Spoiled, Unreasonable, and Crude

Stephen Wells has a strong sense of family honor. He used to watch the footage of his aunt, Mira Wells, being killed by you after she turned into a gene monster on a loop."

"So? He's here to get revenge on me?" Tu Ran's jaw nearly dropped.

All that just for this? A big shot personally coming down to settle scores with a nobody like her?

That didn't quite add up.

"Don't forget, you also killed his cousin, Nick Wells," Zero reminded her coolly.

"He's not dead yet. I only dug out his inner core. He's got another ten days or half a month to live," Tu Ran said, pulling her head back as her communicator buzzed. "Besides, even if Nick Wells did die, it'd be hard to trace it back to me."

She lit up the screen and froze at the messages.

"Where's Xi Chunzhi now?"

"Medical Department."

"You sure?" Tu Ran stared at the two lines on her communicator.

'We have Xi Chunzhi. You have three minutes to come out. We have important matters to discuss with you.'

Perhaps sensing the tone was too heavy, the sender added, 'Don't worry, we won't hurt you.'

"Xi Chunzhi is still in the Medical Department," Zero said, pulling up the surveillance feed of her ward. She was sitting up in bed, a small table in front of her with porridge and side dishes, eating slowly and carefully.

"What does Stephen mean by this? He says Xi Chunzhi is in his hands," Tu Ran said, catching on belatedly. "This guy's bluffing me? He thinks I can't find the Medical Department's surveillance within three minutes?"

"Probably... yes."

"Ha. Let's see what they want to talk about, then."

Tu Ran replied through the communicator: "I'm afraid you might try something, so let's just talk over communicator."

The other side quickly responded: "A face-to-face meeting is more formal."

"Fine." Tu Ran sent a single word, then stepped out from behind the air vehicle that had been shielding her.

She advanced toward Stephen Wells' vehicle and stopped about a dozen meters away.

"This is the spot. Any closer and we'd be in the jamming field," Zero said through the earpiece.

"Let's talk face-to-face right here," Tu Ran said. Her voice, after traveling over a dozen meters, was barely audible to Stephen Wells' side.

Andre: "..."

Stephen Wells: "..."

Stephen Wells closed his eyes briefly. "Turn off the jamming device. Let her come over."

Andre complied immediately and contacted Tu Ran, telling her the jammer was off and she could safely approach.

"Really off?" Tu Ran asked in a low voice.

"Off," Zero said.

Only then did Tu Ran relax and walk toward them.

The bodyguard watched her approach, his glare nearly burning holes through his sunglasses.

Because of her unpredictable behavior, he'd be punished when they got back!

The hostility was so blatant Tu Ran couldn't miss it, but she didn't give it a second thought. She turned to Andre. "I'm out. Release Xi Chunzhi."

Might as well play the part to the end.

"We never took Xi Chunzhi. She's safe in her hospital bed. Sorry for having to force you out this way," Andre said with an apologetic look.

Tu Ran put on a show of anger and irritation at being toyed with, her attitude turning nasty. "What do you want to talk about? Get to the point—I've got work to do."

"From what we understand, you don't have a high rank in the Pioneer Team," Andre said.

"Yeah, so?" Tu Ran crossed her arms.

"Mind telling us why?"

"No skill. Can't gather useful intel in the Threshold, so my rank stays low." She paused, turning the tables. "Seems you're not all that impressive either, if you couldn't even dig that up. I must be an idiot for believing you could threaten to kidnap Xi Chunzhi. Who are you really? If you don't say, I'm leaving."

Andre: "..." It was the first time he'd met such a spoiled, unreasonable, and crude pioneer.

"Allow me to formally introduce you. Before you stands Stephen Wells, the head of the Wells family," Andre said with a slight lift of his chin.

Honestly, he wanted to see this crude pioneer be struck dumb by the family head's reputation.

"You might want to reel in the bragging. Why would the head of the Wells family come to see me?" Tu Ran rolled her eyes, completely unconvinced, and turned to leave.

Andre: "..."

Well, she was just a minor pioneer, never having dealt with Federation higher-ups, so this reaction was understandable.

"Don't go just yet. We know you have an inner core!"

Tu Ran stopped in her tracks and looked back at Andre, eyes narrowing. "What's an inner core?"

"Ha. Tu Ran, is it? You're quite the actress."

The voice came from inside the car window, laced with a hint of mockery.

Sure enough, a big shot's voice was three parts nonchalance, three parts sneer, and four parts indifference.

A leather shoe appeared before Tu Ran, followed by an impossibly long leg extending from the car seat and stepping onto the ground. Watching the scene, Tu Ran's mind conjured up mantis legs.

A tall, upright man stepped out of the car, looking down at Tu Ran.

"I've seen some of your performances killing gene monsters. Quite impressive. I happen to be short a bodyguard, and I'd like to hire you now."

Tu Ran: "??" What was going on? Did a man like this lack a capable bodyguard? Even if he did, why personally recruit one? With a snap of his fingers, thousands would fight for the position.

"I'll pay you ten times what the Pioneer Team gives you."

Tu Ran forced a dry laugh. "Just because I have an inner core? Surely you're not short on subordinates with inner cores."

"True, I'm not. But what I lack is a subordinate who can identify other people's abilities."

Tu Ran's brow furrowed suddenly.

"Don't make that face," Stephen said, giving her a contemptuous smile. "Have you ever wondered why Zhao Yan passed the memory reader?"

"He defected to you?" Tu Ran was taken aback. With so much happening recently, she'd forgotten all about that.

"Yes. I helped him pass the memory reader, and he helps me identify who has abilities," Stephen said calmly.

Tu Ran caught a key word as she listened: identify.

"Zhao Yan's ability is... detecting whether someone has supernatural powers?" Tu Ran couldn't believe it. That bastard clearly possessed 'telepathy,' able to hear everyone's thoughts within thirty meters.

"Yes. As long as someone's within thirty meters of him, he can tell if they possess abilities," Stephen said, lifting his chin.

Tu Ran confirmed it: this man before her was a sucker, being played by Zhao Yan left and right. His thoughts had already been read, yet he naively believed Zhao Yan could only detect abilities.

Tu Ran wanted to laugh, but she held it in.

She was dying to see this sucker's reaction when he found out the truth, but she couldn't say it now. If she did, Stephen would only become wary of her too.