“Ah ah ah, now that our little Xi has been taken away, what will happen to her?”
“I’ve seen this kind of plot before. The heroine is captured by the villain, transformed, and then a videotape is mailed back.”
“Behemoth: Is Xiao Xi like that with you? But here with me, she’s like this! Watch closely, this is the real way to use Xiao Xi.”
Yun Ruoxi was taken away. She had once achieved a perfect awakening, reigning as the strongest in the training camp for a full year.
But now, she was dragged away limply like a corpse, with no dignity left.
None of the students had expected things to turn out this way.
Even the instructors were taken by surprise.
Xia Guang stared blankly in the direction Yun Ruoxi disappeared, as if she couldn’t believe Yun Ruoxi would actually do such a thing.
But now, it was too late.
The evidence was solid—there was nothing left to say.
Instructor Behemoth’s expression grew visibly darker, his face clouded like a thunderstorm.
“What happened with Xinglan should be a lesson. I want you all to understand—in the training camp, in the Saint Hand Society! Rules are everything!”
His voice gradually rose.
“No matter who you are, no matter what reason you have, no one is allowed to break the rules here!”
After throwing down those words, he announced the dismissal.
Together with the other instructors, whose faces were also grim, he strode quickly in the direction Yun Ruoxi had been taken.
Lin Zhen suddenly regained control of his body.
But before he could rush after her, Dr. Forefinger’s figure appeared in front of him in an instant, fixing him with a cold, dangerous stare he had never seen before.
“A child can act out once, but act out twice, and no one will give him another chance.”
A message only Lin Zhen could hear slipped into his ear.
His whole body shuddered, frozen like prey caught in a beast’s gaze, unable to move.
Dr. Forefinger smiled faintly, as if nothing had happened, and gently patted Lin Zhen’s shoulder.
“A Zhen, remember to come to the lab later—I have a new development plan to discuss with you.”
With that, the young man suddenly turned into a beam of white light and vanished from sight.
“Huff, huff, huff!”
Lin Zhen staggered forward a couple of steps, nearly falling to the ground, breathing raggedly as if he’d nearly drowned.
Just now, in that instant when Dr. Forefinger released his oppressive aura, the killing intent was so blatant it was terrifying—he’d nearly thought he would die right there.
Biting his lip hard, the pain brought Lin Zhen back to his senses.
“Dr. Forefinger is warning me? From what he said, does he mean this matter ends here? So he won’t allow me to turn myself in? If I do, it’ll only anger him, and that’ll only be worse for Xiao Xi.”
His mind raced furiously.
“That means, for me, there’s only one way left—beg Dr. Forefinger to save Xiao Xi. Since he wanted me to step forward before, that means he has a way to protect me. If so, he can protect Xiao Xi too.”
With that thought, Lin Zhen clung to it like a lifeline, his mind filled with only one idea—to go straight to the lab.
But before he could move, his friends hurried over.
“A Zhen, are you alright? Are you okay?”
Kaos asked with concern.
“I’m fine. The one in trouble is Xiao Xi. She…”
Lin Zhen’s face twisted in pain. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to tell them that she had taken the blame for him.
Their collars all had dual surveillance.
If he said anything, he’d drag everyone into this terrifying quagmire.
“I really didn’t expect it. Xiao Xi… she was always thinking about how to get out of here…” Anvil clicked his tongue.
“Would she really do something like this?” Yun Che stroked his chin.
“A Zhen—”
Zi Jiu’s reaction was different from the others. Her eyes flashed, and she lightly pointed at Lin Zhen’s chest, as if hinting at something.
Lin Zhen understood.
Zi Jiu had spent the most time with him during the Ban Zu battle, and he’d deliberately sent her away several times near the end.
She might not have thought much of it then, but now that this matter had been brought to light, with her sharpness, she could definitely guess a thing or two.
Thinking it over, Lin Zhen gave a barely noticeable nod.
A hint of surprise flashed in Zi Jiu’s eyes.
She truly hadn’t expected Lin Zhen to have been planning an escape all along, behind everyone’s back.
And even more surprising, Yun Ruoxi had actually chosen to take the blame for him. Did this girl really like A Zhen that much?
Zi Jiu opened her mouth, but for a moment, didn’t know what to say.
Just then, a sudden, pained scream came from nearby.
“Sis! Sis! Wuwuwu! There’s no way my sister did those things! This is a mistake, it has to be a mistake!”
Lin Zhen and the others instinctively turned their heads.
Within Class 9’s group, Aili was kneeling on the ground, frantically wiping away tear after tear, sobbing uncontrollably.
“I’m with her every day—she doesn’t have time, and she couldn’t possibly do something like this behind my back!”
Around Aili, students gathered to watch.
Some looked on with pity or regret; naturally, others were gloating.
Duxie didn’t even bother pretending, grinning widely as she squatted down.
“Oh dear, just because you say it’s impossible doesn’t make it so! Both the Doctor and the instructors have confirmed it. And if you were really that sure, why didn’t you step forward just now?”
She raised her voice, her mocking tone sickening Aili, as if this would finally let her vent a year’s worth of resentment from being suppressed by Yun Ruoxi.
“Or maybe you got scared? So your sisterhood is just that fragile, huh?”
Hiss!
Behind Duxie, Lin Zhen’s gaze grew cold, fist clenching as he took one step after another toward her.
“It’s not like that! It’s not!” Aili shouted back.
“Your sister Xinglan was willing to die for you, but you’re not even willing to risk a little danger?” Duxie laughed lightly, covering her mouth.
“I just… I just…” Aili clutched her head in pain. “I just suddenly couldn’t move at all!”
“Oh, is that so!” Duxie nodded. “So you froze up because you were scared!”
“But that’s normal. After all, if you hadn’t had your sister, you’d never have survived this long as a bottom-rung student! But from now on, your sister’s gone! You probably won’t last in the training camp, either!”
Duxie licked her lips, then grabbed Aili’s chin roughly.
“After all, plenty of students here have suffered under your sister for a year. Now that she’s gone, who do you think they’ll turn on—”
Bang!
A powerful fist suddenly struck.
Caught completely off guard, Duxie took the punch square on her right cheek.
With all the fury behind that blow, Duxie’s alluring figure spun wildly through the air, sent flying like a top.
The surrounding crowd quickly backed away a step, watching gleefully as she crashed heavily to the ground.
“Ah!” Duxie clutched her swelling face, wailing in pain, her expression twisted in shock and venomous hatred.
“Who? Who was it?”
She whipped her head around to glare at the crowd.
Lin Zhen’s right fist was still clenched, veins bulging on his fist and temple, locked in his punching stance.
Behind him, Zi Jiu and the others had already lifted the kneeling Aili, firmly shielding her.
“Xiao Xi isn’t here for now, so we’ll protect Xiao Ai. Whoever dares lay a hand on her, you’re going against the five of us!”
Lin Zhen gritted his teeth, struggling to keep his cool as he finished.
Then, he threw back his head and roared in fury.
“So, Duxie, do you want to die today? If you want to die, we’ll grant your wish right here and now!”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.