Chapter 140: The Perverted Production Team

Iron Spike chased after the rapidly fleeing Duxie, the whooshing sound of piercing through the air vanishing in an instant.

But just as Iron Spike was about to hit, Duxie disappeared, leaving only a pool of fresh blood on the ground.

“She still managed to get away.”

Lin Zhen shook his head.

Spatial-type abilities really are too unreasonable. Even in this situation, she could still escape unscathed.

“But she probably took a serious hit from Anvil’s kick. She won’t recover anytime soon.”

Zi Jiu spoke softly.

“Not bad, Anvil! During the group battle, I didn’t get to fight alongside you. Never thought you’d become this strong without a word!”

Kaos grinned as he patted Anvil on the chest.

Anvil gave a simple, honest smile.

“Just luck. If she hadn’t been distracted by Brother Zhen, I wouldn’t have been able to hit her either.”

“Luck is also a part of strength.” Kaos said.

“Thank you.”

Lin Zhen patted Anvil on the shoulder, then stepped past him to Aili’s side.

Aili was still crying, her whole body trembling nonstop.

She didn’t know it was Dr. Forefinger’s doing that made her unable to move; she just thought she was really that scared.

She was already on the verge of breaking down.

“It’s not your fault. There are others who can’t move, like me.” Lin Zhen said in a low voice.

Aili silently raised her head, tears streaming down her face.

“Don’t worry. Your sister will be fine. I’ll find a way to get her back.”

Lin Zhen looked seriously into Aili’s eyes. “But before that, you have to take care of yourself. Live on, don’t give up. Otherwise, when Xiao Xi returns and can’t see you, she’ll be very sad.”

“I…I’ll wait for my sister.” Aili sobbed.

“Alright, I’ll go find the doctor right now. He definitely has a way to keep Xiao Xi safe.”

To reassure Aili, Lin Zhen let her in on some inside information.

Then he got up, ready to leave.

“Really?” Zi Jiu interjected.

“Yeah, the doctor won’t just stand by and do nothing.”

Lin Zhen spoke with firm resolve, though in truth he wasn’t sure Dr. Forefinger would help.

But he’d already made up his mind.

If Dr. Forefinger was unwilling to save Yun Ruoxi, he’d use turning himself in to threaten the doctor—no matter what, he would make him help.

“Be careful.” Yun Che patted Lin Zhen’s back.

The young man nodded and jogged off into the base.

The rest of the main group watched Lin Zhen’s figure disappear before turning their attention back to Aili.

“What about Aili?” Yun Che asked. “That woman Duxie might not be out of commission yet.”

“Hmm, here’s what we’ll do.” Zi Jiu thought for a moment—Lin Zhen wasn’t here, so she was now the group’s number two, pretty much the big sister.

“During the day, Aili will train with us. At night, we’ll escort her back to the dormitory. The dorm is an absolute safe zone. I don’t believe Duxie would dare act there.”

“And during the day, if we have time, we’ll see if we can catch Duxie.”

A simple plan, but it was the only way. The others thought about it and agreed.

Then Zi Jiu picked up Aili, and the other three kept watch. The five of them returned to the base.

Waiting for good news from Lin Zhen.

“Anvil’s making a comeback!”

“Fat guys are always full of potential.”

“Not out of supplies, right?”

“I’ll turn my roommate into a catgirl to pray for Xiao Xi’s safety.”

“Li XXX, stop watching!”

In the depths of a dim, silver-white corridor, the youth sprinted madly.

He rounded a few corners with practiced ease and finally charged through the wide-open doors of the laboratory at the end.

Blinding white light spilled from the lab.

Lin Zhen adapted a bit, then saw Dr. Forefinger sitting on a floating chair, legs crossed, looking at him blandly.

He walked closer step by step, but before he could speak, Dr. Forefinger raised his index finger and tilted his head.

“Shh, do you hear it?”

“Hear what?”

“The—sound—of—screams!”

Dr. Forefinger drew out each word, enunciating them one by one.

Every word struck Lin Zhen’s chest like a heavy hammer, making him feel stifled and breathless.

Because as Dr. Forefinger’s words faded, he couldn’t help but listen carefully—

And it really seemed as if he could faintly hear screaming.

Lin Zhen’s lips started to tremble, and his mind flashed with all those horrifying scenes he’d seen in class.

Those used to be educational videos and pictures, but now all the people in them had become Yun Ruoxi.

“Doctor, Doctor!” Lin Zhen’s voice shook, bordering on begging.

