Chapter 135 – Going Astray
He looked up, estimating that the tree was at least twenty meters tall. Those clumsy pheasants could barely fly half that height.
“Let’s find that Pioneer,” the woman suggested, hoping, “I hope they’re willing to team up with us.”
The man nodded, sharing her intent.
They followed the footprints in the direction they had disappeared.
*
Meanwhile, Tu Ran was crouched by a riverbank, washing her long knife. The congealed blood on the blade flowed away with the water.
The river was shallow.
Pangpang was splashing in the water, playing.
Water splashed onto Tu Ran’s face and body.
Tu Ran wiped the water from her face and looked at Pangpang, “Stop playing around and wash your feathers. You’re filthy.”
Pangpang gave an “oh” and obediently started washing itself.
Tu Ran finished cleaning her long knife and sheathed it.
Sitting on a huge rock on the riverbank, she consumed the inner core obtained from the Pao Xiao.
[Diamond Body]
Intermediate superpower.
The wound heals quickly and resists various types of attacks to a certain extent, including but not limited to physical attacks.
Tu Ran looked at the wound left on her finger after using [Illusory Realm.]
At this moment, the wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning to its original state without a trace of a scar.
With such amazing recovery ability, she probably wouldn’t need to use the medical department’s nutrient pod anymore.
“Boss, I can’t wash my head,” Pangpang helplessly shouted in the river, its wings too short.
Tu Ran: So as the boss, she still had to bathe her little subordinate?
“Come to the shore,” Tu Ran said sullenly.
Pangpang quickly stood up from the river, walking to the shore with its wet feathers.
Its entire body shrank a size as all the feathers were soaked.
Tu Ran scooped water from the river with a kettle, pouring it over Pangpang’s head.
“Just wash with clean water?”
“Yeah,” Pangpang replied.
“Can it get clean?” Tu Ran doubted.
“Pangpang always uses clean water to wash.”
“I have shampoo, let’s use shampoo.”
The shampoo was prepared by herself, in small packets.
Specifically for bathing in the threshold.
Taking out a small packet from her bag, Tu Ran tore it open and applied it to Pangpang’s furry head and body.
“So fragrant,” Pangpang obediently stood there.
Tu Ran ignored it, scrubbing the foam vigorously, much like bathing her pet cat at home.
Tu Ran paused for a moment, wasn’t she raising a pet in the Threshold now?
Finding food for the pet every day, taking it around, hiding it when facing danger, and now bathing it—how was this different from raising a pet?
The only difference was that her pet was unlike ordinary cats and dogs.
Her pet was not only large but also could talk.
Of course, it wasn’t that it could talk, but that she could understand what it was saying.
It also had its own thoughts and could lead her the way.
Lead the way?
That made it seem even more like a pet.
Compared to a pet cat, Pangpang was more like a pet dog.
“Wow, these bubbles can float!”
Pangpang flapped its wings, trying to make more bubbles float up.
Instead, it covered Tu Ran with foam.
Tu Ran, like disciplining a disobedient dog, gave it a slap on the head. “Stand still and don’t move.”
“Okay, boss.”
It accepted the correction well.
But before long, it couldn’t help itself again. “Wow, these bubbles are flowing away with the water.”
It stretched out its short legs to step on the bubbles.
Tu Ran slapped its butt. “Move again, and I’ll throw you away!”
Pangpang quickly pulled back its legs and stood still. It was just like raising a pet dog.
In the distance, two humans watched this scene in shock.
The man silently raised his bracelet.
He recorded everything.
They needed to report this to the Federation.
A pioneer was living harmoniously with an alien species in the Threshold and even bathing it.
A traitor to humanity.
A disgrace to the Pioneering Team.
“She appeared on the Federation news headlines before. A federal train had an outbreak of infectious alien species, and she, along with a researcher, minimized the spread, saving many lives.”
The woman stared at Tu Ran.
“Could she have been possessed by a parasitic alien species?”
“She handled three Pao Xiaos by herself; there’s no way she could be possessed easily.”
“Are you sure it’s her?” The woman still couldn’t believe it.
“We haven’t encountered anyone else along the way. Look at that chicken, it matches the footprints we saw. And the long knife on her back, it must be the one she pulled from the Pao Xiao’s skull.”
The woman felt a mix of emotions.
Originally, they thought that finding the pioneer who killed the three Pao Xiaos would allow them to seek refuge and protection.
Unexpectedly, the person was a seemingly non-combative woman.
Moreover, she was entangled with an alien species.
They couldn’t determine if she was an enemy or a friend.
Tu Ran was still bathing Pangpang, her back to them, unaware that her actions had been recorded.
Pangpang was trying to keep the bubbles afloat by flapping its wings, when its gaze suddenly locked with the two people in the forest.
The man grabbed the woman’s hand, “Run!”
Pangpang was a bit confused, rubbed its eyes, and looked again—there was no one there.
Did it imagine it?
“Boss, Pangpang just saw two two-legged beasts, dressed similarly to you.”
Tu Ran paused her action of rinsing the foam off Pangpang.
She turned to look, but the dense trees blocked her view, and she saw no human figures.
“Which direction?”
“That way.” Pangpang pointed with its wing.
Tu Ran dropped the kettle. “Stay here.”
With that, she quickly ran in the indicated direction.
If they had similar equipment, it meant they were also pioneers.
Their bracelets must have recorded the scene just now, which is why they ran when Pangpang saw them.
Tu Ran used [Teleportation], and in the blink of an eye, she saw the two people running.
She increased her speed and suddenly appeared in front of them.
The two were immediately stopped, looking at her in fear.
Such speed was beyond that of a normal person.
“What do you want?” The man guardedly stared at her, pulling the woman behind him.
“The bird you saw is my pet. It can’t possess or infect humans and poses no threat to humanity. It’s just my companion in the Threshold, like a pet cat or dog.”
The man didn’t understand what she meant by this and remained silent.
The woman spoke up weakly from behind, “But it’s still an alien species. We are pioneers; we should keep our distance from them.”
The man pulled her back, and she instantly fell silent, looking at Tu Ran nervously.
It seemed she had said something wrong.
Tu Ran smirked, “So you understand what impact the content you’ve recorded will have on me when sent to the Federal Government.”
The man stared at her, “Think carefully. Right now, you’re just momentarily going astray. The worst you’ll get is a fine and a few days of confinement. If you harm us, it will be considered intentional harm to pioneers, and according to the new Federation law, that means the death penalty.”
happy she got the superpower