CHAPTER 597: CHAPTER 597: MISSION

"Of course," the space superhuman replied coldly.

"Do you think I would ever truly work for you? From the moment I saw your name, I knew my chance for revenge had come. And now, it is here."

Dong Shin’s body shook. He realized now that he had been completely trapped.

All the people he recruited had run away, all his wealth and supplies had been stolen, and now even his life was in danger.

"You... you demon," he spat. "You think killing me will change anything? You think it will bring your sister back?"

The space superhuman’s eyes glistened, but his grip on the knife did not falter.

"No. It will not bring her back. But it will bring me peace. It will be justice. At least you will suffer the same way I did. At least you will taste despair."

Dong Shin tried one last time, his voice trembling but still arrogant.

"If you kill me, the North will not accept you. Do you know who I am? Even if I have fallen, I am still Dong Shin! Killing me will make you a target."

The man sneered.

"Do you really think anyone will care? You have already been thrown away by Wang Qingshan. The military hates you. Your subordinates abandoned you. You are nothing but a stray dog now. Killing you will not bring me trouble. It will only remove a stain from this world."

Dong Shin gritted his teeth, his veins popping.

"You... you ungrateful bastard. You dare betray me like this? You think you are better than me?"

"I am better than you," the man said coldly. "Because at least I never sold people’s lives for profit."

Dong Shin’s face twisted with fury and despair. His voice cracked as he screamed,

"I should never have trusted anyone! All of you... all of you are snakes!"

The space superhuman leaned closer, his knife pressing harder against Dong Shin’s neck.

"No. The only snake here is you. And today, this snake will finally be cut down."

Dong Shin’s body shook violently, his eyes wide with panic. "No... no, wait! Please... please, I don’t want to die! I can still..."

But before he could finish, the space superhuman’s eyes turned icy. Without hesitation, he pressed the knife harder, the cold blade drawing a thin line of blood on Dong Shin’s neck.

Dong Shin’s voice turned hoarse, his cries filled with desperation. "No! Don’t! I still..."

The man’s face was full of hatred as he whispered, "This is for my sister."

And with one swift movement, the knife slashed across Dong Shin’s throat.

Dong Shin’s eyes widened in disbelief. His mouth opened as if to say something, but only blood spilled out. His body jerked violently before collapsing against the seat.

The space superhuman breathed heavily, his hands trembling.

For a long moment, he sat still, staring at Dong Shin’s lifeless body. Then, slowly, he closed his eyes.

"It’s done," he whispered. "Sister... I finally avenged you."

The car was silent, except for the faint ticking of the engine. The space superhuman wiped the blood from his knife and leaned back, letting out a shaky breath.

Dong Shin, the once proud commander, was no more.

.................

Su Jiyai sat quietly in her workroom, her fingers gently pressing down the last line of notes she had copied from her antidote scroll.

The herbs she gathered lay neatly sorted in small glass jars. Some smelled fresh, some bitter, some sharp like crushed mint. She leaned back and rubbed her temples.

At that moment, Yuan Xin came running in. He looked a little sweaty and out of breath, but his eyes were bright.

"Boss Su!" he called, holding a tablet in his hand.

Su Jiyai raised an eyebrow. "What is it now, Yuan Xin?"

He quickly bowed and said, "We just received news. Three different bases have sent messages. They want to form a trade link with us. They even sent representatives to wait outside the west gate."

Su Jiyai blinked. She tapped her finger on the desk. "Trade link? Hm... Interesting. But rules are rules."

"Yes," Yuan Xin nodded.

She looked at him straight in the eyes and spoke firmly, "Tell them to follow our regulations. No jumping steps. No personal deals. They will wait for me to appear, and then they will offer their bids. After that, I’ll decide which base is qualified enough to collaborate with us."

"Yes, Boss Su," Yuan Xin said respectfully. "I’ll tell them right away."

"Good," Su Jiyai said with a small nod. She returned to flipping through her thick documents.

When Yuan Xin left, the room became quiet again. She leaned on the table and stared at the herbs in front of her.

