Chapter 361 – The City
Tu Ran piloted the aircraft at an incredible speed, pushing it to its maximum limit.
Behind her, hundreds, even thousands, of aircraft swarmed in pursuit. Occasionally, some darted out from either side, attempting to ram into her, demonstrating their resolve to live and die together.
Tu Ran kept her eyes fixed on the control screen, monitoring the situation around her aircraft with precision.
They were getting closer and closer.
Some other types of aircraft had joined the chase. Sleeker in design and visibly faster, their speed was undeniable.
If she continued this reckless sprint, it was only a matter of time before they caught up to her.
Tu Ran gazed into the distance, where densely packed demonic structures rose and fell, stretching endlessly beyond sight.
This was another city.
It was the key to her complete escape.
Tu Ran’s form began to change. The beast-like pupils in her eyes gradually reverted to the dark human irises of her original form.
Amid the moments of piloting, Tu Ran retrieved a corpse from her spatial storage. It was the template she had used for her first transformation. Back then, time had been tight, and she had hurriedly thrown the corpse into her storage.
She had not expected it to come in handy now.
Placing the corpse in the pilot’s seat, Tu Ran resolutely steered the aircraft toward the base of one of the demonic structures.
The aircraft, seemingly out of control, crashed into the structure at an impossible trajectory. In an instant, it exploded, and raging flames engulfed the area. Crowds below the structure fled in panic.
The pursuing fleet came to an abrupt stop, hovering near the explosion site as they stared at the blazing inferno ahead.
Three leaders with orange pupils arrived late to the scene. They drew glowing symbols around themselves, shielding their bodies, and charged into the heart of the flames without hesitation.
Before long, they emerged, collectively carrying out a charred corpse, which they threw to the ground.
The body was utterly unrecognizable. Its head was severely damaged, tilted unnaturally to one side.
“Not a rat,” one of the orange-eyed leaders crouched beside the corpse, inspecting its hands and face before drawing his conclusion.
“Then why did he run?” another leader, with his hands clasped behind his back, gazed up at the still-burning wreckage of the aircraft, half-embedded in the demonic structure. His brow furrowed as he posed the question.
No one could provide him with an answer.
The crackling flames and the melting, falling magma obliterated every trace.
In the instant the aircraft had crashed into the structure, Tu Ran had already leapt down from five meters midair while cloaked in invisibility and blended into the panicked crowd fleeing the scene.
She transformed into a green-eyed creature once more and began heading toward her destination.
Walking was too slow. Tu Ran turned invisible again and hitched a ride on a transport aircraft traveling in the same direction, hiding among the cargo in its storage bay.
After five or six hours, the aircraft landed. Tu Ran randomly chose a “lucky individual” and assumed their appearance before continuing her journey.
Her [Sense of Direction] could only point her the way but offered no indication of distance. Thus, Tu Ran was forced to repeatedly cloak herself and swap identities.
In total, she changed identities five times and turned invisible four times over two days and six hours. Finally, she reached the borderlands as she had planned.
Crouched in the dark, cramped corner of the aircraft’s storage compartment, Tu Ran heard voices from the cockpit ahead.
“We’ve arrived at Border City.” The voice was hoarse but carried an undeniable excitement.
“This shipment is going to fetch a great price!”
Just as Tu Ran prepared to break open the storage door and jump out, she froze: A great price?
Retracting her step, she glanced at the large metal crates that had been her companions throughout the journey.
The contents were indiscernible from the outside, but that didn’t stop her from moving some of them into her spatial storage.
Money was a universal tool, no matter the world. Tu Ran firmly believed this.
Of course, she also knew the importance of moderation.
She only took less than a quarter of the cargo.
A faint hum emanated from the bottom of the aircraft, and Tu Ran knew it was about to land.
She quickly cloaked herself in invisibility and stood by the cabin door.
As the door opened, she slipped out silently.
Behind her came an angry shout, “Why is there so little left?!”
From start to finish, they never realized there had been an extra passenger on board.
