Whether it was the scenery, the journey so far, or the strange and curious plant tools.
Only this meal left them all dissatisfied.
Because Green Elves’ daily diet consisted mainly of vegetables, and only on fixed holidays did they eat meat.
So it was nearly impossible to eat meat in the city.
And even in the wild here, animals were rarely seen—there was simply no way to catch even two to satisfy a craving.
For Yun Ruoxi and the other Star Energy Users, it was still bearable.
But for Anvil, a Combatant who needed large amounts of protein and fat every day, this was absolutely unacceptable.
He had lost several pounds in just one week. If he really had to go vegetarian for two whole months, who could bear it!
Fortunately, Genbeier had his connections and managed to get some meat for him.
Although it wasn’t much, at least it was real meat!
Anvil’s eyes shone green as he stuffed the slices into his mouth, chewing thoroughly a dozen times before finally swallowing.
Then, in a cartoonish manner, he let out an exaggerated shout of “Delicious!”
“Is it really that good?”
Not quite convinced, the others each took a piece and put it into their mouths, their faces immediately showing a hint of surprise.
The taste really was good.
“Who would’ve thought that in a country where you haven’t seen a shred of meat for days, they could make it taste so good,” Kaos remarked.
“Maybe it’s just that the animals here are delicious. After all, the vegetables are all great,” Yun Che said, setting down his meal box.
“Hurry up and eat, then rest. We still have to travel tomorrow,” Zi Jiu urged.
They weren’t far from the location of the final red mark.
If they took the root system paths and then walked, it would take less than a day to meet up with the others.
“Alright!” everyone answered with a smile, raising their hands. After eating, they each returned to their rooms to rest.
“A Jiu-jie, I’m going in first!”
Yun Ruoxi opened her door, waving at Zi Jiu in the next room.
The latter smiled back, “Good night!”
With that, the two girls entered their rooms, closed the doors, and switched off their mimetic forms.
Getting ready to rest for the night.
But just then, Yun Ruoxi’s collar beeped softly, and a mosquito-thin voice came from within.
The girl bowed her head, clenched her fists, and remained silent.
***
A moment passed.
She finally looked up, her eyes rimmed red, and said softly:
“Yes, I understand.”
「What’s going on」
「Does Lao Xi have a special mission?」
「Lao Xi isn’t an undercover agent, is she」
「Uh oh, there’s a wolf」
For Yun Ruoxi and the others, this past week’s journey had been like a dream.
They’d traveled across beautiful alien landscapes, gathering companions as if on an adventure.
But every wonderful journey must come to an end.
And for Zi Jiu and the others, that day would be tomorrow.
Tomorrow, once they found their last companion, they would return to their identities as students and begin advancing their mission.
But for Yun Ruoxi, it was today, right now—the moment she received the message from Dr. Forefinger.
As the message ended, she suddenly dropped to her knees, slapping herself over and over.
A week spent in the constant company of friends had temporarily suppressed the dark personality instilled in her by brainwashing.
But just now, it had awakened again.
Yun Ruoxi seemed to hear it laughing in her heart. She covered her head, trembling and curling up into the corner.
Her lips almost uncontrollably curled upward, only to be forced down again.
Curled up, pressed down.
Curled up, pressed down, curled up—
Finally.
The girl revealed a mocking smile, drew out a wooden blade, and began slicing lightly at her arm in front of the camera.
And this time, even Bilibili really censored it with a holy light effect.
「My god, there’s actually holy light」
「Bilibili always has holy light and shadow priests, right」
「To be exact, this is the first time in “Stellar” we’ve seen a scene blatantly censored」
「So what is Xiao Xi doing? All I saw was her suddenly grinning weirdly」
「Xiao Xi looks really guilty」
「I just came back from Netflix—Xiao Xi was modifying her flower blade」
「No wonder they censored it. This kind of self-harm for fun, even Bilibili is afraid of being reported and banned」
For some reason, after that beep from her collar, the camera didn’t pick up any sound from the room.
So the audience only saw Yun Ruoxi suddenly go mad, but had no idea why she became like that.
Only a few guessed it might have something to do with the collar, and went on to suspect someone had contacted Yun Ruoxi.
Some even speculated if it was Dr. Forefinger, or perhaps someone related to Lin Zhen.
The shot soon froze.
After Yun Ruoxi’s right arm was sliced and left covered in blood, she figured it was enough to appease Dr. Forefinger and stopped.
No interdimensional audience, only Dr. Forefinger.
To be honest, she had no desire to act so diligently anymore.
After all, no one in this world could boost her popularity.
If there were never another camera, she’d definitely give up performing and just be her real self.
Biting her lip, Yun Ruoxi, pale-faced, began treating her wounds.
She skillfully took hemostatic spray from her bag, staunched the bleeding, and then wrapped her arm round and round with bandages.
Finally, she covered the wound with artificial skin.
She sat on the bed resting for quite a while before getting up to clean all the bloodstains in the room and on the wooden blade.
Once everything was done, Yun Ruoxi collapsed weakly onto the bed. In Dr. Forefinger’s eyes, she looked utterly exhausted as she drifted into sleep.
“Lin Zhen, oh Lin Zhen, who would’ve thought you’d really plan to run away during the final assessment. Good thing I planted a spy by your side in advance—you’d never have guessed it.”
A faint smile tugged at his lips as he switched off the monitor.
At the same time.
On the other side, lying on her bed, Yun Ruoxi wasn’t truly asleep. Instead, she had entered System Space for the first time in a while.
After being contacted by Dr. Forefinger and having her dark side awakened—this was the persona she had shaped for herself—she was tasked to find Lin Zhen and stop him from escaping.
Season one of “Stellar” had officially entered its climax, or perhaps the final calm before the storm.
To make sure everything went as planned and her final curtain call performance would be flawless, she needed to confirm her popularity one more time.
“Panel!”
Yun Ruoxi called up the system, checking her gains from episode ten.
【Name: Yun Ruoxi Yelan】
【Age: 13】
【Fame: Fallen Fragrance, Jade Perished (Empire); Strongest Cadet in the Battle Camp (Pandora-35 Planet exclusive)】
【Ranking: Second Female Lead (Villain)】
【Star Energy Index: 175】
【Potential: A+ ( ??? )】
【Bloodline: A-Rank Bloodline (Perfect Awakening), Unknown Bloodline (Not Awakened)】
【Attributes: Strength C, Agility C, Willpower S, Constitution B+, Spiritual Power S, Brain Domain Computation S, Stellar Energy Control S】
【Current Skills:
Senses Domain (Current self-developed level 85%), Level-One Brain Domain Computation, Level-One Stellar Energy Control, Basic Telekinesis (Collapsed), Advanced Neural Isolation (Two Mental Brands Isolated)】
【Current Stellar Art: A-Rank Secret Technique: Full Circulation (Stable Version)】
【Popularity Value: 800,000 + 430,000 = 1,230,000】
【Outstanding Popularity Debt: 100,000】