After Yun Ruoxi, Yun Che, and Zi Jiu spoke one after another, Lin Zhen no longer had any reason to keep hesitating.
They had all seen through it, so whether he spoke or not didn’t make much of a difference anymore.
Moreover, he couldn’t possibly find a way to hide his plan from both the Saints’ Hand Society and this group of companions he spent every day with while they were already aware of his intentions.
That was simply too difficult.
However, before making a complete confession, there were still some things he needed to do.
Lin Zhen looked at everyone and activated his supernatural power. Liquid iron floated up, simultaneously covering the neck collars of everyone present.
During the entire process, no one flinched or showed any sign of worry. They trusted him completely, believing that he would never do anything to harm them.
“I have already used a special alloy to completely shield the signal here. What I am about to say next is very important and must absolutely not be mentioned to anyone else in private,” Lin Zhen warned seriously. “Otherwise, once the Battle Camp finds out, only total destruction awaits us.”
As Lin Zhen whispered that last sentence, the camera zoomed in on Yun Ruoxi, giving her a large close-up.
She took the opportunity to ask, “Then what about Xiao Ai, Anvil, and the others?”
“I’ll find a chance to tell them,” Lin Zhen replied.
“Listen up!” His face was full of earnestness. “As early as the class battle, I was thinking of escaping from here, and I eventually took action after much hesitation.”
“As for the result…” Lin Zhen looked at Yun Ruoxi, his eyes filled with guilt. “I’m sure you all already know.”
Yun Ruoxi pursed her lips, and a trace of fear and panic instinctively appeared on her face. But then, her gaze became firm again, and she reached out to grasp Lin Zhen’s right hand.
“The past is in the past!”
「 Lin Dog deserves to die, tricking a little loli 」
「 Lin Zhen, Lao Lin, Goblin, and now Lin Dog—how did Lin Zhen’s reputation get so bad? 」
「 Xiao Xi’s hand smells so good and feels so soft, hehe 」
Lin Zhen felt a wave of emotion and squeezed the soft hand in his. He knew that Yun Ruoxi had never forgotten those painful memories, yet she chose to suppress the pain and move forward for the sake of those around her.
He nodded with a smile, responding to her trust.
“Although the result was somewhat bad, it’s not like I didn’t achieve any useful results! I met a cyborg named Chicha from over 1,000 years ago.”
“From him, I learned of a way for us to escape the Battle Camp and return to a normal life. For the past two years, I have been making attempts for the sake of this method.”
“What method?” Yun Ruoxi suddenly pulled back her right hand and asked with a face full of curiosity.
Lin Zhen glanced at Yun Ruoxi.
He vaguely felt that the young girl’s expression was a bit off, but he couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was. He could only attribute it to the irrepressible urgency in her heart after learning the truth.
“Positive-negative warp!” Lin Zhen said, emphasizing each word.
“So that was it! No wonder I often saw you reading those types of books, A Zhen!” Zi Jiu realized suddenly, but then she asked with some hesitation, “But as far as I know, a special engine is needed to perform a positive-negative warp…”
“That kind of engine, the Battle Camp…”
“I’ve already found it!” Lin Zhen interrupted. “And I’ve even brought it to this planet!”
“What?” Yun Che was shocked.
Although he didn’t know much about positive-negative warp engines, he knew that an engine capable of powering a spaceship couldn’t be very small.
It was already incredible enough to hide such a thing in the Base from the eyes of the Battle Camp commandants and the Doctor.
To even bring it onto the spaceship and landing pod was beyond belief.
He racked his brain but couldn’t figure out how Lin Zhen had pulled it off.
“Meaning, we already have the engine?” Kaos finally organized his thoughts and joined the conversation. “So as long as we have another spaceship, we can successfully leave this place? Is that what you wanted to tell us?”
“That’s right.”
Lin Zhen nodded. Beside him, Yun Ruoxi lowered her head slightly, her expression turning strangely dark.
「 Lao Xi’s face looks wrong 」
「 No, Lao Xi wouldn’t really be an undercover agent now, right? They keep giving her these close-up shots 」
「 I feel like the mind control wasn’t completely resolved. Lao Xi has been secretly brainwashed into corruption by the Doctor 」
“But there’s a problem now,” Lin Zhen added. “There aren’t any metallic elements on this planet!”
“My original plan was to figure out the structure of the spaceship and then, during the survival test, use iron ore to build a small spaceship—just enough to carry the few of us.”
“But I’m stuck at the first step!”
“No metallic elements? How is that possible?” Zi Jiu asked in shock. “Among the basic elements that make up a planet, there should be over a dozen metallic elements. Is there really not even one?”
“Not one!” Lin Zhen said with a bitter smile. “I know it’s not scientific, but this is the Negative Universe after all. The Positive Universe follows science, but here, it’s about stellar energy science!”
“A planet without metallic elements couldn’t exist in the Positive Universe, but it’s not necessarily impossible in the Negative Universe.”
“Wait, if there are no metallic elements, then you have no way to build a spaceship, A Zhen. Even if you have the engine, there’s no way to install it! The plan was unfeasible from the very start!” Kaos analyzed.
“This problem is a bit thorny!” Yun Che mused.
「 How to escape? Just make a spaceship. How to make a spaceship? Just synthesize it from metal. Where does the metal come from? Just go to an outer planet. 」
「 No solution. It’s a cycle of death. 」
“I thought about finding a few landing pods and using them to build the spaceship, but as soon as a landing pod is dismantled, the people on the warship will definitely receive the news immediately.”
Lin Zhen scratched his hair vigorously. “I really couldn’t think of a way, which is why I didn’t dare to see you all!”
“If the plan really doesn’t work, then let’s just stay at the Battle Camp!” Yun Ruoxi suddenly spoke up.
“What did you say, Xiao Xi?” Lin Zhen was stunned for a moment.
“No!” Yun Ruoxi waved her hands hurriedly, her small face flushing.
“I mean, if the plan doesn’t work this time, maybe there will be another chance next time. Or, if we perform better in the Saints’ Hand Society, maybe there will be a better opportunity to try and escape.”
“After all, the Saints’ Hand Society trains us to do work. Sooner or later, they will let us go on independent missions.”
“But how long will we have to wait for that day?” Lin Zhen countered.
“And when that day comes, will we still be able to gather together like this? If we try to escape separately and one of us runs, the others will definitely be caught and strictly monitored.”
“How much blood will be on our hands in the meantime? Xiao Xi, have you not thought about that?”
“A Zhen is right!” Yun Che agreed. “And after staying here for so long, I feel like I’m becoming more and more cold-blooded. I’m becoming different from the person my parents used to see.”
“I’m afraid that by the time that day comes, even if there’s a chance, I’ll have grown used to the life of the Saints’ Hand Society. Or perhaps because my sins are so heavy, I won’t be willing to leave this place and return to a normal life!”
“Sigh!” Zi Jiu and Kaos sighed upon hearing this.