Chapter 70: The Truth

“I was originally planning to hit the road right away, but it would be such a waste to just leave all these parts behind.”

Lin Zhen squatted down in front of the box and began rummaging through it.

Yun Ruoxi, like a little tail, followed and squatted beside him, curiously craning her neck to take a look.

“Xiao Xi, where’s that spherical drone you mentioned before?”

“Hmm? It’s here, but it’s missing a lot of parts. Wait, 432, you think you can fix it?” Yun Ruoxi’s eyes widened slightly, her tone brimming with surprise and anticipation.

“Mhm!” Lin Zhen nodded lightly, a smile curling at his lips.

For some reason, he quite enjoyed being looked at with that worshipful gaze from Yun Ruoxi.

“This Cyborg’s Prosthetic Processing Chip is burnt out, but the Network Interface Chip should still be intact. Together with the other working parts, it’s enough to fix your spherical drone.”

“I see.” Yun Ruoxi nodded in realization, hastily handing over the spherical drone.

She quietly squatted to the side, watching Lin Zhen’s hands fly as he quickly dismantled and repaired the spherical robot.

Every now and then, she would sweetly say things like, “So impressive,” and “You’re amazing.”

Each compliment struck right at Lin Zhen’s small sense of vanity, filling his heart to the brim with emotional satisfaction.

This was, in fact, a trick often used by green tea girls or femme fatales.

But thanks to Yun Ruoxi’s perfectly crafted image, neither Lin Zhen nor the audience ever made that association.

One after another, just like Lin Zhen, they all smiled foolishly, completely hooked—like fat carps in a fish pond.

“All done!”

After busying himself for a while, Lin Zhen finally completed the repair.

He gave it a gentle toss.

The restored spherical drone rose promptly, circling nimbly around Yun Ruoxi and emitting a blue scanning beam.

“Binding user… Binding complete.” The spherical drone broadcast a cold electronic voice.

Yun Ruoxi curiously extended her right hand. The baseball-sized drone instantly flickered over her palm, hovering steadily above it.

She gave it a try.

Although it couldn’t be remotely monitored without a receiver terminal, the drone itself could switch to Protection Mode and generate an Energy Shield strong enough to withstand ordinary attacks for a full minute.

Just for survival, it was well worth it.

“From now on, it can protect you!”

Seeing the girl so happy, like she’d gotten a brand-new toy, Lin Zhen couldn’t help but smile as well.

He squatted down again, retrieving the second weapon he’d failed to complete earlier because the criminals returned too soon, and buried himself in tinkering.

“432, what equipment is that?” A soft, milky voice suddenly piped up beside him.

“The big weapon I originally prepared—the High-Frequency Vibration Wave Generator,” Lin Zhen replied without looking up.

“Too bad the criminals came back too early, so I didn’t get a chance to finish fixing it. If I’d had this weapon back then, I wouldn’t have had to worry about that cyber-man.”

Mentioning the cyber-man, he couldn’t help recalling the stunning sight of the girl’s airborne kick under the moonlight that night, and casually asked:

“By the way, I never got the chance to ask—Xiao Xi, how did you find me? You actually arrived at just the right time.”

Yun Ruoxi: “……”

Actually, I was watching the whole thing through the feed and timed my arrival… Of course, she’d never say something like that out loud, let alone admit that she’d already pinpointed his location earlier.

It was only while rushing toward Lin Zhen that she realized she’d just happened to catch up to the fifth episode’s events in the original plot.

In the original plot, Lin Zhen discovered the criminals’ underground lair and, using two finished big weapons—Prosthetic Leg Armor and the High-Frequency Vibration Wave Generator—successfully counterattacked and killed all eight criminals.

He then upgraded all his gear with prosthetics from the cyber-man’s body.

From there, he shone brilliantly in the second phase.

That was Lin Zhen’s personal highlight. Yun Ruoxi had initially just wanted to find an opportunity to join in, maybe get a bit of screen time.

But along the way, she happened to bump into that gang of criminals hunting down some cadets.

Being as quick-witted as ever, she had a clever little idea and secretly lent a hand.

She helped those cadets escape successfully.

The criminals, having missed their prey, could only return to their base early. Everything that happened afterward unfolded just like the broadcast.

But what Yun Ruoxi never expected—

Her little idea—to have the criminals return early, so she could time her own entrance and grab some popularity and screen time—actually led to a huge plot change.

Lin Zhen hadn’t managed to repair the second key weapon in time, so he lacked the means to deal with the cyber-man and nearly died outright, triggering an early side-ending.

***

At the time, Yun Ruoxi watched the whole thing unfold from afar through the feed, so frightened her legs nearly gave out.

If Lin Zhen died, who knew how the subsequent plot would fall apart, or how this world would develop—she didn’t even dare think about it.

But Lin Zhen was truly the protagonist.

Although his first attempt at breaking the deadlock failed, he actually showed signs of awakening on his own in the face of danger.

If Yun Ruoxi hadn’t accidentally interrupted his awakening, he could have dealt with that Cyborg by himself.

After all, that guy was an Esper of the superpower type.

He possessed an ability called [Metal Reconstruction].

He could manipulate metal and alter its properties, the perfect counter to a cyber-man whose body was nearly all metal.

“Actually…” Yun Ruoxi pursed her lips, a trace of hesitation and unease flitting across her face.

“What is it?” Lin Zhen looked up. “If you have something to say, just say it.”

“Well… The reason the criminals came back early is actually my fault.” Yun Ruoxi bit her lip, as if making some sort of resolution.

“Hmm?”

Lin Zhen froze, his repair work slowing down. How could this be related to her?

“When I was on my way here, I happened to run into them hunting a group of cadets, so I secretly intervened and disrupted their hunt.”

Yun Ruoxi lightly bit down on her lip, her pearly teeth deforming the soft red flesh.

“But I didn’t expect they’d come back early because of that, messing up your plans, and… and almost getting you killed.”

Her face was full of guilt, her voice growing quieter and quieter, until it was nearly inaudible, then suddenly rising as she blurted out:

“I’m sorry, 432, it’s all my fault! You can scold me if you want!”

“Oh, so that’s what it was!”

Lin Zhen had honestly been curious about the truth behind it, but after hearing her explanation, he found it almost laughable.

“People always say good intentions leading to bad results shouldn’t be blamed, but you actually did a good thing out of good intentions.”

“Really, you shouldn’t take all the blame on yourself—it was the criminals’ fault in the first place. Besides, wasn’t it also my fault for not gathering enough intel before making my move?”

“This bad habit of yours—you have to fix it, okay?”

As he said this, he mimicked his grandfather, putting on a very serious expression and speaking in a heavier tone, looking for all the world like a little adult.

But right after finishing, he broke character, letting out a soft chuckle.

“By the way, how did you find me afterward?”

Yun Ruoxi cooperatively put on a startled expression, nodding obediently, then continued:

“I heard something going on over here, so I came over to take a look, and it turned out to be you, 432.”