Evil Emperor Zun

Chapter 2023: Attack with troops
"Yunyan!" Seeing this cruel scene, Chen Shiyu's mask shattered in two layers. The first layer was his composure, the second his deeply hidden indifference. Knowing that Ye Yunyan had no chance of survival, he still instinctively called out to her, his anxious and heartbroken expression evident.

In contrast, Chu Tianyao, the one who personally pushed his companion to his death, only showed a calm and indifferent regret. To give an analogy, it was as if he was playing with a spirit stone by the river, and accidentally let it slip, watching helplessly as the spirit stone was swallowed by the river. Of course, he would regret the accidental loss of the spirit stone, but it was a loss he could completely bear.

Black Ten Feather hadn't expected that Chu Tianyao would cooperate with it so well on his own initiative. Although this outcome was not what it had hoped for.

Its plan for Ye Yunyan was to "injure her without killing her," a will it inherited from the Gnawing Clan, which it had always faithfully followed. Ye Yunyan's death was an accident for it, but for Seed Feather, it was perhaps a long-planned scheme.

Like itself, it harbored suspicions about Chu Tianyao, doubting that he would easily relinquish the cloning machine. Ye Yunyan was also unlikely to remain docile, probably waiting for an opportunity to launch a counterattack. Therefore, its solution was straightforward—regardless of whether they were plotting something clever, once someone was dead, all their efforts would be in vain. In any case, there was already a clone of Yunyan, enough to deal with the demons.

They still needed Chu Tianyao to retrieve the Dust Ten Feathers, which is why it didn't blast him away with that shot. At least, after witnessing firsthand their methods of dealing with enemies, he should put away any lingering thoughts he might have. This is a case of "killing the chicken to scare the monkey."

Kuro Yu understood these points. Now that things had come to this, there were more pressing matters to attend to than blaming his teammates or lamenting the fate of the enemy.

Regardless, the fact that it didn't need to be on guard against Chu Tianyao at the same time was a relief. After giving Lan Shiyu a warning, it raised its hand and slammed it into the ground. Dust billowed, and the air automatically condensed into chains that wrapped around Lan Shiyu's legs. Seizing this moment, it pushed its magical power to the limit, its fist erupting with dazzling flames that spread into a swaying wave of fire that rose with the wind, and slammed towards Lan Shiyu's temple!
When Lan Shiyu received the telepathic message, the aftershocks of Jiao Lei's attack were still reverberating in its mind. What surprised it most was that Seed Feather, which was clearly copied from itself, was so ruthless! Could Chu Tianyao really handle it? Just thinking about dealing with such a dangerous creature made it fearful before the battle even began, feeling that when it finally faced it, its own head would be the next thing to explode.

Hei Shiyu transmitted his voice to it several times before Lan Shiyu snapped out of its daze and quickly followed suit, using its highest power to catalyze a wave of fire that blasted towards Chen Shiyu's temple from the other side, creating a pincer attack.

Chen Shiyu's battle alertness was forcibly awakened, and his hands almost instinctively spread out to the sides to block the surging waves of fire. However, the enemy's decisive blow was indeed extraordinary. He could block it, but it would take some time to gather the strength to completely dissipate it. It was during this brief period that he was indeed confined to this small area, unable to move.

The opportunity was fleeting. As soon as Hei Shiyu and Lan Shiyu gained control of the situation, they turned around and shouted at Chu Tianyao, "Attack! Attack now!"

Chu Tianyao did as instructed, raising the copying machine. The camera focused on the three entangled figures and automatically began to focus. When it outlined Chen Shiyu's silhouette, subtle ethereal features could be seen on the outer edge—the tremors caused by the energy scorching the space where his palms met the flames.

In the next few short moments, several things happened in quick succession.

The seed stirred. Like a gliding black shadow, it leaped down from its high hiding place, practically "swimming" along the ground, quickly reaching the location of the cloning machine. Picking up the machine, just as it was about to examine it, Ye Yunyan's corpse nearby suddenly underwent a strange transformation!

For some reason, she didn't disappear like the other deceased players. Instead, her body twisted strangely, her limbs as if twisted by a powerful force, sometimes stiff, sometimes twitching. Finally, she used her deformed limbs to prop herself up on her back, shook her neck, and after spilling blood, she seemed to find her way. Then, like an eight-legged spider, she crawled quickly towards Seed Feather on all fours!
Seed Feather frowned, raised his hand, and several points of bright, cold light shot out, transforming into long, narrow ice spikes that simultaneously pierced the mutated corpse. Four pierced its limbs, one pierced its heart, and the remaining spikes precisely sealed various vital points, pinning it firmly to the ground. Despite this, the corpse continued to struggle violently, repeatedly attempting to crawl forward.

