Mr. Su

As Su Chen climbed the stairs, he encountered the overweight man who sat on the ground, staring at him in bewilderment. The man noticed Su Chen's gaze and quickly backed away, afraid that he too would become a target. He waved his hands frantically, insisting, "I didn't mean to take your things...honestly...I..."

Su Chen remained silent as he walked forward, leaving the fat man behind.

The man stared in disbelief as Su Chen disappeared down the corridor. After a moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and spoke up, "Thank you...for saving me."

Meanwhile, Su Chen returned to the presidential suite and found the third middle-aged survivor had also arrived. Zheng and Xia Ming, along with others, were seated on either side of the room. The atmosphere was tense and awkward, with everyone unsure of what to say or do next.

Xia Ming was the first to speak up upon Su Chen's return, quickly standing up and asking, "Mr. Su, how did it go?"

Su Chen had garnered a newfound respect from Xia Ming, as evidenced by his formal address.

The middle-aged man also looked at Su Chen with eagerness, rushing over behind Xia Ming. He attempted to grab Su Chen's hand, but Su Chen skillfully avoided his grasp. The man then exclaimed excitedly, "You are in the army, aren't you? You'll protect me, right? You'll make sure we're safe, right?"

Su Chen paid no attention to the middle-aged man and turned to Xia Ming, saying, "It's almost resolved. You all should rest well now."

After speaking, Su Chen stopped talking and quickly returned to his room, closing the door behind him. He had no time to attend to others who wished to stay in the presidential suite. His commitment was solely to Xia Ming, and he must prioritize protecting the young boss who was in danger. While others could offer assistance, that was the extent of their involvement.

Xia Ming and the others were resolute in their determination. The beautiful female secretary was curious and asked, "Do you have any idea what Mr. Su is doing in his room all day?"

"I have no clue," Xia Ming replied, shaking his head. "But what I do know is that investing in him was the right decision. It was wise of you to convince me to abandon our previous pursuit and instead establish a friendship with him. He's the kind of person we should be associating with."

...

Upon returning to his room, Su Chen retrieved some compressed biscuits and water, which he began to consume. He then indulged in two pieces of chocolate before walking over to the window. Standing there, he silently lit a cigarette and squinted his eyes to observe everything happening below.

As the sun disappeared, the only source of light emanated from the crimson cracks in the sky. Although not particularly bright, it was enough to allow people to make out objects in the darkness.

The flames on the street below had nearly died out, and the slowly moving and swaying monsters were no longer distinctly visible. Only the occasional high-speed creatures could be seen more clearly. The living people running on the street would draw their attention, prompting countless monsters to give chase. The sound of the pursuit was also noticeable in the dark and silent street. Fortunately, Su Chen had only engaged in a battle on the 20th floor, and the monsters were out of reach.

Gunfire could still be heard in the distance, but it seemed to be far from the city center.

As there were only a few residential areas in the vicinity, rescue efforts were unlikely to prioritize this area, and the army was not expected to arrive anytime soon.

Su Chen silently stared for a moment before finishing his cigarette and settling back onto the bed. He removed his coat and attempted to infuse it with a unit of energy.

Clothes were undoubtedly items with occlusion and defense attributes, and transforming the black energy might cause the coat to take on an armor-like appearance.

Although it was just an ordinary leather jacket, it had a relatively large surface area. Su Chen infused it with only one unit of energy, and yet the transformation was complete. The jacket turned black and felt as smooth as silk. It was lightweight and comfortable to wear, imparting a cool and icy sensation. However, it did not seem to possess any defensive capabilities. Su Chen furrowed his brow slightly and then channeled the remaining energy in his body into the jacket, curious to see if infusing it with excessive energy units would bring about any further changes.

However, after absorbing the additional energy unit, the leather jacket did not undergo significant changes. Despite being infused with a total of two energy units, it only became lighter and lighter. Su Chen took note of this and realized that the jacket had started emitting strands of energy, indicating that it was "overflowing" with energy.

Su Chen used a fruit knife to tentatively stab the magically modified leather jacket, encountering some resistance before finally piercing through.

"Damn it!"

Su Chen's frustration was evident on his forehead as he realized that he had just wasted two energy units.

Despite the setback, Su Chen did not regret his actions. Familiarizing oneself with their abilities is a process that requires experimentation. It was better to take calculated risks and try things out when the situation was safe, rather than fumbling during a fight. One must pay their dues to learn, and success cannot be achieved without trial and error. Su Chen was well aware of this truth.

Since the leather jacket was already damaged, Su Chen decided to test whether it was fireproof. If it was indeed fireproof, then the two energy units spent on it would not have been wasted.

So he lit a piece of the clothing on fire to see what would happen.

However, Xia Ming and the others who had gathered in the living room for warmth were shocked to see Su Chen suddenly burst into the room, frantically rushing into the bathroom with a piece of clothing on fire. The water supply was already cut off, leaving Su Chen with no choice but to throw the burning clothing into the bathtub to extinguish the flames.

Su Chen walked past the living room with a somber expression on his face, without offering any explanation, and headed straight back to his room. He closed the door behind him, leaving Xia Ming and the others to wonder what he was up to.

Xia Ming and others looked at each other: "What exactly is Mr. Su doing in the room?"

As they exchanged puzzled looks, the little fat man who had also followed Su Chen suddenly spoke up. "I think Su Chen might be a cultivator..."

Xia Ming frowned, finding the suggestion to be absurd. "What are you talking about? That's ridiculous."

"Why do you think it's ridiculous?" argued the chubby man. "There are cultivators like Su Chen in this era of spiritual energy recovery. Just look at what's happening in the world today - the sky is cracking and monsters that cannot be explained by science are appearing. Isn't it possible that it's a resurgence of spiritual energy and the emergence of future horrors?"

He continued, "Su Chen may have mastered a certain method to follow the sky and strengthen his cultivation. You weren't there earlier, but I saw it with my own eyes in the stairwell. Despite his unremarkable hammer, he smashed the lanky ghost down two floors, from the twenty-third floor to the twenty-first floor. And his gun could create a large hole in those monsters. Isn't that far beyond the power of a regular pistol?"

The chubby man added, "Moreover, these monsters have been around for a while now, and everyone is afraid of them. But Su Chen is different, he isn't afraid of them at all. In fact, I saw with my own eyes that the monsters fled in a hurry when they saw him!"

Xia Ming had initially thought the chubby man was just being foolishly fearful, especially when he mentioned the hammer. However, upon hearing the latter part of his statement, Xia Ming began to feel that something was amiss.

Xia Ming was certain that the gun Su Chen possessed was just an ordinary one, and he couldn't fathom how it could have become so powerful. It was possible that Su Chen had modified the gun himself.

Moreover, Xia Ming found the recent fire in Su Chen's room to be highly suspicious. Who in their right mind would set their clothes on fire at such an odd time? Something was definitely amiss.

Xia Ming couldn't help but wonder if Su Chen truly possessed some special ability. While he was skeptical of the chubby man's claims, Xia Ming's understanding of his own identity, social status, and insights prevented him from drawing any conclusions based solely on speculation.

Nevertheless, Xia Ming remained suspicious and believed that Su Chen was a mysterious and powerful individual. He understood that one should not easily offend someone like Su Chen.

Xia Ming realized that his decision to not compete with Su Chen for the bracelet at the previous auction was indeed a wise one. If he had offended Su Chen, it would have been impossible for him to feel safe now, let alone be able to sleep at night.

As he pondered over it, Xia Ming became increasingly convinced that he had made the right choice. He had avoided losing a million and had also avoided offending a mysterious and powerful individual like Su Chen.