Jason gave an awkward laugh and hurriedly changed the subject.

"Rob, let me introduce someone first. This is the senior I always tell you about. The reason I managed to make it here safely is because of her..."

At those words, Robert’s attention finally shifted toward the three people on the speedboat.

The first person he looked at was Suzy. Then he stepped forward and extended his hand toward her.

"I’m Robert Hunter. Thank you for taking care of this idiot."

Suzy smiled softly. "It was nothing. Back in college, Jason helped me plenty too."

She reached out and shook his hand politely. His palm was rough, calloused thick from years of hard training, the texture scraping faintly against her much softer skin.

Thomas stood just behind her.

The handshake between Suzy and Robert was nothing more than basic courtesy. Their hands touched only briefly before separating almost immediately.

Suzy withdrew her hand, the faint smile never leaving her face. Her eyes curved gently as she quietly observed Robert without making it obvious.

The man before her was tall and straight-backed, broad-shouldered with long legs, dressed in camouflage military gear that gave him a clean, sharp presence.

His features were coldly handsome. Narrow single eyelids. Eyes carrying a faint sense of distance and restraint that made him seem naturally aloof whenever he looked at someone.

Another top-tier man, Suzy thought inwardly.

At the same time, Robert was observing her as well. But for some reason, the smile on her face suddenly felt strangely dazzling to him.

He looked away first.

"You’re too kind," he said evenly.

[Suitable binding target detected: Robert Hunter]

[Level: SSS]

[Affinity insufficient. Binding unavailable.]

The abrupt system notification nearly startled Suzy.

He was a binding target too?!

A flicker of joy crossed her eyes. She had not expected to encounter another one so soon.

Then again, with Robert’s looks and physique, it made perfect sense. He was every bit as impressive as Thomas and the others.

What a pity.

His affinity level was still too low, so binding was impossible for now. Otherwise, she could have collected another reward for free.

After greeting Suzy, Robert exchanged a few brief words with Leonard and Thomas as well.

Then he invited the group into the cement factory.

Robert clearly held considerable authority here. With him leading the way, no one stopped them again.

He brought them into an office.

"You can rest here for now."

There were still things he needed to discuss with Jason, so he gestured for him to come outside first. The two of them left the office together.

Right before leaving, Jason shot Suzy a meaningful look, silently telling her not to worry. He would convince his cousin to give them the materials.

Soon, only Suzy, Leonard, and Thomas remained inside the office.

The office was clearly meant for someone important. The décor was extravagant, polished and imposing. Even the massive redwood desk looked outrageously expensive.

Leonard swept his gaze around the room before turning to Suzy.

"Do you think Jason’s cousin will agree?"

Suzy shook her head. "I don’t know."

All they could do now was hope the factory did not urgently need the cement themselves.

But realistically, that seemed unlikely. If they did not need the cement, why would they occupy this place in the first place?

Suzy sighed quietly.

Thomas gently patted her shoulder, silently telling her not to worry too much.

Outside the office, Jason and Robert stood facing each other.

Robert crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at his troublesome cousin.

"Talk. What exactly happened to you? And what’s with the injuries on your face?"

Jason’s expression immediately collapsed. He looked extremely unwilling to answer. Everything he had gone through was humiliating beyond words. If Robert found out the full story, he would laugh himself to death.

No...maybe not laugh. Maybe beat him to death instead.

Jason fidgeted awkwardly.

"Not gonna talk? Fine." Robert raised a brow and casually cracked his knuckles.

The moment Jason saw that movement, he folded instantly. "Rob, I really didn’t mean to ditch you! Things happened! My boat got stolen!"

In truth, Jason’s trip outside had not only been for gathering supplies. His real goal had been to find Robert.

A week earlier, the two had finally managed to reconnect. They had arranged a meeting location, and Robert had even sent a squad to pick Jason up.

But the team waited a long time and never saw him, eventually forcing them to retreat.