Even Seed Feather, a data life form, felt a chill at the sight. No similar monster had ever appeared in Chen Shiyu's memory bank. Whether it could be restrained by conventional means, or whether it possessed other incredible abilities, remained entirely unknown.

Seed Feather is not afraid of ghosts, but it is wary of unpredictable enemies. Originally, it should have immediately retreated with the cloning machine, but after hesitating for a moment, it finally took a step and walked to its side, leaning down slightly to examine it carefully.

Another thing was that on the small screen in Chu Tianyao's hand, which determined life and death, Chen Shiyu's outline had been completely drawn. His data had also been analyzed and could be retrieved at any time.

The focusing of the copying machine differs from that of a traditional camera in that it can capture multiple different moving objects within the viewfinder's field of view. While locating Dust Ten Feather, it also located Blue Ten Feather and Black Ten Feather.

Chu Tianyao's fingertip rested on the recycle button, and the camera was currently pointed at Chen Shiyu.

The next moment, he turned the camera around with lightning speed and pressed the button on Lan Shiyu!

With a flash of white light, Lan Shiyu instantly transformed into a beam of light and was absorbed into the bottom of the machine. In its final moments, it had no time to think, no time to ask, and it didn't even realize that it was being taken away before its end was abruptly written.

Having succeeded in his attack, Chu Tianyao turned the camera around again without hesitation, this time targeting Hei Shiyu.

With such control over timing, and the ability to turn against someone when victory is assured, any other clone would have been caught off guard and taken back. But Black Ten Feather, as the most outstanding clone, was extremely vigilant. Upon realizing that it was Blue Ten Feather who had disappeared, it immediately connected the dots and concluded that Chu Tianyao's allegiance was only feigned, and that its next target was most likely itself.

It was precisely because of this preemptive alert that it was able to react quickly when the camera indeed turned towards it, spinning and rolling, narrowly avoiding the attack at the last second. Upon landing, it twisted sharply and charged forward, the copying machine still chasing it, but just a hair's breadth away; the second flash of white light again grazed past it.

At its speed, that short time was enough for it to rush across most of the open space, leaving a trail of lightning in its wake, and then it swept straight into the outer corridor and disappeared without a trace.

The reason why Black Ten Feather was able to escape successfully was ultimately because it trusted no one.

It didn't trust Chu Tianyao because it had never directly interacted with him. To it, Lan Shiyu's retelling and the old stories in its memory bank could only serve as references, not definitive conclusions. It would only believe what it saw with its own eyes and the judgments it made based on that. Chu Tianyao's cooperation just now had only "increased" its trust level, but it was far from "fully increased." To put it bluntly, even if he had perfectly completed his mission today, it still wouldn't easily trust him.

It didn't trust Lan Shiyu either. So before handing the cloned machine over to the latter, it specifically modified the system settings. This caused it to automatically enter lock screen standby mode after completing a recycling task, requiring a password to unlock. With this layer of security, even if Lan Shiyu refused to return the cloned machine afterward, it wouldn't be able to use that machine to reclaim itself.

He calculates every detail when taking action and can make decisive moves when he fails; he is indeed a formidable opponent.

Seeing that things were not going well, Seed Feather also wanted to run away, but it was too late. Just as it moved, another figure moved at the same time.

The cloned cloud that had been standing quietly in the corner had somehow gotten close behind it and raised its cloning machine at it.

As soon as Seed Feather turned around, his vision was engulfed by a burst of white light, and his entire body was transformed into a flat beam of light that vanished into thin air.

Then, the clone Yunyan pointed the camera at the mutated corpse on the ground, pressed the button, and put it away as well.

When she looked up again, her once flat and empty eyes, which had seemed mechanical, regained a bright "vitality".

It turns out that the "copy of Yunyan" who had been sent away early on and whom no one paid much attention to was the real Ye Yunyan, while the one left behind and whose head was blown off by Seed Feather was the copy.

Creating a clone of Ye Yunyan served two purposes. First, it created an opportunity for her to retrieve the Seed Feathers. The Seed Feathers would be wary of her personally, but not of a clone without any instructions. Second, the clone would act as a "shield" to prevent Black Ten Feathers and their allies from harming Ye Yunyan in their attempt to seize the cloning machine. This precaution proved to be very necessary.