The aircraft had landed on the rooftop of a tall building. As Tu Ran stepped out, a gust of wind hit her, forcing her to stumble sideways a couple of steps.
She immediately crouched down to reduce her wind resistance, curling up like a shrimp as she moved to the side of the aircraft to shield herself from the relentless wind.
Above her, the blood-red sky stretched ominously, as if it might drip blood at any moment.
The skies of the Rulers’ world seemed to always be this way. Tu Ran pulled her gaze away and cautiously crept toward the edge of the rooftop.
This so-called “Border City,” a convergence point of multiple worlds—what kind of place was it? Her curiosity burned.
What met her eyes was a city even more fantastical than the demonic structures she had seen before.
The weeping-blood sky blended with the dark purple demonic towers in a gradient of surreal beauty.
Colorful signs covered every black cavern entrance on the demonic structures, creating a stunning visual chaos.
In every language, using a variety of symbols and scripts, the signs varied in size, brightness, and style. Some flickered to catch the eye, while others used advanced technology to project straight into the retina. It was so overwhelming that Tu Ran didn’t know where to focus her gaze.
Within the countless caverns and openings in the towering structures, peculiar aircraft zipped back and forth.
Streamlined and oval designs were the most common, but there were also open-top racer styles, minimalist fire-shoe designs, broomstick-like crafts reminiscent of witches, and even golden light rings similar to the ones used by the orange-eyed leaders.
And then there were the abilities—flying abilities.
Tu Ran’s eyes followed a figure cloaked in black as they soared through the air, but their speed was so great that they disappeared behind the flashing signs in the blink of an eye.
The figure had a physique resembling a human and possessed abilities, so Tu Ran tentatively assumed they were human.
Apart from that individual, Tu Ran scanned her surroundings and noticed several other flashes of ability-generated light screens. Unfortunately, they were too far away for her to discern their exact powers. All the individuals were dressed in black robes, making it impossible to determine if they were human.
Regardless, this city seemed to be a place where she could temporarily hide her identity.
Tu Ran avoided the green-eyed workers moving cargo on the rooftop and entered the elevator. She descended swiftly.
When the elevator doors opened on the first floor, she stepped into a bustling street teeming with black-robed figures and bizarre, oddly shaped creatures of unknown species who weren’t wearing robes.
Though Tu Ran knew she was invisible and no one could see her, she remained cautious. She quickly scanned her surroundings and locked onto a dark, secluded corner. In an instant, she teleported there.
Hiding in the shadows, Tu Ran let out a self-deprecating laugh. She really had become a rat scurrying in the dark.
She didn’t fully understand the dynamics of Border City yet. Grabbing someone at random to read their memories seemed risky. For now, she would need to ask Tang Ying.
Tu Ran thought about the space where Tang Ying and Pangpang were.
Focusing her attention partially on the space, she observed the scene within.
Pangpang sat obediently next to Tang Ying, voraciously devouring food. Tang Ying occasionally reached out to stroke its fur, her gaze so soft it almost turned liquid.
Tu Ran thought to herself: I’ve never seen Tang Ying make that face before.
Tang Ying had always treated her with three parts disdain, three parts defiance, and four parts a desire to thoroughly crush her in a fight. Never had she seen her show such tenderness.
“We’re here. I’ll let you out now.”
The moment Tu Ran’s voice rang out in the spatial dimension, Tang Ying’s expression returned to its usual indifferent state as she stood up.
Tu Ran: …As expected.
With a wave of her hand, Tang Ying materialized outside the space.
In her other hand, Tu Ran held two black robes.
Thanks to her fondness for watching dramas, she had anticipated situations where she couldn’t show herself openly and had preemptively ordered a few black robes online. She hadn’t expected them to come in handy so soon.
She tossed one to Tang Ying, who was glancing around warily. Then Tu Ran made herself visible, donned the black robe, pulled on the hood, and adjusted it to cover nearly her entire face, leaving only the pale tip of her chin exposed.
