Chapter 137: Self-Destruction

“Damn, what happened to the promise of the 78 Rule? How could they drop a bonus one second and the next, turn on Xiao Xi like this?”

“Xi Production Team isn’t even pretending anymore.”

“Wuwuwu, Xiao Xi is just too good, what must she have felt when she stepped forward like that?”

“Marked as a main plot node, heavy hitters can go all out now.”

“Quick, get rid of the villain!”

“You… Are you saying it was you?”

Behemoth looked at Yun Ruoxi, who stood shivering at the front of the crowd, his brow furrowing involuntarily.

Reason told him that a student who had achieved a perfect awakening and already claimed the number 0001 spot shouldn’t face any real danger, even in the War Camp.

The War Camp was basically her playground.

Here, her future was boundless. There was no reason for her to risk everything just to escape.

Even if she wanted to leave, she could have hidden in the shadows, quietly building strength and waiting for the right moment.

Besides… She had lost her family, lost everything—what did she have left that was worth staking her life for?

Revenge?

Then why not use the resources of the Saints’ Hand Society to grow even stronger?

“Tell me, how did you invade the base core? Don’t tell me you managed to break through the Saints’ Hand Society’s firewall with just what you learned in your first year,” Behemoth asked coldly, clearly not believing Yun Ruoxi was truly behind all this.

“I…”

Yun Ruoxi faltered, her voice wavering, clearly unnerved by Behemoth’s direct questioning.

From a distance, Lin Zhen finally realized what was happening, a flash of genuine relief passing through his eyes.

He didn’t know how Yun Ruoxi had figured out it was him who’d tampered with things during the team battle at the base.

But there was no doubt.

Even if Yun Ruoxi stepped forward to take the blame for him, she couldn’t produce proof that it was really her.

Because the only evidence that could prove it was right now sitting in his pocket.

This way, Yun Ruoxi couldn’t produce evidence—at worst, she’d just be a scapegoat for someone else. Hardly a crime worth death.

But just as Lin Zhen was thinking this—

He was suddenly horrified to find a formless yet familiar force covering him, opening his pocket, and gripping the receiver that Chicha had given him.

No—no!

Lin Zhen’s heart felt like it was being torn apart.

Yun Ruoxi knew—she had always known everything!

He frantically tried to use his own ability to block Yun Ruoxi, desperate to destroy the receiver, but against Yun Ruoxi’s telekinesis, his [Metal Reconstruction] ability was completely powerless.

He could only watch helplessly as the receiver floated out of his pocket, suddenly vanished into thin air, and then, drifting past the students’ feet, came to rest below Yun Ruoxi.

Then she—

Bent down and gently closed it in her palm.

“Sigh.”

“She knew, she always knew.”

“I’m supposed to cooperate in your act, but I just ignore it.”

“Poor Lin, thought he hid everything so well, but Xiao Xi saw right through him from the start.”

“Her Empathic Domain isn’t just for show! If Xiao Xi hadn’t noticed, that’d be a plot hole. Looks like the writer didn’t dumb down her intelligence for once.”

Yun Ruoxi straightened up and opened her right hand.

A flat, black square, about the size of a finger, appeared in the sight of the instructors and Dr. Forefinger.

Instructor Behemoth’s eyes swept over it, his gaze landing on the path the receiver had just traveled.

Clearly, he realized something.

Yun Ruoxi, expression unchanged, softly explained, “It was with this… I was able to invade the central computer. Before, I was afraid of being discovered, so I hid it away.”

“Doctor, what is this?”

Behemoth turned toward Dr. Forefinger, who regarded the black square thoughtfully, then softly replied, “This seems to be some sort of miniaturized invasion terminal. The style looks like Lost Technology, but I can’t say for certain until I test it myself.”

Saying that, he took the square from Yun Ruoxi’s palm.

“Lost Technology?” Instructor Behemoth’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Lost Technology referred to the vast troves of technology lost a thousand years ago during the Great War.

Some strong, some weak.

Some had been stolen by various factions; others were left scattered throughout the universe, waiting to be unearthed.

“This—where did you get it?”

“During the team battle. I found it in the ancient battlefield.”

Yun Ruoxi lowered her head, her body trembling slightly, as if she had already accepted everything.

No, it was me, I was the one who found it!

Lin Zhen howled inside, his eyes twitching madly, though his face betrayed no sign of emotion.

“Did you have any accomplices?” Behemoth pressed.

“No,” Yun Ruoxi slowly shook her head.

“Is that so?”

Seeing that it truly seemed the number 0001 student was at fault, Behemoth lost the urge to interrogate further.

He simply gazed at Yun Ruoxi in silence.

Several seconds passed before he turned to Dr. Forefinger, saw the latter nod, and then gave a slight nod himself.

“Someone, take her away.”

At his command, several soldiers stepped out from behind him, forcefully grabbing Yun Ruoxi’s arms from both sides.

This posture seemed to frighten the girl.

She instinctively struggled, trying to wrench her arms free.

The protective telekinesis covering her skin began to expand, pushing the soldiers back two steps.

But just then—

The collar at her neck suddenly lit up with a red warning light.

A powerful, dazzling arc of deep blue electricity shot out from the collar, instantly surging through her entire body.

Yun Ruoxi screamed, her protective telekinesis shattering in a flash, her legs giving out beneath her as she collapsed to the ground.

Her whole body shook uncontrollably, unable even to utter a single word.

Smack!

The soldiers stepped forward again, seizing her slender arms.

The little bundle of blue fluff now had not the slightest power to resist, limp like dead meat, forcibly lifted from the ground and dragged away.

Lin Zhen was in utter agony, but could only watch it happen.

He saw the girl’s head hang low, tears streaming down her face, the tips of her shoes tapping against the floor again and again.

Suddenly—

The girl seemed to regain a bit of strength. Slowly, as if using every ounce of will she had left, she lifted her head in his direction.

She looked at him and showed a smile uglier than crying.

She smiled?

Even now, she smiled?

Confused and anguished, Lin Zhen’s mind reeled.

He suddenly recalled everything that had happened since he met this girl.

And in that instant, certain emotions in the girl that he’d always ignored resurfaced in his heart.

So that’s how it was.

Yun Ruoxi—she seemed so optimistic now, so kind to everyone.

But she still hadn’t walked out from that day!

She was still that little girl, crying alone in the same place.

She’d been forced out of her closed-off world by a pathetic lie he’d told her.

And for that lie, she had hypnotized herself.

But a lie is just a lie—when exposed—

She had always been in pain, always lost, always with…a strong urge for self-destruction.

That’s why she’d risked her life time and again to save him, even willing to die for Xiao Ai.

And now, it seemed she had truly gotten what she wished for.