What Robert did not know was that on the agreed day, Jason’s boat had been stolen.

Without a boat, there was no way for him to reach the rendezvous point.

By the time he finally struggled his way there through countless difficulties, the squad had already withdrawn. The two sides missed each other completely.

Fortunately, Jason’s luck was not entirely terrible. Right when he had no idea what to do next, he happened to encounter another survivor group and naturally joined them.

And then came today.

He had gone out scavenging with the group, only to be captured by the bald man and later rescued by Suzy and the others.

What he never expected was that all those twists and turns would somehow lead him directly to Robert.

Even now, the whole thing still felt surreal to him, almost dreamlike.

Robert himself looked slightly dazed. Back then, he had genuinely thought this idiot cousin of his was dead.

Yet somehow Jason was still alive and had even stumbled straight to his base by sheer coincidence.

"Rob, I’m telling you, Suzy is seriously my lucky goddess! I never would’ve imagined I’d run into you here!"

Jason was so excited he could barely sit still.

"We’ll forget about you missing the meeting." Robert cut straight to the point. "Now explain your injuries."

"Uh..." Jason hesitated briefly before recounting how he had been captured by the bald man and rescued by Suzy’s group.

Naturally, he skipped the part about being kidnapped to be sold off for money.

Instead, he focused heavily on how well Suzy had treated him. She fed him, treated his injuries, and took care of him the entire way.

By the end of Jason’s storytelling, Suzy practically sounded like an angel descending from heaven.

Robert remained still.

"So," he said flatly, "what’s your actual goal here?"

Jason immediately grinned flatteringly and scooted closer.

"Robby, I know your pull here. My friend came here because she needs some cement. Does the factory still have any? Can you spare them some?"

Robert let out a low chuckle. "As expected. I knew all that emotional buildup wasn’t leading anywhere good. Turns out you want cement for your friend."

He paused before continuing. "This batch of cement is reserved for construction work at the base."

Jason’s face instantly fell.

"But..." Robert added leisurely, "considering she saved your life, if the amount isn’t too large, I can spare some for her. That much authority, I still have. Any more than that, though, and we’ll have to ask Dad."

"Rob, I knew you were the best!" Jason’s eyes lit up immediately.

After shamelessly buttering Robert up, he hurriedly asked, "Uncle’s here too?"

Robert nodded, though his gaze dimmed slightly. "Yeah. He’s here."

"That’s great! Then you have to lead me to him later!"

"Fine."

"Then I’ll go tell Suzy first. Robby, what’s the maximum amount you can spare?"

Robert silently raised a hand and gestured a number. "Got it." Jason nodded. "I’ll come find you again later."

Then he rushed excitedly toward the office. "Suzy!"

He burst through the door with visible excitement. "I talked to my cousin! He agreed to spare you some cement!"

Suzy’s eyes instantly brightened. "How much?"

Jason flashed a hand signal, his grin widening proudly. "This much! Is it enough?"

Suzy looked at the number and quickly calculated in her head.

At present, the simplest method for upgrading the house system was collecting massive amounts of cement, then converting the excess into other required materials.

Just the cement requirement alone demanded one hundred bags. If she wanted to complete everything in one go, she needed one thousand bags.

Compared to the amount Robert offered, her own demand sounded absolutely outrageous.

Jason noticed her expression and hesitated. "Suzy...is it still not enough?"

Suzy gave a helpless smile and shook her head. "Not enough. Sorry."

It was not just insufficient. It was nowhere near enough.

"Then...how much do you actually need? Just give me a number."

"At least one thousand bags."

Jason sucked in a sharp breath. "That many?!"

Even Thomas and Leonard stared at her in disbelief.

"That much cement...how are we even supposed to transport it back?" Jason asked the soul-crushing question.

"You don’t need to worry about that," Suzy replied calmly. "I have a way to move it."

...What kind of method could possibly transport that much cement?

Jason was utterly confused.