After bidding farewell to the protagonist group, the two began to scavenge all the remaining valuables in the Hollow, truly leaving no stone unturned. Anything they saw that had a bit of value in their eyes was taken by them.
Initially, Yao Ji was actually a bit worried about Cui Ji going alone. After all, she had only recently recovered, and even if her combat power was higher than before, she didn't know how strong she could be. But Cui Ji retorted, asking her if she could win against swarms of military mechs with her own strength.
"The military's mechs are just scrap metal to me; no matter how many come, they'll all be Waste," Yao Ji said, holding the blade of her knife with an expressionless face, like a reclusive master. "Don't worry, even if I'm being hunted, I can turn all the pursuing forces into today's income!"
Cui Ji nodded. After putting away her tablet, she placed her left prosthetic arm across her chest and pressed some buttons on it with her right hand.
Turning to look, Cui Ji's prosthetic arms were now equipped with two giant Gatling guns, and a pile of missile launchers had appeared on her back. The Bungbu behind her also had a fierce look in its eyes, its visual sensors now red, making it look like a red-eyed Thug by the roadside.
Yao Ji was initially a bit stunned by this scene. On one hand, she was speechless that the two of them were going to scavenge for money, not fight rebels. On the other hand, she was still worried: what if these gadgets looked good but were useless? These things were most likely modified from the Motorcycle Gang's junk bikes, and might not achieve 100% suppression against regular Peacekeepers.
Ten minutes later, Yao Ji looked at another street, with explosion flashes next to it that were almost light pollution, and felt that her worries were indeed a bit superfluous.
Along the way, whenever they encountered Peacekeepers, Cui Ji would directly blast them with missiles modified onto her prosthetics from who-knows-what strange contraptions, the sound of explosions incessant. At this time, Cui Ji's expression would subtly change, but unfortunately, Yao Ji wasn't present, so no one could detect this change.
Yao Ji, on the other path, was very direct: one knife, knock out, a bump on the head.
Yao Ji's perspective —
These are high-end items from the rich district; they might be useful to some extent, good for showing off. Take them all! The gold trim on these clothes is pure gold, take it! This artwork is pure gold, take it! This artwork is made of iron and copper, and it looks pretty good, take it too! These are gold and silver ornaments, pretty! Take them all!!
Cui Ji's perspective —
Expensive brands aren't worth much; no one wants them on the black market. Bank cards with unknown PINs are easy to get caught, so it's mainly about packing cash. I happened to get a few small carts. Later, I'll call Yao Ji to come and cut down this house and bury it, then come back for it when I have time. Hmm? All the gold and silver ornaments haven't been taken, pack them all! What are these documents? Praise Assembly? Doesn't matter, take them.
Peacekeeper's perspective —
Peacekeeper A: ? What just floated past? Wait, where are the valuables that were here? Sir, there are thieves, there are tunnels… Ah! My head, why does it hurt so much? (He fainted.)
Peacekeeper B: Hey, what's going on? Why are all my colleagues falling down? Sir, we've been attac— (A "bang" sounded in his head, and he fainted.)
Peacekeeper C (feigning unconsciousness after being blown away): ...Ah! Who stepped on me? And in high heels? (He was truly knocked out.)
Peacekeeper D (blown away): Headquarters, help! Rebels are attacking!!
Despite having plundered for about half an hour, the scene was still very chaotic. Cui Ji's side completely ignored the Peacekeepers on duty there, as most of these Peacekeepers only carried non-lethal weapons and had no heavy firepower. In front of Cui Ji, who was stacked with buffs, they were basically no different from the rampaging Motorcycle Gangs in the Outer Ring. For some reason, this time Cui Ji seemed particularly fond of heavy firepower, making a lot of noise with her creations, which made Yao Ji quite uncomfortable.
However, uncomfortable or not, the direct result of this action was that Peacekeepers were basically nowhere to be seen in the Hollow. Those who could be seen were all hiding in the original residential buildings, trembling, and would very readily faint upon seeing them.
After continuously scavenging for about an hour, the spoils of war amounted to a small mountain. But looking at the loot, which was taller than herself, Yao Ji couldn't help but feel a headache. How would they take all this back? Although with her strength, she could lift these things even if they were twice as heavy, these items were all scattered. Where could she find a package as big as a mountain that could hold such heavy things?
"Unless we have mechs to help with transport," Cui Ji took out her tablet again, seemingly searching for something. "We'll reach the battlefield in about ten seconds. Get ready for engagement."
"???" After hearing this, Yao Ji was still full of questions and hadn't reacted when she saw at least a dozen Peacekeeper mechs in the distance, and even three or four military mechs. Turning her head, Cui Ji was already standing in front of the mountain of loot, giving an encouraging look. The Bungbu flying in the sky also smiled with narrowed eyes at her.
"We will be responsible for protecting our current spoils of war and dealing with the ground personnel. You just need to scrap those pieces of junk. Oh, and please don't destroy them too thoroughly. Otherwise, they can't be used."
Yao Ji: ... Yao Ji's eye twitched, but she couldn't really vent her anger on Cui Ji. She had boasted herself, so she had to follow through.
