Chapter 162 – Seeking Help from Xie Xu
Tu Ran looked at Zhao Yan. He must be anxious too, right?
After all, with the use of memory readers, nothing could be hidden, unless one could directly erase their memory.
Her [Illusion Realm] could achieve that.
The [Illusion Realm] could not only alter others’ memories but also modify her own. However, she worried that if she altered her own memory, she might forget that she had superpowers, which would be a significant loss.
As she looked at Zhao Yan, he also looked at her.
He was very curious about how Tu Ran would handle the situation; it seemed she was not in a hurry.
Xie Zhao began to explain the reason behind the Federation’s approach. “Although this method will delay everyone a bit, it allows for a more comprehensive and focused representation of the scenes inside the Threshold, ensuring no detail is missed, which will greatly aid in improving everyone’s scores.”
Tu Ran leaned back in her chair, smirking inwardly.
It sounded nice.
She didn’t believe for a second that the Federation’s initial purpose included helping pioneers improve their scores.
Improving scores was just a minor, inconsequential benefit of this policy that the Federation hardly cared about.
Now, they were making a big deal out of it.
It was laughable.
The real reason behind the Federation implementing this policy was that they were scared!
They were afraid that pioneers might deliberately conceal certain things inside the Threshold.
After all, a rigid holographic recording bracelet was not foolproof. If someone was determined to deceive, they would find a way, just as she had initially managed to deceive the system when extracting the [Illusion Realm] inner core from the bloodthirsty vines.
Memory couldn’t be deceived, so the Federation had no choice but to offer up their precious memory readers.
Tu Ran was now almost certain that the Federation had discovered the existence of the inner cores.
The only thing she knew that could surpass the value of a memory reader was the inner core.
And the Federation was most skilled at assessing the value of things. They wouldn’t engage in anything without perceived benefits.
Furthermore, the Federation was carefully finding reasons to divert the pioneers’ attention, making them believe that this approach was merely to obtain better data and help them earn more points.
Wasn’t this a way to prevent the inner cores from being discovered and fought over by pioneers?
The Federation was playing a clever game.
“Does anyone have any other questions?” Xie Zhao asked, looking around the room.
“No.”
Everyone shook their heads.
Xie Zhao stood up, leaning on the table. “Alright, that concludes today’s meeting. Everyone should go back and get some rest. The meeting is adjourned.”
The crowd stood up as well, and after bidding farewell to Xie Zhao, they gradually left the conference room.
Tu Ran followed the crowd, all the while keeping a distance of ten meters from Zhao Yan.
Whenever Zhao Yan approached, she would back away.
Zhao Yan had something to say to her, but she evaded him too quickly for him to catch up. Calling her name in such a large crowd could cause unnecessary trouble, so he eventually watched as Tu Ran entered the elevator and gave up.
Once in the elevator, Tu Ran’s expression turned serious.
Zhao Yan was like a ticking time bomb.
[Telepathy] was too terrifying.
Even with her full guard up, she had nearly been outmaneuvered by him.
What if they weren’t face-to-face? What if he was hiding in a room next to hers, and the distance was just within ten meters? Her thoughts would become completely transparent.
She needed to find a way to neutralize this ticking time bomb.
She was already burdened with so many issues.
The memory reader was a tough problem for her. She needed to find a solution quickly.
She was unsure about Xi Chunzhi’s situation. Lying down cost 4,000 credits a day, and her funds wouldn’t last long.
Now Zhao Yan was also a problem, and she was getting increasingly frustrated.
The elevator reached the first floor and the doors opened.
Tu Ran exited the elevator and quickly made her way to the suspended rail station.
After waiting fifteen minutes, the train arrived on time.
Sitting on the train, Tu Ran thought about what to do next.
The train arrived at Dawn Station, and the mechanical female voice announced, “Dear passengers, we have arrived at Dawn Station. Please take all your belongings. The next stop is Yongchang Station.”
Tu Ran followed the crowd off the train and walked towards her residential area.
The neighborhood was still the same. Compared to the modernized neighborhoods in the bustling Federation city, hers was already quite old and rundown.
Tu Ran took the elevator up to her floor and returned to her bedroom, where she dug out the long-unused communicator from the corner of her closet.
It was her private communicator with Xie Xu.
She quickly typed a message: [Meet me. I have something important to give you.]
The only person she could think of who might help her avoid this memory reader issue was Xie Xu.
The memory reader was at the research institute, and Xie Xu was a senior member there. It shouldn’t be too difficult for him to omit one person from the program.
Of course, she knew that Xie Xu wouldn’t help her without some benefit to himself.
She needed to offer something that would make him willing to take the risk of helping her.
After three minutes, there was no reply.
He probably wouldn’t carry the private communicator with him at all times.
It might take a while for him to respond.
Tu Ran tossed the communicator aside and got up to grab a can of sparkling drink from the fridge, gulping down a few swigs.
Sighing, she noticed the fruit on the lower shelf.
It had been half a month, but it was still quite fresh.
She hadn’t even gotten a chance to eat the fruit she had stored at Xi Chunzhi’s place.
Since she was still in a coma and couldn’t eat, she would have to wait until she woke up to have it delivered.
Tu Ran sighed again, lay back on the bed in a relaxed position, and placed the communicator beside her. She glanced at it; Xie Xu still hadn’t replied.
Placing the communicator on the pillow, Tu Ran turned onto her side and closed her eyes to sleep.
It had been over half a month since she had last slept in a bed, and lying on the soft mattress felt even more comfortable than sleeping on cotton.
Knowing subconsciously that there was no danger and that she didn’t need to stay alert, she fell into a deep, restful sleep.
When she woke up again, it was already three in the afternoon, past lunchtime.
The first thing Tu Ran did upon opening her eyes was to grab the communicator beside her and check for any messages.
Xie Xu had replied.
[Seven o’clock, same place.]
The “same place” was the rundown little clinic in the black market.
With four hours left, there was no need to rush. She could have a meal first.
Her stomach had already started to rumble.
Tu Ran cooked for herself, steaming some rice and preparing two simple dishes with the leftover vegetables and potatoes.
Having rice after such a long time, Tu Ran was not shy about it and ate two large bowls of rice, finishing both dishes on the table.
After the satisfying meal, Tu Ran’s mood improved significantly.
She actually didn’t have much to worry about. The worst outcome would be that her actions within the Threshold were exposed, and the Federation government sentenced her to death.
So what? With such powerful abilities, she could escape if she wanted to. The Federation government would find it quite difficult to capture her.
things getting exciting