Chapter 175 – Kill at the Bottom of the Lake
In reality, hidden beneath its thick hair were Tu Ran’s hands tightly pressed against its scalp. Tu Ran used her superpower [Immense Strength] to force its head to turn in the direction she specified.
No matter how Mira Wells flapped her wings, she would advance along the route Tu Ran had designated.
The two of them shot into the sky, flying out of the entire castle, and everyone inside and outside the castle witnessed this scene.
Min Tao and another pioneer ran out from behind the door, looking at Tu Ran taking off quickly.
“Where is she going?”
“I don’t know,” Min Tao shook his head and ran in the direction Tu Ran was leaving, “We should follow her.”
“Alright.”
Tu Ran flew above, while Min Tao and the other pioneer chased below.
The guards surrounding the lake outside looked up at the monster suddenly appearing inside the castle and were startled. They couldn’t see Tu Ran on the monster and thought the creature was suddenly trying to leave the castle. They hurriedly reported to Deng Changtai.
Deng Changtai, who was watching the live feed, was not surprised. He comforted them to remain calm, “The pioneer is on top of it. This is the pioneers’ strategy; you don’t need to panic.”
The agitated guards calmed down and thought about the pioneer now riding on the monster, wiping a sweat for her.
At such a height, a slip could mean a fall to a bloody mess.
At a height of one hundred meters, Tu Ran’s body was blown backward by the wind. She looked down at the blue lake below and raised her voice, “Zero, where is the deepest part of this lake?”
“Here.”
A red-marked area appeared in front of Tu Ran’s eyes.
Tu Ran immediately pressed Mira Wells’ head down, aiming it at the center of the lake.
Like a meteor, the pair plunged straight into the heart of the lake, creating a splash of over ten meters high.
The icy lake water engulfed both of them.
At the moment of the plunge, Tu Ran activated [Wheel of Time], pressing it against her helmet.
She rewound to ten years ago.
The helmet instantly disintegrated into a pile of parts that drifted to the lakebed, and at the same time, her connection with Zero was severed.
She had no more reservations.
Mira Wells was desperately flapping her wings, trying to rise to the surface.
Tu Ran reached out and grabbed her wing, using her knee to snap it.
“Zzz—”
Mira Wells let out a long, pained howl, but the sound was swallowed by the water.
It glared angrily at Tu Ran, opening its mouth to spew fire, but being underwater, the flames were extinguished before they even emerged.
Tu Ran used [Teleportation] to reach the other side, seizing the other wing and snapping it with [Immense Strength] in the same manner.
She couldn’t use [Mountain Collapse and Earth Crack] because such a death would be too bizarre to explain. It would be difficult to justify why Mira Wells’ skin would crack open upon reaching the bottom of the lake.
However, breaking its wings could be explained as resulting from the tremendous impact of falling from a great height into the water.
With both wings broken, Mira Wells lost all ability to resist.
It now only wanted to rise to the surface quickly; it was a bird, not a fish, and was on the brink of suffocation.
But Tu Ran had no intention of letting it escape.
She hadn’t forgotten that Mira Wells was originally a person, but had become this confused monster due to drinking the divine medicine.
If Mira Wells was sent to a research institute, and if the researchers developed a drug to restore her sanity and memory, there could be trouble if she recounted how Tu Ran had broken her wings.
To be on the safe side, Tu Ran used [Illusion Realm].
She wasn’t sure if [Illusion Realm] would work underwater, so she decided to try it. If it didn’t work, she could find another opportunity to use it once they were on shore.
She bit her finger and recited the incantation. A small, dazzlingly colorful mushroom sprouted from the tip of her finger.
It worked.
Though it was a bit small.
But under the water’s shimmering light, the colorful mushroom appeared even more mysterious and beautiful.
Tu Ran focused on Mira Wells, who was rolling her eyes, and silently thought, “Your wings were broken during the fall from the sky. After plunging to the bottom of the lake, the pioneer has been trying to pull you up.”
To be cautious, Tu Ran repeated the illusion.
Mira Wells’ body was uncontrollably sinking further down.
Knowing that staying there would likely result in death, Tu Ran immediately grabbed her floating hair and swam upwards.
Finally surfacing, Tu Ran wiped the water from her face and took deep breaths of fresh air.
Min Tao and the other pioneer had already submerged and were swimming towards the center of the lake. A patrol car above was gradually approaching to investigate the situation below the surface.
“I’m here!” Tu Ran waved, “Help me pull her up, or she’ll drown!”
The guards from the patrol car immediately jumped down, and upon submerging, saw Tu Ran holding Mira Wells by her white hair with one hand, while the other hand was moving on the water’s surface.
Mira Wells was rolling her eyes, weak and helpless.
Truly a pioneer.
They silently thought to themselves and quickly grabbed other parts of Mira Wells’ body, such as her wings and arms, dragging her towards the shore.
During this time, Tu Ran pretended to be exhausted, releasing Mira Wells’ long hair and allowing herself to sink a bit further into the lake, swallowing several mouthfuls of water.
Min Tao immediately noticed and also released Mira Wells’ wing, then supported her arm.
“I’ll get you back,” Min Tao said.
“Thank you,” Tu Ran replied weakly.
Min Tao helped Tu Ran back to the shore while handing a rope connected to Mira Wells’ neck to the guards stationed there, who quickly joined in dragging the rope.
Tu Ran collapsed onto a rock at the lake’s edge, breathing heavily.
She was tired.
She was acting.
This time, the [Wheel of Time] had only been rewound by ten years; she didn’t show any significant signs of fatigue.
Deng Changtai hurried over to her, crouching down with concern. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Tu Ran shook her head, “Just a bit tired from swimming. I’ll recover soon.”
“That’s good to hear,” Deng Changtai sighed in relief, “Don’t lie here, go rest in the vehicle. There’s food; you need to replenish your energy.”
“Thank you.” Tu Ran pushed herself up from the ground.
Now, everyone was focused on getting Mira Wells out of the water as quickly as possible, and no one paid attention to her.
Tu Ran leisurely leaned against a patrol car, pulling out a tightly sealed compression biscuit from her combat suit pocket and chewing on it.
The team finally dragged Mira Wells to the shore, and the researchers from the institute, who had been contacted in advance, arrived in a helicopter.
Tu Ran had never seen these people before.
There were both men and women, all serious and fully engaged with Mira Wells.
They first squeezed the lake water out of Mira Wells’ stomach, then checked her vital signs. After confirming that there was no immediate danger to her life, they administered anesthesia.
