Chapter 329: Decision

“Xiao Xi?”

“That’s Sister Xiao Xi?”

After hearing what Lin Zhen and the others said, Zi Jiu and Anvil had only felt a flicker of familiarity at first, not realizing the creature was an Evil Beast—until now they were genuinely startled.

The assassin sent by the Saints’ Hand Society was actually Yun Ruoxi herself?

But how could such a coincidence exist in the world? Could it be that the Saints’ Hand Society had done this deliberately?

Chicha, who had been preparing to fire the spaceship’s weapons at the Evil Beast, temporarily canceled the lock.

“Brother A Zhen, that’s Sister! It’s definitely Sister!”

The figure she had longed for day and night over the past five years was right before her eyes, and Aili could no longer stay calm.

She clenched her fists tightly, turning to Lin Zhen and growling in a low voice:

“Brother A Zhen, right here, right now—let’s take Sister back from the Saints’ Hand Society!”

Zi Jiu and the others’ eyes sharpened. This really was a good opportunity.

Yun Ruoxi was alone here—wasn’t that infinitely easier than trying to rescue her later in the Asha Star system?

Opportunity knocks once; if they missed this golden chance, it might never come again.

“Brother A Zhen!” Aili urged anxiously.

The others all looked at Lin Zhen, who had yet to voice his stance and was locked in a supernatural power offense-defense battle with the Evil Beast.

Beads of sweat the size of soybeans seeped from his forehead.

His eyes were heavy, his lips pressed tight as he weighed the situation internally.

Outside the spaceship, Yun Ruoxi was simultaneously pulling and crushing the vessel, dividing her telekinesis in two directions, and on top of that, her body was reinforced with star energy metal strength.

Yet even then, she still had the upper hand in this confrontation, making Lin Zhen feel like he was barely holding on.

‘As expected of Xiao Xi. Five years have passed, and I’ve grown much stronger—but she’s still keeping pace with me. It looks like she’s already a three-star energy user…’

Lin Zhen had encountered several strokes of luck over these five years.

His Stellar Energy Index had now approached the upper limit of the second level, reaching a terrifying value of 910.

He had also embarked on the perfect path.

Add to that the wealth of mechanical knowledge in his mind—

Compared to his self five years ago, he was several times stronger.

Even among star energy users of the same age at the Universal Academy, he could definitely hold his own.

He could probably even put up a fight against an ordinary three-star energy user who had just broken through.

So at some point, he had actually fantasized that his strength might already surpass Yun Ruoxi’s.

After all… Yun Ruoxi had been mind-controlled by the Saints’ Hand Society—she logically shouldn’t have been able to maintain her previous rate of growth.

But only now did he realize how naive he was.

The gap in talent between him and Yun Ruoxi was so vast that it couldn’t be fully offset by a few so-called “lucky encounters” or the effects of her being brainwashed!

Aili was right—this was indeed a good chance to take back Yun Ruoxi.

But…

Could the four of them together actually defeat Yun Ruoxi?

And that was under the condition that they couldn’t kill her and had to hold back, facing a Yun Ruoxi who had been successfully brainwashed and would show no restraint.

No!

What’s more, had the Saints’ Hand Society really only sent Yun Ruoxi?

What if she had just gone ahead to intercept them, and many more enemies were rushing to catch up from behind?

Too difficult!

Thinking this, Lin Zhen ground his teeth until they creaked, and barely forced out three words from between them.

“We’re leaving!”

“What?”

Aili had thought Brother A Zhen would agree quickly, but after a moment of deliberation, he was the only one in the team opposing her.

She was dumbfounded, staring blankly out the window.

“But… Sister, Sister is right here! Are we going to abandon her? Just like five years ago, abandon her again?”

“Abandon…”

Lin Zhen murmured the word, his fingertips nearly digging into his palms.

How could he be willing to abandon Yun Ruoxi!

How could he be willing to miss this great opportunity!

But he could see clearly—this wasn’t a great opportunity; it was a deadly trap that the Saints’ Hand Society had disguised with flowers!

In the five years since that day he was forced to give up on Yun Ruoxi, Lin Zhen had regretted it every single day.

Because every time he replayed why things had turned out that way, he always found that the fault lay in his own arrogance and carelessness.

Why, after establishing contact with Chicha, had he assumed Chicha’s technology was superior to the battle camp’s and had him invade the base’s central control?

Why, when Yun Ruoxi was being mind-controlled a second time and showing so many abnormalities, had he failed to notice in time?

She had clearly been silently begging him for help back then!

If he had been more careful, more cautious, and hadn’t let her get brainwashed…

Would they have already been living happily together by now?

So now, before every action, Lin Zhen weighed the pros and cons repeatedly, thinking of defeat before victory, always planning for the worst, and making choices that prioritized the safety of his companions first.

He could die, sure—but he couldn’t bear to lose any of his companions again!

Not a single one!

“Chicha, go! Activate all weapons—attack Xiao Xi!”

Lin Zhen’s hoarse growl came out.

“Understood.”

Chicha paused for a moment.

“Including the star energy electromagnetic cannon?”

“Included!” Lin Zhen gritted his teeth.

As the words fell, the cannon muzzles that had already been aimed at the Evil Beast preheated again.

Dozens of blue lasers, under the cover of a dense hail of kinetic rounds, shot toward the young woman not far away.

If these weapons landed solidly, their power would indeed be enough to shatter a third-level—no, even an ordinary fourth-level starcapable.

But only if they “hit.”

The Evil Beast raised an eyebrow disdainfully.

Layer upon layer of telekinetic shields appeared before her.

The blue lasers were deflected and bounced away, the kinetic rounds were all blocked—none of the attacks had any effect on her.

They didn’t even make her loosen her grip on the spaceship; they only momentarily diverted her attention away from it.

But that momentary distraction was exactly what Lin Zhen wanted.

The instant the attack began, the nose of the spaceship silently deformed, revealing a “tiny” cannon barrel.

A dim blue light glowed from within the barrel.

The next second, a Level 4 Star energy metal spike, as thick as an arm, shot out at an astonishing speed, propelled by electromagnetic force.

The Evil Beast’s hair stood on end as she sensed enormous danger approaching. Her expression changed drastically.

She could no longer bother restraining the spaceship. Both hands thrust forward violently.

All her telekinetic power surged out, condensing thick layers of telekinetic shields one after another before her.