Encountering a Human Again

Right now, she leaned toward staying inside the Threshold.

But no matter where she stayed, she had to get rid of the recording ring on her wrist first.

It was like a ticking time bomb; until she could remove it, Tu Ran couldn't feel at ease.

Standing up, Tu Ran headed toward the cave.

She'd get some sleep and figure things out tomorrow.

The next morning, the sky was still dim, the Threshold having just weathered its night. Tu Ran sorted through and inventoried all her gear, and by the time she finished, the sky had brightened.

She woke up Fatty.

She fed it a piece of compressed biscuit.

After the two of them—one human, one bird—finished their compressed biscuits, they continued on their way.

“Fatty, I need an ability that can destroy this bracelet. Do you know of any creature whose racial talent is related to destruction?”

Fatty stared at the bracelet wrapped tightly in cloth strips on her wrist and shook its little head. “Every mutant in this world can cause destruction. Even our Danghu clan—we dig holes here, dig holes there all the time.”

Destruction was too broad a category; it wasn't easy to pin down.

“We'll just run into it as we go,” Tu Ran sighed. “We're bound to come across something.”

Actually, she had another idea.

A way out that didn't necessarily involve destroying the bracelet.

She'd thought of it the moment she'd obtained the “Adamantine Body” ability.

Cut off her hand. Not all the way—just halfway, enough to slip the bracelet off.

With the Adamantine Body's rapid regeneration, she might grow it back in under five minutes.

But the pain was unavoidable.

Just thinking about it made Tu Ran's hair stand on end.

So she'd already scrapped that plan.

Today, luck was on her side. Only an hour into their journey, the one human, one ball-shaped bird came across a tree full of red fruit.

Fatty immediately pounced on it, getting juice all over its head as it ate.

While munching, it also stuffed some into its flat, deflated sling bag.

Tu Ran had no appetite, so she left it there and wandered off to look around nearby.

The area was full of trees, their trunks thicker than any she'd encountered before, though their leaves weren't very lush due to lack of water.

After circling around, she didn't find any other fruit trees, which showed just how precious that lone one was.

Checking the time, Tu Ran figured Fatty had eaten its fill by now, so she headed back.

On the way back, Tu Ran heard a human voice.

She hadn't misheard—it was definitely human, and a male voice at that.

Because of the distance, Tu Ran couldn't make out what he was saying, but the direction was where Fatty was.

Fatty was a mutant.

Especially in the eyes of a Pioneer, it was a completely harmless mutant that could be easily subdued.

Tu Ran quickened her pace.

Based on last time's experience, Tu Ran didn't show herself directly. Instead, she crept quietly, using tree trunks as cover, and closed in fast.

The man's voice grew clearer.

“I finally manage to find something edible, and you, you wild chicken, went and ruined it all!” The man was furious.

“Squawk, squawk, squawk-squawk, squawk-squawk.”

Fatty was protesting.

“What are you squawking about? I don't understand! What's in that bag you've got? Hand it over!”

“Squawk-squawk, squawk-squawk-squawk-squawk-squawk.”

Fatty said, “No way, this is what my boss made for me.”

“Throw it over! Or I'll shoot!”

“Squawk-squawk.”

Fatty: “Not giving it! My boss will be here any minute! She'll blast you to bits!”

Tu Ran just wanted to say, at a time like this, it's just a bag—just hand it over.

She was already very close to Fatty.

From behind a tree trunk, she saw the man.

Her fellow human.

His black Pioneer combat suit was tattered, his helmet gone. The only things he seemed to have on him were a machine gun in his hand and a dagger at his waist.

Tu Ran had serious doubts whether the machine gun had any bullets left.

Given how worked up he was, if it had bullets, he probably would have fired already instead of wasting time like this.

But what really caught Tu Ran's attention was the light screen above his head.

Yes, a light screen.

She saw a light screen hovering over his head.

【Wheel of Time】

The wielder can turn the gears of time on any object, causing it to return to a past state or advance to a future state.

Note: The Wheel of Time can only be used on objects, not living beings. Activating it consumes a great deal of energy, so you'd better be prepared to wind it.

Ability Level: Intermediate

Tu Ran was stunned. With an ability to manipulate time so freely, why was this man so down and out?

Wouldn't that mean he could reload his gun without end, or refill the fruit tree after it was picked?

Did he not know he had this ability? Or did it consume too much energy and he was reluctant to use it?

Regardless, this ability was right in front of her—she couldn't just ignore it.

Tu Ran bit her finger and smeared blood on her shoulder.

The man's “Wheel of Time” might be Intermediate, but it was a support-type ability. Her own basic support-type “Illusory Realm” could suppress support abilities of any level.

On her shoulder, a vibrant mushroom quickly sprouted, grew, and formed into a fist-sized mushroom that kept shifting colors—just looking at it was mesmerizing.

Tu Ran kept her gaze fixed on the man's back, thinking to herself: Fall forward, and pin the bracelet under your body.

The man, as if his soul had been yanked out, pitched straight forward, his right arm—the one wearing the bracelet—folded against his chest, pressed firmly beneath him.

Fatty was startled by his movement and jumped back.

At the same time, it muttered, “Fatty didn't touch you, you fell on your own. Don't blame Fatty.”

It had no idea Tu Ran was nearby.

Tu Ran thought again: You're just too tired. Sleep a little, and you'll feel better...

The man slowly closed his eyes. He really was exhausted, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, and under Tu Ran's hypnotic suggestion, he fell asleep quickly.

Only when she was sure everything was safe did Tu Ran step out from behind the tree.

At the sight of her, Fatty jumped up excitedly. “Ah, boss, you're finally—”

Tu Ran made a shushing gesture, and Fatty immediately swallowed the rest of its words.

Tu Ran walked over to the man, crouched down, and studied the back of his neck.

Where would human inner cores be hidden?

Could it also be at the back of the neck?

But she'd eaten so many inner cores, and each one turned to smoke the moment it hit her throat, disappearing. It didn't feel like they were stored at the back of her neck.

How was she supposed to find it?

Dig it out with a knife?

Thinking that, she drew her dagger.

When the blade tip came down, she hesitated.

She didn't trust her own skill. The back of the neck was so fragile—what if she stabbed him to death?

And what if his inner core wasn't at the back of his neck, and she cut the wrong place?

After hesitating a few times, Tu Ran pressed her palm against his body.