「This is the bond of the protagonist group, so touching QAQ」
「Charge, charge, charge! We must save Xiao Xi!」
「That smile just now… I feel like Zi Jiu and Lin Zhen might have something going on? This isn’t a harem series, right?」
「Going all in on Lin Yun’s stock! Everything else is heresy!」
Such rescue scenes definitely whet the audience’s appetite; the barrage of comments on the screen kept streaming without pause.
Behind the scenes obscured by the anime overlay, Lin Zhen and his group burst out of the training room, sprinting down the wide corridor.
The doorplates of the training rooms on both sides flew past in a blur.
Very soon.
Lin Zhen’s footsteps abruptly halted, and without hesitation, he turned sharply and dashed into the door of Class 9, the other four close behind.
Inside the training room, it was silent, with almost no movement.
Most trainees were still checking their points and rankings in the virtual space or seeking guidance from Teacher Saxin in the training area.
Lin Zhen anxiously scanned the room, searching for that familiar shade of blue.
Suddenly.
A faint, familiar sobbing sound pierced his ears.
Almost instinctively, he followed the sound.
In the corner of the room, a blonde girl was crouched beside a chair, seemingly clutching someone tightly in her arms.
Through the gap beside her, a faint strand of sky-blue hair was visible.
It was Yun Ruoxi!
“Found you!” Lin Zhen lowered his voice to call to his companions and hurried toward the corner.
“What are you trying to do?”
The blonde girl, startled by the footsteps, turned sharply, using her body to shield the person behind her, tensing up, her gaze icy as if facing a deadly threat.
Like a cat fiercely protecting her kittens.
After a month of training, the number 9993 had been upgraded to 7246, with many changes.
The only thing unchanged was her friendship with Yun Ruoxi.
The day Yun Ruoxi reached out her hand over the pit, accompanied by the sunset in the distance—that image still occasionally flickered in her mind.
Having witnessed Yun Ruoxi suffer on the arena stage, she had almost immediately exited the virtual space to come protect her.
“I’m friend number 2195.” Lin Zhen quickly explained, “Her original number, 9992, was given by me.”
“So, the person Sister mentioned is you?”
The blonde girl’s expression softened slightly, showing a hint of understanding.
“Yes, it’s… 786, right?”
At that moment, a hoarse voice filled with heavy sobbing gently sounded, fragile and vulnerable.
“It’s me, are you okay?” Lin Zhen hurriedly stepped forward.
The other four members of the protagonist group instinctively stopped a few steps behind.
Even Zi Jiu, who held curiosity and goodwill toward Yun Ruoxi, didn’t rashly approach.
They were unfamiliar with 2195, and rushing forward now might scare this fragile girl.
“I… I can’t see.”
The blonde girl sighed and turned sideways, revealing Yun Ruoxi in her arms to everyone.
The girl raised her head; her delicate, petite face was streaked with tear marks.
She was staring open-eyed, her ruby-red eyes still beautiful under the lights, but her left eye was clouded with a gray mist, unfocused, gazing into emptiness.
Her right eye was like a rusted machine, moving with difficulty, only able to stare straight ahead.
Clear tears continuously slid down from the reddened corners of her eyes, and she stared blankly into the air, whispering helplessly and wronged:
“And it hurts so much, all over my body, my head, inside me it feels like I’m falling apart, the pain is intense.
“Why… why… sob… would he do this to me?”
The psychosomatic symptoms triggered by the mental trauma…
Lin Zhen looked at the suffering girl; his heart felt as if it was being crushed, aching painfully.
Why, why… because it’s all his fault.
If only he were stronger, so Yun Ruoxi wouldn’t have to go easy.
If only he could control his expression better and not be seen through by 0001.
This girl, who should have been cherished and protected, how could she suffer such torment?
But now was not the time for self-blame. 0001 could appear at any moment.
Lin Zhen forced down his swelling pity and regret, speaking softly: “2195, no matter what, come with us first.
Let us take you back to the dormitory. That’s the safest place.”
“Is… is it 0001?” Yun Ruoxi’s voice trembled slightly, her face filled with unmistakable fear.
She seemed to have already developed a deep, innate terror of 0001.
Understandably so—first being mercilessly beaten, then having her eyes gouged out, and finally tortured at the brink of death.
Anyone who experienced this would fear that devil-like figure.
Especially a girl like Yun Ruoxi.
“Yeah, probably already on the way.” Lin Zhen said gravely.
“Sis, let’s go!”
Upon hearing that 0001 might be pursuing them, the blonde girl quickly helped Yun Ruoxi up and supported her, hastening toward the door.
Lin Zhen and the protagonist group immediately followed, leading the way to escort them.
“Over there!”
Stepping out the door, Yun Ruoxi pointed to the path Lin Zhen had come from. “To get to my dorm, we need to go this way.”
“No, this route—” Lin Zhen hadn’t finished when a shadow suddenly flashed at the corridor’s corner!
The person moved at an astonishing speed, cold purple eyes dragging a trail of afterimages in the air.
It was 0001!
Eh eh eh!
Amidst the rapid scraping sounds, Lin Zhen’s face changed drastically, and without hesitation, he charged forward.
“You all go! I’ll stop 0001!”
“What are you stopping?!”
A cold shout rang out, Zi Jiu following up, “You’re ranked six or seven hundred; you really think you can stop him?
“You protect them and get going. Don’t get in my way!”
After speaking, she reached out to pull Lin Zhen back but was firmly shaken off.
Smack!
Lin Zhen slapped her hand away, staring directly at 0001, eyes burning with something fierce, not looking back as he said:
“Then can you stop him? Enough talk, 0045, let’s go together!”
At the same time.
Behind them, the black-haired boy 2357 gently pushed 9993 and said warmly:
“You all hurry up and go, leave this to us.”
“Yeah, we’ve got this!” The blonde boy confidently pointed to himself with a thumb.
“Though our rank isn’t as high as 786, we’re just as good physically and in hand-to-hand combat. Five of us ganging up on one 0001, I don’t believe he can do anything!”
“Well… be careful!”
The blonde girl no longer hesitated, supporting the trembling and speechless Yun Ruoxi as they quickly moved backward.
Just a few steps after leaving, a sharp shout sounded behind them, and the girl in her arms shuddered violently.
“You think you can stop me? Hand over 2195! She’s a shameless liar!”
“I don’t know if she’s a liar!!
Lin Zhen gritted his teeth, shouting every word:
“But you, 0001—you claim to uphold the rules only because they benefit you! Once the rules no longer serve you, you’ll tear them apart! You’re not a Rule Keeper at all; you’re just a mangy Devil raised by the War Camp, rotten to the core!”
“What are you saying?!”
Another roar rang out.
Bang!
Sounds of fierce collision came from behind.
The blonde girl glanced down at the trembling Yun Ruoxi in her arms, bit her lip, and decisively hugged her princess-style.
Although she always called Yun Ruoxi “Sister,” in both height and weight, she was much stronger than the tiny Yun Ruoxi.
At this moment, holding her in a princess carry was no trouble at all.
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