Developing Superpowers in Another World

Chapter 165 – Seeking Cooperation?

 

Too direct. If Xie Xu still had a backup plan… it would be bad for her.

She needed to be cautious.

“Well… guess.”

Xie Xu: “…”

“I’ll just assume that you’re already prepared to deal with me.”

Tu Ran: Clear about her own understanding!

If it weren’t for him still being useful, she could have wiped him out with a flick of her finger.

“I think we could become great partners.”

Tu Ran: Oh, oh, oh, just a little over half a month ago, he was coercing and enticing her to become his subordinate. Now that he knows he can’t control her, he immediately wants to become partners.

His face changed so quickly.

Tu Ran’s mind was filled with all kinds of sarcastic thoughts, and her mouth was almost curling up to the sky, but her face showed no sign of it.

Xie Xu glanced at her uncontrollable arrogant expression and pretended not to see it.

“Is your wish, as you set when you last entered the Threshold, to become wealthy? Is that your real desire?” Xie Xu suddenly asked.

“Yes, so what?” Tu Ran crossed her arms and leaned against the glass door frame, waiting for him to continue.

“I can help you fulfill your wish. As long as we become partners, I will offer you a satisfactory price.”

“Are you from the Xie family, one of the three major financial families?” Tu Ran suddenly asked.

Xie Xu hesitated for a moment before nodding in acknowledgment.

Wow, so the price he offers might be enough to make her incredibly wealthy.

Now, she was just one step away from becoming rich.

Unfortunately, there are many ways to make money; why risk it with Xie Xu?

She wasn’t seeking great wealth, just stability.

“Thank you for the offer, but I don’t need that much money for now.”

“What about Xi Chunzhi? She spends four thousand credits a day in the medical department. Your account might not last a week.”

Xie Xu knowing this didn’t surprise Tu Ran.

Perhaps from the moment the first inner core appeared, Xie Xu had guessed that she was already aware of its existence and suspected she would collect as many as possible in the Threshold.

He immediately assessed her value, decided to recruit her, and probe her thoroughly to find an entry point.

Getting rich was one entry point.

Xi Chunzhi was another entry point.

Unfortunately, this entry point hit a dead end.

“I have other ways to handle the money issue.”

Money was not a problem.

With her many superpowers, if she were to die poor in this world, she’d be incredibly foolish.

She could extort a fortune just by controlling a wealthy person.

The more confident she appeared, the more it indicated she had a strong hand, making Xie Xu even more eager to recruit her.

Xie Xu furrowed his brows. He hadn’t expected Tu Ran to be so impervious now.

Her current survival in the Federation posed no challenge; she was likely thriving in the Threshold as well. She had reached a point where she was as comfortable as a fish in water.

“Do you have no other ambitions?” His voice was unusually tinged with frustration.

“No,” Tu Ran shrugged.

As the saying goes, ‘No love, no burden.’

Not only did she have no love now, but she also had no messy worldly desires. She truly lived freely, to the point that even Xie Xu couldn’t find a way to threaten her.

“Researcher Xie, you’re interested in my value, so you should at least offer something of equal value in return. What you mentioned earlier is far from enough.”

Xie Xu pressed his lips together. “I can give you anything you want, not just money.”

He was really putting in the effort.

“Then can you let Xi Chunzhi and me leave the Pioneer Team?”

She wanted to retire and not work. She wanted to find a nice place to enjoy daily life with Xi Chunzhi, and when the money ran out, she could extort a fortune from a wealthy person.

“I can ensure Xi Chunzhi’s safe departure, but you must remain in the Pioneer Team.”

“Alright.” She knew it would be like this. “I’ll think it over.”

Xie Xu nodded.

Tu Ran descended the glass stairs. Halfway down, she turned around and voiced her most perplexing thought.

“Why should I trust you? And why do you trust me so much? Even if we establish a cooperative relationship, it’s merely verbal. There’s no external force to bind our actions; either of us could betray the other at any moment. Our cooperation won’t be solid.”

Xie Xu stood up from his chair, walked beside the glass door frame, and looked down at her.

“Through our interactions, I’ve come to understand you a bit. You came from a peaceful world to this dangerous one where life can be lost with a single misstep. You remain vigilant, exposing only your toughest exterior. You trust no one but yourself.”

“So, talking more won’t help now. Actions will prove that I’m worthy of your trust and that you will be my best partner. We need a joint action to prove ourselves to each other, and Zhao Yan is an opportunity for that.”

“It seems I haven’t agreed to cooperate with you yet?” Tu Ran raised an eyebrow, feeling like Xie Xu’s lengthy speech almost entangled her.

“If I handle Zhao Yan on my own, then his three inner cores will belong to me. You’re fine letting me take the telepathy ability?”

Of course, he wasn’t sure.

“So, you’re not going to give me the telepathy ability?”

“Absolutely not,” Xie Xu rejected without hesitation.

Tu Ran’s face fell.

Xie Xu continued, “This ability is unsuitable in anyone’s hands. The best solution is to destroy it. However, if you refuse to cooperate with me, I will claim the inner core for myself.”

Tu Ran: “So, are you threatening me again?”

“Not at all. I’m inviting you. You can take your time to consider it and respond when you’re ready. You have ample time for consideration, and during this period, I won’t take any actions to threaten you.”

Xie Xu looked at Tu Ran intently and said, “I’m inviting you to be my partner on an absolutely equal basis, so I expect a sincere partner rather than a hypocrite who might betray me at any moment. If you want to be the latter, it’s better to refuse me outright.”

He made his intentions clear, and Tu Ran understood what he meant.

She had to admit, Xie Xu’s attitude this time was quite decent.

“I’ll think about it and give you a response once I’ve made up my mind.”

“Alright.”

As she left, Xie Xu sat back at his desk, the documents neatly arranged.

He casually flipped through a page, and the words “Cosmic Fusion” appeared no less than ten times.

He closed the file and gazed out at the world beyond the glass walls, feeling heavy-hearted.

…

Tu Ran boarded the suspended train back home.

As night fell, the neon-lit world reappeared.

Colorful lights flashed past the train’s window, with small private flying vehicles moving parallel to the train. Suddenly, a white smoke billowed, and the flying vehicle vanished from sight.

Tu Ran stared blankly at the dazzling world outside the glass.

She hadn’t used the [Illusion Realm] on Xie Xu.

She was considering whether Xie Xu would pose a threat during this time and planned to decide whether to modify his memories according to the original plan once she had made up her mind.

 

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