Yun Ruoxi grew more and more convinced that this theory was plausible.
She continued watching the series.
Soon, she saw Lin Zhen seize the moment when 0001 was off guard, delivering a heavy punch straight to his chest.
If that punch landed, 0001 would be seriously injured, if not killed.
In slow motion, the fear in 0001’s eyes and the madness and fury in Lin Zhen’s were plainly visible.
But the next second—
The collars on all six of them simultaneously flashed a blinding red!
Zzzz!
A strong electric current surged from the collars, and all six screamed in pain, convulsing as they collapsed to the ground.
Instructor Behemoth’s cold voice echoed from all directions.
“Private fights get one warning—one hundred points deducted per person! Since you have so much excess energy, all of you get to go to the training ground for extra practice!”
“Cough cough…” The six on the ground coughed painfully, black smoke wafting from their mouths.
Thud thud thud!
The sound of orderly footsteps rang out, and the once-silent spectators scattered like birds and beasts.
Twelve Zhan Ying Soldiers quickly approached from afar, hoisted the six up, and dragged them toward the training ground.
Just as their figures disappeared at the end of the corridor, the series’ camera quietly shifted.
The scene switched to a room resembling a Central Control Room.
The burly Instructor Behemoth stood with arms crossed, staring impatiently at the projected screen.
“These trainees are getting more and more unruly. Looks like we need to explicitly ban private fights.”
Next to him, Instructor Xiaguang was trimming the wings on her back with large flat scissors.
Hearing Behemoth’s words, she pointed at Lin Zhen on the screen.
“That brat deliberately wanted you to do this.”
“Hmph.”
Strength is what matters.
Instructor Behemoth chuckled faintly without commenting, “I do have some impression of this kid, but cleverness alone isn’t enough. The Zhan Ying Camp still…”
His gaze swept over the projection.
“If they hadn’t pushed 0001 this far, I wouldn’t have intervened even if it meant leaving him crippled.”
“‘So Lin Zhen went all out to force the instructor to step in?’”
“‘Considering how much the camp invests in these trainees, there’s no way they’d let top talents tear each other apart, especially when 0001 is involved.’”
“‘I thought Lin Zhen was just venting anger (lol).’”
Yun Ruoxi scrolled the progress bar back to the latest point. Seeing the obvious slowdown in the screen’s time flow, she knew they wouldn’t finish running anytime soon.
She called up her System Panel in her mind.
【Name: Yun Ruoxi · Ye Lan】
【Age: 10 years old】
【Fame: Widely Known (Appearance)】
【Main Cast Rank: Second Female Lead (Antagonist)】
【Star Energy Index: 0 (Bloodline Undeveloped)】
【Potential: A (???)】
【Bloodline: A-grade Bloodline (Unawakened), Unknown Bloodline (Unawakened)】
【Physical Attributes: Strength C+, Agility B+, Willpower S, Constitution B+, Mentality B+】
【Current Skills: Master-level Acting, Beast Intuition, Pain Shielding, Learning Cognition, Mental Enhancement, Ultra Sensory Perception, Senses Domain (currently self-developed at 30%, can spend 80,000 Fame to fully develop)】
【Fame Points: 168,273】
【Pending Popularity Debt: 100,000】
“Fifteen… nearly 170,000?”
Yun Ruoxi habitually glanced at the lowest Fame value at the bottom, then suddenly widened her eyes in shock. Her body trembled, almost bumping into the Therapy Pod’s glass.
“I remember the Six Strong Tournament was around 15,000, and now this wave just earned over 150,000 Fame?”
“Ridiculous!”
She had expected that her recent performance would evoke the audience’s pity for her.
But she hadn’t anticipated it would not just evoke pity but outright explode!
All the previous groundwork and character building finally blossomed into a spectacular “flower of popularity” in this grand drama!
“Awesome!” Yun Ruoxi couldn’t help but clench her fists; her fingertips trembled slightly from excitement.
Every Fame point spent to exchange for skills, every agonizing moment she had endured—it all suddenly seemed so worthwhile.
With this 170,000 Fame, her strength would undoubtedly surge forward.
Even if she faced 0001 again next time, she’d be capable of putting up a fight instead of barely maintaining appearances like this time.
“But 0001 really is terrifying. Just a few exchanges, and he almost copied my skills… That guy’s talent isn’t just Sharingan-level, is it?”
Thinking back on the final battle in the ring, Yun Ruoxi still shuddered—not just from the pain’s lingering effects, but from sheer shock.
After losing her left eye, she used Beast Combat Intuition and Ultra Sensory Perception together, successfully entering a mental state called Senses Domain.
This was the direction she had attempted in her fighting lessons, and now she had succeeded, as expected.
Who would have thought that 0001, with no foundation at all, had grasped the threshold after just a few encounters!
Such talent was truly frightening.
“Eighty thousand Fame to fully develop it? Looks like this skill’s strength is even higher than I imagined.” Yun Ruoxi shook her head thoughtfully.
“Good thing I decisively ended the match then, or it would have been a real problem if he had successfully learned it from me.”
She had no intention of immediately spending Fame to develop this skill.
Since she could awaken it on her own, she was confident she could continue to perfect it slowly.
There were still eleven months until the Yearly Assessment, plenty of time. Even if it didn’t work out, she could develop it later.
While she was analyzing, the series screen returned to normal.
Exhausted from carrying heavy loads and running fifty kilometers, 0001 and the main cast collapsed to the ground, each dragged by robots into Therapy Pods.
Almost simultaneously, the sound of brisk footsteps approached from a distance.
Yun Ruoxi quickly closed her System Panel and turned to see 9993 jogging over to the Therapy Pod.
At the same time, the series’ camera also focused on them.
“Sister, you’re awake?”
“Mm!” Yun Ruoxi nodded drowsily as if just waking up, then suddenly remembered something and became alert, her face full of urgency.
“What about 786? Are they okay?”
“Don’t worry, Sister, they’re fine. The fight was stopped by Instructor Behemoth.” 9993 smiled reassuringly.
“After this, they probably won’t bother you during normal times anymore!”
After saying that, she suddenly leaned in close, peering carefully at Yun Ruoxi through the glass visor.
“Sister, is there anywhere else you feel uncomfortable? Do you want to go to the treatment room for a checkup?”
“I’m okay…” Yun Ruoxi forced a smile. “Just a bit dizzy in the head, but resting will make it better.”
“Ah, it’s over just like that?”
“Too short! Can’t it be more like American shows, with hour-long episodes? Feels like they’re treating us like we’re impatient!”
“Another week of waiting; the withdrawal symptoms are going to kick in!”
Wait, is this already the end of episode three?
“Also, 0001 was warned…”
Yun Ruoxi’s heart skipped a beat as she shifted attention back to the screen.
Sure enough, she saw the progress bar was complete, and a Star Sea-themed ending scene began to play.
What was going on…
Wasn’t this episode supposed to be a transition, covering Lin Zhen’s growth in the Zhan Ying Camp during the first year?
Could it be that because she had altered so much of the plot, the originally brief Monthly Assessment, which was only a side note in episode three, took up a large amount of time, causing the episode to run short?
That seemed to be the only explanation for now.
But if that was the case, wouldn’t the subsequent plotlines all be pushed back by an episode?
Just as Yun Ruoxi’s thoughts grew chaotic, the System’s voice suddenly sounded in her mind again.
【“Star Sea” Season 1, episodes 1–3 have finished broadcasting】
【Series OP and Theme Song production will begin shortly】
【Calculating the top popularity rankings for characters in episodes 1–3…】
【Attention: The top three will receive exclusive shots in the OP and Theme Song as rewards】