Still Partners?

His expression was grim, his eyes dark and heavy.

This was the first time he had witnessed the true power of supernatural abilities.

Such power, which no level of technological advancement could match, was bound to ignite a frenzy of desperate pursuit. It was easy to imagine the chaos that would erupt if such abilities were ever made public.

On the other side, Tu Ran couldn't find any opportunity to get close to Zhao Yan.

She had "Blink," and Zhao Yan had "Time Freeze." Time and again, she would reach his side, only for him to vanish with a single use of his ability just as she was about to strike.

Worse, he always seemed to know her next move before she made it, planting bullets exactly where she intended to dodge.

This left her with no safe footing, scrambling and leaping about.

Gritting her teeth, Tu Ran unleashed her trump card—"Blossom and Moonlight!"

Zhao Yan, who could read her thoughts, sneered. "You'd actually bother with such a useless ability?"

Useless ability?

Tu Ran curled her lips. You're about to find out just how useless it really is!

A seed took root in Zhao Yan's stomach, sprouting at several hundred times the normal growth rate, sending out multiple vines that lengthened and thickened rapidly, soon filling his entire stomach. When space ran out, the vines began creeping down into his intestines and up into his trachea and esophagus, forcing their way out.

Zhao Yan immediately sensed something was wrong inside his body.

"What did you do to me?!" His temples throbbed as a foreboding feeling surged.

"You'll find out soon enough," Tu Ran said with a cruel smile.

The next second, pain shot through Zhao Yan's abdomen, as if something inside was trying to tear its way out.

He doubled over, clutching his stomach, and immediately activated "Mind Control" to resist the thing trying to emerge.

"Mind Control" could manipulate any object within ten meters, and the plant growing inside him, in a sense, counted as an object.

He used his mind to compress the plant's volume, kneading it together like dough, forcing the vines that had spread into his trachea and intestines to retract.

This was no easy feat; he had to maintain intense concentration at all times. If he slipped even slightly, the thorny vines would lacerate his internal organs. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

How could Tu Ran just stand by and watch him complete this? If she didn't act now, when would she?

She raised her machine gun and sprayed bullets at Zhao Yan, the muzzle flashing with sparks.

Zhao Yan barely managed to split his attention, wrapping his entire body in "Mind Control," the hail of bullets rebounding off him.

The bullets reversed course and flew back toward Tu Ran's position.

But Tu Ran had already used "Blink" to flash behind him.

All the bullets embedded themselves in the wall behind her, leaving a pockmarked mess.

Bullets were objects, and Zhao Yan's "Mind Control" could capture them.

Tu Ran casually tossed aside her machine gun, shifted her stance, and closed in for hand-to-hand combat.

She swung a powerful kick at his face, carrying a burst of wind.

Zhao Yan instinctively raised his gun to block, but the heavy-caliber submachine gun, weighing 7.5 kilograms, split cleanly in two from the impact.

Zhao Yan was sent staggering backward by the force.

He was stunned by the sheer strength Tu Ran displayed.

In fact, Tu Ran had woven "Herculean Strength" into the kick.

Having so many abilities was certainly an advantage—she could crush her opponent with a single move.

With Zhao Yan's focus disrupted, the plant inside him exploded in compensatory growth, ten times faster than before, rapidly overrunning his intestines and esophagus.

Zhao Yan's face twisted in pain. He tried once more to use "Mind Control" to slow its spread.

Tu Ran didn't give him the chance. She landed a series of punches on his helmet in quick succession. Though the blows didn't directly harm Zhao Yan inside, the massive impacts rattled his head, leaving him dizzy and unable to concentrate.

The rapidly growing vines seized the opportunity, bursting through his belly—several shoots tearing through his abdomen, while others clawed their way out of his mouth.

Zhao Yan's body convulsed in agony, his head forced back, neck arcing straight. Blood-red flowers bloomed from his lips. He stared at them in despair, staggered, and crumpled to his knees.

Tu Ran spun and kicked his helmet, sending Zhao Yan flying into the wall. Dust exploded as he slammed against it, then slid down, half-collapsed against the base, silent.

Tu Ran picked up the machine gun she'd discarded and walked toward the corner.

Bright red flowers tore through the fabric of his combat suit, blooming all over his body. Inside the transparent helmet, flowers filled every inch, like a crystal ball—if one could ignore Zhao Yan's ghastly pale face.

"He's dead," Tu Ran said.

Xie Xu, watching from a distance, fell silent at the sight of her back.

He had witnessed her entire handling of Zhao Yan: the endless array of abilities—rapid wound recovery, Blink, controlling plant growth inside someone's body, abnormal strength...

That was just what she'd shown in this one fight. She likely had even more abilities she hadn't revealed.

She was too strong.

Too strong to be controlled.

Too strong to decide his life or death.

He didn't like that feeling.

Just as Zhao Yan had been a threat to him, Tu Ran now posed an even greater threat.

She wasn't loyal to him, nor did she take his partnership offer seriously. To her, he was expendable—whatever benefits he could provide were limited.

A partnership is a process of mutual profit. When evaluating whether someone could bring him "benefit," he also often reflected on whether he could offer them the same value in return.

Only when both sides gained equally could the partnership hold.

Clearly, he couldn't offer Tu Ran enough at the moment.

If he wanted to maintain this partnership, he'd have to find a way to increase his own worth.

Or, alternatively, end the partnership outright—eliminate her before she grew even stronger.

"He only has one inner core. How are we splitting that?" Tu Ran's sudden voice cut through his thoughts.

She had already dug out Zhao Yan's inner core.

Wiping it clean with a corner of his uniform, she held it up for inspection.

Time Freeze and Mind Control weren't a problem—she could pass those to Xie Xu. But Mind Reading was absolutely not something she'd hand over.

And by the same token, Xie Xu certainly wouldn't want to give up Mind Reading either.

Xie Xu reined in his thoughts and walked toward her.

Tu Ran stood up, cradling the core in her palm.

The moment Xie Xu's gaze landed on her, she opened her palm—a purple hallucinogenic mushroom stood upright in her hand.

Xie Xu's vision spun, consciousness slipping away. The last thing he saw was the smile on Tu Ran's lips.