Chapter 231: Balancing on Both Sides 12
Kui Xin did not disturb anyone further, nor did she continue to wake up the caregiver.
Yu Hansue had her own secrets, and Kui Xin knew this. She had her own secrets as well, so she wouldn’t pry into Yu Hansue’s unless the latter voluntarily revealed them. Knowing too many secrets about someone isn’t always a good thing. Yu Hansue wasn’t absolutely safe in the Second World, and neither was Kui Xin; neither had perfect assurance of keeping their secrets secure in any situation.
Yu Hansue could be extremely stubborn in certain aspects, holding firmly to what she believed, to the extent that no one could change her mind. To some degree, she was the kind of person who wouldn’t turn back until she hit the wall.
Tonight, she took the risk of being discovered to leave the hospital. Where was she going? What was she planning to do?
At midnight, the number of nurses on duty was reduced. The medication Yu Hansue needed had already been administered during the day, so the nurses would not come for rounds. As for the caregiver… it was likely they would not wake up anytime soon.
There were no visible injuries on the caregiver’s body; she hadn’t been knocked out. The hospital had various pharmaceuticals, and perhaps Yu Hansue managed to procure something that temporarily put the caregiver to sleep. It was unlikely she had injected her with too much medication or would be gone for long—she might return shortly.
Yu Hansue herself possessed A-grade extraordinary abilities, related to time, which undoubtedly gave her a means of self-protection. Generally, she was not the kind of person to act foolishly, and the landing place for the Dark Realm was not a provincial capital. In such a large city, there were no mutated beings or xenomorphs wandering about, so Kui Xin wasn’t overly worried about her safety.
After thinking for a few seconds, Kui Xin walked to the bedside and felt the bed. The blanket still held warmth—it was hot. Yu Hansue must have left no more than five minutes ago.
Kui Xin activated data manipulation, a stream of data flooded her vision as she interfaced with the port. Effortlessly, she took control of the hospital’s computers and began reviewing the surveillance footage from five minutes prior.
The footage appeared as if fast-forwarded; Kui Xin scanned through it frame by frame to find traces of Yu Hansue.
The hospital’s surveillance checks concluded with no sign of Yu Hansue.
Kui Xin expanded her search range, starting to look through the city’s scattered cameras for clues.
Yu Hansue did not possess the ability for shadow transition to conceal her form and leap over obstacles. In a big city filled with surveillance cameras, there might be a clue…
Moments later, Kui Xin caught a suspicious image.
It was from a surveillance camera at a nearby convenience store, where a shadow darted past the edge of the camera at high speed. Analyzing the frames, Kui Xin identified that the shadow was indeed a person, but the speed was abnormal, nearly matching her own instantaneous shadow transition.
The Wheel of Time could accelerate the healing rate of wounds; such acceleration operated at a microscopic level, causing rapid cell division. So, on a macroscopic level, could the Wheel of Time also enhance Yu Hansue’s movement speed?
Kui Xin felt she was touching the truth.
Without hesitating, she flashed to the windowsill, and with no one around, she used shadow transition to jump down from the third floor, landing steadily.
Kui Xin decided to find Yu Hansue.
It wasn’t that she was curious about her secret, but an ominous premonition stirred within her—something significant would happen tonight, a warning from her inherent talent “Absolute Prediction.”
…
Yu Hansue hurried along, sprinting nonstop for twenty minutes, finally closing in on the agreed meeting point.
At this time, she was still about three hundred meters away from the designated place, her chest heaving heavily as she struggled to catch her breath; her throat and lungs ached. Since the end of the physical test, she hadn’t engaged in such intense exercise.
Her physical fitness in the Second World was average; she was merely a researcher without exceptional combat prowess or an extraordinary physique. Although her situation had improved somewhat after gaining extraordinary abilities—allowing for faster recovery and greater strength—it was far from comparable to trained soldiers. So, while rushing, Yu Hansue had to utilize her extraordinary abilities to accelerate, covering a considerable distance in a short time, which left her somewhat exhausted.
Following the methods taught by her high school PE teacher, Yu Hansue worked hard to regulate her breathing. Five minutes later, her breathing steadied, returning to its normal state.
Once she got her bearings, Yu Hansue moved her arms a bit and pulled out her mobile phone to check her private messages.
Augus: “[Image] The goods are here, the password is 0316.”
Yu Hansue suppressed her racing heart and proceeded towards the location.
Under the dim streetlights, a metal trash bin stood quietly on the side of the road, with no one else around; the air was eerily still.
Yu Hansue zeroed in on the target, slowly approaching the trash bin.
She lifted the lid and peeked inside, discovering a twenty-eight-inch suitcase nestled within.
The suitcase was exceptionally large, and its contents felt heavy. As Yu Hansue grasped the handle and tried to pull it out, the wheels inadvertently struck the edge of the metal trash bin, creating a loud noise.
“Bang!”
The sound of heavy collision reverberated clearly through the night. Yu Hansue instinctively paused, glancing around warily until she confirmed that there was nothing unusual before she felt assured enough to place the suitcase on the ground.
She crouched down and entered the code 0316 into the suitcase’s combination lock. With a click, the lock opened. She involuntarily held her breath and unzipped it.
A foul smell emanated from within, and behind the zipper, a pale face greeted her. Yu Hansue instinctively recoiled, nearly unable to suppress a wave of nausea.
