He Li spent a minute and a half recounting to Susan what he had told Kuhl, and then spent another thirty minutes persuading Susan to attribute the credit for killing two special-grade demonic beasts and one first-grade demonic beast to her.
Susan could take a 0.5% commission on the bonus reported to headquarters.
These thirty minutes were mainly wasted on discussing the commission. Susan believed that not only did she have to sign, but she also had to lie to headquarters for He Li, so she wanted 10%. He Li just scoffed. 10%? You might as well ask for my life!
After the two of them agreed, they sat on the wood by the courtyard gate, which He Li had chopped down.
After finishing this matter, He Li and Susan fell into an eerie silence. Just moments ago, they were haggling over money, refusing to yield to each other. No one knew who spoke last, and the other person stopped responding.
Then,
Both sides fell silent.
This situation happened often. Netizens called this situation:
"The most terrifying thing is the sudden silence in the air."
He Li squinted his eyes slightly. He was a little sleepy. In this situation, he couldn't speak first, because no matter what he said, he would lose the initiative.
In a conversation, initiative is very important. It represents a person's right to lead in a matter, to gain more, and to know more.
Susan said that she would state her conditions for protection after this mission.
It was obvious that this mission was completed, at least for He Li, his mission was completed.
So, he was waiting for Susan to state her conditions.
After a long silence,
Susan spoke first,
"You're waiting for me to speak, and I won't beat around the bush. What way do you prefer?
You ask, I answer?
Or,
I speak, you listen?"
"I'm fine with either. My greatest strengths are being easygoing and adaptable. Captain, whatever is comfortable for you, I can do it."
"......"
Susan was speechless at first, and then said, "I want to become a god."
He Li was not shocked. Instead, he looked at Susan with half-closed eyes, like an idiot, with a blank expression. Are you sure you want to become a god, not a lunatic?
What's the point of becoming a god? To mingle with those twelve lunatics and have a free-for-all?
Foolish Captain Susan, can't you just be a big shot among mortals?
However, woman, I admire your ambition, but unfortunately, you're just dreaming.
Based on He Li's understanding during this period, the so-called gods are different from the gods and immortals in the previous world. In the myths of the previous world, gods and immortals possessed magical powers and long lives. They truly remained aloof from worldly affairs and lived carefree lives.
The gods in this world?
Reincarnation—killing—reincarnation—killing again...
Are you playing a game here, restarting round after round?
"You should have heard that I was a member of the Hunter Group. For thousands of years, the Hunter Group existed to hunt down Awakened Ones, also known as gods. However, they never succeeded.
Four years ago, we finally cornered a... god on the island of Rhodes in Greece."
"Six of us, four were killed, leaving only me and a severely injured companion. Just as he was about to kill us, he seemed to sense something important and left without delay, abandoning the two of us."
"The two of us survived like this."
He Li lit a cigarette, bent over, placed his elbows on his raised knees, rested his chin on his hand, and looked at Susan, waiting for her to continue.
Six against one, and four were killed in return, tsk tsk tsk...
If you haven't succeeded in thousands of years, why not give up? Are you really that persistent?
But what does this have to do with Susan wanting to become a god?
If you can't beat them, join them?
"You might not understand the despair I felt at that time. Facing that person, that god, I was truly desperate. For thousands of years, did the Hunter Group really exist to hunt down such invincible beings?
I began to doubt the meaning of the Hunter Group's existence, my own abilities, and the significance of hunting gods.
What meaning is there for a group of unarmed children to hunt a tiger?
To make the tiger die of indigestion?"
He Li nodded. Captain Susan, you're something else. To talk about hunting gods in front of a god, you're truly something.
Susan's expression became a little distorted, but she quickly recovered. She took a deep breath, calmed down, and said:
"I became afraid. Every mission of the Hunter Group, I would think to myself, 'Please don't let me encounter a god, please don't let me encounter a god.' I never wanted to experience that feeling of powerless fear again, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. I could do nothing, just lie there, waiting for destiny to arrive.
But I was different from a lamb. A lamb, when facing a butcher's knife, would howl, struggle, resist, or cry out in a mournful plea.
I couldn't make a sound. I could only stare blankly as the knife grew larger in my sight, my body grew colder. I didn't even have the strength to curl up."
Hearing this, He Li was a little shocked. Susan's strength, a second-grade demonic beast and a seventh-tier gene-locked ability user, were like chicks in her hands, with no room to resist.
With such strength, she was not even as good as an ant in front of that god?
But when he fought Qi Shuang last night, he didn't feel this way. Could it be that Qi Shuang had just woken up and hadn't recovered his strength?
Susan trembled as she lit a cigarette to calm her emotions. Such an experience was a great psychological shadow for her, a torment.
And she lived in this shadow every day.
A proud daughter of heaven in her early thirties, a renowned expert in the Hunter Group. She should have been proud, completing missions and killing demonic beasts of all grades under the envious gazes of others.
She should have lived her proud life normally, leaving a mark in the history of the Hunter Group.
But,
She encountered a god.
When her pride in her strength and her self-esteem were easily crushed and trampled into the mud, her life trajectory deviated.
The nightmare-like shadow would accompany her for the rest of her life.
"So, you started drinking heavily?" He Li asked.
Susan remained silent, not answering.
He Li asked again, "Then what does this have to do with you becoming a god?"
Susan gently exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "I've researched a lot of information, including legends and the data preserved by the Hunter Group for thousands of years.
Finally, I came to a conclusion."
She looked at He Li, her eyes flashing with brilliance. He Li also became nervous. Could it be that there was some special secret in the Hunter Group's data?
Just right, he also wanted to know something.
Susan took a deep breath and said word by word:
"Only gods can fight gods."
He Li froze for a moment, then instantly deflated. That's it? Do I need you to tell me that?