What followed was much simpler. Under the relentless assault of the Marine Corpsmen and Marauders, all armed resistance was swiftly eliminated without mercy!
Bai Wen emerged from the Fortress, gun in hand, and approached Diao Da. Seeing that the man hadn't quite breathed his last, Bai Wen crouched down with an amused chuckle. "So... want revenge?"
"W-what do you mean?" Diao Da clutched the gaping wound on his chest, his former arrogance utterly gone. Now he was just a broken man, too weak to even lift a finger.
"I'm saying Long Er screwed you over. Don't you want payback?" Bai Wen grinned.
"You... you'd actually let me go? Hah! Don't mess with me. This wound's fatal. I don't believe you'd spare me!" Diao Da wheezed weakly.
"What if I could heal you?"
"N-no way... Not even a miracle could fix this. Are you just toying with me?" Diao Da refused to believe it.
Bai Wen chuckled. "Of course, there's a condition for healing you and letting you go."
"W-what condition?"
"You kill Long Er. Then you kill Eagle Lord. Take full control of Zuo Mountain Safe Zone. After that, you obey my every command. How's that sound?" Bai Wen proposed.
"Kill Eagle Lord?!" Diao Da gaped. "That's impossible! His power is unfathomable. I'm no match for him!"
"No need to worry. I'll send people to assist you," Bai Wen assured.
After a long silence, Diao Da finally nodded. "If you can really heal me... I swear I'll kill Long Er and Eagle Lord. And I'll follow your orders from then on."
"Excellent!" Bai Wen snapped his fingers. The medical probe on his CMC Armor's right arm deployed, emitting a medical ray toward Diao Da.
What happened next left Diao Da utterly stunned. The bleeding stopped instantly, and the wound began visibly healing before his eyes. Within fifteen minutes, the gaping hole in his chest had completely closed.
"I-incredible..." Diao Da touched his restored chest—not even a scar remained.
"So if you're thinking about breaking our deal... go ahead and try," Bai Wen said with a radiant smile.
"N-no! I wouldn't dare!" Diao Da shook his head frantically. Struggling to sit up, he stared at Bai Wen in bewilderment. Who was this young man? Where did all this advanced equipment come from?
"You're free to go," Bai Wen waved dismissively.
Still unable to believe his luck, Diao Da staggered toward a vehicle, constantly glancing back, half-expecting a bullet in his back.
Then it struck him—if Bai Wen wanted him dead, he could've just shot him earlier. Why go through the trouble of healing him first?
Dispelling his paranoia, Diao Da sped toward the car, slammed the accelerator, and fled as fast as possible—terrified Bai Wen might change his mind.
"Brother Bai, why let him go? He's a 3-Star Ability User! What if he comes back for revenge...?" Tai Long asked, utterly baffled.
"Who said I was going to let him go?" Bai Wen waved his hand, and the Ghost, who had been hiding in the shadows, immediately understood and quietly followed Diao Da.
After ordering the cleanup of the battlefield, Bai Wen prepared to return to the base when suddenly a Marine Corpsman shouted, "Commander, there's another survivor here!"
Bai Wen walked over and saw that it was the formidable woman—he still didn't know what her abilities were!
Ji Zhen, who had been turned into a bloody mess by the grenade blast, was somehow still alive, though barely. She was too weak to even speak, only staring at Bai Wen with helpless eyes, hoping he would save her.
Bai Wen's gaze remained cold; he had no intention of rescuing her.
Having Diao Da to confuse the eyes of the Zuo Mountain Safe Zone was enough—he didn't need a second person.
The SCV suddenly spoke up, "Commander, we now have a Tech Lab and can research many things. I recommend saving her to contribute to our technological experiments!"
"You want to study her abilities?"
"Yes, Commander. Perhaps the DNA of these Ability Users could help us develop even more powerful weapons and units!"
"Fine!" Bai Wen snapped his fingers and pulled out a control collar. He said to Ji Zhen, "I can save you, but from now on, you'll be my slave. Do you agree?"
Ji Zhen rolled her eyes and passed out.
"Consider it agreed!" Bai Wen directly fastened the control collar around her pale neck, then extended a medical probe, emitting a healing light that pulled Ji Zhen back from the brink of death.
The SCV also took the opportunity to collect DNA samples from Diao Da, Lao Wu (Old Fifth), and the Ape, planning to research them later in hopes of developing formidable weapons and equipment.
Bai Wen was deeply curious—this AI system's independent consciousness seemed unusually strong. Could there be a person hidden inside?
But even he found the idea absurd. If someone were inside, it would have to be a robot. A living person couldn't possibly go so long without eating.
Ji Zhen slowly regained consciousness. When she saw four giant armored men surrounding her, she instinctively tried to jump up, but a wave of weakness immediately sent her collapsing back to the ground.
Bai Wen said coldly, "Awake? From now on, you're my slave. Work hard for me."
"Pah! Who's your slave? I—" Ji Zhen tried to curse, but a sudden surge of electricity from her collar sent her convulsing to the ground.
"Ha! That's an electric shock collar. Any thought of resisting me will trigger a shock. Don't worry—it won't kill you, but it'll sure make things... interesting!"
"You—" Ji Zhen tried to speak again, but another jolt of electricity wracked her body, forcing a scream as she collapsed once more.
"First, tell me—what are your abilities?" Bai Wen demanded.
Too terrified to resist now, Ji Zhen stammered, "I—I'm a light manipulator... I can... form a light sword..."
"Light... sword?" Bai Wen was taken aback.
Ji Zhen extended her small hand, and a purple beam shot from her rough palm, solidifying into a translucent sword. With a light swing, she cleanly sliced through a steel plate.
"So sharp!" Bai Wen marveled, reminded of the Protoss Zealots. If they could extract Protoss technology from her DNA, wouldn't that be an incredible windfall?
"Alright! From now on, you'll follow me and be my personal bodyguard!" Bai Wen snapped his fingers and grinned smugly.
"No! I must return to S City. There are still matters I need to settle!" Ji Zhen stubbornly insisted.
"What's so great about that place? Are you really that loyal to that so-called Eagle Lord?" Bai Wen asked curiously.
"No! I wish I could kill every last one of them!" Ji Zhen's delicate, beautiful face suddenly twisted into a vicious expression.