Chapter 164 : Chapter 164
Chapter 164: This Thing Works Better Than a Fist
After reveling in pride over his well-trained body, Lu Zheng turned his attention back to Yi Ning.
Though he had received formal wilderness survival training in school and scored high in simulated exams, and even though navigating an alien planet might pose challenges in orientation, Lu Zheng still had full confidence in being able to pick a direction and walk it—and in finding something edible along the way.
Still, he was well aware that this forest was huge.
Back during his no-parachute skydive, he had memorized the surrounding terrain roughly. The lush green forest stretched beyond sight.
Walking out of it on foot might take weeks.
So he was hoping for a better plan.
The hopeful look in his eyes made Yi Ning break into a cold sweat.
She had only come up with a random-sounding excuse—there was no actual plan!
Sure, she carried a portable multi-function toolkit capable of creating some simple evil inventions, but there was no clearing, no materials—just endless trees. How was she supposed to work under those conditions?
Wait… endless trees.
Yi Ning paused.
After a moment of thought, an idea surfaced in her mind.
“I’ve got it to—”
Her excited words slipped out instinctively.
But she swallowed them back before finishing.
Not because she’d found a flaw in her idea—but because...
How could she not take this chance to mess with Lu Zheng?
As an evil scientist who placed joy above all else, Yi Ning wouldn’t pass up the perfect opportunity to tease the best target at hand.
Not only could she enjoy the intellectual superiority of messing with him, but she could also bask in the unparalleled sense of conquest from teasing the longtime rival who’d always suppressed her.
So when Lu Zheng asked what method she had thought of, Yi Ning deliberately dragged it out.
“It’s not the time for riddles!” Lu Zheng had no words for her attitude.
With his hands occupied, he could only tilt his head and lightly knock his forehead against hers to express his dissatisfaction.
“It’s not that I’m being secretive… it’s just… the method requires so much sacrifice from Lord Lu Zheng… this delicate maiden simply doesn’t have the heart to speak it aloud~”
Here we go again.
Lu Zheng turned his head and rolled his eyes out of her sight.
Like he didn’t know her by now?
“Hard to say” his ass—Yi Ning just thought it was funny!
But what could he do?
Nothing but forgive her.
Lu Zheng sighed. “Alright, spit it out.”
“Then if I say it, you better not get mad~” Yi Ning still kept up her pitiful act.
Lu Zheng raised his head—then remembered his hands were still holding her legs—and swung his head. “I pardon you!”
“How dare you, Lu Zheng! Plotting to usurp the throne!”
The Empress of the Evil Empire of Dr. Alien—Miss Yi Ning—tightened her arms around Lu Zheng’s neck in a mock execution attempt, trying to subdue this treasonous minister.
But how could mere arms defeat a neck tempered by countless hours of training?
Yi Ning’s feeble strength couldn’t even scratch Lu Zheng’s defense, dealing nothing but -1, -1 chip damage.
Once she’d had enough fun, she relaxed her grip and gently wrapped her arms around his neck again, finally revealing her brilliant idea.
“All you need to do is carry me out of the forest~”
Isn’t that the exact same plan as before?!
Just as Lu Zheng was about to throw this nonsense off his back and let her experience terror firsthand, Yi Ning slowly added:
“Or… you could clear a bit of space and process some wood for me to start working.”
Ah.
Wood.
As an ultimate high-school-level evil scientist, Miss Yi Ning of course could build a vehicle to get them out of the forest using wood as a base.
It was just that she used to have enough funding to afford better materials, so she never had to settle for regular lumber.
She had simply forgotten it was even an option.
But desperate times called for improvisation.
Hearing her plan, Lu Zheng’s expression grew complicated.
Yi Ning, this woman…
Could she just say what she meant, clearly?
Why the need for so much pointless fluff?
But in the end, Lu Zheng sighed again.
If she didn’t do all that, she wouldn’t be Yi Ning.
As her lifelong rival, that much he was sure of.
He crouched down, released his grip, and set Yi Ning’s legs down so she could dismount—he needed both hands free to start knocking down trees.
But sensing what Lu Zheng was doing, Yi Ning didn’t budge. In fact, she clung tighter to his neck, wrapped her legs around his waist again, and locked her feet—clinging to him like a koala.
He was literally going to work, could she not cooperate for once?
A cartoonish "#" symbol seemed to appear on Lu Zheng’s forehead.
Suppressing his irritation, he gently patted her thigh and tried to coax her down.
“No!”
You little—!
Lu Zheng really wanted to rip her off his back, dangle her by the collar from a tree, and beat her with a branch until she spun like a top.
“I’m going to be chopping down trees for you. If I mess up and get hit by a falling trunk, you’ll be in real danger riding me like this.”
Years of self-discipline allowed Lu Zheng to swallow his anger and try reasoning with her.
Yi Ning didn’t answer with words. Instead, she reached into her pocket and—with a few clang clang clang noises—pulled out a wrench and handed it to Lu Zheng.
“This is the evil tool of wonder you’ll be using soon.”
Lu Zheng: “?”
He took the wrench and examined it, but saw nothing special.
Was she expecting him to smash trees with a wrench?
He doubted this thing would be more effective than his fists.
“It’s my all-purpose tool~” Yi Ning explained, plucking a strand of hair from Lu Zheng’s head and placing it on the wrench’s handle.
“Hold on, I’m authorizing it for your use.”
A blue beam of light appeared at the bottom of the wrench. It scanned the hair, then blinked a few times.
A set of instructions for the wrench—no, the universal tool—flashed through Lu Zheng’s mind. At the same time, an indescribable connection formed between him and the wrench, like it had become part of him.
With just a thought, the wrench began to morph.
In just a few seconds, an electric chainsaw appeared in Lu Zheng’s hand.
Looking at the sharp, gleaming teeth of the blade...
Alright.
Lu Zheng would now like to revise his earlier statement.
This thing definitely works better than his fists.