Chapter 259 – Return to the Threshold
Every time the Threshold opened, the Executive Department dispatched a large number of security officers to guard it.
On that day, there were even more guards stationed outside the Threshold.
Tu Ran stared at the guards, which was more than three times the usual number, as well as some pioneers blocking outside the Threshold who had no intention of entering. For a moment, she was speechless.
“Some upper echelons of the Federation believed that you had not left the administrative center and might take advantage of the opening of the Threshold to return inside. Therefore, they increased the security outside the Threshold and ordered some pioneers to remain outside and surround you this time.”
Tu Ran was momentarily at a loss for words. She adjusted the aircraft and landed in an inconspicuous location, then got out and approached on foot.
Zero transmitted the scene outside the Threshold in real time to her.
As the Threshold opened, pioneers began to emerge one after another.
In the past, when they came out, they were met with countless deep gun barrels pointed at them. They had grown accustomed to that scene, but today, when they emerged, they saw a row of people dressed as pioneers with their backs to them, and they immediately felt that something was off.
Some people froze in place, hesitant to move, while the familiar blonde-haired, blue-eyed female police officer led them and escorted them into the glass dome.
Tu Ran landed a distance away from the vacuum zone of the Threshold, avoiding the attention of those individuals.
She changed into the security uniform she had prepared in advance, removed her mechanical headpiece and placed it in a mirror, donned the special helmet of the Executive Department’s security, and took the weapons assigned to the security. She confidently approached the encirclement.
With Zero acting as her inside man, she was not worried about being exposed.
As she neared the perimeter, a security officer stopped her, raising the biometric identification equipment towards her and stating, “Identity verification.”
Tu Ran cooperatively removed her goggles, revealing only her eyes.
“Identification successful. Executive Department intern security, Aidie.”
“Go on in.” The guard had no doubts and stepped aside to let her pass.
Tu Ran successfully entered the encirclement and, following Zero’s instructions, stood in the position that Aidie was supposed to occupy.
Aidie was a new undercover agent prepared by Xie Xu to be placed in the Executive Department. All her identity information and background materials were ready, and now that Tu Ran needed this identity, it was temporarily given to her.
Aidie’s position was relatively forward, with two rows of stormtroopers and two rows of assault troops in front of her. Further ahead were the pioneers holding laser guns. Behind her were heavy gunners and heavy artillery, and beyond that were snipers, with helicopters and drones circling above.
Everyone was tense and ready at a moment’s notice, even their breathing deliberately quieted. Despite the large number of people, it was unusually silent. Tu Ran reasonably suspected that if she suddenly fired a shot, the group would instinctively follow suit.
At that moment, they still had not realized that their target was mingling among them.
Even afterward, they would not dare to believe that the young security guard standing among them was actually the rebel, Tu Ran.
Blending in with the crowd, holding her gun, Tu Ran fixed her gaze through the scope at the Threshold, which was only about fifty meters away.
Within her line of sight, there was no one or nothing that posed a threat to her.
Everything was ready.
A slight bead of sweat formed in her palm as she took a barely noticeable deep breath, mentally counting down.
“…Three, two, one!”
“Whoosh—”
Tu Ran activated [Teleportation], pushing to maximum power as she surged through the crowd towards the Threshold.
The guards did not react, and the pioneers also failed to respond.
The moment Tu Ran stepped into the wall, countless bullets and lasers fired at her back, but none touched her; they were all deflected by the wall and redirected elsewhere.
It was too late.
Everyone’s movements slowed.
The target had already entered the Threshold.
Under layers of blockade, she had entered the Threshold openly and safely.
Perhaps to vent their frustration, the gunfire continued for more than a minute before it finally ceased. Everyone viciously hoped their bullets could cross two worlds and follow Tu Ran into her body.
Once the shooting stopped, a prolonged silence enveloped the area. Everyone surrounding the Threshold, whether guards or pioneers, stared at each other, their eyes blank, filled with confusion and disbelief.
Finally, a voice broke the silence, like a stone dropped into a still lake, sending ripples across the calm surface.
“What… what just happened?”
A guard to the right of where Tu Ran had stood spoke up.
“She was just… just standing next to me, and then suddenly, she was gone.”
“In one second, no, less than one second,” the guard on the left trembled slightly, “it might have been 0.1 seconds; she just zipped in.”
“Was that an ability? Is that what an ability is?” A witness from the back displayed a fervent expression as he pushed through the crowd, heading toward the Threshold.
“Hey, where are you going?”
“I want an ability; I want to enter the Threshold too. Abilities shouldn’t only belong to the pioneers. We guards are no worse than the pioneers. I want an ability; I want to enter the Threshold…” He kept repeating this phrase, almost entranced.
No one stopped him.
Everyone quietly watched as he walked into the Threshold and vanished, followed by a second and a third who also moved forward.
The pioneers could no longer hold their ground; they wanted abilities too. Now that Tu Ran had escaped back into the Threshold, their mission remained unfulfilled, but there was no room for retreat. Why should they wait there? Their chances of obtaining an inner core by entering the Threshold were higher than those of the guards.
The scene immediately descended into chaos.
The crowd jostled and pushed towards the Threshold.
Inside the glass dome, the medical staff pressed against the glass, watching the scene outside.
“Don’t these people understand their own abilities?” Meng Fancheng had his face tightly pressed against the glass, looking somewhat twisted and distorted. “The goddess’s power is right there; they can only find inner cores from aliens. Isn’t going in just a death wish?”
His thoughts remained on Tu Ran, while his companions contemplated more.
“Why don’t they stop them if they know they’re walking to their deaths?”
Another person scoffed. “Of course, it’s for the inner core. Do you think the upper echelons sent so many people to capture Tu Ran just for fun? It’s all about her inner core. To those people, the inner core is incredibly important. If the guards want to die, so be it. They don’t care; not being able to retrieve the inner core is fine. If they can get it back, that would be an unexpected surprise.”
He looked outside through the glass, and from their perspective, the crowd resembled a group of people crashing into a wall, rushing forward one after another, reminiscent of moths flying into a flame.
“If they’re lucky, some of them might return alive with an inner core. However, it’s highly likely that the people above will make them hand it over. If they’ve already swallowed it, then it’s over; the upper echelons will find ways to deal with them secretly. Unless they can reach Tu Ran’s level, ensuring no one can catch them.” He paused and added, “But the odds are, they won’t reach Tu Ran’s level.”
Meng Fancheng retracted his neck, adjusted his hairstyle a bit, and agreed, “You make a good point. Those ordinary folks really can’t reach my goddess’s level.”
