America: The Cremator

Upon hearing this, Igor felt as if he had been granted a pardon. His legs trembled uncontrollably, and he barely managed to stand up by supporting himself with his hands on the ground.

At this moment, he didn't dare to look Su Long in the eye, afraid that he might have done something to displease this King of Hell.

After calming himself down a bit, he stumbled toward the collapsed golden gate, wanting to get away from everything here as quickly as possible.

Just as he was about to step out the door, a large hand suddenly patted his shoulder.

Sulong's fingers gripped Igor's shoulder blade tightly, and Igor's body froze instantly. The leg he had just stepped out of was abruptly stopped in mid-air, and cold sweat poured down his forehead again.

"Oh, right, Mr. Igor, I suddenly remembered that I have a small problem that I need your cooperation with."

Su Longping's gentle voice came from behind his ear.

He was so close to escaping, but was stopped again. This feeling made him extremely irritable and angry.

However, thinking of the inhuman strength that Sulong had just displayed, Igor dared not lash out. He could only suppress his fear and disgust and force a smile at Sulong.

"Is there anything else?"

Su Long nodded, then pulled him back two steps, stared into his eyes, and slowly said, "I hope to obtain some information from you in a more peaceful and humane way."

"Relax. As long as you speak, it will be much easier for all of us. Trust me, it's best to avoid any screams or anything like that during the conversation, as that will ruin the elegance and harmony of the dialogue."

Igor snorted coldly, knowing he had no room for negotiation, and could only grit his teeth and ask, "Fine, what do you want to know? I'll tell you anything."

"First question, didn't you have two elders with you when you betrayed us? Where are those two old geezers now?"

Upon hearing this question, Igor's expression changed: "What, Vladimir is sending you to kill them?"

Su Long's smile immediately vanished.

"Mr. Igor, it's not very polite of you to ask a question before you've even answered it."

As soon as he finished speaking, a red light immediately appeared in Su Long's eyes.

A beam of high-temperature plasma surged in his eye sockets, emitting a piercing "hissing" sound, and a wave of extremely hot air rushed directly onto Igor's face.

Igor's body tensed up instantly, and the confidence he had just managed to muster vanished completely.

He had no doubt that if he couldn't give this monster a satisfactory answer, his brain would turn into roasted brains.

Igor immediately blurted out the truth about the two elders in a rapid-fire monologue: "I'll tell you, I'll tell you! They're in downtown Chicago! Hiding in an underground safe zone to avoid nuclear radiation!"

"I need a precise location!"

The red light in Sulong's eyes did not go out; in fact, it drew closer.

Igor quickly added, "The safe zone has many entrances, the most common being the 'Night Dance Hall' bar!"

"Go down into the bar's basement cellar; there's a blast door there, and their most elite guards are inside!"

After nodding, the red light in Sulong's eyes slowly disappeared. He then patted Igor on the shoulder: "That's right, that's effective communication. Keep it up. Now, next question."

"The Demon of the Gun descended, and you must have helped quite a bit, right?"

Igor hesitated for half a second, then immediately nodded: "Yes, I used the family's logistics network to help them transport a batch of special goods into the city, and I also took care of the gangs in the South District for them."

"Do you understand them? Do you know what they're doing?"

Surong pressed on, his gaze fixed on Igor's face: "What exactly is this organization?"

Igor gave a wry smile and shook his head: "I really don't know. I can only guess that they want to summon the Demon of Guns, but in reality, to them I'm just a gun dealer and a local thug at best."

Seemingly afraid that Surong wouldn't believe him, he quickly added, "They don't treat me like one of their own at all! They didn't even tell me the exact time and place of the demon's arrival!"

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have rushed to this godforsaken place like a stray dog ​​seeking refuge!"

Sulong looked Igor up and down. The man's pupils were dilated, his breathing was rapid, and his muscles were tense. Moreover, someone like him would find it difficult to fabricate a flawless lie under extreme pressure.

Moreover, logically speaking, if a normal person had information that something extremely strange was about to happen, they would immediately stay far away and would never expose themselves to any risk.

After confirming that he was not lying, Sulong released his hand from Igor's shoulder and then gestured for him to proceed.

