The sound of puppets collapsing echoed in their ears, and the surrounding environment became quiet.

The monsters that had previously been menacingly approaching them were now shattered like broken porcelain, sprawled all around them.

Xu Xiaoyou put away her weapon and checked herself over. During the previous battle, she had nearly used up all her throwable items. Aside from firearms and ammunition, she was left with only a few canisters of freeze emergency spray.

Her fingertip rested on the Ginkgo Curtain by her ear. She heard the slightly proud voice of a young girl. "How was that, didn't let you down, right?"

Through the curtain, she could almost see the other person's wagging little tail and chuckled lightly, "Great job, Little Blue Bird."

"Keep moving, we've lost his sight for now. Don't let those puppet sentinels detect us."

After solving the Puppet Nail, all the puppets in their area were cleared out, like fish diving into the ocean, making it hard for the Puppet Master to find them again.

At this point, the second step of the operation plan was considered complete.

She paused and looked towards the distant Church, continuing to give orders, "Chen San, how's it going on your side?"

After she switched the communication curtain to Chen San's channel, a gust of wind was heard.

Chen San was sprinting swiftly through the thickets with the Substitute in front of him. Occasionally, a bullet would fly in from afar, piercing into the snowdrifts nearby.

"I'm still within the sniper's sight, I haven't located his position."

The next moment, the Substitute observing the Church in the distance through binoculars was headshot, blood blossoming from her head.

"Damn, that guy got hit in the head!"

Chen San felt uneasy, yet the voice of the young girl on the communication channel merely said nonchalantly, "Just a critical injury, it's no big deal for her."

Upon hearing this, Chen San's heart skipped a beat, and a look of disbelief appeared on his face.

The golden-haired girl with half her head drooping unexpectedly got up from the snow as if nothing had happened. With each move, bits of her head fell, and the dripping hot blood stained the snow crimson.

Her expression was calm as she turned her head to look at Chen San, with an eyeball falling out of the smashed half of her head, hanging by nerves on the outside.

The Substitute frowned, seemingly troubled, reached for the eyeball, plucked it out, and directly stuffed it into her mouth, swallowing it.

Chen San was at a loss for words, his mouth opening a few times before he silently closed it again.

"At one o'clock in the Church, in the prayer room on the first floor, second last brick on the third row corner, that guy is hiding behind the wall, aiming at us through that small hole," the Substitute reported one piece of information after another.

Whoosh—

Another bullet burrowed into the snowdrift near Chen San, sending snowflakes flying.

"Tsk." Chen San clicked his tongue.

He did not evade further but straightened his body, pressing the gun stock against his shoulder, his mind rapidly recalling the Substitute's previous words.

In the scope, the thousand-meter distance disappeared in a flash, and he soon found the enemy sniper, hiding behind a brick, his pair of glowing black eyes meeting his gaze.

This time, he pulled the trigger first, taking out the enemy who had kept him in a passive position.

"One shot, one kill," Chen San adjusted his broken glasses.

"Next, Chen San, go make some noise in front of the Church, lure away that big guy, my Substitute will cooperate with you."

In the snowy field, Xu Xiaoyou calmly issued orders to everyone, tapping her finger slowly against the Ginkgo leaf by her ear, her gaze steady, as if thoughts were constantly flashing through her mind.

The young girl now looked like a seasoned commander, her words carrying firmness and confidence, her tactical arrangements interlinked, and she handled unexpected events with composure.

Yet before, she had never truly led or participated in a decent battle, spending most of her time fighting alone, like a lone wolf.

This made them think of a word, talent.

Some are born natural leaders, seemingly no different from ordinary people, capable of interacting normally with others until a crisis arrives, showcasing their sparkling talent, born with charisma, likability, and confidence, making others believe without realizing it.

All it takes is an opportunity, and the lone wolf wandering outside will return to her pack, crowned as queen.

"What about her?" Lin Sheng suppressed the killing intent spilling from his body and asked in a deep voice.

"I had her take another route to meet up with us later," Xu Xiaoyou glanced up at him.

"What do we do next?"

A profound meaning flickered in Xu Xiaoyou's eyes.

She shook her head and gave an enigmatic answer, "Wait."

"And, execute my command."

...

In a flash, over ten minutes passed, and the situation seemed locked in a stalemate.

Arrows hidden in the shadows were ready to be unleashed; it was a duel between two hunters, waiting for the moment to reveal all their killing intent and tear open the enemy's throat.

The puppets wandered aimlessly in the snowy field, searching for everyone's positions.

Lin Sheng, during the standoff, appeared somewhat anxious, though it wasn't revealed on the surface, but could be inferred from his fingers tapping on the hilt.

Watching the girl leisurely tending to the wound on her arm, he finally couldn't hold back and stepped forward, "What exactly is our next move?"

"My brother is still in that guy's hands."

Xu Xiaoyou didn't answer, merely poured disinfectant over the wound on her arm, biting the bandage, she wound it tightly until it was completely secure, then said succinctly:

"The time is almost right."

Seemingly unconcerned that the wandering puppets would discover their position, causing them to be exposed again to the Puppet Master's sight, she donned her tactical vest again and issued the final order:

"Chen San, attack."

The sound of a sniper rifle and the roar of an explosion came through the communication curtain.

In ten minutes, both Chen San and the Substitute had reached their intended positions, launching an attack towards the armored beast at the Church entrance.

The sniper rifle bullets couldn't penetrate the heavy armor, leaving only a lead-grey shallow mark, the hand grenade explosion merely left charred marks on its heavy armor, without causing substantial damage.

Upon being attacked, the Three Tier Heavy Knight puppet roared and brandished the guitar giant axe in its hand, charging towards their direction — this was the most frequently used ability of a Heavy Knight, Fearless Charge!

It was like a monstrous beast, each step causing the ground to tremble, and as it approached, Chen San could even hear the music from that guitar axe, a soothing, leisurely tune narrating a countryside story — typical country-style music.

Chen San rolled away to dodge the swing of the giant axe. With his First Tier physique, forget clashing with the monster head-on, even just continuously evading its swings nearly exhausted him completely.

Each swing stirred up a bloody wind, with healing and soothing tunes playing from the guitar giant axe. If it weren't for his head almost getting relocated, Chen San might have actually wanted to enjoy this countryside melody performed by metal and blood.

Petite in size, like a mouse that could be crushed with one stomp, yet he circled around the Heavy Knight puppet, continuously dodging the swings of the giant axe.

This feeling of being toyed with clearly enraged the monster in heavy armor, as it let out an earth-shaking roar, brandishing the guitar axe, the heavy armor clanging with muffled symphony at each strike.

Chen San watched as its massive body began to spin, forming a storm around it, the strong attraction almost threatening to pull Chen San into the storm and tear him apart!

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