She picked up one herb and crushed it between her fingers. The scent rose into the air, sharp and earthy.

At that moment, a system prompt popped up in her mind.

[Ding! Mission issued: Create a Self-Sufficient Base. A base that can survive even without system support.]

Su Jiyai’s eyes widened. She stared blankly for a moment, then closed her eyes slowly.

"So it’s time," she whispered.

She knew what this meant. The system was preparing to leave. Maybe when she completed the antidote and defeated the ruling entity, the zombie apocalypse would end. The system would no longer have any reason to stay.

Her lips trembled slightly. She pressed her hand against her chest. "So soon...?"

Bittersweet feelings rose inside her. On one hand, peace would finally return to this broken world. On the other, she would lose her companion, her strange but helpful system who had been with her since the start.

She chuckled softly to herself. "Foolish system. Childish and stupid sometimes... but you’ve always helped me. I’ll give you a proper gift. I’ll finish this mission."

Her eyes moved back to the prompt.

[Reward: 100,000 mission points.]

She didn’t care much about the number right now. What mattered was the meaning. A self-sufficient base meant independence, strength, and survival.

She muttered to herself, "Food, shelter, armor, weapons, protection gear, essentials... And of course, water and electricity. I’ll need all of it."

She began making a list. "Vegetables, we already grow them. Meat... mutated animals will work as a reservoir. Shelter... I’ll need construction materials, cement, bricks. Armor and weapons... I’ll need a smithing place, maybe use mutated beast parts. Sanitary items, tools, daily needs... Yes. Then water purification and electricity grids."

Her pen scratched across the paper, one note after another.

She looked up at the ceiling and whispered softly, "One year. If I work hard, one year will be enough."

Then she clenched her fist. "I will do it."

Three months passed like water flowing down a stream.

During these months, Su Jiyai worked every day like a machine. She built small teams to experiment with mutated animal meat, made plans to start cement production inside the base, and also set up designs for solar panels to link with the generator she had bought.

But her main focus remained the herbs.

She searched for herbs from different worlds.

One day, Qin Feng brought her a basket filled with small blue herbs. He looked curious. "What are these for?"

Su Jiyai checked them carefully. "Blue Moss Flower. When dried, it reduces fever. It’s also a stabilizer for other herbs."

"Looks simple," Qin Feng said, raising an eyebrow.

Su Jiyai smiled faintly. "Sometimes simple things save the most lives."

Another time, Xi Ping came with a plant that had silver leaves. "I found this near the riverbank. It glowed faintly."

Su Jiyai gasped. "Silver Root! It’s rare. It strengthens immunity. This is perfect for the antidote’s fifth scroll."

Xi Ping rarely showed emotions, but she nodded with satisfaction.

Jake also tried his hand at searching. He once returned with a vine full of red berries. "These look tasty," he said, biting one.

Su Jiyai almost screamed. "Jake! Don’t eat that! Those are Fire Berries! They burn your throat!"

Jake’s face turned red, and smoke literally came out of his mouth. "Hot! Hot! HOT!" he yelled, waving his hands.

Qin Feng sighed and gave him water. "Idiot vampire," he muttered.

Xi Ping shook her head. "Focus next time."

Su Jiyai still laughed a little and noted down Fire Berries as a strong flame booster.

By the end of the third month, Su Jiyai’s shelves were full. Different colored jars lined up neatly, each labeled with careful handwriting.

She stood in front of them, her arms crossed. "Now... with all this, I’ve reached the fifth scroll. Half antidote ready. The rest will follow soon."

Her eyes shone with determination.

That night, Yuan Xin walked in with new reports. "Boss Su," he said respectfully, "the bases are still waiting for your decision. They’ve been offering higher and higher bids."

Su Jiyai looked at him calmly. "Good. Let them wait longer. A desperate bidder will show their true colors. We don’t need allies who are impatient."

"Yes, Boss Su."

She turned back to her jars and whispered softly, "Soon... the antidote will be made. The virus will end. The entity’s power will weaken. And then... the final battle will come."