Re-examination

Tu Ran stepped back, her spine pressing against the icy glass of the nutrient pod. Her gaze was steeled as she gathered every ounce of strength and lunged forward.

The pod tipped, crashed down with a crack, and slammed into the He Luo monster. Glass shattered on impact, nutrient fluid splattering everywhere, shards embedding in the creature's fleshy tentacles.

The alarm blared.

Tu Ran didn't waste a second. She tore off her breathing mask and sprinted toward the door.

She remembered the conversation she'd overheard before falling asleep.

There were guards outside.

Behind her, a rustling sound grew closer—the He Luo monster was closing in fast.

It wasn't even afraid of bullets; a few glass shards wouldn't do it much harm.

Despair welled up inside her, tears threatening to spill. She'd only just arrived in this world—couldn't she catch a break?

To make matters worse, her remaining two bombs were still in the changing room with her clothes.

All she could do now was run. She had no way to fight back.

Suddenly, a dark figure shot out from a tall nutrient pod nearby.

Before Tu Ran could react, the world went black—a thin blanket had been thrown over her head.

She struggled to poke her head out and wrapped the blanket around her body, which was nearly bare for the sake of healing.

She looked back.

It was Xie Xu.

He was raising his pistol and firing at the He Luo monster, shifting positions constantly to dodge the tentacles' strikes.

Bullets couldn't kill it, couldn't even draw blood, but they at least restricted its movements and bought some time.

The guards outside finally arrived.

They swarmed in, surrounding the monster. A laser gun emitted a blue beam, sweeping across the creature's fat tentacles, severing them one by one. The acrid stench of burnt flesh filled the room.

In an instant, the once-arrogant monster was reduced to a bare fish head, rolling on the spot—truly like a fish on a chopping board, no metaphor needed.

"Take it back to the research institute," Xie Xu said calmly, staring at the head on the ground.

A group of guards swarmed forward, packing the monster's body fragments into pre-prepared bags.

Xie Xu stepped back from the crowd.

Only then did Tu Ran notice he was wearing nothing but a thin shirt on his upper body.

His hair was a little damp, too. Tu Ran reasonably suspected he'd also been soaking in a nutrient pod just now.

He must have hastily thrown on his clothes and come out after hearing the commotion.

Such a big disturbance had alerted everyone in the Medical Department. If one alien creature could sneak in, more could follow.

The head of the Medical Department arrived in a hurry and, with the guards from the Executive Department, brought the scene under control.

Some of the wounded in the nutrient pods had not yet awakened and couldn't be forced awake. They could only be watched over by guards for now. The pioneers who had already regained consciousness were arranged for re-examination.

At the same time, any pioneer who had come out of the Threshold alive today would have to undergo an even stricter review.

Tu Ran, being the victim who had nearly been swallowed whole, was first led by a nurse into the next room to change her clothes.

Her old clothes were too dirty to wear. The nurse brought her a clean set of casual wear.

Tu Ran slowly put on the clothes, anxiety gnawing at her. She'd managed to bluff her way through the initial examination, but she wouldn't be so lucky in the re-review.

She had no memories of this world at all—she hadn't even known the original body's name until she saw it on the name tag.

What was she supposed to do?

Just then, a familiar voice came from the changing room entrance.

Through the door, Tu Ran recognized it as Xi Chunzhi's, her tone now tinged with indifference and disdain.