Brainwashing

Tu Ran's voice carried a hypnotic lilt, drifting lazily to Xie Xu's ears.

"The only reason I beat Zhao Yan is that I'm faster—I have a rapid-movement ability. Zhao Yan couldn't react in time, so even with all his power, I still killed him... Get it?"

Xie Xu nodded blankly.

Tu Ran curved her lips. How could she ever let anyone else know what abilities she had?

Every single one of her abilities was a trump card, and she never knew which one might save her life in a crisis. If others learned of them and used that knowledge against her, it would only bring misfortune.

She wouldn't allow that. Even the slightest possibility had to be nipped in the bud.

Looking at Xie Xu, now completely dazed and under the control of the hallucinogenic mushroom, Tu Ran figured she might as well go all the way and brainwash him properly.

"You've never thought about killing me, you know that? You need me. You'll spare no effort to help me. Any request I make, you'll do your best to fulfill. You won't suspect me, and you're willing to give everything for my safety."

Tu Ran chanted the words without a shred of shame.

Considering that Xie Xu had a sharp mind, having such words pop into his head out of nowhere might arouse his suspicion, so she tried to make the story as plausible as she could.

"I'm a very trustworthy person. Since I agreed to be your partner, I won't easily stab you in the back. I'm someone you can rely on—more reliable than Li Wenchuan, more than your mo—"

Oh wait, what if he didn't trust his mother?

"More trustworthy than the person you trust the most, got it?"

Xie Xu nodded mechanically.

Usually, all she ever saw was his utter contempt for everything. Seeing him this obedient felt a little strange to her.

But her goal was achieved, and Tu Ran was in a good mood.

She blew Zhao Yan's corpse to pieces, then was about to crush the hallucinogenic mushroom when a thought suddenly struck her.

Had the surveillance here really all been cleared by Xie Xu?

He was such a cautious man—wouldn't he also worry about being silenced and leave behind a recording of his own?

She eyed him suspiciously and probed, "Did you keep any record of everything that just happened?"

Xie Xu nodded.

Old fox! Tu Ran cursed inwardly.

"Where?"

Xie Xu pointed at his right eye.

Tu Ran squinted, leaning forward to examine his right eye. It was deep blue, nothing special about it. "What do you mean?"

"There's a chip implanted in my right eye that automatically records everything I want to see."

Hiss. That was a bit troublesome.

"Is there a way to erase the recording from just now?"

If it couldn't be erased... then she'd have to say sorry.

Xie Xu closed his eyes, his eyeballs shifting. After at most three seconds, he opened them again. "Erased."

"That's it?" Tu Ran tilted her head, examining his right eye. It looked no different from before. "You're not messing with me, are you?"

"The chip's storage is limited and needs to be cleared in time, so it's equipped with a quick-clear function triggered by brainwave intervention," Xie Xu said.

Tu Ran silently marveled at how advanced that was.

"Listen. You're a man of your word. You promised me you wouldn't leak what happened in the East District, so you didn't use your right eye to record anything. Got it?"

Xie Xu nodded.

Tu Ran crushed the hallucinogenic mushroom with a single slap. "Wake up."

As her words fell, Xie Xu's consciousness returned.

He stared blankly at Tu Ran before him.

She was holding an inner core glowing with a silvery light, watching him without blinking.

He vaguely felt the scene was familiar, as if he'd once seen someone holding something and looking at him just like this—except that person had been smiling, while Tu Ran in front of him wore a blank expression.

But he couldn't remember where he'd seen it.

"What are you staring at?" Tu Ran frowned, raising her hand higher, almost pressing it to Xie Xu's eyelids. "Zhao Yan's inner core. How do we split it?"

Xie Xu raised a hand to rub his temples, dispelling those strange sensations.

Glancing at the core, he said, "Destroy it."

"What?" Tu Ran's eyes went wide, staring at him in disbelief, wondering if she'd heard wrong.

"You don't want to give it to me, right? With this kind of ability, whoever takes it will be a threat to the other. Destroy it."

With that, he turned and walked away.

He didn't seem to care at all whether Tu Ran would secretly keep the core for herself.

Tu Ran blinked. Sure, what Xie Xu said was all the lines she'd crafted beforehand—it was also the best solution they could think of at the moment—but for him to say it so calmly without even haggling felt a bit off to her.

Could it be that her brainwashing had actually worked on him?

Tu Ran accepted that explanation in her heart.

Placing the core in her palm, she clenched her fist and activated Landslide.

When she opened her palm again, the core had crumbled into a fine powder. She casually scattered it on the ground and followed Xie Xu out of the place.

As the two emerged from the East Gate, they ran straight into a squad from the Inspection Department.

They compared Tu Ran's appearance to the photo on their communicators a few times, confirming she was the person they'd come to arrest.

"Please come with us," said the lead inspector, gesturing for her to follow.

They were right at the East Gate, with a clear view all around. The Medical Department's temporary rest area was nearby, and the inspectors' conspicuous yellow uniforms drew everyone's attention.

People began whispering—why were the inspectors here? What did capturing gene monsters have to do with them?

Were they really that overreaching?

And when they saw the inspectors gesture for Tu Ran to come along, they started speculating whether Tu Ran had done something illegal enough for the Inspection Department to chase her all the way here.

Ding Naiqing especially craned his neck to get a look.

He couldn't see clearly, let alone hear anything, and when he tried to move closer, Yao Bei grabbed him and shook her head. "The Inspection Department is carrying out official business. No onlookers allowed."

Ding Naiqing: "...Fine."

Tu Ran stood still. "Reason?"

The inspector tapped his communicator, and an image projected into the air: Xie Hong's corpse, face down, helmet missing, the back of his neck brutally sliced open, blood pooling on the ground.

"You are suspected of the murder of General Xie Hong. We are taking you back to the Inspection Department for further investigation."

Tu Ran exchanged a glance with Xie Xu, who gave a slight nod.

He'd handle the rest.

The murder charge wouldn't stick to her.

"Let's go," Tu Ran said, walking ahead toward the Inspection Department's vehicle parked nearby.

The inspectors quickly followed, surrounding her as if afraid she might bolt.

Once inside the car, Tu Ran sat in the designated suspect seat in the middle, with guns pointed at her from all four directions.

Cameras inside the vehicle monitored her from every angle, with no blind spots—if she made so much as a suspicious move, she'd be shot in the head instantly.

Tu Ran felt utterly speechless.

If she'd wanted to run, she'd have done it long ago. Why else would she willingly get into the car?