"There's another way?!"
Chen Qing froze. Before he could react, Ye Lin quickly drew his dagger and scratched a rough map into the floor, then turned to Lia:
"Lia, you said the Rebels found the machine, right? They just couldn't destroy it because they hadn't brought heavy weapons!"
Lia's expression stiffened, and she nodded instinctively:
"Yes, they found the machine, but I don't know exactly where it is. The higher-ups might know, but we weren't authorized to know."
"Sorry, it was also to keep things secret. We were afraid..."
Before Lia could explain on the Rebels' behalf, Ye Lin nodded and cut her off:
"That's enough. We only need to be sure they found the machine."
Ye Lin pointed his dagger at the Virtual City he had drawn on the floor and spoke rapidly:
"Everyone, we know two things now."
"One: the Rebels found the machine."
"Two: they entered through an engine opening."
"Working backward from that, whether the Rebels succeeded or not, they must have sneaked from the engine all the way to the machine. Even if they were captured in the end, they must have left traces along the way!"
"So we don't need to know where the machine is at all. We only need to know which engine opening they entered through, then follow 'them' from that entrance, and we'll eventually find the machine!"
When Ye Lin finished, everyone froze, struck by a sudden revelation.
Damn it!
They had actually forgotten the Rebels had been here! As long as they retraced that group's route, they could find the machine with their eyes closed!
"But...?!"
Seemingly realizing something was wrong, Zhang Qi couldn't help questioning Ye Lin:
"The problem is, we don't know where they came in either!"
Zhang Qi pointed at the Starship diagram Ye Lin had