As a product of the Empire’s golden age.
Even after a millennium, this spaceship still showcased an astonishing level of craftsmanship.
Lin Zhen walked on, pausing from time to time, curiously sizing up his surroundings.
Very soon, guided by his esper perception, he arrived at a narrow room inside the ship that looked like it had once served as a crew bath.
He knelt on one knee, right hand gently touching the alloy floor.
As his esper power flowed forth.
The metal surface silently melted away like thawing ice, revealing a hidden, isolated compartment below.
A spaceship’s engine isn’t necessarily always at the tail.
Especially with crucial components like the Jump Generator, it’s very possible for them to be stored within layers of the ship, securely protected.
Just like now!
Lin Zhen leapt down and slowly stood up.
This compartment was barely two meters wide and long.
In its center sat a black cube about the size of a computer case, its surface dotted with fist-sized holes.
Countless pipes stretched out from it, vanishing into the walls in all directions, ultimately leading who knows where.
“Jump Engine!”
Lin Zhen’s pupils shrank sharply, his breath quickened, and he pressed his right hand to the alloy cube.
He closed his eyes, sensing for a while, then suddenly opened them wide, his face beaming with delight.
No mistake about it.
Though it was hard to imagine that such a small cube could power a ship dozens of meters long to make a jump in both positive and negative universes.
But this was indeed a Jump Engine.
And it was even an older model, its internal structure identical to what he’d learned about in the military camp.
He’d hit the jackpot!
“The key component of the Jump Engine is the Jump Generator. Luckily, that’s metallic too; I just need to keep all the non-metallic parts safe.”
He closed his eyes again and pushed his esper ability to its limit.
The pipes attached to the alloy cube disconnected one by one, crashing heavily onto the metal floor, their muffled thuds echoing in the confined space.
At the same time, the black casing began to melt away, revealing intricate components within.
Clatter!
Each metallic part hovered in the air under his control, gradually melting into liquid.
Then, they solidified into patch-like plasters, attaching themselves to the surface of Lin Zhen’s battle armor and Stellar Energy Combat Suit.
As for the non-metallic parts, he carefully set them on the floor, preparing to take them with him later.
From what Lin Zhen observed, so far, there had never been a case in the military camp where cadets’ belongings were checked after an assessment.
So as long as he hid them well enough that the instructors couldn’t spot them with the naked eye, he could take them straight back.
“Almost done, hang in there!”
Lin Zhen’s body grew heavier, sweat dripping down his forehead, but the smile on his face only grew brighter.
However, what he didn’t know was this—
When the pipes fell and thudded onto the floor, a ghostly blue eye quietly opened in the darkness.
[Prison Lin in danger!]
[Classic, making a ruckus and getting discovered. Seriously, how could Prison Lin make such a mistake? He could’ve just used his esper power to lower them gently.]
[He’s just too excited. Understandable for a kid.]
[He’s in deep trouble now!]
“Done—phew!” Lin Zhen let out a long breath.
It was all thanks to the Jump Engine being so surprisingly small.
Even after absorbing it all with his esper ability and having it stick to his body, he didn’t end up looking like a clunky tin can.
Only now did Lin Zhen dare, under the military camp’s surveillance, to secretly sneak a Jump Engine back to the camp.
He picked up the non-metallic parts on the ground, grinning as he used his esper power to return to the ship’s main cabin above the compartment.
Just as he was about to leave—
He suddenly froze, his smile vanishing. He whipped around and barked in a low voice:
“Who’s there?”
Ka, ka—
From the shadows, a charred figure slowly crawled out.
The sight was miserable beyond belief.
There wasn’t a single intact spot on his whole body.
Everything from his right leg up to his lower right abdomen was gone, the broken stump sparking with electric arcs.
A mechanical prosthetic eye had slipped from its socket and dangled from the eyelid, attached by a single battered cable.
This… was a Cyborg?
Cyborg that had survived from a thousand years ago?
Impossible!
Lin Zhen’s mind reeled in disbelief. Instinctively, he raised his right hand, ready to finish off the other party with his esper ability at the slightest provocation.
His metal reconstruction ability was the natural bane of Cyborgs, as long as the other side hadn’t installed a Stellar Energy Shield.
“Kid… You’re not from the Empire, here to extract me?”
A hoarse, metallic voice rasped from the cyborg’s broken speaker as he looked up.
The single eye’s ghostly blue glow flickered, and to Lin Zhen’s surprise, he detected a hint of hope.
“I… am not.” Lin Zhen cautiously stepped half a pace back.
“If you’re not… from the Empire,” the cyborg’s voice stuttered, the blue glow in his eye flashing ominously, filling Lin Zhen with a growing sense of dread.
“Then you must be…a dog of the Sky Eye Clan!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, everything changed!
Whoosh!
The cyborg raised both hands. In an instant, a dim yet blinding white light flared in his palms.
A surge of intense danger swept over Lin Zhen.
Almost instinctively, he unleashed his esper ability at full power.
But the next moment, a blue energy shield shimmered into existence around the cyborg, dashing all his hopes.
A Stellar Energy Shield!
And it was an advanced Stellar Energy Shield!
His esper ability struck it, but was erased instantly—he didn’t even feel a thing!
“It’s over!”
Watching as the destructive white light devoured his field of vision, Lin Zhen’s Adam’s apple bobbed and cold sweat trickled down his face.
[Oh no, the end!]
[Throw flowers for the finale!]
[That cyborg survived a thousand years, of course mechanical ascension is the way to go (nods)]
[Wait, it ends like this?]
[What happened? Why aren’t we being shown?]
[No reveal, huh.]
Just as the white light engulfed Lin Zhen, the scene switched, and the barrage of complaints filled the screen.
But as the camera swept past the main battlefield and landed on everyone’s favorite, Yun Ruoxi, the barrage instantly shifted gears.
It turned into a storm of crazed fawning and adoration.
No one could blame them. Yun Ruoxi, dressed in uniform, unleashing havoc on the battlefield, was truly dazzling.
Add in her stunning looks.
And the occasional innocent, playful expression she showed—she could satisfy every lolicon’s fantasy.
Mm, of course, for some, it would be even better if Yun Ruoxi had white hair.
“How come Xing Lan suddenly seems so excited? Xiao Ai, you know your sister best—am I imagining things?”
At the very edge of the battlefield.
Hǎi Rèn, fighting shoulder to shoulder with Aili, couldn’t help but ask as he watched Yun Ruoxi’s rampage.
“My sister’s always like that when she fights.”
Aili nodded. “She sometimes makes super cute faces even when she’s not fighting~”
As she spoke, she suddenly narrowed her eyes dangerously and stared at Hǎi Rèn with suspicion.
“Wait… Why are you asking? Don’t tell me… you have a thing for my sister?”
“Ahem!”
Hǎi Rèn, busy slashing at enemies, was so startled he nearly missed blocking an attack from an opposing cadet.
After kicking the enemy away, he shouted back:
“No way!”