Threats

"That world is beautiful. Humans and nature don't get along perfectly, but it's much better than here. There are green mountains and clear waters, cattle and sheep everywhere, and vast tracts of land for growing food. No tasteless synthetic meals. There are no aberrants there, no Federal Government. Ordinary people are very happy."

As she spoke, Tu Ran's memories drifted back to that world, and her expression softened without her realizing it.

"Is that world called Earth?"

Tu Ran sat up straight abruptly.

"You... you..." She was so excited she couldn't string words together. "You're from Earth too?!"

"No."

Her huge expectations came crashing down, and Tu Ran deflated at once.

"I know someone who came from there," Xie Xu said.

"Who?" Tu Ran perked up instantly.

Where was her fellow countryman?

"Li Wenchuan." Xie Xu's thin lips parted and closed, spitting out two words.

Tu Ran's eyes went wide. Li Wenchuan? The team leader on this operation?

Her fellow countryman was actually that impressive?!

She suddenly felt like she had a powerful backer.

"Don't think about transferring out of this position." Xie Xu threw cold water on her, dousing her enthusiasm in an instant.

"Why not?" she demanded indignantly.

"Because Tu Ran signed a ten-year contract as a pioneer. You're living in her body now, so you have to bear her responsibilities. And as for your so-called soul from another world, no one but me will believe it."

"But I don't know anything! Sending me on such dangerous missions against aberrants—you're just sending me to my death!" Tu Ran gritted her teeth. She'd thought that with Li Wenchuan as her backer, she could pull some strings to get out of the Pioneer Team and live an ordinary life—but apparently that dream wouldn't come true either.

"That's why I assigned you three extra helpers," Xie Xu said unhurriedly. "If you can't complete the mission even with help, then there's no need for you to return to Federal Headquarters alive."

Tu Ran froze, then slammed her fists on the table. "Are you threatening me?"

A hint of disdain flickered at the corner of Xie Xu's eyes. "You're not even worth that."

Tu Ran's heart sank into the abyss. She'd thought Xie Xu was her lucky star, but he was actually the hand pushing her into the abyss.

"If I die here without a clear reason, my friends will definitely investigate the truth. You won't get off easy either," she glared at him.

"Friends? Xi Chunzhi? Are you sure she considers 'you' a friend?" Xie Xu's tone was utterly calm.

Tu Ran began to tremble, because she'd realized something.

Why was Xie Xu so familiar with her? He knew what the original body was like, and knew what the people around her were like.

A terrifying thought slowly surfaced in her mind. "Is my direct superior the Federal Government... or you?"

"Me."

"Who are you?"

The original body was clearly under the Federal Government—why would she take orders from him? He was a senior member of the Federal Government's Research Institute—why would he set up his own operation?

"You don't need to know that," Xie Xu said, rising leisurely. "You just need to remember: I want that Snake King alive."

With that, he didn't even glance at Tu Ran's expression. He strode out on his long legs without a trace of reluctance.

Tu Ran was left sitting alone, her face dark.

Now there were only two paths before her: first, follow Xie Xu's orders, find the Snake King, and capture it alive.

The Federal Government hadn't specified that the aberrant must be captured alive—that was Xie Xu's personal demand. But why did he want a living aberrant? That was question number one.

Second, if she failed to meet Xie Xu's demands—either not catching the Snake King or catching it dead—then Xie Xu would surely get rid of her.

This was essentially a chance Xie Xu was giving her to prove herself. If she could complete the mission, it meant she still had some use and was worth keeping. If she screwed up, it meant that this subordinate whose core had been replaced could be discarded without a second thought, saving him the trouble of unnecessary complications when she returned to Federal Center.

Given Xie Xu's status, getting rid of her quietly would be a piece of cake.

And since Xi Chunzhi knew she was no longer the original Tu Ran, she probably wouldn't avenge her either.

Her death wouldn't stir a single ripple.

Tu Ran shuddered at the thought of her miserable end, and her mind suddenly snapped back to clarity.

Question number two: why had the original body obeyed Xie Xu? Was she blackmailed, or bribed with money?

If it was a bribe, that would be easier to shake off. What she feared was that Xie Xu had some kind of leverage on her.

But she hadn't inherited the original body's memories, so she couldn't imagine what it might be.

Taking a deep breath, Tu Ran pushed herself up from the table with both hands.

She had to figure out a way to catch the Snake King.

...

Ding Naiqing returned to his room. He'd just lain down on the bed when he received a message from Tu Ran.

"Come to my room."

Ding Naiqing rubbed his sleepy eyes and checked the time. It was already midnight, and Sister Ran was still awake.

He had just left her room a moment ago—they'd been reviewing the farm's surveillance footage until he left, and there had been no sign of movement at the farm gate.

If she was calling him now, she'd probably found something.

Ding Naiqing quickly threw on his clothes. Her room was directly across from his, and he was just about to knock when her voice came through his earpiece.

"Come straight in."

Ding Naiqing pushed the door open. Tu Ran was still in the same position as when he'd left, back to the door, staring at three enlarged holographic screens.

Ding Naiqing quickly noticed something wrong: all three screens were black, with snowy static flickering intermittently.

"What's going on?" Ding Naiqing hurried closer, bending over the console to switch to other camera feeds.

Every single one showed the same thing.

Tu Ran's face darkened.

Someone on the farm had deliberately sabotaged the cameras.

"Sister Ran, what do we do now?" Ding Naiqing was getting anxious.

Without the cameras, they wouldn't know anything about what happened on the farm tonight.

"I hid a camera there," Tu Ran said, staring at the black screens.

She didn't trust anyone on the farm, including Tubin, so she'd secretly detached the camera from her combat suit's chest and, while no one was looking, tucked it into the grass facing the half-eaten mastiff carcass.

Since that camera was equipment for pioneers to use in the Threshold, it couldn't connect to the network—if she wanted to see what it had recorded, she'd have to go there tomorrow and link it up with a communicator.

Hearing this, Ding Naiqing was ecstatic. "When? Sister Ran, you're amazing—I didn't notice at all."

Tu Ran didn't want to explain any more right now, so she looked up at him instead. "Let me ask you: how smart are aberrants? Can they tell at a glance that half of the mastiff carcass over there is a trap?"

From what she understood about aberrants, they were still essentially animals at heart, with no particularly high intelligence—everything followed animal instinct.