Chapter 254 – The Same Power
The private bodyguards of the major families outside rushed in, protecting their respective members as they fled.
Tu Ran rummaged through the debris of the shattered cage and found a handgun.
“Tu Ran! Get out of there! We’ll cover you!”
Ye Qingcai’s voice shouted through the earpiece.
He hadn’t yet realized that the sudden destruction of the cage was Tu Ran’s doing. He was only focused on getting her out of there as quickly as possible, knowing the alien was right in front of her. A single turn of its head would be enough to spot her.
Ye Qingcai issued the command, and the other team members immediately moved into position.
However, things unfolded far beyond their expectations.
Tu Ran, as if she hadn’t heard a word, loaded the gun, raised her arm, aimed at Xie Heng, and pulled the trigger—all in one swift, fluid motion.
Bang!
A bullet whizzed past the alien, just barely missing it, and struck Xie Heng in the back of the head as he frantically tried to flee.
Thud.
The sickening sound of the bullet entering his skull was crystal clear. A stream of sticky liquid sprayed out from his forehead, splattering onto his mother’s silver gown.
Xie Heng collapsed lifelessly, his eyes wide open, pupils dilated—dead, with no chance for peace.
The scene unfolded so quickly that no one had time to react.
All the bodyguards were focused on the alien and never expected someone to fire a shot from the shadows.
“Heng’er!” Wu Yun turned around in disbelief, seeing her son lying motionless on the ground. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed beside him.
She touched Xie Heng’s cheeks, which were still warm, but the dark, gaping bullet hole between his eyebrows told her all she needed to know—he was gone.
“Heng’er! Heng’er, my darling Heng’er!” she cried out in anguish.
Xie Xu stood nearby, coldly observing the scene.
“Tu… Tu Ran, what are you doing?”
On the other side, Ye Qingcai’s lips trembled slightly as he stared at Tu Ran in disbelief.
Tu Ran remained in her shooting stance, her arm straight and unwavering. She didn’t respond to Ye Qingcai, her jawline tight, her eyes cold and emotionless, like a machine devoid of feeling.
Bang!
Without hesitation, she pulled the trigger again. The powerful recoil made her wrist shake slightly, but she quickly steadied it.
This time, her target was Pang Xinting, the Deputy Minister of the Executive Department, who was about to be promoted to Minister. He was being escorted by bodyguards as he followed behind Pang Shixi and his family, making their escape.
The bullet cut through the air, and just as it was about to make contact with Pang Xinting’s head, it disintegrated into dust, vanishing.
Tu Ran’s eyes narrowed—someone was using a superpower against her.
Without hesitation, she discarded the gun and silently called upon her power, [Blooming Flowers and Full Moon].
Nothing happened.
She could feel a seed planted deep within layers of flesh, quickly sprouting a small bud. But just as the bud was about to grow, it suddenly disappeared, as if an invisible hand had reached into Pang Xinting’s abdomen and precisely snuffed it out.
Throughout this process, Pang Xinting’s expression remained unchanged—fearful, but otherwise unaffected.
A cold sweat broke out across Tu Ran’s back.
Somewhere within the Wanle Temple, there was someone hiding, wielding not just one, but at least two abilities.
The fact that this person could act the moment she uttered the words [Blooming Flowers and Full Moon], severing the sprout in Pang Xinting’s body, meant they had been prepared.
For them to be prepared meant they knew about her superpower.
Yet she had never revealed her [Blooming Flowers and Full Moon] power to anyone. The only time she had ever used it was at the Sankar Arsenal, where all the surveillance had been destroyed, and everyone present had been killed.
A flurry of thoughts flashed through Tu Ran’s mind, eliminating all but two possibilities.
The person hidden in the shadows must have an ability like [Ability Identification].
Or, perhaps, an ability similar to Zhao Yan’s [Telepathy].
However, she had only instinctively whispered the words “Blooming Flowers and Full Moon” without fully considering the specifics of its effects. If the person had telepathy, they wouldn’t have been able to react so quickly, since they shouldn’t have known exactly what [Blooming Flowers and Full Moon] would do. This made the second possibility unlikely.
The person hiding in the background must have an ability akin to [Ability Identification]!
The fact that they were protecting only members of the Pang family confirmed it. Suddenly, Tu Ran realized Pang Shixi’s true motive behind forcing her to fight the alien repeatedly.
Pang Shixi wanted her ability.
The person in the background, loyal to the Pang family, must have seen her ability at the banquet and reported it to Pang Shixi. His greed was piqued, and he schemed to push her into the iron cage.
The cage was electrified, preventing her from using [Mountain Collapse and Earth Crack], so she couldn’t break free. Inside, the alien creature wanted to devour her. With only a knife for defense, and someone outside with multiple abilities targeting her, she was meant to die a certain death.
This was Pang Shixi’s plan all along.
Tu Ran smirked coldly, silently mocking their cleverness. They would never have expected her to avoid the trap altogether.
Rather than wasting energy searching for the person amid the chaotic crowd, where many others also had abilities, she knew her stamina wouldn’t last. Besides, she needed to conserve her strength for her upcoming escape.
Biting her finger, Tu Ran smeared her blood across her shoulder.
The other party could annihilate bullets as they left the chamber, could suffocate the sprout inside Pang Xinting’s belly, and it was uncertain whether the hallucinogenic mushroom could evade their attack.
With hope dwindling, Tu Ran still chose to give it a try.
Sure enough, as soon as the hallucinogenic mushroom began to take shape, it transformed into a wisp of purple smoke and dissipated.
The hallucinogenic mushroom was useless!
Tu Ran lowered her gaze, wondering what the opponent’s ability truly was!
Since he could remotely destroy bullets, mushrooms, and sprouts, why not just kill her directly?
Thinking about it, he still needed the iron cage and the alien creature to act; this indirectly indicated that his power was not outrageously strong.
Tu Ran steadied her mind.
At that moment, Zero’s command echoed among all the guards.
“Kill the alien creature, capture Tu Ran.”
“Repeat: kill the alien creature, capture Tu Ran.”
Tu Ran received another message, a reminder from Zero: “The nearby pioneers have been informed and are on their way to provide support. You need to hurry.”
Tu Ran decisively discarded her handgun and lunged toward the crowd from the Pang family.
She activated her [Teleportation].
On the third floor, Zhou Ming, who had just heard the command and was about to pull the trigger, suddenly saw Tu Ran vanish from his scope.
She disappeared in an instant.
Zhou Ming couldn’t help but curse, “Damn! What kind of monster is this?”
He quickly adjusted the direction of his sniper rifle, searching for Tu Ran’s figure in the chaotic crowd.
In addition to him, many guards pointed their guns at Tu Ran.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t hit her.
Tu Ran’s speed was too fast.
In the blink of an eye, she dashed into the midst of the fleeing members of the Pang family.
The young masters and mistresses of the Pang family were mixed in with the crowd, and they dared not open fire.