"Okay, Mr. Igor, thank you for your cooperation."

"Now that I've finished asking my questions, you can leave."

Igor didn't dare utter a single unnecessary word. He avoided the gold and corpses on the ground as if they were plagues, stumbled out of the safety box, and disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Dania walked to Suron's side with her machete in hand, her brows furrowing as she watched Igor's disheveled retreating figure.

"Let's go, it's time for us to continue our journey."

As he spoke, Su Long turned around, stepped over the melted gold on the ground, and walked straight outside.

Ten minutes later.

The black Mercedes was once again driving on the streets of Chicago's southern suburbs. Su Long sat in the driver's seat, steering with one hand, skillfully avoiding abandoned vehicles and scattered trash on the road.

The sky remained that sickly grayish-yellow, but as they moved deeper into the southern region, the oppressive feeling in the air lessened slightly.

On both sides of the road are rusted and deformed metal GG signs, and the grayish-yellow radiation clouds deprive this wasteland of the chance to receive sunlight.

The streets were lined with dilapidated buildings, and the sidewalks were covered with trash that had been blown in from who-knows-where.

There wasn't a single living person to be seen in the entire southern suburbs. Occasionally, you could only spot a few stray dogs scavenging for food in garbage cans, as if the entire area had been completely abandoned.

Su Long steered with one hand, swerving around a school bus that was blocking the middle of the road.

The school bus was riddled with bullet holes, and the windshield was shattered into pieces. In the distance, wisps of black smoke could still be seen rising from the cooling tower.

The effects of the nuclear power plant explosion and the nuclear bomb have spread throughout the city. The once bustling commercial street is now a ruin, the traffic lights are broken, the utility poles are lying on the ground, and large cables are straddling the road.

Some abandoned supermarkets were left with their doors wide open, their goods looted by rioters. Even the vending machines on the street escaped being smashed to pieces.

Dania sat in the passenger seat, but her eyes were fixed on the driver's seat: "I really didn't expect you to let him go. I thought you would take action as soon as you arrived and kill everyone."

Su Long glanced at the road ahead and revved the engine: "I didn't say I was going to let him go, I just said I'd let him live a little longer."

"I'm just waiting for a better time."

"Don't forget, your father asked me to give Igor a dignified and painless death. And it should be a death that's easy to explain to the family."

"No matter what, Igor was once the second-in-command of the Yuriye Uyghurs and was quite famous among the gangs on the West Coast."

"I could easily kill him in the safe house and then destroy the evidence with a fire, but such an unclear death would cause a lot of trouble."

"Especially the Godfather's side, other members of your family might use this as an excuse to think that the Godfather is purging dissidents. In more serious cases, the entire family might even start to split and fight each other."

Dania nodded, leaning back in her chair. "So, you have to wait until he boards the plane..."

Su Long glanced at the rearview mirror and nodded.

"If we're talking about a dignified way to die, a plane crash should be considered the most luxurious one. It's an aviation accident, and no one can find fault with it."

"Even the people at the Federal Aviation Administration could only conclude that it was a mechanical failure. The Godfather could then easily hold a grand funeral for him and take over the resources that he had spun off without any resistance."

Dania placed her hands on her knees and asked, "So, what's our plan next?"

"Let's head to the southern part of downtown Chicago first. It's not within the fallout zone of the radioactive dust, so it's relatively safe. Also, the 'Night Dance Hall' bar that Igor mentioned is there, so we can check it out on the way."

"But the most important thing right now is to find a safe place to stay and settle you down."

Su Long glanced at the time again as he spoke: "I'll go back to the airport around 7 p.m.."

"Do you need me to come with you?" Upon hearing this, Dania immediately sat up straight.

Suron shook his head, rejecting the suggestion: "No need for that, Dania. The work I need to do tonight requires flying."

Dania pursed her lips, but in the end said nothing, and then put down the axe in her hand.

She knew her own limitations; as a contract-based exorcist, she was at a complete disadvantage in aerial combat.