“You must have a way to save Xinglan, right? Please—”

“Why should I save her?” Dr. Forefinger coldly cut him off, waving a finger.

Lin Zhen floated up uncontrollably, landing in a chair beside him.

Man and chair alike flew in front of Dr. Forefinger, whose long index fingers pressed firmly against Lin Zhen’s temples.

“Listen, isn’t the sound even louder now?”

Lin Zhen wanted to speak, to resist, but just like before, he had completely lost control of his body.

On the contrary, his hearing seemed to grow sharper—the screams he heard became clearer and clearer.

And it really did sound like… Yun Ruoxi’s voice.

Pain filled Lin Zhen’s eyes. Dr. Forefinger lowered his head and whispered in his ear:

“Do you know? Female students who violate the Hand of Saints’ rules, especially Xinglan—no, I should say, girls with talent like Xiao Xi, their fate is often even more miserable.”

Dr. Forefinger seemed to be asking Lin Zhen a rhetorical question, but he knew the other couldn’t answer.

So he went ahead and answered himself.

“Star Awakeners who achieve perfect awakening from the start are rare, maybe one in a billion, but what the Hand of Saints absolutely cannot tolerate is betrayal. Even super geniuses, once they betray us, are just enemies.”

He pressed harder and harder on Lin Zhen’s temples, and blood began to appear at the whites of Lin Zhen’s eyes.

“By the way—”

Dr. Forefinger suddenly remembered something and curiously asked:

“I forgot to ask you, do you like Xiao Xi?”

Like Xiao Xi?

Do I like Xiao Xi.

Under Dr. Forefinger’s relentless questioning, Lin Zhen was forced to think about it.

But Dr. Forefinger didn’t seem to want him to think, quickly interrupting his thoughts.

“You probably do like her. She’s a beautiful girl, and Xiao Xi probably likes you too, right? Otherwise, why would she risk her life to take the blame for you?”

“So, have you done it with her?”

” ???? “

“Dev team, don’t start this stuff!”

“Can this even pass domestic review?”

“What the hell, two minors!”

“Hmm, from your eyes, looks like you haven’t done it. I guess you don’t even know what you’re about to lose.”

Dr. Forefinger sighed, his index fingers pressing and twisting Lin Zhen’s temples even harder.

Lin Zhen let out a painful whimper from his throat.

“The Hand of Saints will never let Yun Ruoxi go, but they’re also reluctant to waste that kind of talent. So they’ll use a disgusting, extremely disgusting method to preserve it.”

Dr. Forefinger revealed a hint of disgust.

“They… will make Yun Ruoxi give birth to a child, pass on her bloodline, then render her blood, flesh, bones, everything into something called a genetic supplement to feed her offspring, so her potential is inherited.”

“In this way, the old Yun Ruoxi is erased, leaving only a new Yun Ruoxi.”

“Oh, that’s not right.” Dr. Forefinger smiled. “Maybe it’ll even be a male Yun Ruoxi!”

“I’m typing this question mark? Not because there’s something wrong with me, but because what the hell is wrong with you!”

“Deviant dev team.”

“What is this? Even little kids get refined?”

“Now it’s really child-refining.”

“How is this supposed to get past review? Must be a titanium alloy background.”

“I want to puke, is this the work of a doujin writer? The classic tragedy of not being able to write a plot without leaving the pants behind.”

“If they really give that to Xiao Xi, I don’t believe in your dev team anymore.”

“Damn it, is there a reversal? Someone call the commander.”

“If the viewers don’t attack the dev team soon, I’m going to attack you all.”

“Supervisor team, get to work!”

What the hell!

What Dr. Forefinger said was just too outrageous!

He must be trying to scare me, right?

Maybe because Dr. Forefinger’s words were so terrifying, Lin Zhen’s first reaction was actually to doubt.

“You don’t believe me? But that’s how the Empire’s first batch of Star Awakeners came about, hahahaha!”

Dr. Forefinger laughed maniacally.

“Right? You think it’s absurd too. But this is one of the Empire’s efforts to steal the Star Awakened bloodline back in the day. In the end, though, they really succeeded.”

Rea…really?

This is what the Empire did in the past?

So the Hand of Saints really does want to…make Xiao Xi pregnant? Then feed her to her own child?

Lin Zhen didn’t know if he liked Yun Ruoxi.

But the moment he heard this, an overwhelming fury and violence surged in his heart.

The edges of his eyes trembled uncontrollably, his whole body shaking.

Creak, creak…

Lin Zhen’s teeth ground together noisily.

