Chapter 47 – Head
They possessed humans because, through humans, they could obtain the fresh organs and succulent flesh they craved.
They learned human habits and disguised themselves as humans because this allowed them to avoid human attacks, live longer, and consume more delicacies.
It was akin to a dog learning to beg because, fundamentally, this behavior led to receiving food as a reward.
And now, with a piece of fat meat placed in front of them, would they really consider whether there were surveillance cameras around, whether humans would discover them, or even destroy the cameras first before starting to eat?
Tu Ran did not believe their intelligence had evolved to such a degree.
“Parasitic aliens are a bit smarter than ordinary aliens, but they don’t possess much wisdom. It is said that most parasitic aliens have the intelligence of four- or five-year-old children,” Ding Naiqing recalled. “I remember the research institute once studied the brain of a flying alien. It was said to be the smartest among known aliens, but it only had the intelligence of an eight-year-old human child.”
Therefore, the traps she had set were sufficient.
And now, with the surveillance destroyed, the most suspicious were those in the know.
Tubin and those ten guards.
“What do you think is the reason for the surveillance malfunction?” Tu Ran asked again, as she didn’t know much about these things. “Can the surveillance footage be remotely manipulated or damaged?”
Hearing this, Ding Naiqing entered some codes on the console that Tu Ran couldn’t understand. After a series of dazzling operations, he said, “It can be done, but this time it’s not that. It’s an issue on the farm’s side.”
“Then the biggest suspect now is Tubin.” Tu Ran mused thoughtfully.
She couldn’t understand why Tubin would do such a thing if it really were him. Didn’t he know that if the surveillance had a problem, he would be the most suspicious?
“Sister Ran, since we’re going to the farm today, shouldn’t we visit Mr. Egan’s wife?”
Today?
Tu Ran glanced at the time. It was already 12:30 AM.
She tiredly rubbed her temples. “Yes, we should pay a visit. We can’t see anything from the surveillance now anyway. You should go back and rest.”
“Okay, Sister Ran, you should rest early too,” Ding Naiqing said with concern. “You don’t look well.”
“Got it,” Tu Ran nodded and took several gulps of water from the cup beside her, trying to quell her irritation.
With her life hanging by a thread, it was no wonder she didn’t look well.
After seeing Ding Naiqing off, Tu Ran quickly took a shower. Ten minutes later, she set her alarm and immediately fell asleep.
At 7 AM, the helicopter took off from the hotel rooftop.
Xie Xu had assigned two pioneers to join them on the flight.
Seeing the two additional people, Ding Naiqing secretly communicated with Tu Ran, “Sister Ran, aren’t these the people from Researcher Xie’s team looking for the Threshold? Why are they with us now?”
Tu Ran calmly replied, “Xie Xu learned about our situation yesterday. He was worried we couldn’t handle it, so he sent us a few helpers.”
“Researcher Xie is surprisingly considerate,” Ding Naiqing remarked.
Considerate, my foot! Tu Ran couldn’t help but want to curse.
Half an hour later, the helicopter landed in Fengli County.
Tubin had been waiting there early. When he saw the helicopter door open, he ran over in a few quick steps.
“You finally arrived. There are many corpses at the farm today, and they died in the same way as Mr. Egan. We’re all huddled together now, too scared to move,” Tubin was both anxious and agitated, sticking close to Tu Ran and rambling, “You must catch that monster. If you don’t, everyone at the farm will die… Everyone will die…”
He even reached out, trying to grab Tu Ran’s arm.
“Stop, stop! Don’t touch her!” Ding Naiqing quickly blocked his movement, using his body to separate him from Tu Ran.
Since they still couldn’t confirm if Tubin was one of the aliens, if he touched Sister Ran and infected her, their group’s hope would be lost.
He had to protect Sister Ran.
“Don’t worry, we’ll definitely catch the alien today,” Ding Naiqing assured him.
“It better be that way, it better be,” Tubin muttered, looking dazed and frightened out of his wits.
Tu Ran squinted her eyes. Seeing him like this, he seemed utterly terrified, as if he’d lost his mind.
She asked, “Did you know the farm’s surveillance was damaged yesterday?”
Tubin’s eyes widened in shock. “Damaged? I didn’t know. After you all left yesterday, everyone went back to their rooms to rest. I also went back to my room and didn’t come out again. I didn’t know the surveillance was damaged.”
Tu Ran and Ding Naiqing exchanged a glance. If Tubin was an alien, then his intelligence was certainly high.
As they spoke, the group had already reached the entrance of the farm’s most luxurious villa.
“Where’s the Mastiff’s body?” Ding Naiqing asked, surprised to see the entrance empty.
“In the morning, when we came out, there was nothing here,” Tubin said.
Tu Ran crouched down slightly, and in the early morning light, she saw drag marks on the ground.
She smelled blood.
It was faint but noticeable to her.
She followed the scent, moving slowly until she stopped at a patch of tall grass.
This was where she had hidden her camera.
The smell of blood was so strong it was nauseating, even Ding Naiqing could smell it.
“Sister Ran, stand back a bit. I’ll take a look,” Ding Naiqing said.
Tu Ran stepped back, giving Ding Naiqing space. He aimed his machine gun at the center of the grass, parting it to reveal the source of the strong scent.
A pale head appeared.
It wasn’t the Mastiff’s.
Blonde hair matted with sticky blood.
It was a human head.
As the head came into full view, the stench of blood grew even stronger, hitting Tu Ran’s sensitive nose and making her stomach churn.
“It’s Karen Singh,” Liang Feng suddenly said from beside them. “She was the one paired with Naya Rivera for questioning.”
He remembered her face clearly from yesterday when he and Li Wu were searching for people.
Tu Ran was certain that when she hid the mini camera here yesterday, there was absolutely no trace of blood.
This head had been placed here last night.
And now that the head was here… Tu Ran began to search for her camera, finally finding it just in front of Karen Singh’s head.
Karen Singh’s unclosed eyes stared directly into the camera.
A shiver ran down Tu Ran’s spine.
It felt like a warning and a threat.
She couldn’t move her feet; she was too afraid to retrieve the mini camera.
Thankfully, Ding Naiqing was not deterred by such scenes. He picked up the camera without hesitation, blew off the dust, and handed it to Tu Ran with a smile. “Luckily, it didn’t get any blood on it.”