The semi-congealed bl**d gave off a rancid odor; the suitcase contained a person—a fully grown man, covered in bl**d, bound and crammed inside in a contorted position, with his face twisted together and strong adhesive tape wrapped countless times around his mouth.
Yu Hansue zipped the suitcase closed.
She pulled out her phone to reply to Augus: “I received the goods.”
“Are you satisfied with this item? Remover 9908.” A voice emerged from the darkness.
This sentence wasn’t in Chinese.
Yu Hansue abruptly turned to her left, only to find a figure standing there, having seemingly materialized out of thin air.
She had been cautious enough to check her surroundings moments ago, and yet this person was suddenly there.
Yu Hansue placed her hand on the suitcase, fixing her gaze on the individual without saying a word or asking anything.
Augus lit a cigarette, the flicker of the lighter appearing and vanishing as the cigarette glowed dimly in the dark. He slowly said, “Don’t be so tense; I’m here to discuss business with you.” He shrugged. “Before meeting you, I was guessing what your identity could be, and it turns out, like Remover 233, you’re also a lady. Perhaps you both will find common ground.”
Yu Hansue spoke in a husky voice, “The goods are fine; I’m very satisfied.”
She covered her injured hand with her sleeve to keep it hidden from Augus.
“That’s good to hear. You’d better hurry and k*ll that man; his wound recovery speed is incredibly fast, and regular drugs have little effect on him… Ah, also, I need to verify a few things.” Augus took a deep drag from his cigarette. “I want to know if the Wheel of Time is really as useful as you said. Is it worth my exchanging a B-grade Heterogeneous Blooded for?”
Yu Hansue surveyed him from top to bottom: “What kind of verification do you want? A demonstration from me, or…?”
“No need to complicate things…” Augus replied in an even tone. “I can verify it myself.”
With a swift movement, he produced a firearm equipped with a silencer and aimed it at Yu Hansue.
Yu Hansue’s eyes widened in shock. Before she could react, Augus decisively pulled the trigger, the flames erupting as gunpowder filled the air! A spray of bl**d mist erupted from Yu Hansue’s body as she collapsed to the ground; Augus had used a high-caliber firearm, and the bullets pierced straight through her body.
After the bullets were expended, Augus stared at Yu Hansue’s body on the ground for a moment, his eyes shimmering with anticipation.
What he was looking forward to happened next—bloodstains on Yu Hansue’s clothes and the gaping wounds on her body seemed to have been erased like an eraser, bl**d flowing back into her body in reverse.
Just moments ago, her lifeless body had fallen; now, she twitched slightly, regaining her vitality.
Yu Hansue opened her eyes and slowly rose from the ground, her dark gaze piercing into Augus.
Her clothing and face were disguised, but her eyes were as genuine as substance.
Augus seemed unfazed as he cheerfully declared, “My apologies! I had to confirm you weren’t lying. I’m quite satisfied with this ability. How many low-level beings would I need to k*ll to reach your level? Dozens? Hundreds?”
With a flick of her left hand, a glimmering surgical kn*fe slipped from her sleeve.
She turned the Wheel of Time’s gear; her body distorted as she moved at high speed. In a mere instant, Augus saw a flash of silver at the corner of his eye. Just as the surgical kn*fe was about to pierce his throat, an invisible force field rapidly emanated outward, and it felt as if the air were filled with a soft, jelly-like substance. Yu Hansue collided with it, then was propelled back several meters at an accelerated pace.
Yu Hansue tumbled to the ground, rolling before quickly climbing back up.
Augus spread his hands. “Want to fight me? I wouldn’t mind if you just handed over your Wheel of Time.”
His tone was lighthearted, yet the words held an unmistakable threat.
Yu Hansue lowered her head, gripping the surgical kn*fe tightly, momentarily lost in thought.
Augus watched her with keen interest.
When Yu Hansue lifted her head again, she tempered her heavy gaze, slightly relaxing her grip on the kn*fe.
“No one wishes to be shot. I’m just a bit irritated, Remover 777.” Yu Hansue spoke in a very friendly tone. “We can have a cooperative relationship, providing benefits for each other; there’s no need for internal strife.”
In just a few seconds, she organized her emotions and adopted a different demeanor.
“You’re right.” Augus smiled broadly. “I’m really glad you’ve come to your senses. We’re friends now, 9908.”
“Then as friends, I’d like to make another deal with you.” Yu Hansue’s gaze dropped, fixating on the g*n in his hand. “I want a weapon—one with sufficient lethality.”
Augus beamed even more. “That’s a minor issue, no need for a deal, friend.”
He pulled out a magazine from somewhere and tossed the bullets along with the g*n over to her.
“It’s yours now; all of it belongs to you,” he said with a smile.
Yu Hansue caught the g*n, looking down at the heavy metallic weapon in her hands.
“Oh, did you bring another friend with you? 9908,” Augus suddenly remarked in surprise.
Yu Hansue was taken aback. “No.”
“Then that means someone unrelated has intruded here.” Augus turned around, peering into the dark corner of the street. “Care to come out and say hello, friend?”
Yu Hansue turned her head and saw a figure emerging from the darkness.
The figure took a couple of steps forward. Yu Hansue squinted to observe, discovering the person wore loose clothing that effectively concealed their form.
The newcomer appeared to be holding a bag.
Upon closer inspection, the bag contained two packs of spicy strips and two packs of crispy rice…
Yu Hansue was stunned.
