“What’s this ‘happy wind-man’ talk?”
“Did he get Lin locked up in eight seconds?”
“That’s a bit exaggerated.”
“How is Lin getting more and more miserable these days?”
Kaos darted to Lin Zhen’s side, pulled him up from the ground, and grinned.
“Thanks for letting me win. That’s seventy-eight victories to one.”
“If you’ve got the guts, give me a few seconds next time.” Lin Zhen dusted off his clothes helplessly.
The difference in strength between him and Kaos wasn’t actually that big—in terms of Xingneng Index, he was even the superior one.
But Kaos’s ability was the perfect counter to his.
To be precise, any high-speed ability was a natural nemesis for his glass-cannon style powers.
Lin Zhen had once tried to imitate Yun Ruoxi, covering his skin with a layer of Metal Liquid as a regular defense.
But the difference between metal and Telekinesis was simply too great.
A shield made of Metal Liquid was clumsy and blocked his sight—totally unworkable.
So he’d given up long ago, and to this day hadn’t come up with a better idea.
“Wanna go another round? This time I’ll give you a few seconds.” Kaos, seeing Lin Zhen unconvinced, issued another challenge.
Lin Zhen lightly punched Kaos in the chest and cursed with a laugh, “Get outta here, you addicted to bullying me now or what?”
Kaos opened his mouth to say something.
Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open and Anvil poked his head in, shouting hurriedly to them:
“Brother Zhen, Brother Kai, quick! Something’s happened to Aili—she ran into the Unlicensed Area and now Duxie’s blocked her in with people!”
“What?!”
Lin Zhen’s expression changed instantly, a flash of anger crossing his face as he rushed out of the training room. “Damn those Duxie bastards again!”
Duxie always forgot her past lessons—lately, her thoughts of getting revenge on them and Aili had quietly surfaced again.
They’d thwarted her several times, but now she’d finally caught a chance.
“Didn’t I tell you and Ah Yun to watch Aili, not let her into the Unlicensed Area again? What happened?” Lin Zhen asked anxiously.
Although they were now official cadets, there were still large portions of the rhombus base closed to them.
Aili always believed the missing Yun Ruoxi was locked somewhere in that area—she kept sneaking in, hoping to find Yun Ruoxi.
This sort of thing could be big or small. In theory, it was against the rules, but as long as you weren’t caught on the spot, no one cared much.
Lin Zhen had persuaded Aili several times before; only after much talking did she stop.
Who’d have thought she’d sneak in again today, only to get blocked inside by Duxie and her gang?
If Duxie caused a commotion and drew the instructors, things would get out of hand!
Anvil explained as he ran outside:
“This morning, didn’t a spaceship land at the base? They unloaded a huge iron box from it.”
“I remember!” Lin Zhen nodded.
Spaceships routinely ferried supplies to the base—nothing unusual.
But usually, transport ships landed on the plaza and used the transport lines to bring goods into the warehouse.
This time, though, things were different.
Not only was it a big, tightly sealed iron box, but dozens of soldiers guarded it, and they carried it in from the Cadet Living Area to deep inside the base.
It seemed very mysterious.
Many cadets saw it—he was one of them.
“What’s that got to do with Aili?” Kaos asked, “I remember she didn’t act strange at the time.”
“She didn’t act strange then…
“But on our way back to the training room after lunch, she suddenly said Sister Xia was inside that box.”
Anvil scratched his chin in distress.
“How could that be? How could Sister Xia be inside a box? But Aili just wouldn’t listen—she went crazy, even used her powers to force us back, and then ran straight into the Unlicensed Area.”
“Yun-ge and I tried to catch her, but Duxie suddenly rushed in with a bunch of people, so we had to block Duxie first—and then Aili slipped away.”
“When Yun-ge saw Duxie chasing after Aili, he had me come find you for help. Jiu-jie’s already gone after them.”
“It’s not your fault.” Lin Zhen sighed.
If it had been him, he wouldn’t have believed Aili either.
Because it wasn’t the first time Aili had sworn Yun Ruoxi was somewhere.
He had once believed her too, but every time it turned out to be just her imagination.
And even if Yun Ruoxi really was in the box, what could they do? Force it open and take her away?
Led by Anvil, Lin Zhen and the others sprinted all the way and soon arrived where Yun Che and Duxie’s groups had clashed.
The silvery alloy corridor was covered with dents and scorch marks, but the two sides that had fought here were nowhere to be seen.
“Could they have all gone in?”
Anvil looked toward the wide-open door at the end of the corridor. Beyond it lay the depths of the base, forbidden to them.
“Maybe. Let’s go take a look!”
Lin Zhen gritted his teeth.
Charging into the Unlicensed Area could get them punished, but at this point, there was no other choice.
Kaos nodded. “I’ll take the lead!”
As soon as he finished, the air behind him erupted in gusts, and he dashed into the open door at the end.
Anvil and Lin Zhen hurried after him.
The Unlicensed Area behind the big doors actually didn’t look much different from the Cadet Living Area.
But there were obviously more rooms with unknown purposes, and the atmosphere was noticeably colder and more unsettling.
Of course, maybe that was just their nerves.
They raced through corridor after corridor, turned several corners, and suddenly Lin Zhen heard obvious sounds of fighting and cursing.
He and Anvil exchanged glances and instantly picked up their speed, running toward the noise.
Soon they saw Duxie and her people locked in a chaotic brawl with Yun Che, Zi Jiu, and Kaos.
The battle here wasn’t intense.
Both sides were wary of making too much noise in the Unlicensed Area and drawing the instructors’ punishment.
Aili was shielded behind Yun Che and the others, crouched in front of a tightly shut alloy door, trying to pry it open.
Seeing Lin Zhen, her eyes lit up with joy.
“Brother Zhen, come help me open the door!”
“Don’t even think about it!” Lin Zhen snapped. “I haven’t even settled with you for running off—get back here with me, now!”
As he spoke, he waved his hands, and the Xingneng Flying Daggers he’d gathered on the way shot toward Duxie and her group.
“So you’re really here, Lin Zhen!” Duxie’s eyes glinted with a cruel smile.
Her figure flickered—she instantly appeared in front of Aili, her right hand lunging for Aili’s neck.
But in the next moment—
The Xingneng Flying Daggers Lin Zhen had hurled anticipated Duxie’s move, whizzing directly to where she would reappear.
Duxie clicked her tongue.
Just as she prepared to dodge again, a formless wave suddenly swept across from afar.
In an instant, everyone in the area was frozen in place, unable to move.
All the ranged attacks, including Lin Zhen’s Xingneng Flying Daggers, dissipated like bubbles.