The Urge to Kill

Moreover, Xi Chunzhi had written it in her notebook—just four words. If she could remember it directly, why write it down? This further confirmed that the "Seven Seconds" ability was something she would forget after seven seconds.

In any case, the likelihood that this ability had previously belonged to Xi Chunzhi was high.

Tu Ran continued reading. Nick Wells had many other abilities.

【The Well-Fed Know Not the Hunger of the Starving】

Description: First, congratulations—you are the former. Swallow this inner core and you will never know hunger again. No need to replenish energy; you yourself possess an inexhaustible, endless supply.

Grade: Beginner

Aside from these three, he had the beginner ability 【Sleepless Night】, which allowed him to stay fully energized without sleeping.

【Meticulous Observation】, Beginner—allowed him to see minute details invisible to the naked eye.

Tu Ran figured it was roughly equivalent to a microscope. Honestly, such an ability wasn't of much use in the Federation. Plenty of people had installed the most common mechanical eyes that possessed this capability—in fact, mechanical eyes were even more comprehensive, offering night vision, magnification, data analysis, and so on.

【Light Convergence】—Beginner. Tu Ran skimmed the description and summarized: someone with this ability was like a solar panel, absorbing and storing sunlight during the day and releasing it whenever needed. Boiling water or cooking a meal was no problem. But using the convergence power to attack? Forget it. The energy wouldn't be nearly enough. Besides, this ability was purely a support-type skill.

Tu Ran looked over the remaining three abilities one by one—all scattered, trivial abilities of the chicken-feather-and-garlic-skin variety. Not a single one was practical.

Nick Wells had nine abilities in total on him, all support-type, not a single attack-type among them. Among the support abilities, only 【Eye of Fortuna】 and 【Seven Seconds】 were a cut above.

Nick Wells had collected so many abilities—heaven knows how many inner cores he'd consumed, how many Pioneers he'd secretly disposed of—and all he'd gotten were these useless inner cores.

Tu Ran couldn't help but mock him. This man really had terrible luck.

"I often have hallucinations," Tu Ran answered Nick Wells' question from earlier.

"Hallucinations?" Nick Wells, fulfilling his duty as a doctor, probed deeper. "Can you describe what the hallucinations look like?"

"Mm…" Tu Ran bit her finger in a show of anxiety, then quickly tapped the table between them. "Right here—can't you see it? There's a mushroom here. A purple one."

Nick Wells instinctively looked down. At the spot where Tu Ran had tapped, a trace of blood seeped rapidly into the surface. Then, a tiny spore emerged—micron-level. With his 【Meticulous Observation】, Nick Wells could clearly see the small spore. Next, the spore quickly produced hyphae. The hyphae spread, absorbing moisture and gases from the air to form a mushroom fruiting body. The fruiting body expanded explosively, and within a single second, it had formed a delicate little mushroom.

Nick Wells watched all of this, nearly toppling off his chair. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, then looked again at the table before him. The mushroom was still there, radiating a faint purple glow.

What was going on? Why was he seeing the patient's hallucinations? Had his nerves gone bad too?

He had no time to think further. A wave of dizziness hit his brain, his thoughts gradually blurred, until he completely lost consciousness.

Tu Ran watched his eyes gradually glaze over and tentatively commanded in her mind, "Stand up."

Nick Wells obeyed her command in a daze, rising from his chair. "Phantom Realm" had taken effect.

"Sit down," Tu Ran said. Nick Wells obediently sat back down.

"Are there cameras here?" Tu Ran surveyed the surroundings and asked in her mind.

"Yes," Nick Wells said, dazed.

"Turn them off." Nick Wells obediently fiddled with the advanced communicator on his left wrist, then said, "Done."

"Do you know Xi Chunzhi?" Tu Ran rested her elbow on the edge of the table, her wrist swaying in a steady rhythm.

"No," Nick Wells said, his shoulders slumped, eyes vacant as he stared at Tu Ran—like a man whose soul had been ripped away.

"No?" Tu Ran curled her lips in a mocking sneer. "How many Pioneers' inner cores have you consumed?"

"Seven."

"Just seven, and you don't even remember them—out of sight, out of mind?" Tu Ran gave a cold, derisive laugh.

"Mm," Nick Wells admitted. He was a tycoon. Whatever he wanted, there was a bunch of people scrambling to deliver it to him. Why would he need to dirty his own hands, let alone remember the names of his victims?

Tu Ran licked her molars. She couldn't stand people like this. She wasn't a good person herself, but that didn't stop her from detesting those even worse than her.

The urge to kill.

"Do you have a knife?" she asked coldly.

Nick Wells: "Yes."

"Find it. Do it yourself. Dig out the inner core at the back of your neck."

Nick Wells obeyed. From a drawer, he took out a dagger made of pure gold, its sheath studded with a riot of gems. Drawing the blade, it gleamed brilliantly, the edge razor-sharp.

Tu Ran: "…" Was this man's taste really that tacky? Then again… she liked it. She wanted it. But once Nick Wells died, this dagger would be stolen property—taking it would only bring her trouble.

"Hurry up and dig!" Tu Ran urged. The sooner it was done, the better; it would keep her from being distracted by temptation.

Nick Wells reached his left hand behind his back, aimed at the nape of his neck, and plunged the blade in without hesitation. The excruciating pain didn't slow his movements in the slightest. He didn't make a sound as he sliced open his own neck. When he felt the depth was right, he slipped two fingers of his other hand inside, stirred, and searched for the inner core.

The smell of blood gradually spread through the sealed room. Tu Ran could smell it too, and she furrowed her brow almost imperceptibly.

Finally, Nick Wells found it. He pinched a bead and placed it in the center of the table between them. Behind him, blood flowed endlessly, already soaking through his clothes.

Such was the power of an ability. His pain receptors seemed numbed, his entire being reduced to a slave, carrying out his master's orders without a trace of doubt.

Tu Ran often thanked her luck that the "Phantom Realm" ability had fallen into her hands. If someone else had used it against her, she might not have escaped either.

Tu Ran pulled a tissue from the box beside her, wrapped it around her hand, and picked up the inner core from the table. She balled it up and tucked it into her clothes.

She glanced once more at Nick Wells' vacant eyes and began her cleanup.

"Have your two bodyguards remove their cameras and come in." She needed two scapegoats. Even if she couldn't completely clear her name, at least she could share some of the suspicion.

Nick Wells relayed her orders.