21: Chapter 21 What I want is... Miss Shen...

"Ouch! My head hurts so much, my body is about to split open!"

"Stop!"

Shen Hongyuan interrupted with a dark face.

"Can you try to act a bit more realistically?"

Su Ming's mask of pain was stuck on his face, leaving him in a dilemma.

Awkward.

Too awkward.

He was actually caught red-handed.

He nimbly slid down from the scrap pile and patted the dust off his backside.

Shen Hongyuan glared at him indignantly, then turned to look at the workers who were still dazed all around.

"No one is allowed to speak about today's events outside."

"You're all getting an early holiday. Everyone has been through a fright, so everyone's salary for this month will be doubled."

"Now, everyone pack up and go home!"

The entire Sorting Area was silent for a moment.

Then, a burst of exclamations erupted.

"Boss is awesome!"

"Boss Shen is the best!"

Scarface Li clutched his two broken ribs, stubbornly sat up from the stretcher, and gave a thumbs up.

The Short-haired Lady's eyes were red; she wiped away tears while shouting along.

A group of dust-covered laborers surged out, howling.

Fearing that Shen Hongyuan might go back on his word.

In less than a minute, the huge Sorting Area was completely empty.

Only Shen Hongyuan, Shen Qingci, and Su Ming remained.

Shen Qingci put away her cold edge Tang sword, the last trace of silver light between her knuckles fading away.

There was no high-and-mighty arrogance, nor any airs of an SS-grade genius.

This top student from Military University stood with her legs together, back straight, and bowed to Su Ming with extreme solemnity.

"Thank you for just now. If it weren't for you taking that hit head-on, many people would have died today."

She raised her head, her eyes bright: "My name is Shen Qingci."

After speaking, she extended her right hand.

Shen Qingci was famous for being cold at Military University.

Not the kind of fake coldness Su Ming had, but truly cold.

Except for her sword and cultivation, her attitude toward anyone or anything was just three words—not needed.

The number of people she would voluntarily reach out to could be counted on one hand.

Su Ming looked at the face before him at close range.

Her exquisite features showed a layer of fine fuzz in the sunlight, amidst the heroic spirit brought by years of martial arts practice.

At this moment, it was unprecedentedly mixed with a bit of the youthful and feminine air belonging to a girl of her age.

Su Ming muttered to himself.

She is truly beautiful, but I just don't know if I would cry for a long time if this girl punched me.

He cleared his throat and vigorously rubbed his hands on the washed-out fabric of his school uniform trousers.

Then he extended his right hand, elegantly and gentlemanly touching Shen Qingci's fingertips lightly before retracting it.

The sense of boundaries was perfectly judged.

The cool and arrogant top student persona went online right on time.

"You're welcome."

Su Ming tilted his head slightly, his indifferent eyes carrying a layer of just-right composure,

"Every man with strength would do the same.

How could I just watch my fellow workers die in front of me? That would violate my Dao heart."

Shen Qingci's hand hung in mid-air, her fingertips still retaining the sensation from their brief contact just now.

It was very strange.

Just now, when her dad was talking to Liu Feng, she had vaguely heard about this teenager's background.

F-grade talent, seemingly suffering from a terminal petrification mutation, with only a few years left to live.

Yet, facing a destiny where he could die at any moment, and facing a mechanical beast capable of crushing a tank, he actually dared to risk his life to stop it?

When he said the words "every man with strength," there wasn't a hint of sorrow in his tone like someone who was about to die.

Shen Qingci lowered her eyes, clenched the hand she had just used to shake hands, and her knuckles tightened slightly.

Shen Hongyuan suddenly strode over, his expression unkind.

"Brat, stop acting cool for now."

He raised a finger and tapped Su Ming on the forehead.

"The military's highest-strength hydraulic explosion-proof body was damaged by 17% from you head-butting it.

You, a carbon-based human, where did you get such kinetic energy? Explain it to me clearly."

The old man isn't easy to fool.

Su Ming scratched his head and stammered: "That... maybe I've evolved again."

"Evolved? And maybe?"

"Ye... yes." Su Ming spouted nonsense with a straight face,

"I feel like I've become several times heavier, and my bones are getting harder and harder. It's just that I'm often starving.

Now, whenever I see high-density metal, I feel a special sense of closeness."

Hint.

Crazy hint.

I want to eat iron!

Shen Hongyuan raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing such outrageous nonsense.

Without warning—

Shen Hongyuan suddenly raised his right hand, and with a hand-blade strike carrying a whistling sound that tore through the air, he slashed fiercely at Su Ming's left collarbone!

This strike was so fast that the naked eye couldn't catch it, and its force was enough to shatter C-grade alloy armor with bare hands.

"Clang—!"

The sound of the collision exploded in the empty factory like a booming bell.

Su Ming only felt a huge force slam into his shoulder and neck.

