“It’s all Lin Zhen’s fault for kissing her for so long. Otherwise, Ruoxi definitely would have arrived earlier.”
“Her legs looked weak from the kiss just now. How does she have so much strength already?”
“Star energy is amazing, isn’t it?”
Tree giant: “Is this classy enough for you, little brother?”
The eyes of Zi Jiu and the others moved along with the white light. They could faintly see a familiar blue figure inside, and looks of astonishment immediately appeared on their faces.
This was… Xiao Xi? How could she possibly…
There was no time for their thoughts to catch up. The speed of that white light was terrifying!
In an instant, she slammed right into it! No, it should be said that she blasted it with a single punch!
The slender figure within the white light held her right fist high above her head. Maintaining a pose like Superman, she collided directly with the tree giant’s sole.
In the next second, there was a world-shaking explosion.
*Bang!*
The tree giant’s sole shattered instantly, and its massive body tottered backward from the inertia of the impact. Wood chips rained down from the sky.
The white light froze in the air and slowly dissipated, revealing Yun Ruoxi’s figure.
Her face was flushed, and she reached out to brush back her waist-length hair.
Her lips glistened with a watery sheen, looking as though they had been coated in the finest glaze, and her beauty was beyond description.
Only then did everyone realize that the white light was merely a visual illusion created by the reflection of light off an incredibly dense accumulation of Telekinesis that had undergone a qualitative change.
The Combatant, who had been busy chasing Kaos, stopped and looked up at Yun Ruoxi in disbelief.
“It really is Xiao Xi…”
Seeing Lin Zhen lying on the ground, everyone realized that their sister had regained her senses and stepped in to save them.
Having regained her clarity, Yun Ruoxi first looked at Aili and gave her a small smile. Then, she turned her gaze toward the surprised and nervous Zi Jiu, her eyes narrowing silently.
‘Why do I feel a hint of hostility?’
A sudden chill ran down Zi Jiu’s spine for no reason. Fortunately, although the chill came quickly, it also left just as fast. It didn’t give her much time to dwell on it, making her believe it was just a hallucination.
“It’s not an illusion; she just hissed at her love rival.”
“Is Zi Jiu even qualified to be Ruoxi’s rival? Ruoxi has basically done everything except for the very last step, but Zi Jiu hasn’t even made it to the game table yet.”
“Could it be the scrutiny of the primary wife?”
Yun Ruoxi swept her gaze over the crowd. After confirming that while some were heavily injured, none were in life-threatening danger, she withdrew her gaze and looked coldly at Mo Yuan.
“You guys leave first. I have something to settle with Mo Yuan.”
“Xiao Xi, you—” Zi Jiu opened her mouth in surprise, almost doubting her own ears.
After all, just a few minutes ago, Yun Ruoxi’s desire to keep them there had been completely undisguised. Why did she suddenly change her mind and help them now?
Did Lin Zhen do something?
“Whether they ‘did’ it or not, they certainly kissed.”
“Tell me more about the ‘doing’ part.”
“I really want to see Zi Jiu’s expression when she finds out those two were secretly kissing just now.”
Yun Ruoxi seemed to see through Zi Jiu’s thoughts. Her face flushed, and she said in a low voice, “Don’t overthink it, Sister Jiu. It’s just that Brother A Zhen offered me a condition I couldn’t refuse.”
“A condition?”
Zi Jiu was slightly taken aback and wanted to ask more, but Yun Che, who was beside her, had already grabbed her sleeve and shook his head slightly.
“If Xiao Xi is willing to help, don’t ask too many questions. Scarlet and Anvil are both heavily injured. Let’s get them into the spaceship to rest first.”
The implication was that instead of asking Yun Ruoxi in public, it would be better to ask the other person involved—Lin Zhen—once they were back on the spaceship.
Zi Jiu looked at the standoff between Mo Yuan and Yun Ruoxi, but she couldn’t help but speak up. “But with Xiao Xi alone, wouldn’t it be too…”
“Trust Sister! Once Sister promises something, she never goes back on her word!” Aili pumped her fist. Her trust in Yun Ruoxi had reached an almost blind level.
“You guys go in. I’m staying here.” Kaos pointed to the tornado that was still accelerating not far away, his eyes flickering.
Zi Jiu and Yun Che nodded at his words.
Overhearing the conversation, Mo Yuan suddenly spoke up. “Xinglan, are you really going to betray the Saints’ Hand Society? Are you going to betray the Doctor?”
“Are those even the same thing? I told the Doctor that I would handle this matter myself and didn’t need your involvement.”
“But it seems neither you nor the Doctor respected my wishes! Therefore, what I need to handle is this matter of your uninvited presence!”
Yun Ruoxi gave a light laugh and spoke coldly, never directly answering Mo Yuan’s question from start to finish.
But Mo Yuan already understood the meaning behind her words, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
“So Dr. Forefinger failed? Interesting. But Xinglan, if you think you can let whoever you want leave, you are dead wrong! Since I am here today, none of you will be leaving!”
After speaking, he looked down at Zi Jiu and the others who were trying to break through the light screen, and he suddenly activated his supernatural power.
The chessboard beneath everyone’s feet instantly grew more vibrant. Then, pillars of light soared into the sky from the scattered Chinese chess grid points.
The people within the chessboard instantly felt a set of rules acting upon them.
Their vision blurred, and they found themselves inside the nearest pillars of light. No matter how much they hammered against them, the pillars remained unmoved.
“The board is set! You cannot leave until the game is over!”
Mo Yuan looked at Yun Ruoxi. “This is a rule-based psychokinesis I went through a lot of trouble to prepare specifically for you, Xinglan!”
*Crack! Crack!*
Inside the grid pillars not occupied by living people like Zi Jiu, several figures suddenly appeared:
A Chariot as heavy as a tank and covered in spikes;
Soldiers holding sharp blades;
Cannoneers carrying man-portable missiles;
Black Horses with bulging muscles;
Elephants over 10 meters tall;
Personal Guards clad in full armor;
A middle-aged Commander in luxurious attire…
Although these illusory figures did not share the same art style, without exception, they all emitted a terrifying aura. And the name of this terrifying aura was—instant death.
The rules of Chinese chess: Regardless of status, any successful attack results in instant death!
Even someone like Yun Ruoxi, before becoming a second-level star power user and having her Stellar Energy Index undergo a qualitative change, could not violate this rule!
“What kind of bullshit ability is this? It’s so broken.”
“Even instant death is here. Good grief.”
“Old Mo really is sinister beyond measure.”
Yun Ruoxi swept her gaze across the chessboard and then looked at Mo Yuan, who was making a “please” gesture. Suddenly, she started laughing.
“Mo Yuan, you’re really regressing the older you get. Was my previous style of combat so simple and crude that it made you think I would actually step into a trap and play according to your rules?”
She suddenly soared across the top of the chessboard. The pillars of light on the board extended from the ground all the way into the air, and she smashed through them one by one.
“The best way to break a game is to just flip the entire board over!”
Yun Ruoxi appeared before Mo Yuan like a ghost and suddenly slammed a punch forward.