Chapter 199 – Memory Reading of Xie Hong
Tu Ran stepped a little closer and watched Xie Hong, who was looking around in confusion. She silently thought, “Disassemble all equipment connected to Zero, including the camera. Remove them and throw them at least ten meters away.”
A faintly visible mushroom appeared in Xie Hong’s field of vision. He blinked, trying to see it clearly, but his consciousness was instantly drawn into the mushroom. He mechanically followed Tu Ran’s instructions, pressing the button on the side of his helmet to remove the pure white helmet and throwing it outside the thick fog.
“Is there anything else? Nod or shake your head, but don’t speak,” Tu Ran asked cautiously.
Next to Xie Hong was the unconscious Xie Wei, and she was worried that Xie Hong might speak and attract Zero’s attention to Xie Wei.
Xie Hong slowly shook his head, staring blankly in Tu Ran’s direction.
“Take fifteen steps forward,” Tu Ran estimated the distance between them.
Xie Hong took a step and walked towards Tu Ran.
Exactly fifteen steps, no more, no less.
He stood still right in the middle of the fog.
Tu Ran looked down at her communicator and thought, “Remove the communicator as well, crush it, and kick it away.”
Xie Hong complied.
Tu Ran covered her communicator with her palm and activated [Mountain Collapse and Earth Crack], causing the communicator on her wrist to shatter instantly.
This was so troublesome, Tu Ran thought irritably.
Every time before an operation, she had to waste a lot of time on these matters.
At that moment, her determination to destroy Zero grew even stronger.
She walked behind Xie Hong and placed her palm on the back of his head.
There was simply no other place for her to rest her hand.
Xie Hong was still wrapped in a white combat suit, only his head exposed. She couldn’t just place her hand on his face.
“Where does your superpower come from?” Tu Ran asked aloud.
She received no response and found it somewhat strange.
When asking this question, the answer would usually flash through the other person’s mind.
Tu Ran paused for a moment, then realized.
Xie Hong was using the [Deafness] ability.
One of the main reasons he could enter the Sankar Arsenal was because he possessed the [Deafness] ability, which could block out all external sounds, including the soundwave attacks of genetic monsters.
Once this ability was activated, it had to last for two hours. Given that Xie Hong had been in the arsenal for over three hours, he must have used [Deafness] twice.
This was the second use and was still ongoing.
Tu Ran switched to using the hallucinogenic mushroom and silently thought, “Where did you get your superpower?”
Xie Hong’s memory gears began to turn, and Tu Ran easily saw the source of his ability.
Pioneer.
His [Ice Freeze] came from a mid-level Pioneer.
Xie Hong’s subordinate had provided Xie Hong with the information of the Pioneer with that ability. Through the light projection from the communicator, Tu Ran saw the Pioneer’s appearance.
He had a prominent nose and deep-set eyes, a typical Caucasian.
His name was Aslan Sara.
Tu Ran had no impression of him.
At least he wasn’t Xi Chunzhi, which made Tu Ran sigh with relief.
“How do you determine who has an inner core?” Tu Ran silently inquired.
Several images flashed through Xie Hong’s mind.
The research institute analyzed the content of the Pioneer’s holographic recording bracelet to mark suspicious individuals. They would then connect to their memory reading device to check if they had an inner core.
Once confirmed, it would be reported secretly to superiors, including the Executive Department’s Minister Xie Hong and the Pioneer Team Commander Xie Zhao.
There were a few others Tu Ran didn’t recognize, but she carefully memorized their faces.
Xie Zhao’s involvement in this matter did not surprise Tu Ran. Although he was a major general, which was a significant rank difference compared to Xie Hong, his position was substantial.
As the Pioneer Team Commander, Xie Zhao had founded the Pioneer Team and had full jurisdiction over it.
If the higher-ups wanted to obtain Pioneers’ inner cores, they could not hide it from Xie Zhao. Rather than risk him discovering it, it was better to involve him directly.
Tu Ran recalled Xie Zhao’s past displays of concern and care for the Pioneers. Knowing now that he tacitly allowed some to be selected from the Pioneer Team, cruelly killed, and still managed to maintain a facade, she felt a shiver of disgust.
“Do you know if the Wells family is also obtaining Pioneers’ inner cores through some means?”
Xie Hong stiffly nodded.
“Is their method of obtaining inner cores the same as yours?”
Xie Hong nodded again.
Tu Ran felt somewhat reassured.
In terms of the memory reading device and holographic recording bracelet, she had not exposed herself, and no one could find out she had an inner core.
Next, she needed to ask about the location of Zero’s mainframe and how many people were guarding it.
Tu Ran initially planned to ask one by one, but the thick smoke around them quickly dissipated due to the factory’s air purification system, leaving her insufficient time to complete her questioning.
She decided to directly read Xie Hong’s entire memory, just as she had done with the original owner’s memories.
The entire span of Xie Hong’s thirty-plus years of memories surged into Tu Ran’s mind.
The rush of information hit her instantly, causing intense and severe pain.
This was a side effect of [Memory Reading].
After having read the original owner’s memories, she began to use questioning method to acquire others’ memories. This way, she could control the flow of memories and avoid the discomfort she was experiencing now.
The [Diamond Body] was already at work, alleviating the pain in her brain.
Tu Ran noticed that the light of the hallucinogenic mushroom was beginning to fade, as if it were about to wither.
She took a deep breath and performed the final brainwashing on Xie Hong, “A powerful genetic monster just attacked you. You accidentally hit the helmet switch, causing the helmet to loosen. The genetic monster easily knocked off your helmet and also smashed your holographic recording bracelet.”
“Do you understand?”
Xie Hong mechanically nodded.
He was still following Tu Ran’s initial instructions—no speaking, only nodding or shaking his head.
With its final effect, the hallucinogenic mushroom began to wither, quickly turning into a pile of dust that settled in Tu Ran’s palm.
Tu Ran scattered the dust into the thick smoke and slipped into the gap between two machines.
She rubbed her temples, her mind still disoriented from the flood of memories. She needed a quiet place to sort through them.
Such a place was unlikely to be found in the Sankar Arsenal, so she would have to wait until the task was completed.
For now, she only needed to wait for the fog to clear and then carry out the rescue operation for her superior.
Leaning against the cold machinery, Tu Ran slowly closed her eyes, relaxed her body, and adjusted to the swelling in her brain.
Unusual sounds started to filter through her ears.
“Hiss, hiss, hiss.”
Mixed with the distant sounds of gunfire from all directions, the noise was barely noticeable.
Tu Ran suddenly opened her eyes and swiftly moved to the side.