“Your anger is useless. This is the truth. Once Yun Ruoxi’s trial is over, they’ll pick a genetically compatible mate for her, right?”

Dr. Forefinger clicked his tongue. “No, she’s so beautiful, with such good genes, maybe some second-generation will lust after her and snatch her away early.”

“In short, begging me won’t help. Yun Ruoxi—her fate is sealed, she can’t be saved!”

As the last taunting words fell.

Lin Zhen felt something inside him ignite.

His eyes were covered in blood-red, and all the surrounding metal instantly liquefied, surging toward him like madness.

A tsunami of “metal” erupted in the laboratory.

The metal liquid formed all kinds of sharp knives and weapons, crazily attacking Dr. Forefinger.

But not a single one could hurt him.

And Dr. Forefinger didn’t seem annoyed at being attacked—instead, he smiled with satisfaction.

He pressed Lin Zhen’s temples even harder, his voice at Lin Zhen’s ear more mocking than ever.

“That’s right, just like that. But no matter how angry you are, Yun Ruoxi is destined to become someone else’s plaything. You can’t save her.”

“You can’t protect anyone. You’re just trash, a failure who tried to run away and ended up getting those around you hurt!”

Trash!

Trash!

Trash!

Those two words echoed endlessly in Lin Zhen’s ears, and an ever-growing power surged from deep in his blood.

His Star Energy index shot up uncontrollably.

Bang!

The metal liquid began to gather and compress. A slender lance slowly formed in the center of the liquid.

This was no ordinary lance.

Its surface shimmered with a faint layer of starlight visible to the naked eye. Just looking at it made people feel it could pierce anything.

This was a lance formed from Star Energy Metal!

Swish!

In his rage, Lin Zhen hurled the lance behind him at Dr. Forefinger, accompanied by a terrifying sonic boom.

Crack!

The lance seemed to pierce something, then was frozen in midair.

“Beautiful, just beautiful!”

Dr. Forefinger let go of Lin Zhen’s head.

He gently flexed his index fingers, gazing at the lance with extreme satisfaction.

“This is exactly what I wanted. You really do have this ability!”

Snap!

Dr. Forefinger snapped his fingers.

A formless wave spread out, and the lance instantly shattered.

Lin Zhen also suddenly regained control of his body, and in a burst of effort, he flipped over the back of the chair.

But right after—

He flipped back to his feet and dashed at Dr. Forefinger.

His right hand gripped the air, slashing at the young man. Another Star Energy weapon condensed in his hand.

Facing the blow, Dr. Forefinger didn’t dodge. Instead, he dropped his defenses.

“Kill me, and you won’t be able to save your Xiao Xi, will you?”

Swish!

The slashing Star Energy blade halted, its edge just a finger’s width from Dr. Forefinger’s head.

Just a little lower, and his head would’ve been split open.

At that point, even as a Star Awakened, Dr. Forefinger probably wouldn’t survive.

But Lin Zhen held back.

Even in his state of perfect awakening, he still kept his reason. This made Dr. Forefinger look at him with even more respect.

“You said… you can save Xiao Xi?” Lin Zhen rasped out from his throat.

“Of course.”

Dr. Forefinger pushed aside the blade by his forehead. “Don’t always go for my head. I make my living with my brains. If you wreck it, are you going to take responsibility?”

With that, he turned and sat back in his chair, kicking Lin Zhen’s previous chair over.

“Sit. Let’s talk slowly.”

At this moment, Dr. Forefinger wore a gentle smile, his tone calm—completely different from his earlier crazed, disgusting manner.

The red faded from Lin Zhen’s eyes. He sat down silently, holding back his words.

“You did that on purpose to provoke me?”

“Smart!” Dr. Forefinger snapped his fingers and laughed. “This is a perfect chance for you to awaken—after all, a genuine emotional outburst doesn’t happen every day!”

“By the way, wasn’t my acting great?”

“Six hundred sixty-six!”

“Red Dragon boss is such a troll!”

“Given the previous case, even I was fooled.”

“Dev team even brought back their own dead parents for this.”

Hearing Dr. Forefinger admit it was intentional, Lin Zhen didn’t even have time to be angry about being tricked—he first let out a breath and asked:

“So all that stuff you just said was fake?”

“Not all of it was fake.”

Swish!

Lin Zhen’s blade was at Dr. Forefinger’s throat again.

“Stop trying to use force all the time. You can’t beat me anyway. Don’t get cocky just because I gave you a little sunshine.”