Chapter 152 : Chapter 152
152. OMO
Yi Ning’s words could be said to have delivered the final blow to Lu Zheng.
He clutched his chest, leaned back slightly, and collapsed against the sofa.
Truly, he had been thinking too optimistically.
He had no experience in something like directly saving a civilization, which sounded more like a “special episode” or “final arc” kind of matter. It was better to seek help from the person beside him, who looked like she had more experience.
So Lu Zheng looked at Yi Ning, put on a solemn expression, and asked:
“Then, Yuanfang, what do you think?”
Hearing those familiar words, Yi Ning’s DNA stirred instinctively.
“My lord, there must be someth—cough, cough…”
Halfway through her line, Yi Ning hurriedly coughed twice, stopping herself from blurting out the full reference.
Honestly, she really shouldn’t keep engraving all kinds of nonsense into her DNA so casually.
She pretended to think for a moment, then revealed her long-prepared plan to Lu Zheng.
“Actually, destroying my inventions doesn’t necessarily require a network. There are other ways, you know.”
At this point, Yi Ning deliberately kept him in suspense. Only when Lu Zheng revealed his curious, intrigued expression did she continue.
The method was very simple.
“As long as I appear within a 100-meter radius of my invention, the remote control I use to operate them will connect. Through that, I can directly destroy it!”
Yi Ning raised her right fist high, speaking with the stirring tone of someone delivering a speech, announcing what could be said to be the only method.
Unfortunately, the sole audience member wasn’t exactly moved.
Lu Zheng simply nodded casually, then followed up just as casually, laying out the action plan.
“So, in other words, we’ll have to travel to that planet together, and then while adventuring on the alien world, we’ll collect or destroy your inventions, right?”
Saying this, Lu Zheng couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
Just from Yi Ning’s smooth delivery earlier…
“You had this plan thought out all along, and you still made me play along with that act for half a day?”
“That’s right!”
Yi Ning wasn’t embarrassed in the slightest. She even justified herself with righteous-sounding nonsense.
“After all, I needed to explain the background and precautions clearly. Letting you take the lead gives you at least a bit of involvement.”
Her reasoning left Lu Zheng utterly speechless, but in the end, all his thoughts condensed into one word.
“Fine.”
What else could he do?
At the very least, Yi Ning had already worked out a way to save the world beforehand. That could barely be counted as evidence that she did indeed have some conscience about saving those aliens… right?
But did Yi Ning really even have a conscience?
Leaving aside Lu Zheng’s doubts about that, Miss Yi Ning’s behavior became increasingly impassioned after hearing his “Fine,” as if trying to stir everyone present into action.
“In that case, why don’t we head to my laboratory right now? We can use the trash bin there, just like how I threw away my previous trash, to easily arrive on the alien planet!”
A one-step trip to an alien planet—because she was an evil scientist!
Yi Ning grew more and more excited as she spoke, as though she wanted to leave for the alien planet immediately.
“What are we waiting for? Let’s depart at once!”
Sorry, my wording may have been inaccurate.
Not “as though.”
Yi Ning really did want to drag Lu Zheng along to the alien planet right this very moment.
“I know you’re in a hurry, but calm down first.”
Lu Zheng brought his fingers together, extending one hand toward Yi Ning. His other hand patted the helmet resting at his side, whose pixelated screen displayed a pixelated soybean turning its head away with a hand raised in refusal.
Faced with such cold indifference, Yi Ning couldn’t help but reveal a shocked expression.
“Lu Zheng! Why are you just standing there? Didn’t we agree to save the alien friends together? Could it be… you’ve betrayed us?”
Then, switching to her drama-queen mode, she threw on an angry face. Ignoring the helmet beside Lu Zheng that was flashing “OMO” on its pixel screen, she grabbed him by the collar, yanked him upright, then pushed him back onto the sofa, shouting:
“You chose to abandon them! You betrayed the Hero Association, (expletive)!”
Lu Zheng simply went along with Yi Ning’s movements—standing up when pulled, falling back when shoved.
When Yi Ning’s enthusiasm finally started to fade, he calmly asked again: “So, is there anything else we should keep in mind?”
After Yi Ning shook her head in denial, Lu Zheng stood from the sofa, greeted her briefly, and picked up his helmet to leave.
Yi Ning: “?”
She quickly grabbed his wrist.
“Wait, why are you leaving already? We haven’t saved the world yet. Don’t tell me you really betrayed us?”
Her anxious eyes and restless expression—if Lu Zheng hadn’t already heard Yi Ning’s countless shameless lines before, he might actually have believed she was a true righteous warrior, ready to sacrifice herself for alien friends.
But sadly, she wasn’t.
Lu Zheng watched her many angry little expressions with interest. Only after he had amused himself did he slowly explain:
“Think about it. We don’t have any more intelligence to exchange, right?”
Yi Ning thought back carefully to their conversation and realized there wasn’t really anything more to discuss. She nodded obediently.
Seeing her rare cooperation, Lu Zheng continued to guide her patiently.
“We’ve also worked out our plan to save the alien civilization, haven’t we?”
Yi Ning nodded again.
“And that alien civilization isn’t going to be destroyed in just a short while, right?”
Yi Ning’s head bobbed so quickly it nearly left afterimages.
“So if I return to the Hero Association now, report this intelligence to the higher-ups, and see if we can bring in a few more heroes to help—there’s no problem with that, right?”
Yi Ning nodded again—but after a few seconds, she suddenly shook her head frantically.
She had nodded so many times in a row that it had become a reflex.
Using both hands and feet, she shoved Lu Zheng back onto the sofa, scrambling to bluff him.
She couldn’t let him leave—she still had today’s evil quota to complete.
“One hero is enough! Collecting or destroying my evil inventions requires my personal involvement. Even if you bring more, they’ll be useless—it’s just a waste of manpower and resources. With that manpower, you’d be better off striking at those evil organizations instead.”
Have you considered that you yourself are one of those “evil organizations” you’re talking about?
Lu Zheng stared at the loathsome current member of an evil organization before him, who was condemning evil organizations with such vigor. His complaints stuck in his throat, unsaid.
He pried her fingers off his hand and stood up once more.
Even without additional heroes, he still had to return to the Hero Association in D-City.
Don’t forget—he was on a mission this time.
As a professional hero, he had to report on his mission’s progress.
And since this was about potential civilization-destroying danger, reporting it to his superiors was only natural. Even if extra manpower wasn’t needed, it wasn’t like they could have too many supplies or resources, right?
Lu Zheng tried to reason with her patiently.
But for some reason, Yi Ning just didn’t seem to understand him. She was dead set on not letting him leave.
“You’re not allowed to go!”
When she saw Lu Zheng lifting his leg as if to head for the door, Yi Ning suddenly lunged forward, hugging his leg tightly and refusing to let go.
“You bastard, abandoning your own friend—where do you think you’re going alone!”