(Xyrean Province- Outskirts)
(Private Farmland)
"To bite off your own hands and feet…" Qin Lan's dark whispers echoed through the young woman's mind.
Jing Tian's body shuddered as her mouth opened and she felt a warm and fuzzy feeling in her chest.
Wrinkles began to appear on her face as she activated the ability that Father Han had given her.
Everything just felt natural and right… this is what she wanted to do… she wanted her rats to bite off her limbs…
Dozens of rats ran out from the bushes nearby and formed a semi-circle around the two women.
However, there was not a trace of fear on Qin Lan's face as she watched the spectacle with a bemused glint in her eyes.
"Well… what are you waiting for… tell them to bite off your fingers… toes… and slowly work their way upwards…" Qin Lan hoarsely whispered with a sadistic grin on her face.
"Then I want you to… urgh…"
Qin Lan blinked twice and the influence from the original host faded away. New memories flowed into her mind, but Qin Lan was in no mood to appreciate them.
"Ignore what I just said and freeze in place!" Qin Lan hurriedly shouted as her ability burned wildly in her chest.
Jing Tian froze up just like a statue with her pupils still dilated. Only the faint rising and falling of her chest indicated that she was alive.
"What the hell?! What was that?" Qin Lan muttered quietly as she rubbed her temples using her fingers.
It was almost like for a brief moment she had gotten possessed by the original Qin Lan…
Well possession was the not the right word, but the experience was a bit hard to explain.
Qin Lan took in a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
Using someone else's body must have some side-effects and perhaps this had also been the case during her first mission that she could not remember.
But right now, was not the time to dwell on that assumption since she needed to find out more about Jing Tian and her mission.
"Jing Tian I am going to ask you a series of questions and I want you to answer them honestly. You may now move normally," Qin Lan slowly spoke.
"You said that Sister Guan ordered you to track us down… does she know that you have found us?"
"No… my original plan was to damage your van and then send a message to the group a few kilometres away…" Jing Tian replied mechanically.
"But… you looked weak… so I decided to take you down myself and win Father Han's approval… I… my… rats…"
Jing Tian's face crumpled up for a moment, so Qin Lan focused on the invisible threads flowing out of her body.
The multiple threads that were connected to Jing Tian's mind trembled as though they were about to break.
Qin Lan focused on the connection between herself and the young woman and the warm fuzzy feeling in her chest intensified.
"Then what? Tell me…" Qin Lan softly whispered as she applied more pressure using her ability.
She could feel the power flowing through her body and it was utterly intoxicating.
Crack!
Qin Lan heard the sound of something shattering and Jing Tian's face became blank and expressionless as if she was a robot.
"Jing Tian?" Qin Lan asked cautiously but received no response. She waved her hand in front of the girl, but she stood motionless.
A memory flowed into Qin Lan's mind causing her brows to furrow in pain. She saw a young man kneeling on the ground in front of the original Qin Lan.
"Don't you have a strong mind… well… I have no use for strong minds… maybe you would be better off as my puppet…" a sweet voice echoed through the room.
The original Qin Lan whispered something, and the man screamed in pain. His face became blank and expressionless as if he had just lost his soul.
His mind would never recover.
"No… no… I didn't mean to…" Qin Lan stumbled backwards away from the motionless Jing Tian as she could not bear to look at what she had just done.
Jing Tian did not react to her sudden movements and the rats that initially surrounded them looked around in confusion.
Their master's control had been broken so they eventually scattered around the field while Qin Lan stared at the broken woman.
"Sister Lan is everything okay?" Liu Yifei asked as she walked out of the van.
She was accompanied by the other three teenagers who wandered over with concerned looks on their faces.
"Yes… yes… um… apparently that 'Father Han' has sent a team of gifted individuals to hunt us down…" Qin Lan explained while trying to pretend that everything was fine.
She kept glancing at the motionless young woman and a deep sense of guilt and shame rose up in her heart.
"What?!" Gong Li exclaimed in shock as she tightened her grip on Liu Yifei's hand.
"Don't worry… she was the person responsible for tracking us down but fortunately I managed to stop her before she sent a message back," Qin Lan calmed down the panicked girl.
"Um… so what happens to her now?" Liu Tao asked curiously as she stepped in front of Jing Tian and waved her hands.
"I will order her to return to her group and tell them that we are heading in the opposite direction," Qin Lan spoke firmly but there was a conflicted look in her eyes.
She quickly accessed one of the new memories inside her mind and discovered that the individuals whose minds had been shattered could still obey orders.
But they would act as puppets and would not eat or sleep without direct commands.
None managed to last longer than a week as the original Qin Lan would quickly get bored of her new pets.
"Jing Tian… return to Sister Guan and her team and tell them that you managed to catch our trail…" Qin Lan commanded in a firm tone.
"Tell them that we are heading in a southwestern direction…"
Jing Tian turned around and ran into the field without hesitation. Her face was still expressionless, and she moved just like a machine.
Qin Lan stared at her departing figure with numerous thoughts running through her mind. She could not believe what she had just done.
This gift… it was far more dangerous that she could have possibly imagined.
What would happen after Jing Tian fulfilled her mission?
Qin Lan tried her best not to imagine what she already knew would occur. Jing Tian would die of either starvation or dehydration as she would refuse to eat.
It was a horrific fate…
"Okay… we will have to move by foot now… Liu Yifei can you store all the remaining supplies left in the van," Qin Lan asked softly.
Liu Yifei nodded and ran over to the vehicle while lightly touching the tattered old pendant that hung on her neck.
Qin Lan let out a heavy sigh and stared upwards at the sky where a few clouds were beginning to form.
It would rain soon.
Just the perfect end to this really fucked up day.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om