Chapter 334 – Encounter with Xi Chunzhi
Tu Ran moved slowly along with the crowd. She used her [Sense of Direction] to locate Xie Xie’ao’s position, but since she was unsure of the security situation around him, she had to wait for Zero to send her the information before taking any action.
On either side of the road, small stalls sold all sorts of novelty items. Tu Ran occasionally stopped to take a look, passing the time and also blending in better with the surrounding people.
“It’s already gone up to 1.5 billion. The remaining 19 on the top wanted list combined aren’t worth as much as her.”
Tu Ran’s ears twitched as she heard this.
Was that about her?
Since accumulating enough mental power, her five senses had been enhanced, making her highly sensitive to her surroundings.
The two people speaking walked past her and stopped by a nearby stall selling antiques.
Tu Ran kept her head down, focusing on the commemorative prosthetic eye she was examining. The eye’s artificial blood vessels and nerves, designed to mimic human anatomy, were incredibly lifelike.
As her fingers touched different nerves, the eye reacted in various ways: the pupil would dilate or contract, the eyeball would become bloodshot or steady, all mimicking a real human eye. The details were so precise that she could even observe emotional shifts. Tu Ran marveled at the greatness of technology, but the conversation from the nearby stall caught her attention once again.
“1.5 billion… If I could make that much money, I’d definitely retire from everything,” one of the speakers said, rubbing his hands together with longing in his voice.
“Be careful. You might earn it, but you won’t live to spend it.” The other person glanced around, lowered his voice, and leaned in close to his companion’s ear. “The assassin has made it clear: anyone who dares to touch Tu Ran will find themselves and their entire lineage dug up and skinned alive. If you’re not thinking about yourself, think about your son.”
Although their voices were deliberately quiet, Tu Ran, ever alert, clearly heard every word.
Assassin.
Tu Ran’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.
Xi Chunzhi had once said that if she became a bounty hunter, her codename would be “Assassin.”
Could it be Xi Chunzhi? Tu Ran wasn’t sure. Ever since Xi Chunzhi had left, they hadn’t had any contact.
Especially now, with the whole world aware that she was from another world, Xi Chunzhi must have figured out that she wasn’t the original Tu Ran.
Their relationship seemed to have ended, silently and without her realizing.
But she couldn’t help but want to hear more about Xi Chunzhi.
“Brother, you’re overestimating me. I was just talking. How could I really go after her? I’m not stupid enough to risk my life. Besides, even if I wanted money over my life, I’d need some luck to even run into her.” The man shook his head. “With my luck, I’d probably miss her even if she stood right in front of me.”
Tu Ran: “…” To be honest, this guy knew himself pretty well.
Wasn’t she, in fact, standing right in front of him, less than three meters away?
The two men sighed simultaneously and left the stall, continuing to walk with the crowd.
Tu Ran immediately put down what she was holding and followed them.
The stall owner, who had assumed Tu Ran would buy something after standing in front of his stall for so long, had already prepared a bag. When she left without so much as a glance back, the shopkeeper was left heartbroken.
Tu Ran kept close behind the two men. The crowd was dense, and most people were moving together, so she didn’t attract any suspicion from them.
“By the way, who exactly is she? A pretty skilled hunter. I don’t think I’ve heard her name before,” the man on the left asked.
“She just showed up two months ago. When Boss Qian was still alive, he investigated her, but found nothing. It was like she suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the Federation.”
Tu Ran listened quietly.
Two months ago was when Xi Chunzhi had faked her death and left the Federation.
“I heard Boss Qian had some connections with the higher-ups,” the man on the left raised his chin, speaking in a veiled tone, “He couldn’t even find anything on her?”
His companion shook his head. “Not even that super AI could find any information on her.”
Tu Ran: Xi Chunzhi’s whereabouts were concealed by Zero, so of course, Zero wouldn’t share any information about her with them.
The man on the left was shocked, his mouth slightly open, unsure of what to say.
His companion sighed heavily and continued revealing things the other didn’t know, “From the moment she showed up and killed several of Boss Qian’s men, Boss Qian started to be wary of her. Who would have thought she’d end up killing him in the end? Tsk, tsk. The former boss had been so arrogant for so many years. He probably never imagined his own fate would be to end up hanging on a wall as a specimen. Life really is unpredictable.”
“Now, to take a contract, we still have to go through her. She’s pretty much replaced Boss Qian’s position. But that might not be such a bad thing. Her cut is half of what Boss Qian took, so we can make more of the blood money we earn.”
Tu Ran listened to their conversation and had a vague understanding of Xi Chunzhi’s activities over the past two months.
She truly did it—creating a legend in the Pioneer Team and then achieving her goal in the shadows, all in just two months.
After that, the two men stopped talking about anything useful.
Tu Ran walked further away from them.
Her communicator vibrated twice. She lowered her head to light up the screen, seeing a message from Zero.
[The security system of Xie Xie’ao’s residence has been entirely handed over to another AI. They’ve grown suspicious of me, and all my access within the estate has been revoked. I cannot gather any useful information.]
This was not good news for Tu Ran. Losing Zero’s assistance and being under the watch of another AI meant her actions were nearly transparent. As soon as she got close to the Xie Residence’s vicinity, she would be detected.
“Where is its mainframe?” Tu Ran asked. Destroying the mainframe would render even the most powerful AI useless.
[I cannot locate it.]
Tu Ran: “……”
Tu Ran: “They built another AI right under your nose, and you didn’t even know.”
Even Xie Xu had no idea that his older brother and father had long been suspicious of him and taking precautions against him.
[This is my oversight. I am trying to infiltrate “Jay.”]
Tu Ran glanced at the sky. A faint light appeared on the horizon—dawn was approaching.
“How long will it take you?”
[Uncertain.]
Tu Ran: “…Hurry up.”
Zero didn’t respond, likely because it had begun attempting to infiltrate “Jay.”
Plans often couldn’t keep up with changes, and with no better option, Tu Ran continued to wander aimlessly.
Suddenly, a hand slapped her shoulder hard.
Tu Ran jolted, realizing she hadn’t noticed when the person had gotten close. Her dagger slipped out of her sleeve and aimed for the person’s neck. However, just as the blade was about to make contact, Tu Ran glanced back, recognized the figure, and changed the angle of her strike. The blade barely grazed their neck—if it had been a millimeter deeper, it would have drawn blood.
“Tu Ran, why are you so jumpy?” A beautiful female voice, full of laughter, rang out.
It mirrored the first words Xi Chunzhi had said when they met in Tu Ran’s memory.
Tu Ran lowered the hand holding the dagger, staring at Xi Chunzhi in front of her. In just two months, her appearance had changed drastically.