Surong noticed her disappointment and gently comforted her: "Don't be anxious. I won't treat you like a hothouse flower. After dealing with Igor's matter, there are still two elders and the Church of the Gun Demon behind the scenes."

"This is just the beginning. There are many more battles you will be able to participate in later, but before that, you need to conserve your energy."

Dania regained her composure and nodded emphatically.

……

It was 8 p.m. at the Administrative Airport outside Chicago.

A Gulfstream 650 private jet was parked at the end of the runway, its engines emitting a deep roar.

Igor sat in the spacious leather airline chair, raised his left wrist, and glanced at the time on the dial.

8:05.

He turned to look out the porthole. The tarmac was deserted, with only a few indicator lights flashing in the night. Su Long did not appear.

Igor shook his head, feeling he might be overthinking things. He then pressed the intercom button on the armrest of his seat and gave the instruction to the pilot in front: "Take off immediately. I don't want to stay in this godforsaken place any longer."

The plane began to taxi on the runway, its speed increasing until its nose lifted and it soared into the night sky.

Igor shifted his position, leaning comfortably against the back of his chair, and let out a long breath.

He unbuttoned his suit jacket, letting his tense body relax.

Recalling everything that happened in the safe during the day, he was still shaken. That guy was a monster; he could turn armored doors into gold and shoot lasers from his eyes like Superman.

But so what if he's a monster? Once he's back in Seattle, back in his territory, everything will be different.

Although all his efforts in Chicago were in vain, he has not lost yet. Even if he returns to Seattle, he still has plenty of room to maneuver!

Vladimir had no sons, making the succession of power within the family a major problem.

As long as he is still alive, one day the real power of the Yuriyevi people will surely fall into his hands.

Igor simply couldn't believe that his brother would dare to lay a hand on him in Seattle.

He was the second most powerful figure in the family and a key figure in the family's early development. Eliminating him in front of everyone would make Vladimir's position unstable.

The elders would not stand idly by, and those powerful leaders would also feel threatened and rebel.

Vladimir is a smart man; he would never do something so self-destructive. At most, he would reduce Vladimir's power and confine him to his estate for a period of time.

Once the storm has passed, he can still make a comeback.

Thinking of this, Igor felt much better.

He reached out, picked up the crystal goblet on the table, and downed the red wine in one gulp. The rich liquid flowed down his throat, and then he turned his head, ready to take a good look at the Chicago night view.

But when his gaze passed through the double-layered explosion-proof glass and fell outside the window, the sight that met his eyes stunned him on the spot.

Outside the window, in the pitch-black night and among the clouds, a person is flying?

The other aircraft was flying at the same altitude and with its wings completely level, and its speed was in no way inferior to that of the Gulfstream private jet that was climbing.

That person was none other than Su Long from earlier in the day!

The wind whipped the hem of Su Long's trench coat, making it flutter loudly. He activated the power of the Lord of Wind, manipulating high-pressure air currents to lift his body, suspending him in mid-air above the clouds.

Sulong turned his head and looked through the glass at Igor, whose face was full of shock inside the cabin. He smiled and waved to Igor.

Igor's eyes widened, and the wine glass in his hand fell onto the wool carpet, spilling red wine all over the floor.

He opened his mouth, but only managed to utter a piercing shout: "N!"

Outside the window, Su Long's eyes shone with a blinding red light.

Thermal vision activated.

A beam of high-temperature plasma shot out from his eyes, piercing through the explosion-proof glass and cutting through the metal body.

The high-temperature laser, like a sharp blade drawn from its sheath, sliced ​​from the nose to the tail of the aircraft. The aerospace-grade aluminum alloy that makes up the fuselage melted rapidly at a temperature of several thousand degrees, and orange-red molten iron gushed out from the cut.

The beam of light penetrated the fuel tank at the bottom of the cabin, igniting the aviation fuel.

A massive fireball exploded in the night sky, and the Gulfstream 650 disintegrated in mid-air, turning into countless burning fragments.

The wing broke off, the engine detached, and the burning wreckage, trailing thick smoke, crashed into the wasteland not far from the airport.

Su Long hovered in mid-air, watching the sparks explode as he fell to the ground below, the red light in his eyes gradually fading.