Although the four clones communicated with their eyes secretly and reached an agreement, they didn't hold back at all. Although the clones were fighting among themselves, they would still work together when facing an external enemy.
The appearance of the AT force field weakened the strength of the sentinels, which was already at a disadvantage, by almost 20%. It directly dominated the outcome of this battle.
Under the combined efforts of the four clones, they finally defeated the eight sentinels unscathed.
After defeating the enemy, the atmosphere between the clones became tense again. Facing the powerful No.1, the other four clones decisively chose to work together.
"No.1, since you're here, why did you hide? If we were killed by the sentinels, what benefits would you get?" No.4 lowered his voice and asked.
"I just arrived. I don't mean any harm." No.1 wasn't angry and said slowly.
"But, you shouldn't have yelled out my location."
Seeing the clones' noncommittal attitude, No.1 continued.
"Haven't you guys thought about how these eight sentinels gathered here?"
No.4 glanced at Qin Yi's remains.
"Although there aren't many sentinels here, it's not impossible to gather eight of them."
No.1 shook his head.
"With your strength, it's still possible to gather eight patrolling sentries. But with Qin Yi's strength, even if he only encountered a group of patrolling sentries, he shouldn't be able to escape. Why did he gather so many patrolling sentries?"
No.4's eyes sank.
"You're saying Qin Yi purposely attracted these sentinels?"
Another clone, No.7, immediately said, "Impossible. This action is equivalent to betrayal!
With Qin Yi's strength, he can't break through the underlying logic implanted by the Supreme Controller!
He can't betray us! "
"Why not?" No.1 asked back.
"Did you forget about the Teeth of Despair?"
No.7 instantly went silent. If it wasn't for the Teeth of Despair's betrayal, the battle fort no.9 wouldn't have been destroyed, and its body wouldn't have been forced to break down and risk entering this mechanical ruin.
Before this, no one thought the Teeth of Despair would betray them. The underlying logic implanted by the Supreme Controller couldn't be violated. It had long become the iron law of the Mechanical Kingdom, and they had given it absolute trust.
However, the Teeth of Despair still betrayed the Mechanical Kingdom, betrayed the Supreme Controller, and gave themselves a heavy blow.
Since Despair Teeth could betray him, Qin Yi could naturally betray him as well.
The battle just now had erupted so suddenly that they did not have the time to think about the reasons behind it. Now that Number One had pointed it out, they realized that something was not right.
Just as No.1 had guessed, if Qin Yi hadn't taken the initiative to attract them, it would have been impossible for him to gather the eight patrolling sentries.
"Whether it's the Teeth of Despair or Qin Yi, it's impossible for them to break through the underlying logic implanted by the Supreme Master. There must be other forces involved that caused their betrayal," Number One said.
"Could it be Duanmu Longxiang?" Number Four said in a deep voice.
Number Seven shook his head.
"Although Duanmu Longxiang is very strong, he's not a Mechanic. He's only a Grade 7 Elemental Domain Ability User. It's impossible for him to break through the underlying logic implanted by the Supreme Ruler."
"It's not Duanmu Longxiang. Someone else is behind the betrayal of Despair Teeth and Qin Yi," Number One said slowly.
Number Four gave Number One a deep look.
"You suspect that Qi Yuan?"
"Yes, it's him!" Number One said.
"Although Qi Yuan's rank isn't high, he's not weak. Plus, his attainments in machinery and energy are extremely shocking. He has already ruined our plans many times. If there's really someone in the frontline base who can break through the underlying logic implanted by the Supreme Master, it's only possible for him!"
Number Seven was still suspicious.
"Qin Yi is from the ninth batch of explorers. He has never interacted with Qi Yuan before. How did Qi Yuan help him break through the underlying logic of the Supreme Master and make him betray us?"
"Although Qi Yuan has never interacted with Qin Yi outside, if they had interacted with each other in the Mechanical Ruins, wouldn't they be able to do the same?" Number One asked.
Number Seven was shocked.
"You're saying that Qi Yuan also entered the Mechanical Ruins?"
The Mechanical Ruins were one of the top secrets of the Mechanical Royal Court. No human had ever set foot in it. Not only because the Mechanical Royal Court had blocked all information related to it, but also because the defense mechanism of the Mechanical Ruins didn't allow flesh and blood lifeforms to enter.
There had been machinists who had done experiments in other Mechanical Ruins. They had tried to bring flesh and blood lifeforms in many times, but in the end, no flesh and blood lifeforms could pass through the passage alive. Whether it was aptitude users or insectoids, even high-level apocalyptic aptitude users or high-level insectoids, they would all die in the passage. There were no exceptions.
Number One nodded.
"The reason why I hid and didn't show myself was to find Qi Yuan. Such a dangerous enemy hiding in the dark is a huge threat to us!"
"I believe that the intervention of an external force caused the betrayal of Despair Teeth and Qin Yi, but I don't believe that this external force is Qi Yuan!" Number Four shook her head and said.
"Qi Yuan is a flesh and blood lifeform. It's impossible for him to pass through the passage alive. Moreover, I don't believe that an intermediate aptitude user can break through the underlying logic implanted by the Supreme Controller."
Not only Number Four, but the other three doppelgangers were also suspicious of Number One's guess. In this new era where strength was respected, Qi Yuan's rank was his biggest weakness.
Although Qi Yuan had defeated Meteor and Death Furnace, and was considered the top among the rank 6 aptitude users, he hadn't stepped into the high rank yet. There was still a huge gap between him and the Supreme Controller.
They didn't believe that an intermediate aptitude user could do this. Even Duanmu Longxiang's possibility was higher than Qi Yuan's.
Seeing their doubts, Number One also guessed their thoughts. His gaze suddenly became gloomy.
He could accept the other doppelgangers working together to exclude him, but he definitely wouldn't allow the other doppelgangers to choose to ignore certain truths just to exclude him. Once these things were ignored, it was very likely that his life would be threatened.
"If you guys weren't doppelgangers separated from the main body, I would really want to see you guys pay the price for your stupidity. Right now, Qi Yuan might be hiding nearby, laughing at us. If we don't find him, he will always hide in the darkness, looking for a chance to give you guys a fatal blow, just like how he used Qin Yi to attract the eight patrolling sentries to surround and attack you guys!"
Number Four looked at Number One without fear.
"It's not that we don't believe you, but your guess is too unbelievable. I think that what we really need to worry about is this mechanical ruin, not the Qi Yuan you imagined."
In the distance, Qi Yuan, who was hiding in the dark, had already quietly distanced himself from them to avoid being discovered. Although he couldn't hear what they were saying, Qi Yuan could vaguely feel that Number One was very likely to have some suspicions.
The battle just now had erupted too suddenly, so the doppelgangers didn't have time to think deeply. Now that the danger had been resolved, Slayer would definitely be able to realize where the problem was.
Moreover, Number One was purposely hiding in the dark, very likely to want to drag him out.
Exposing himself so quickly wasn't good news for Qi Yuan. Fortunately, the other party was probably only suspicious. Moreover, there seemed to be faint signs of division among these doppelgangers of Slayer.
Since these doppelgangers of Slayer also had internal conflicts, if he could control a doppelganger of Slayer, perhaps he could incite a civil war among them!
Qi Yuan's mind raced. Slayer had a total of ten doppelgangers. Five were already gathered here, and there were still five wandering in the mechanical ruin. Even if a few were unfortunately surrounded and killed by the patrolling sentries, there would definitely be some left alone. Perhaps he could go find trouble with those left alone. Otherwise, if all these doppelgangers gathered together, it would be difficult to make a move then!