“I’ll trust you one more time.” Lin Zhen let out a sigh. No matter what, he still wanted to escape from here.
And even if he didn’t trust them, what could he do about it?
All that information had already been uploaded into his collar. The moment he entered the virtual network space, it would automatically be sent out.
Was he never supposed to use the virtual network again?
Besides, if this information was truly reliable, maybe his escape plan might actually succeed.
“Thank you for your trust. Please keep working hard. I will do my best to help you in ways that won’t put you in danger. In three seconds, this transmission will be cut off. Monitoring will resume then.”
After Chicha finished speaking, Lin Zhen counted silently to three, then heard a faint, nearly inaudible “tick” sound from his collar.
But he didn’t hurry to get up and leave.
Instead, he sat for a few more minutes before finally getting up and leaving the dorm, heading toward Class Three’s training room.
Along the way, Lin Zhen walked with his head down in thought, organizing his words again and again.
He tried to come up with something Aili would accept, something that would let her know Yun Ruoxi wouldn’t be back anytime soon.
But by the time he reached the door of the training room, he still hadn’t thought of anything. In the end, he decided to just tell the truth.
As Yun Ruoxi’s closest friend, Aili had the right to know her current situation.
Lin Zhen pushed open the training room door for Class Three.
There weren’t many trainees in the spacious training room.
After all, not everyone liked to train in a noisy environment, so many preferred smaller, more private training rooms that were quiet and secluded.
The group around Zi Jiu stood out immediately.
They all heard the sound of the door opening and looked up to see Lin Zhen coming in.
Zi Jiu glanced at Lin Zhen with a questioning, searching look.
Seeing the boy give a small nod, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and stepped aside, making way for the yellow-haired girl sitting against the wall with her head buried between her knees, eyes filled with despair.
“Aili, Ah Zhen is here.”
At the sound of Lin Zhen’s name, a little light returned to Aili’s eyes. She slowly lifted her head.
Lin Zhen quickly walked over, took her hand, and gently explained Yun Ruoxi’s current situation.
As he spoke, Aili’s grip grew tighter and tighter, and her eyes grew mistier and mistier.
When she heard that Yun Ruoxi wouldn’t be back for a while, she finally lost control. She threw herself into Lin Zhen’s arms and burst out crying. Her salty tears soaked through Lin Zhen’s clothes.
Lin Zhen simply patted the girl’s back, stroking her head, and softly whispered,
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Xiao Xi will come back. Until then, we’ll all be here with you.”
As his words fell, Zi Jiu, Kaos, Yun Che, and Anvil all nodded in agreement, reaching out to gently place their hands on Aili’s head.
“While Xiao Xi’s gone, you can treat me as another big sister,” Zi Jiu said gently.
“Then I’ll be the big brother!” Kaos said with a laugh.
Yun Che didn’t speak, just let out a quiet “mm.”
Anvil shifted awkwardly, a bit embarrassed, “I don’t know how to do much, but if you need to fight, just call me, Xiao Ai. Unless I fall, I’ll never let anyone hurt you.”
“Th-thank you all…” Aili choked out, but only ended up crying even harder.
Maybe—She heard in these people’s words the promises Yun Ruoxi once made to her.
“You’re my little sister. Of course I’ll protect you.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll definitely pass the assessment.”
“I won’t kill you, and you won’t kill me. I’ll take you out of here!”
Yun Ruoxi’s voice echoed in her memory.
As the sun set, the golden afterglow streamed in through the window, spilling across the six gathered together.
Aili hugged Lin Zhen, while the others gently stroked her head.
And off to the side, a shadow of the past quietly emerged. It was the blue-haired girl, holding her little sister and gently caressing her head.
A serene smile rested on her face.
「My heart can’t take this」
「Production team, where is your office? I’m not saying I want to send you razor blades or anything, it’s just that your work is so good, I want to send you some local treats to share」
「Ah, the one holding Aili used to be Xiao Xi, but now it’s Lin Zhen. How is Xiao Xi doing right now!」
「Does this mean Aili is officially part of the main character group now?」
「Wasn’t Aili always part of the main group?」
“Nicely…done.”
Yun Ruoxi looked at the episode playing in the top right corner of the screen, and a faint smile appeared in her heart.
At last…she’d managed to let Aili and the main character group truly accept each other.
Now, even if she suffered a bit, it didn’t matter.
The sound of clinking chains echoed out.
The iron chain swung slightly as Yun Ruoxi moved.
She wore a thin trainee uniform, her bare feet exposed. Her Star Energy Battle Suit had long since been taken away.
The battle camp had at least shown some respect for Number 0001.
Before bringing her to this Lao Yu at the base’s bottom, they’d let her change her clothes herself.
But after that, her hands were bound by a special Xing Neng Xian Ju that suppressed her star energy, forcing her arms high and straight.
She could only stand on tiptoes to barely support herself.
But this was just an appetizer. Yun Ruoxi knew this all too well.
Ta, ta, ta…
Footsteps sounded from the distance.
The girl lowered her gaze, preparing herself for the real punishment.
Since that day—
Aili and Lin Zhen had spent each day yearning for the return of that familiar blue-haired figure to the base.
Even though they knew, if Dr. Forefinger’s words were true, Yun Ruoxi could never possibly return in such a short time.
But they still held onto a sliver of hope.
A day, two days, three days…
A week, two weeks, three weeks.
A month, two months, three months.
A full three months passed.
Barely four days after becoming the top of the battle camp, Number 0001 Xinglan—Yun Ruoxi—had disappeared without a trace.
If not for the Pai Hang Bang still displaying her name and rank—her accumulated points keeping her firmly in the top ten—the trainees would have thought she’d already been expelled from the battle camp.
But even so, most of the trainees didn’t expect Yun Ruoxi to ever return.
After all, so much time had passed.
If she could come back unharmed, she would have by now.
If she hadn’t returned yet, something must have happened, and the Saint Hands would keep investigating.
So after being seriously injured by Anvil and keeping quiet for a while, Duxie—sure Yun Ruoxi was never coming back—started to make trouble again, trying to get back at Aili.
But, Lin Zhen and the others watched over Aili around the clock, giving Duxie no opportunity at all.
Still, she didn’t give up. S
ecretly, she tried to rally those who had been dissatisfied with Yun Ruoxi before, hoping to unite them into a group to take on Lin Zhen and the others, to repay the humiliation of that day.
Lin Zhen and his friends were not unaware of this, but there wasn’t much they could do to stop it.
All they could do was be even more careful and have someone accompany Aili at all times.
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