After gaining Aili’s trust.
On camera, Yun Ruoxi let out a subtle sigh of relief, her right hand that had been unconsciously gripping the hem of her clothes slowly relaxed.
After that, she led Aili to the cafeteria.
As expected, Aili answered everyone’s questions for her.
Lin Zhen and the others still felt something was off:
With Yun Ruoxi’s strength, how could she possibly injure herself practicing skills in the dormitory?
But seeing how firmly Aili spoke, as if it truly happened, they finally chose to believe this flimsy lie.
Of course.
This also had to do with Yun Ruoxi’s recent behavior getting better day by day, showing no signs of being brainwashed at all.
Deep down, they simply didn’t believe Yun Ruoxi would ever lie.
Leaving the cafeteria, on the way to the training room, Yun Ruoxi and Aili walked at the end of the group.
On camera, she touched the big bump on her forehead, her eyes dark and clouded.
“I have to think of something. I can’t keep showing up to see little Ai and Brother Zhen every day covered in new injuries.”
“Maybe… I should learn a healing-type Starlight Art, or… switch to a different position…”
She lowered her head, staring at her arm wrapped in a Star Energy Battle Suit, thinking quietly to herself.
“Sis? Sis? Are you spacing out again?” Aili’s voice suddenly rang out by her ear.
She grabbed Yun Ruoxi’s clothes, shaking hard, her expression anxious.
When the others heard the words “spacing out,” they were startled, and immediately all turned their heads, their faces showing various reactions.
Lin Zhen was puzzled, the others were alarmed.
“No, I was just thinking about something.”
Yun Ruoxi smoothly put down her right hand, placing it behind her back, then smiled at everyone who’d turned to look.
“It’s nothing, I’m fine! How could I space out? Don’t all look at me like that, it’s embarrassing!”
***
Late at night again.
Yun Ruoxi took off all her clothes, slumping softly on the bathroom floor in a duck-sitting position.
Splash, splash
The showerhead sprayed out hot water.
The girl with dripping wet hair held a small knife in her left hand, pressing it tremblingly against her right forearm.
Szzzt
The sharp blade easily cut through her fair, soft skin, stinging pain and a burning sensation arriving almost at once.
“It hurts…”
The girl’s whole body shuddered.
Her face twisted in pain, and she bit her lower lip unconsciously.
Thin streams of blood flowed from the wound, quickly dripping down her arm, diluted and washed away by the hot water.
But even though the pain was unbearable, she raised the knife again, cutting her arm a second time.
Then paused.
A third cut, a fourth…
More and more blood flowed, gradually pooling beneath her, her face growing paler and paler, yet a smile spread across her lips instead.
“I won’t let you win, heh. Never!”
Only pain, only self-torment could help her suppress that furious, bloodthirsty urge.
She didn’t want to keep sinking like this, didn’t want to hurt innocent animals anymore, and even less did she want to keep doing things she hated as Dr. Forefinger wished!
Even if she had to destroy her own body to stop it, she would not hesitate.
***
In the laboratory, Dr. Forefinger sat with his legs crossed, tapping his index finger rhythmically on the desk.
“So even if it means self-torture, she’ll suppress her desires?”
A slow smile crept onto his face.
“But in that case, how long will your body hold out? How long can you keep Lin Zhen and the others in the dark?”
“The more you suppress it, the stronger the bloodthirst grows…I look forward to the day you can’t hold it back any longer.”
“Sis, why is your face so pale?” Aili asked suspiciously, looking at Yun Ruoxi’s smiling face.
“Hm? Really pale? I just stayed up late last night.”
The girl smiled, lying naturally.
She lifted her right hand to brush her hair aside.
But as soon as she raised it, she winced and immediately switched to her left hand instead.
Right after, she snuck a glance at Aili, relaxing when she saw Aili hadn’t noticed her movement.
But all of this had been captured by the camera, which even gave a close-up shot of her arm.
[What’s going on?]
[Did she overdo the mining?]
[Defying heaven with these bullet comments]
[So many weird close-ups this episode, is it foreshadowing something?]
[Not just more close-ups, why does every episode’s daily life scene feel like déjà vu? Every time it starts with Xiao Xi’s morning—has the screenwriter run out of ideas or what]
Just like the bullet comments said.
In only the first ten minutes of this episode, viewers watched the same scene of Yun Ruoxi waking up and talking with Aili four times in a row.
They weren’t fools.
Naturally, they sensed something was wrong, suspecting the production team was hinting at something through these shots.
But there just weren’t enough clues.
And Yun Ruoxi had only been freed from brainwashing for a few days, so it never occurred to them
that she might have been brainwashed again.
As before, Aili’s explanation stopped Lin Zhen and the others from pressing any further.
But this time, a needle named suspicion simultaneously pricked everyone’s heart.
Once or twice could be overlooked.
But four days in a row, Yun Ruoxi had something different going on, and every excuse was so flimsy.
Yun Ruoxi herself noticed this too.
So after breakfast, she declined the invitation to train, and went to the training room alone.
Then, she left the training room mysteriously, heading into a restricted area by herself.
At the same time, Lin Zhen and the others, feeling uneasy, seized the chance to find Aili and ask her about Yun Ruoxi’s recent situation.
During the questioning, they were surprised to learn that all the explanations Aili had given them had actually come from Yun Ruoxi herself, and Aili hadn’t witnessed any of them firsthand.
Everyone instantly realized something was wrong.
Yun Ruoxi was lying!
She’d fooled Aili, and used her to deceive them all.
Zi Jiu and the others immediately suspected that Yun Ruoxi’s mental state might have taken a turn for the worse.
But only Lin Zhen knew that wasn’t the case.
He had just recently broken Yun Ruoxi’s brainwashing—there was no way something had gone wrong again so soon.
Yet not only could he not say this out loud, he also couldn’t explain why Yun Ruoxi kept lying.
So Lin Zhen decided to just wait and see.
He wanted to see how Zi Jiu and the others would confront Yun Ruoxi, and how she would respond.
Soon, the whole group marched grandly to the training room, and happened to run into the girl just as she was taking off her helmet.
Faced with their questions, Yun Ruoxi faltered, and only after repeated pressing did she finally lower her head and reluctantly admit she’d lied.
“Why did you lie? What really caused all those things before?” Zi Jiu asked sternly.
“I…”
The girl lowered her head, hesitating a moment, then slowly pulled up her left sleeve, revealing the needle marks on her arm, and quietly explained to everyone:
“The Doctor… sometimes wants me to cooperate with his experiments.”
“Sometimes it’s drawing blood, sometimes it’s testing abilities, and sometimes it’s fighting monsters.”
“So all your injuries happened in the lab?” Lin Zhen asked, frowning.
“Mm.” Yun Ruoxi nodded.
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