Book 3 Chapter 6.5 - Long Journey
Many people could obtain abilities, and the power produced by matching different abilities could be incredibly great; this was something most people knew. However, there were some talented people who would show especially promising potential in certain ability domains or abilities. Their control over fine aspects of the ability would produce many, many special additional effects. This was how newer abilities were derived, for example, O'Brien had his extreme ice prison ability that was derived from fifth level coldness. As another example, the same first level flame, some people could use it to light cigarettes, while others could only set everything aflame. Meanwhile, Su could use it to iron shirts.
Su, who was silently running through the night, didn't know that he unknowingly startled Lieutenant Colonel Julio so badly that he couldn't sleep for an entire night. He was currently on his way to carry out this mission, carefully avoiding all dangers that laid in the darkness and observing all unnatural places around him.
The area where he was currently at was already close to Kahli's residence. The area the map indicated wasn't a single point, but instead a region covering a square kilometer. Of course, being able to accomplish this much was already quite the intelligence ability. There wasn't much for Su to complain about.
Only...
Su squatted down by a large dried up tree. He carefully observed the rather soft soil at the base of the tree trunk, and then raised his head to look at the leftover traces of removed branches. He slowly got up again. At night, Su was like a ghost, gradually merging into the darkness. There were traces of human activity here, so it might not be too far from Kahli's residence.
Only, Su didn't understand what type of considerations had been made by the higher ups for them to choose him. Could it be that general headquarters believed that he was suited for assassinations? Regardless, Kahli Vemano should be hiding quite a few secrets on him, and directly killing him might not be too bad of a choice. Knowing too much wasn't necessarily always a good thing.
Su carried an ordinary automatic rifle with him, one that had its position and trajectory assistance intelligent chips removed. Even though it wasn't as good as a specialized sniper rifle, eliminating any target within five hundred meters in the darkness still wasn't a problem.
Since there were traces of human activity, Su quickly discovered his target.
There was a wooden house built by a lake. The two story house was surrounded by a wooden fence, and inside the courtyard was an old tree whose shade covered most of the wooden house. In front of the door was a small stone path that formed a winding path towards the lake. This lake had long frozen over from the frigid winter, so a primitive looking wooden boat had been dragged out and placed on the shore. The sheet of ice covering the surface of the lake had signs of being cut; it seemed like the owner of the wooden house frequently went ice fishing.
From the outside, this looked just like a dwelling for one to enjoy a simple and carefree countryside lifestyle, but Su already knew where the problem laid. There were many dangerous mutated creatures living in the forest, many of them relying on poison and speed to catch and feed on their prey. A fist sized insect alone was enough to send one to the underworld. Meanwhile, this lake was the same as all water bodies in this era, suffused with powerful radiation. Su could stand by the lake in a nonchalant manner and maybe even take a shower in it, but most lower ranked dragonriders needed defensive equipment or radiation resistant drugs just to stand next to this lake.
Ice fishing? Even if there were fish inside the lake, they weren't anything normal people could make use of.
Su bent his body. Borrowing the terrain and shadows' cover, he quickly rushed towards the wooden house! The automatic rifle was still carried on his back, but there was now a military knife in his hand.
The main entrance of the wooden house was unlocked. Su leaned against the wall by the side of the door for three entire seconds, and then he suddenly pulled it open before disappearing inside. The instant he entered, due to the sudden change in lighting, his vision became momentarily blurred. When his field of view became clear once again, what greeted Su was the muzzle of a gun that pointed at his forehead from two meters away!
The living room that should have shouldn't have a soul in sight suddenly became more real. Long-range sensation, transparent surveillance, and spirit reaction were once again activated. The individual holding the gun felt her heart beating intensely. Her powerful and forceful heart was pumping blood through her body at a rate that already exceeded three hundred beats per minute, providing her body with abundant vitality and powerful strength. In addition, under the touch of Su's spirit reaction, he could completely sense her panic, fear, anger, and killing intent!
Almost as an instinctive reaction, Su, whose body was threatened, leaned to the side, avoiding the muzzle's trajectory. Then, he erupted with astonishing speed, smashing into the body of the individual holding the gun. The instant this person was sent flying, his left arm wrapped around her bottom and his head moved under her arm. Relying on transparent surveillance, the military knife in his right hand accurately pierced between her ribs!
The frantically beating heart suddenly contracted, wrapping itself around this blade!
Meanwhile, the bullet in that gun never had a chance to even fire.
Su gently laid her body onto the ground, not making a single sound. Only now did he finally see what she looked like.
This was a woman who couldn't be considered that young. She looked approximately twenty-five or six, her fluffy hair casually falling behind her head. Even though there were star shaped freckles caused by radiation on her face, she could still be considered beautiful. Her well developed body had both flexibility and curves, giving her a mature type of beauty. Her eyes were wide open, absent-mindedly staring at the ceiling as her body continuously twitched about. The groaning sound she was about to utter was forcefully suppressed by Su's left hand that was tightly wrapped around her throat. Her left hand that was holding the gun powerlessly fell to her side.
Even if he didn't have transparent surveillance, from the feeling the blade brought back, Su knew that her life was quickly flowing away, and that she had already lost all ability to fight back. He hesitated a bit, and then decided in the end not to twist the blade again. Even if her body was hiding some unknown secrets, Su still had the power to deal with it.
"Put her down!" An old and and sorrowful voice sounded from behind Su.
Su was sure that he didn't sense anyone approaching him before hearing this voice. He raised his head and saw an old man with messy white hair standing on the stairs. The old man was extremely skinny with wrinkles on his face like blade carvings, full of traces that came with the passage of time. His lips were pointed downwards. Due to how much force he was exerting, the blue veins on his face continuously jumped about.
Su gave the old-fashioned large caliber pistol in the old man's hands a look, and then he quickly calculated his probability of avoiding the trajectory of the bullet the moment it fired. Then, he slowly loosened his hand that was grabbing the blade before standing and backing up.
"Move back!" The old man's eyes were just as sharp as Su's blade. Meanwhile, Su's left hand was like a green lake, with no ripples that could be seen.
Su complied with these words and backed up, stopping only when his back was against the wall. Only then did the old man walk down from the stairs and squat down by the young woman. His left hand trembled as it gently caressed her face and chest injury. He held the blade, but he didn't pull it out. Doing so would only hasten her death.
The young woman's eyes continued to stare into the sky. Her line of sight seemed to pass straight through the ceiling and into the endless distance. At this moment, she seemed to have seen something that caused her to forget all of her body's pain and suffering. She smiled, her face revealing a beautiful rosy color.
The old man trembled as he held her hand, watching as she peacefully slept with a smile on her face. Su noticed now that this woman's eyes seemed to be invisible.