Chapter 53 – Special Ability
This is also why Ding Naiqing mentioned that it was the first time he had seen a snake alien. When Xie Xu heard about this alien, he immediately stated that this alien could reproduce hundreds of offspring in a single day.
The snake in front of them was the unfortunate alien.
At that time, it was still very small, less than a meter long, curious about everything, and not hostile towards humans.
Back then, it had no idea what it was going to experience in the future.
Nightmarish memories came flooding back.
It was taken to a human research facility and subjected to a series of inhumane experiments.
As it described, disassembly, modification, and reassembly.
It experienced it all.
At that time, very few humans who entered the Threshold survived, so humans wanted to transform it into a biological weapon that could serve humanity.
Humans plucked its original scales and installed armor plates made of the most durable materials.
Humans dissected its belly and brain, studying everything that was still unknown to them.
Every day, a bag of its blood was drawn, and different fluids were injected into its body. To prevent it from escaping, it was kept in a lightless cage.
It had no food; the nutrient solution was its only sustenance.
This dismal existence continued for seven years, and it reached adulthood.
In the alien world, few alien species developed a core and awakened a special ability upon reaching adulthood.
It was fortunate; it discovered that a core had grown inside its body, allowing it to see the past and future.
Using this ability, it managed to escape the research facility while the researchers were not paying attention.
It emerged from its small confinement and entered the vast human world.
In this world, it encountered a little girl who treated it with kindness.
Because of the rain, its armor plates malfunctioned, restricting its movement and preventing it from escaping.
It could only lie in a puddle like human trash, unable to move no matter how anxious it was.
At that moment, a little girl holding an umbrella noticed it. She shielded it from the pouring rain and, seeing it blink, took it home. She cleaned its scales and dried its body.
It could move freely again, but it chose not to leave; it couldn’t find its way home.
With its current appearance, even if it returned home, it would be rejected by the other hook snakes.
So it decided to stay.
It did not remain in the form of a mechanical snake.
Instead, it chose to possess a man’s body, controlling his torso.
Because it had been modified by humans, it didn’t need to change hosts; it continued to occupy the man’s body and lived on.
Later, the Threshold suddenly descended upon Reigaken State.
Its kin—the other hook snakes—emerged from the Threshold, coincidentally possessing the body of Kenny Egan and arriving at his farm.
These hook snakes caused such a commotion that it alarmed the Federation.
It had advised them to be more discreet, but its kin were too greedy, changing hosts one after another, leading to more and more deaths on the farm.
This eventually resulted in the current situation.
It did not want to harm humans, even though they had drastically altered its body. Besides the groom, it had never killed another human.
All it sought was to stay by Mrs. Egan’s side.
Reality is always so cruel.
Tu Ran sighed.
The wound on the back of the hook snake’s neck was still bleeding, soaking the white mattress.
She walked around the bed and stopped in front of Ding Naiqing.
Beside him lay a long knife.
It was brought in by the hook snake.
Tu Ran slowly bent down, picked up the knife, gripped the handle tightly, and then aimed at the wound on the back of the hook snake’s neck, stabbing down.
She perfectly covered the wound where the core had been extracted.
No one could know that she had obtained the hook snake’s core.
This stab was meant to mislead others.
After completing all this, Tu Ran finally turned her attention to the still-unconscious Ding Naiqing.
She half-squatted down and patted his face.
At the moment of contact with his cheek, some scattered fragments rushed into her mind.
These included Ding Naiqing’s childhood experiences, how he joined the pioneer team, and the dangers he encountered in the Threshold.
The sudden influx of information caused Tu Ran’s head to ache with a splitting pain.
It turned out that as long as she touched someone, she could read their past.
So, when Tubin nudged her a few times when they got off the plane this morning, it was that brief contact that allowed him to see her past.
After three minutes, the pain in her head subsided. Tu Ran exhaled deeply and looked at the still-unconscious Ding Naiqing, then slapped him.
“Wake up!”
Ding Naiqing instantly woke up, looking around in confusion.
When Ding Naiqing saw Tu Ran, his eyes immediately softened, and he happily called out, “Sister Ran.”
He never imagined that the person who had slapped him awake was the one standing right in front of him.
Tu Ran didn’t respond to his greeting. Instead, she asked with a serious expression, “What did you see before you passed out?”
Frightened by her imposing manner, Ding Naiqing shrank back. Why did it feel like Sister Ran had reverted to her former stern self?
He recalled for a moment, then realized something and hastily shook his head. “I didn’t see anything.”
Smart move.
Tu Ran patted his shoulder and repeated, “Remember, you didn’t see anything. You fought with the alien, passed out, and know nothing about what happened afterward.”
“Yes.” Ding Naiqing blinked his big eyes and nodded earnestly.
At this moment, he felt that if he said anything wrong, Sister Ran would chop off his head without hesitation and blame his death on the alien.
Outside, the sound of running footsteps approached.
Then, the door was kicked open.
It was the two helpers Tu Ran had been eagerly waiting for earlier.
But now, they were no longer needed.
The two of them entered the room, quickly assessing the chaotic scene, and walked briskly towards the hook snake.
It was already dead. The two angrily questioned Tu Ran, “Did you kill it?”
“It was too strong. I couldn’t control it while ensuring my own safety, and you two were taking too long to arrive, so I had no choice but to kill it,” Tu Ran replied without flinching.
Was she implying that the hook snake’s death was their fault?
“The researcher will be here soon. You can explain it to him,” one of them said irritably.
Tu Ran lazily glanced at them, then turned and walked out.
In the hallway, a team of people was approaching.
In the forefront, it was Xie Xu.
Following behind him was Li Wenchuan.
They actually arrived so quickly?
Tu Ran was momentarily stunned.
Xie Xu passed by her and went straight to the room where the hooked snake had died.
Tu Ran watched his imposing figure walk away and pursed her lips.
Li Wenchuan, on the other hand, was very lively, smiling as he asked her, “How did the mission go?”
“Not good, it died.”