His whole body was staggered back two steps by the strike.

It didn't hurt, but he felt a bit numb from the impact.

Shen Hongyuan stood where he was, his eyes fixed firmly on Su Ming's collarbone.

There wasn't even a white mark!

On the contrary, the edge of his own palm was faintly numb.

Monster.

This is a fucking monster.

Now he really believed it.

It wasn't talent disguise, nor external force enhancement.

This kid's body density had actually reached such an heaven-defying level.

Since he confirmed that he wasn't an assassin sent by an enemy, Shen Hongyuan simply didn't continue to press the matter.

In this high-martial world, everyone had their own secrets.

The talent system had been developed for less than two hundred years, and there were too many bizarre situations that couldn't be explained.

But looking at the teenager in front of him whose hardness was comparable to superalloy.

Thinking that he might be crushed to death by his own body weight in the near future, Shen Hongyuan couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.

Such hard bones, yet he was a ticking time bomb.

He sighed.

He reached out and pulled a syringe glowing with a fluorescent green light directly from the void, then threw it to Su Ming.

Su Ming caught it with both hands, then looked down.

The tube was stamped with the red serial number of the Southern Military Region.

"Military-grade high-level life nutrient solution." Shen Hongyuan said in a flat tone,

"It's for improving physical constitution. I can't say if it will be useful for you, but give it a try."

Su Ming tucked it into his pocket.

"Thanks, Boss."

"Also, you did a meritorious deed by saving everyone." Shen Hongyuan stood with his hands behind his back. "Do you have any requests? Speak."

There's a reward?

Su Ming's eyes lit up.

If it's free, don't refuse; if it's free, who wouldn't take it!

Since the boss has spoken, I must ask for a lot!

His gaze unconsciously shifted in one direction.

Shen Qingci was standing three meters away, just happening to look at him as well.

Their eyes met.

Shen Qingci blinked.

From this angle, sunlight leaked through the gaps in the tin shed, landing just on her shoulder, making the silver battle sword emblem on her combat uniform shine.

Su Ming discovered that this girl actually had quite long eyelashes.

Shen Qingci felt a bit uncomfortable being stared at, and her large eyes blinked back at Su Ming.

She hadn't looked closely before, but now she suddenly realized that although this boy was thin.

His facial features were exceptionally deep, with a kind of sickly handsomeness, and he was quite handsome.

"The way Miss Shen swung her sword just now was even better-looking than the Valkyries in the Federation promotional videos."

Su Ming's tone was sincere, his eyes clear,

"To be able to fight side-by-side with Miss Shen is already my greatest honor..."

The sudden direct compliment made Shen Qingci, who only knew about cultivation, blush intensely.

She gave Su Ming a shy, annoyed look, her ear tips burning hot.

"But..." Su Ming changed the subject, "A gift from an elder, one dares not refuse! Not accepting would be disrespectful to you."

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Shen Hongyuan's old face sank.

This kid not only flirted with his daughter in front of him, but actually dared to push his luck?

The old man quickly took half a step in front of Su Ming, blocking his line of sight completely.

"Just talk, where are your eyes wandering off to!"

I treat you as an employee, and you f*cking want to be my son-in-law?!

Keep dreaming!

Su Ming, with his view blocked, showed no panic at all, looking at Shen Hongyuan neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Boss, I've decided."

"What I want... is... Miss Shen..."

Shen Qingci's brain went "buzz."

Her face started burning from the roots of her ears, spreading to her neck.

How... how could he say such bold words in front of her dad?!

They only met for the first time today!

She instinctively took half a step back, and in her panic, she even secretly glanced at her dad's side profile.

Her dad's face had turned black to the extreme, and the veins on his temples were throbbing.

His fists were clenched so tightly they were cracking.

Just when the father and daughter's blood pressure soared to the critical point and they were about to make a move.

Su Ming slowly and unhurriedly spat out the second half of his sentence.

"...'s robot!"

"That one."

He pointed to the powered-down steel beast lying on the ground.

"Can you give it to me?"

"..."

A breeze picked up a plastic bag on the ground, drifting awkwardly between the three of them.

Shen Qingci's breath was stuck hard in her throat; she almost passed out.

Her expression completed a triple jump from "blushing" to "angry" to "wanting to draw her sword and kill" in 0.3 seconds.

She rolled her eyes at Su Ming and turned to leave.

Shen Hongyuan's fists also hardened.

He gritted his back teeth, enunciating word by word.

"You like to—pause—in—the—middle—of—sentences—don't—you?"

Su Ming blinked innocently.

"Huh? What's wrong? I just feel like this robot and I have a real connection; it's my first battle, I wanted to keep a souvenir."

Shen Hongyuan really wanted to beat him up.

Eight million.

This kid opened his mouth and asked for eight million.

Just as he was about to refuse, the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

He took it out and looked, his expression changing drastically!

...