Chapter 145 – To Go, or Not to Go?
“Mountain collapse and earth crack”
The bracelet showed no response.
“Mountain collapse and earth crack, mountain collapse and earth crack, mountain collapse and earth crack …”
The bracelet’s temperature rapidly soared.
Tu Ran felt a burning sensation in her palm.
If it hadn’t been for the enhancement of her [Diamond Body] superpower, she would have suspected that her hand had been burned through.
Meanwhile, the bracelet remained unchanged, lying quietly in her palm.
‘What’s going on?’
Tu Ran frowned and continued to recite the spell without stopping.
The bracelet’s temperature kept rising, and Tu Ran felt the heat being emitted from it on her face.
Her [Diamond Body] could no longer withstand such intense heat. As the scorching temperature reached her palm, Tu Ran quickly tossed the bracelet away.
A ring of black, scorched marks appeared on her palm.
The bracelet landed on the damp ground, making a sizzling sound.
Tu Ran felt a piercing pain in her palm.
The [Diamond Body]’s healing function began to activate.
The burned flesh healed at a visible rate.
The pain also quickly faded.
Tu Ran let out a long breath; her [Diamond Body] superpower was exactly as described on the panel.
It could only resist attacks up to a certain extent.
Beyond that extent, the damage would be real and tangible, and the pain would be real as well.
However, Tu Ran couldn’t understand why the bracelet remained intact.
She tried pressing her palm on the ground while activating her ability.
After muttering the first “Mountain Collapse and Earth Crack,” the ground beneath Tu Ran’s palm cracked with a loud “bang.”
Cracked lines rapidly spread outwards from the center of her palm.
In an instant, the originally damp soil became as dry as if it had been baked by the sun for three years, breaking into pieces.
Pangpang, two meters away, was suddenly jolted awake, bleary-eyed and shouting, “Boss, run, there’s an earthquake!”
Tu Ran quickly withdrew her hand and reassured it, “It’s not an earthquake, go back to sleep.”
“Ah? Oh.” Hearing that there was no more noise, Pangpang immediately lay back down to sleep.
It genuinely trusted Tu Ran and wasn’t curious about what she was doing.
It ate when it was time to eat, slept when it was time to sleep, and never asked unnecessary questions, being very self-disciplined.
Watching it fall back asleep, Tu Ran glanced at the time; it was still 8 PM by Federation time.
It wasn’t time to sleep yet.
To avoid disturbing Pangpang’s rest, she left the cave.
Emerging from the dense grass, Tu Ran first patrolled the area nearby and finally stopped in front of a large, sturdy tree not far from the cave.
She placed her hand against the tree’s rough brown trunk.
“Mountain collapse and earth crack”
“Bang!”
In an instant, the tree’s brown bark exploded.
Luckily, Tu Ran was wearing a helmet.
A large piece of rough, thick bark hit her helmet heavily, forcing her head back and making her take a step back to maintain her balance.
The scattered bark flew everywhere, making a crackling sound as it hit the ground.
Looking at the tree that was once rough and sturdy, all its bark had been stripped away, revealing the smooth, delicate interior.
The rough-and-tumble tree had turned into a smooth, refined specimen.
Overall, the [Mountain Collapse and Earth Crack] superpower was working as expected.
It only affected the outermost layer of objects. For example, with the tree, it only cracked the outer bark while leaving the inner trunk undamaged.
Although it consumed energy, the propagation speed was very fast. In just one or two seconds of contact, a tree could be stripped of its bark, and the energy consumed in that brief period was negligible to Tu Ran.
Against most types of aliens, this superpower combined with [Teleportation] could make her invincible.
The current issue was that the recording bracelet created by the Federal Government was too sturdy.
The [Mountain Collapse and Earth Crack] superpower couldn’t damage it at all.
Tu Ran wasn’t sure what material the bracelet was made from, but it was surprisingly durable.
Frowning, she slid down the tree trunk to sit.
What should she do next?
She had been in the Threshold for eight or nine days already.
The average open period of the Threshold was half a month.
In the remaining time, the Threshold could open at any moment.
If she couldn’t remove the bracelet in time, even if the Threshold gate was right in front of her, she wouldn’t be able to step through it.
As long as she wore the bracelet and it connected to the network, any videos stored in it would be instantly uploaded to the research institute.
Given that she had already violated the Federation’s new law by covering the camera with a cloth, and on top of that, had killed two pioneers, she would definitely be sentenced to death.
If she tried to escape, the Federation would place a high bounty on her head. No matter where she went, there would be countless people trying to capture her.
She didn’t believe she was at a level where she could challenge the Federation.
So, what if she stayed in the Threshold indefinitely?
Tu Ran thought about it, and it didn’t seem entirely disadvantageous.
Firstly, she had the inner core of the Gu Diao and wouldn’t have to worry about food, plus Pangpang was with her, so she wouldn’t be bored.
Secondly, staying in the Threshold allowed her to obtain more inner cores.
Although obtaining each inner core came with certain risks, Tu Ran had the ability to control those risks within an acceptable range.
Staying in the Threshold was a process of accumulation. She only needed one goal: to find aliens with inner cores and seize them.
Returning to the Federation, everything she faced was uncertain.
What measures would the Federation government take if they discovered the existence of inner cores? Would they easily terminate the Pioneer Team’s entry into the Threshold?
The Federation had invested heavily in this team.
If it were abruptly stopped, it would be a significant loss for the Federation.
The impact would be even greater for the various departments derived from the Pioneer Team.
However, if they did not stop it, many inner cores within the Threshold would end up in the hands of the pioneers. Even if the Federation issued a ban on private possession of inner cores or offered substantial rewards for their purchase, some cores would inevitably be hoarded by the pioneers and consumed.
After all, it was impossible to determine from the outside whether someone had consumed an inner core.
Of course, exceptions existed for abilities like [Superpower Recognition]
The conglomerates behind the Federation would not tolerate inner cores falling into the wrong hands. What actions they would take was beyond Tu Ran’s guess.
The path before them was difficult to choose.
If the Federation didn’t make the existence of superpowers public, most of the pioneers would remain unaware, and the Federation wouldn’t be able to obtain inner cores through them.
If it were made public, it would trigger a wave of competition for inner cores, and in the end, perhaps only half of the inner cores would be collected by the Federation, with the rest ending up in various hands.
Her own fate was directly tied to the Federation’s choice.
If the Federation chose to keep it secret, she could maintain a significant advantage.
If the Federation chose to make it public, she would face competition from many others, reducing her chances of obtaining inner cores.
With a long sigh, Tu Ran cleared her mind of these chaotic thoughts.
She decided to take it one step at a time.
