Chapter 256 – The Silly Ally
Tu Ran straddled Zeng Jing again, pulling out the dagger she had picked up downstairs and stabbing it into the back of her neck.
Her movements were brutal, showing no regard for Zeng Jing’s life or death.
She had no intention of sparing Zeng Jing’s life.
Zeng Jing struggled in pain and weakness, pounding the ground and trying to grab Tu Ran. While Tu Ran was focused on searching for the inner core, she casually yanked on Zeng Jing’s restless arm, and both of her arms came off.
“Ugh…” Zeng Jing buried her head in the ground, unable to speak, her whimpering sounds intermittently escaping from her throat.
After searching for over ten seconds with the blade, a shiny inner core finally appeared.
Tu Ran used the knife to pry it out, casually wiped it a couple of times, and put it in her pocket.
She didn’t swallow it immediately.
She still remembered how Zeng Jing had looked half-dead, vomiting blood in the surveillance footage.
Uncertain whether it was due to the inner core, she decided to find a safe place to study it before swallowing.
Her primary task now was to leave the area; she had wasted a considerable amount of time searching for Zeng Jing.
Standing up from Zeng Jing, Zero had already sent her the best escape route.
Tu Ran took one last glance at Zeng Jing, who was lying on the ground in pain and unconscious. She wiped the blade a couple of times, cleaning off the blood, sheathed the knife, picked up the submachine gun from the ground, and followed the route instructions to exit the Wanle Temple through the back door.
It went smoothly.
Upon exiting the back door of the Wanle Temple, she was faced with a tall wall.
It was estimated to be four meters high.
Tu Ran walked up to it and placed her hand against the surface.
The ground shook.
The wall began to crack, with jagged fissures spreading out in all directions.
Tu Ran retracted her hand and kicked the cracked wall, causing it to collapse instantly and create a large opening that she could pass through.
Tu Ran immediately crawled through the hole, but her movements suddenly halted.
Stefano Wells was standing about ten meters away, leisurely watching her.
Behind him were Andre and a group of fully armed subordinates.
They held various highly lethal weapons, several of which were laser guns, their dark muzzles all aimed at her.
Instinctively, Tu Ran took a step back, keeping a wary eye on them.
Stefano spoke up, “I can save you and spare you the need to run away, as long as you’re willing to stay by my side and continue our cooperation.”
Tu Ran scoffed coldly, “Are you trying to save me, Mr. Wells, or are you trying to save my inner core?”
Stefano, caught in the act, showed no anger but responded seriously, “Of course, I will save you. As long as you don’t show any signs of running away, I won’t kill you.”
What the hell, is he trying to imprison me?
“No thanks,” Tu Ran raised her submachine gun, aiming it at him with a cold gaze. “Will you voluntarily make way, or should I force my way out?”
Stefano’s expression turned slightly displeased as he stared at her, torn between wanting to kill her and being wary of her abilities.
Seeing his indecision, Tu Ran suddenly softened her tone. “Stefano, I really don’t want to kill you. I appreciate your kindness towards me. Right now, we can’t be allies, but we don’t have to become enemies either, right? Besides, you can’t kill me now. Why not let me go? In the future, when I am alone and wandering, the only powerful family I can contact is yours. Just think about it—won’t I repay you then?”
Tu Ran’s attitude was exceptionally sincere, and her gaze was incredibly earnest. “You are the head of one of the three major financial conglomerates, so you must understand investment the best. Letting me go is an investment; the returns I’ll provide in the future will definitely be limitless. If you act against me now, your own safety will be at stake. Doesn’t that seem unwise?”
Stefano fell silent for a moment, looking at Tu Ran. “Are you sure you’ll repay me in the future?”
“Of course!” Tu Ran assured him, patting her chest. “One must be honest and loyal. You have treated me so well, which makes you my friend, and I will certainly repay you.”
Stefano slightly furrowed his brow and emphasized, “Allies, not friends.”
“Alright, allies,” Tu Ran amended, going along with his earnest sentiment.
The investment theory Tu Ran proposed at that moment was something Stefano had never practiced before; he was not opposed to this kind of theory.
After thinking for a moment, Stefano waved his hand, and his subordinates immediately lowered their weapons, clearing a path for Tu Ran.
“Go ahead,” Stefano said.
Tu Ran suppressed the smile in her eyes. As she passed a guard holding a laser gun, she stopped and turned back to Stefano, pointing at the gun. “Can you give me a laser gun?” She added, “The greater the investment, the greater the return.”
Stefano: “…” Shameless, taking advantage, this is exactly the kind of person they were talking about.
“Take it and hurry up,” Stefano said. “The pioneers are almost here.”
He didn’t want his investment to die in the cradle.
“Thanks!” Tu Ran snatched the laser gun from the guard and quickly left.
The guard gazed longingly at her retreating figure, wanting to cry without tears. It was finally his turn to use the laser gun today…
Tu Ran followed Zero’s instructions and turned into a remote alley, where she found a somewhat worn-down flying vehicle in the corner.
“Is this the one?” Tu Ran asked through her earpiece.
“Yes,” Zero replied.
Tu Ran immediately opened the door and sat in the cockpit.
Looking at the control screen and the various buttons in front of her, Tu Ran remembered that she didn’t know how to operate a flying vehicle, and neither did her original self.
“…It has an autopilot feature, right?”
“Buckle up.”
In the next moment, the flying vehicle shot straight up vertically, speeding away in the direction opposite the Wanle Temple.
Through the cockpit glass, Tu Ran saw hundreds of patrol cars rushing toward the Wanle Temple, along with helicopters from the Pioneer Team.
Like migrating birds, the sky was densely covered.
A heavy atmosphere hung over all the mechanical birds, reminiscent of a somber apocalyptic war film.
Zero maneuvered Tu Ran’s vehicle downward, avoiding the flying combat team above.
The sky was blocked out, and the space inside the flying vehicle grew dim. Tu Ran looked up through the sunroof, gazing at the vehicles that were flying in the opposite direction.
This was her first time deeply experiencing the overwhelming grip of the Federal Government. While she was shocked, she also became acutely aware of how powerful the force she was opposing truly was.
From now on, all forty-two states of the Federation would launch a fierce manhunt for her.
Fortunately, she still had Zero.
This super AI, serving all forty-two states of the Federation, was her ally.
At the same time, Zero’s voice echoed in the earpieces of all the pioneers and guards heading to the Wanle Temple: “We’ve arrived at the Wanle Temple. Please prepare for landing.”
…
Ding Naiqing stood absentmindedly beside Zeng Jing’s body, while Min Tao squatted down, checking for a pulse.
“She’s still alive! Call for the medical department!”
Xiao Di quickly ran to summon a doctor from the medical department, who happened to be Meng Fancheng, sent over as reinforcement.
Meng Fancheng brought his companions along, first applying pressure to stop the blood that was continuously flowing from Zeng Jing’s neck.
