Jian Liu said: "Oh right, Miss Xu."

Xu Xiaoyou looked up, the young man with black hair was smiling at her.

"Could we talk alone?"

Xu Xiaoyou nodded, the communication shifted to her Curtain, and the call turned private. The rest of the team could only see the weak red glow flickering on the curtain shaped like ginkgo leaves near her ear.

Jian Liu: "Diamond 9 said the Puppet Master carries a Forbidden Object, stolen by Yorick from the company after killing Jade 1."

"That important person specifically mentioned that he hopes you pay attention to the Forbidden Object, and said it's related to you."

"As extra reward, he is willing to gift this Forbidden Object to you if you can resolve the matter concerning the Puppet Master."

Forbidden Object?

Xu Xiaoyou pondered.

Generally speaking, the creatures of powerful tales are extremely difficult to be truly killed. As long as people continue to fantasize about them, fear or worship them, they will eventually revive, returning with full force even after being wiped out.

However, due to the special nature of some tale creatures, they can be sealed onto objects, falling into permanent, long-term slumber, and those objects will be endowed with eerie properties, mostly extending from the creatures' own domain of characteristics.

For example, the tale creature known as the Mirror Demon can be sealed through a bronze mirror, causing it to slumber. As long as the Forbidden Object, the bronze mirror, is aimed at someone allowing them to see their reflection, it can directly drag them into the mirror world.

These Forbidden Objects are often extremely dangerous, special, and mysterious, usually converted from tale creatures of Disaster Level danger or higher after being sealed, carefully guarded and controlled by major organizations or companies, rarely circulated to individuals.

Unexpectedly, Yorick actually possesses a Forbidden Object, making the upcoming operation even trickier.

As for Diamond 9 wanting to gift a Forbidden Object to her, and it's related to her?

Leaving aside why she would be linked to a Forbidden Object, she has never believed that free gifts fall from the sky, accepting such favors inevitably comes with a price.

Perhaps guessing her thoughts, Jian Liu said calmly, "Don't worry, Miss Xu. Diamond 9 has emphasized that the Forbidden Object is closely related to you. It's his investment and sincerity towards you. The Puppet Master cannot utilize its abilities; in his hands, it's merely an ordinary whip."

"The Forbidden Object is named,"

"Hundred-Section Whip."

Buzz... Buzz...

At this moment, the curtain image of Jian Liu was replaced by another person in everyone's curtain.

The man was dressed in a long black suit, wearing a mask; a plaster resembling mask encompassing his entire head, with stone-like texture, each of the five faceted faces of the mask had an eerie eye, blinking and then narrowing to reveal disdain as he noticed the crowd.

"Oh, I'm very sorry to interrupt your call at this time, let me introduce myself."

The man's tone was frivolous and mocking, his gaze towards everyone filled with contempt.

"My name is Yorick."

As he spoke, he pulled his hands from his suit pockets, palms opened in front of his mask, the black leather gloves similarly had two eyes, blinking and narrowing into slits.

"As you can see, I'm the Puppet Master Yorick, the person you've been longing day and night to meet."

Everyone's expressions changed, the Puppet Master unexpectedly appeared before them, Xu Xiaoyou stared intently at his eyes.

"How's my meticulously designed puppet stage?" Yorick said. "It's true, training those filthy, low-caste vagabonds into puppets took me several days of effort."

"The outcome truly disappoints me, everything that happened last night didn't make me relish it."

"Originally, knowing someone was coming to catch me, I worried for a while, but you were bickering endlessly all the way, infighting like scattered sand, not making me feel threatened at all."

"Yorick!" Lin Sheng could no longer suppress his inner fury, roaring forward like a lion, "Where is my brother!?"

Yorick's eyes squinted into a smile and snapped his fingers. Lin Xing's dull, lifeless figure slowly floated behind him, appearing in everyone's view, the cheerful face now only lifeless gray.

"Lin Xing!" Lin Sheng gritted his teeth, bloodshot eyes, his breath intimidating. "I will never let you off!"

Yorick's smile grew eerily at his expression: "Oh my, I'm so scared."

Suddenly, all his eyes turned scarlet, he swung one hand, and Lin Xing's puppet arm was immediately taken away, appearing in his hand.

With a slight force, countless cracks appeared, shattering into numerous pieces.

The Puppet Master feigned surprise: "Sorry, sorry, I accidentally broke your brother's original arm. Don't worry, I'll give him a new one, whether it fits, I can't say~"

Watching Lin Sheng's chest heave violently, like a beast about to go berserk, the Puppet Master waved dismissively:

"Perfect timing, this cat and mouse, mouse and cat game has become a bit tiresome, I'll be waiting for you underground in the abandoned Donglin Church."

He and a puppet behind him started a tango, words carried with light and coordinated steps, the female puppet's red dress flared like a blooming red rose, as he leaned down and kissed her neck deeply, leaving everyone a meaningful glance: "Don't let the last dance disappoint me again."

After finishing, he disconnected the curtain call.

"That damned guy!" Lin Sheng roared, breathing heavily.

Sneaky and cunning, his despicable flaunting personality takes pleasure in others' suffering, Xu Xiaoyou thought, arms crossed.

It fits her initial assessment of his character; what perplexes her is, why would a sly fox like him reveal himself before the win is certain, mocking them?

She doesn't believe he'd do such pointless things unless he is certain of victory; it's merely a piece of his plan. Likewise, she ignores his taunts; in pre-game banter, the first to get angry loses.

The opponent is currently within the Donglin Church, laying a trap there to lure them, intending to ensnare them completely?

Xu Xiaoyou looked at Chen San, who also turned to her, suddenly furrowing his brows and loudly questioning:

"You clearly knew there was a problem with that village last night, right?"

"Where did you go later?"

"We could have avoided the risks in advance, not ending up passive as we are now?"

"Could it be you did it intentionally?"

Chen San's last words pointed all accusations toward Xu Xiaoyou, who merely chuckled coldly, ignoring others' gazes:

"Well said, weren't you the commander? Didn't you perceive any danger upon entering the village?"

"Where were you when those monsters appeared? Sneaked back to the post leaving us all there to die?"

The two argued without yielding, tension charged the air, escalating into a bitter conflict like an explosive powder keg ready to ignite.

The voices of argument echoed over the mountains, Lin Sheng and Tang Xin remained silent, watching them argue for about ten minutes.

After a long time, they both appeared calm.

Lin Sheng took a deep breath, looking at everyone: "What do you plan to do, do you want to keep being led by the nose?"

Chen San decisively said, "He's shown himself; of course, we must continue the mission."

Xu Xiaoyou coldly said, "He has laid his cards open; we must play along."

The two finally agreed, saying together:

"We're going to take him down."

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