Wolf Fang Gang's attention away from us."

The Iron Beetle nodded. "That's true."

Mantis went on. "Contact Pumpkin. We should prepare for a fight."

"If Weber Nigel can make money from this, then I, Mantis Maguire, can too!"