In the distance, the mech army was mighty, and dense Peacekeepers were also rushing over on the ground, fully armed and ready for battle. Yao Ji coldly watched the vast army surrounding her, her eyes showing no ripple. She pulled her cloak tighter and walked forward fearlessly.
At this moment, a cold blade was drawn, waves of red light surged forth, wind blades and cold swords, flashes of cold light. Her red eyes flickered with crimson, and the Demon Lord, which had always been hidden in the scabbard, once again floated in the sky, its fierce gaze sweeping over the enemies in front of it. From the moment the Demon Lord appeared, red light radiated outwards from Yao Ji as its center.
The Peacekeepers walking in front on the ground, after being swept by that fierce gaze, couldn't help but tremble in their hearts. Even those Peacekeepers who hadn't directly faced Yao Ji felt a sense of dread, as if some evil spirits or monsters were before them.
"Hoo..." A long breath escaped Yao Ji's lips. Finally, she plunged her knife into the ground. Since the Demon Lord hadn't directly entered the knife, the knife's color was a bright blue overall, and the surrounding crimson light further highlighted its coldness. Its indifferent eyes looked down on all beings, exuding coldness from beginning to end, while the crimson light around her had nothing to do with coldness.
"First, let me state: I do not kill people." As Yao Ji finished her first sentence, the mechs originally suspended by helicopters in the sky had all crashed to the ground. After a brief few seconds of adjustment, several Peacekeeper robots immediately rushed forward, attempting to capture Yao Ji. Missiles were launched around them, trying to block Yao Ji's retreat, but Yao Ji stood still, unmoving, until a Peacekeeper mech touched the hem of her clothes.
"It's done!" Bringer, observing the battle from a screen, showed a seemingly honest smile and turned to the reporter, saying, "Everyone please calm..."
"Commander Bringer, uh, the enemy doesn't seem to have been caught," a Peacekeeper adjutant sitting nearby cautiously reminded Bringer. Bringer's face immediately stiffened. He turned to look at the screen again. The Peacekeeper mech had indeed caught the hem of Yao Ji's clothes, but then the entire mech passed right through her. Only an afterimage was left in place. The next second, Yao Ji appeared behind the Peacekeeper mech and kicked its head fiercely, sending the mech's head flying directly off.
Seeing this, Bringer dared not be careless. He carefully observed the entire battlefield and immediately noticed Cui Ji and the mountain of supplies piled behind her, and his mouth couldn't help but twitch.
"Clearly audacious, daring to openly pile supplies right before my eyes. Truly ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth. The Creator will not bless foolish fellows like you," Bringer thought to himself.
Sure enough, after one Peacekeeper mech was immediately head-kicked, the remaining mech didn't rush to attack Yao Ji, but immediately unleashed its missile firepower next to the mountain-like supplies. Yao Ji was momentarily stunned. She quickly turned her head to look. Even though the gunpowder smoke was very thick, Yao Ji, relying on her absurd vision that no human could possess, discovered that those missiles had all hit a faint, almost invisible barrier.
Before the smoke had dissipated, the barrier vanished, and then countless missiles flew out from the smoke, bombarding those mechs. However, due to the rather inferior missile materials, most of the military mechs sustained little damage. Still, the spring joints of the Peacekeeper mechs were damaged, basically losing their combat effectiveness.
Yao Ji felt it was time to end the battle quickly. She raised her eyes, scanned the planes in the sky, and muttered softly, "So troublesome." Holding her knife with one hand, perpendicular to her body, she then rapidly spun around multiple times, unleashing dense blades aimed at the helicopters in the sky.
Bringer inside the helicopter was somewhat surprised, feeling like he had seen this move somewhere before. But he now understood that the helicopter was locked on. Just as he was about to turn to grab a parachute, he heard intense slicing sounds all around him. Judging by the panicked expressions of the nearby reporter and adjutant, Bringer knew he was in trouble. He grabbed a parachute and jumped straight down.
Crimson blades intertwined with blue fiercely sliced the propellers on the top and tail of the helicopter, also performing a "tail amputation" on the helicopter. Each cut was progressively deeper, causing the helicopter, even while being sliced, to maintain a state of gradually descending through the air.
The actual result was that the helicopter and Bringer were descending simultaneously. Coincidentally, the keen intuition of the reporter on the helicopter prompted him to furiously photograph Bringer's current state.
Bringer: ... Upon seeing this, Yao Ji couldn't help but let out a wry smile. She turned her head to look at the mechs on the ground, still glaring at her. She quickly sheathed her knife, lowered her body, and a blade, along with the red light in her eyes, slashed out. A crescent-shaped sword-edge swept across the entire battlefield, dissipating at the tip of a Peacekeeper's nose, who was slumped in the front row.
The mechs froze for an instant, then electrical sparks erupted around them, and one by one, they were all split in half down the middle. Seeing this, Yao Ji once again sheathed her Demon Blade. She turned her head sideways to glance at the Peacekeepers behind her.
Bringer saw this, his pupils constricting. He understood that he had indeed underestimated the combat power of this individual before him.
One man holding the pass, ten thousand cannot open it!
Yao Ji paid no more attention to the Peacekeepers behind her, standing with her back to them.
Though a thousand men stand against me, I will go forth!