Chapter 57 – Elimination
It was like a game of hide and seek in the city.
Raindrops hit Tu Ran’s helmet visor, streaming down both sides.
Her combat suit was soaked with rain, clinging to her body. Fortunately, the protective suit had an internal heating system, preventing Tu Ran from freezing to the point where she couldn’t hold her gun.
She heard Ding Naiqing’s rapid voice in her ear, “Sister Ran, he’s southeast of you, right under the tallest tech building.”
Ding Naiqing was currently at the top of the building, operating a drone, constantly updating Tu Ran and Yao Bei on the alien’s movements.
“Sister Yao, head back. He’s behind the building behind you.”
Both of them moved to surround the tech building.
Their team had ten members, with the other six clearing aliens elsewhere.
The four of them had coincidentally met today and decided to team up.
At this moment, only the two of them were cornering an alien, not an advantageous position.
Tu Ran didn’t dare relax for a moment. Over the past two days of continuous practice, she had improved significantly. She had tried all kinds of weapons, and her proficiency and accuracy had sharply increased.
Facing the alien directly now, she felt more confident.
The tech building was close.
Tu Ran slowed her steps, carefully approaching to avoid alerting the alien, her finger on the trigger, ready to shoot at any moment.
Ding Naiqing’s voice softened, though even if he spoke louder, the helmet would block the sound from reaching the alien.
“Sister Ran, go east. There’s a garbage heap. He’s hiding behind a black trash can.”
He then connected to Yao Bei’s headset, “Sister Yao, walk about ten meters west, turn around and you’ll see a garbage heap. He’s hiding there.”
Following Ding Naiqing’s instructions and the route displayed on her helmet visor, Tu Ran headed towards the garbage heap.
Raindrops beat against the various materials in the garbage heap, perfectly masking Tu Ran’s footsteps.
The so-called garbage heap was actually a mountain of trash.
Piles of steel waste were stacked here, and at a glance, all she could see were the black trash cans Ding Naiqing had mentioned.
How was she supposed to find it?
“With so many trash cans, which one is it hiding behind?” Tu Ran asked while activating the built-in thermal imaging device in her helmet for a scan.
“Sister Ran, it has left Brother Jing’s body. I can’t track it at the moment,” Ding Naiqing replied quickly, lowering the drone’s flight path to aid the search.
The thermal imaging display appeared on her visor, clearly outlining the shapes of the various pieces of garbage—big and small, in a chaotic mess.
The multitude of objects made Tu Ran’s eyes blur.
Finding a cold-blooded creature among all this was no easy task.
“Zero,” Tu Ran whispered, “can’t you analyze its position?”
“Apologies, Zero cannot identify its location,” Zero’s voice was calm and mechanical.
Tu Ran gave up on that approach. It seemed she had to rely on herself.
Switching off the thermal imaging device, she moved towards the mountainous pile of garbage.
Most of the trash consisted of mechanical waste—discarded production machines, rusty components, human limb parts, iron plates, and steel bars.
There was little household waste, and the smell was bearable.
“Sister Ran, there was an unusual sound about thirteen meters in front of you a moment ago. You should check it out,” Ding Naiqing advised.
Following his suggestion, Tu Ran advanced.
The closer she got to the indicated spot, the more cautious she became.
Finally reaching the location Ding Naiqing had described, Tu Ran looked around. There was no sign of the alien. She whispered, “There’s nothing here. Did it run off again?”
