Meanwhile, on the stage of the first round in the Losers’ Bracket.
Yun Ruoxi effortlessly dealt with her opponent while sneaking glances at the anime playing on the screen.
When she saw 0001’s declaration, her eyes widened slightly, and she nearly swung her palm strike off target.
“Dude, what did I ever do to you?
I was throwing the fight for Lin Zhen, what does that have to do with you?
And you’re the original antagonist—why aren’t you targeting the Protagonist? Going after a Secondary Antagonist like me instead?”
Her carefully planned script was thrown into chaos. Yun Ruoxi’s mind spun in confusion, and she lost the patience to zhoubian with her current opponent.
After three quick punches and two kicks, the fight was over, and she forced herself to calm down.
0001 was not someone to mess with.
With the help of the Friend System, Yun Ruoxi was confident she could surpass him, but not right now.
In the original story, this guy was the ultimate boss who dominated the Battle Camp for a full three years—a mountain looming over all the trainees, an inescapable nightmare.
He was a genuine genius, the camp’s hope for a future elite. Surpassing him was no easy feat.
In the original plot, Lin Zhen was targeted relentlessly over minor things and crushed repeatedly during training.
It wasn’t until his escape from the camp that, relying on his wits, Lin Zhen managed to turn the tables and defeat 0001 once.
Other than that, anyone who crossed paths with 0001 had a miserable fate.
But now this very person had set his sights on her… this was troublesome. Had she angered 0001 somehow?
Frowning, Yun Ruoxi pulled up the rough outline provided by the system and read through all the text related to 0001.
One passage stood out:
【Due to childhood experiences, 0001 holds the Battle Camp’s rules in the highest regard and despises anyone who violates or exploits them】
【(Fragmented flashback inserted here)】
“What kind of flashback is this? You better write it out properly!”
Yun Ruoxi sighed and closed the interface.
The information was too vague, but at least it briefly introduced 0001’s character, so she wasn’t completely in the dark.
“Looks like it’s because I was throwing the fight that 0001 hates me. Well, maybe that’s actually a good chance to put on a show?”
Yun Ruoxi narrowed her eyes. A blessing in disguise!
Her original plan was to fight her way up from the Losers’ Bracket and then “accidentally” let Lin Zhen see her ranking, using the “throwing the fight” persona to gain more popularity.
That was dramatic enough, but lacked tension and deeper emotional impact.
0001’s appearance just filled that gap perfectly.
Yun Ruoxi’s eyes gleamed as a brand-new plan quickly took shape in her mind.
Ding!
With the prompt, she glanced at her second-round opponent and swiftly finished them without mercy.
Two seconds—decision made!
The trainee numbered 7342 only caught a fleeting red blur before clutching his chest in pain and collapsing.
His vision blurred as disbelief flooded his mind.
What kind of interstellar joke was this? How could someone with such strength be stuck in the Losers’ Bracket? And this early, in the second round?!
Watching her opponent shatter into pieces, Yun Ruoxi maintained a calm expression and faced the next challenger, once again dispatching them with thunderous speed.
She needed to break out of the Losers’ Bracket as fast as possible to put on her performance.
Yun Ruoxi’s skill gap in the Losers’ Bracket was obvious, and she smashed through eight consecutive wins like a storm.
Though there were still stronger trainees battling it out in the Winners’ Bracket, she had secured her chance to reenter it.
She had, in essence, won the revival match.
No sooner had her figure solidified within her Personal Space than she saw a flood of message requests from Lin Zhen.
***
After a moment’s thought, she accepted.
Lin Zhen’s figure soon appeared in her Personal Space.
The camp’s Friend System was quite interesting—messages could only be sent if you knew the other’s number.
Except for a few, most trainees’ numbers changed frequently, severely limiting communication between them.
If it weren’t for swapping numbers on the stage earlier, Lin Zhen probably wouldn’t have been able to contact Yun Ruoxi now.
“786, are you here to hang out with me?”
Yun Ruoxi seemed quite adept with the virtual space. Instead of her thin trainee uniform, she wore a white dress in her Personal Space.
She tilted her head, a faint smile tugging at her lips, cute dimples appearing on her cheeks.
Her calves were well-shaped and graceful beneath the dress, her skin pale and flawless, illuminated by the simulated starlight in Personal Space—simply breathtaking.
Lin Zhen was stunned for half a second before awkwardly looking away.
“2195, be careful, 0001 has his eye on you!”
“Huh, he’s after me?”
Yun Ruoxi looked utterly confused, not understanding at all.
Only after Lin Zhen’s urgent explanation did she seem to grasp the situation. But her reaction completely surprised him.
She didn’t seem to care that 0001 was targeting her.
Instead, she lowered her head, shyly glancing at him, nervously twisting the hem of her dress.
Her delicate toes unconsciously dug into the ground.
Her face was full of apology as she spoke cautiously:
“Sorry…”
Lin Zhen was taken aback. “Sorry for what?”
“I promised you, 786,” Yun Ruoxi bit her lip, her voice growing faint, “but I still threw the fight… and because of that, you got targeted by 0001… it’s all my fault.”
“Ah!”
“This isn’t on you. Who could have predicted any of this? And you throwing the fight was you caring about me.” Lin Zhen sighed, his tone softening.
“You’re such a good girl—I really envy the Protagonist. If I could marry someone like Ruoxi, I’d be willing to strike it rich overnight.”
“Yeah, you’re just living in a fantasy!”
“Speaking of which, if Ruoxi had a romance progress bar, it’d probably be nearly full by now.”
“Completely maxed out. If the Protagonist hugs her, he’s probably crossed into the O-line, pregnant with triplets within three years.”
“Phew, 786, I’m glad you’re not mad at me…” Yun Ruoxi breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Lin Zhen’s reaction, her smile returning.
She seemed more worried about him disliking her than about 0001.
She opened her mouth to say more.
But suddenly, a matchmaking success alert sounded in Personal Space, and Yun Ruoxi’s figure vanished instantly.
Lin Zhen was forcibly returned to his own space.
Only seconds later, he found himself dragged onto the Losers’ Bracket stage again.
At a time like this, he had no mood to fight, his mind consumed by Yun Ruoxi and 0001.
Barely managing to win a few rounds thanks to his decent physique and combat skills, his unease soon dragged him into a tough battle.
Before he could defeat his current opponent, the stage beneath him abruptly disappeared, replaced by a spectator’s seat.
An invisible force pressed him down into the chair.
Looking around, the arena was packed to capacity with Battle Camp trainees.
Every face showed the same confusion as his—obviously, all had been forcibly transported from their respective stages.
“What’s going on?” Lin Zhen wondered, baffled.
At that moment, the cold, emotionless voice of the AI referee echoed throughout the space:
“The Top Six Finals of this Combat Assessment have been decided. At Instructor Behemoth’s request, the six finalists’ battles will now be broadcast live to all trainees!”