The switcheroo begins the moment the copy is made.

Ye Yunyan already knew about Chu Tianyao's plan and agreed to cooperate. She had voluntarily accepted the replication, but the outcome naturally needed to be faked; they decided to create the illusion that she had been corrupted. In reality, if Ye Yunyan had truly fallen for it, her eyes should have also been filled with black energy, indicating that her soul's fluctuations were being suppressed by negative energy. However, the enemy was deeply engaged in battle and had no time to pay attention to such details. As for the automatic separation of the original and the copy after replication, it's perfectly normal for one to remain still while the other emerges from the other's body.

And so, Ye Yunyan impersonated her own clone and temporarily became a background figure in the corner.

The actual cloning machine was taken away with her.

When they finalized the plan, they created a replica of the machine. It looked exactly like the real thing, only lacking its functions. Ye Yunyan brought this replica with her when she initially went to see Hei Shiyu with Chen Shiyu. The original machine, however, was stored in her storage ring.

During the duplication process, unless the operator makes specific settings, the machine will by default only copy the original's genes and personal clothing; other items held by the original will not be copied. For example, when Chen Shiyu was being copied, he was taking notes, and no additional copy of the paper and pen in his hand was created.

Similarly, the replication of Ye Yunyan does not include the model. Once the real Ye Yunyan "walks out," all that remains is for the replicant to continue holding the model. In short, it's a dummy holding a fake machine.

Even the cautious and suspicious Kuroshi didn't notice this switcheroo right under his nose.

Next, it was Chu Tianyao's solo performance. All the words he said to the replicant, a mix of persuasion and coercion, were a performance for the enemy—the enemy knew Ye Yunyan's personality well, and if she compromised too easily, it would definitely arouse their suspicion—from beginning to end, the only effective order he gave the replicant was to put down the cloning machine and retreat.

After that, the clone was knocked down, Seed Feather appeared, and Ye Yunyan, who was in the corner, seized the opportunity and activated the illusion bullet buried in the clone through a remote control device.

The illusion bullet was a bead the size of a thumb. When she and her replicant separated, she flicked it with her fingertip and sent the bead into the replicant's pocket—she had even worn a garment with pockets specifically for this purpose.

There are many types of illusion bullets. Some are created by the user through their thoughts, allowing them to project the desired image. Others are designed to create different images based on each person's emotional state, such as fear, joy, or sadness, depending on the emotion the user wants the recipient to experience. Still others can be made from readily available materials, randomly transforming objects into terrifying forms.

Ye Yunyan chose the last option. It was the most suitable. After all, they had no way of predicting what state the clones would be in when the illusion bullet was activated. If the pre-prepared scene didn't connect well with reality, it would easily expose flaws.

However, since it's an illusion, Chen Shiyu's eye technique happens to be the best at breaking illusions. If Seed Feather activates his eye technique immediately upon seeing the anomaly, wouldn't it be immediately exposed? This was a concern Ye Yunyan had raised.

Chu Tianyao said there was no need to worry about that; Seed Feather probably hadn't unlocked its pupil technique ability yet, because that ability wouldn't be useful for the mission it was meant to perform.

For Hei Shiyu, these clones would eventually be recycled, so it naturally wouldn't allow them to unlock all their abilities immediately and become on par with itself. It would only unlock what was needed for the mission – this was Chu Tianyao's conjecture, which was confirmed by Lan Shiyu after some subtle probing.

Unable to break the deadlock using eye techniques, the Seed Feather's reaction will be closer to that of an ordinary person, meaning it will be distracted by the illusion bullet. That would at least create a brief pause. Seizing this opportunity, we can locate, analyze, and retrieve it.

Everything is proceeding according to Chu Tianyao's plan. In fact, this plan can be traced back even further.

He was initially clueless about how to distinguish between the real and fake Chen Shiyu, but Lan Shiyu's words reminded him: "The Chen Shiyu you know will never be loyal to the Gnawing Clan."

Indeed, although Chen Shiyu appeared approachable, Chu Tianyao sensed that he was more proud than anyone else and would never bow down to a foreign race for any reason. The person attempting to impersonate him could fake everything else, but his true stance could not be concealed. As a henchman of the Devouring Clan, he would inevitably do things that ultimately benefit the Devouring Clan, and Chu Tianyao planned to use this to test him.

If he were to directly request allegiance, he would likely be suspected, so he decided to do the opposite and "take the initiative to attack the opposing side of the Gnawing Clan" to prove his loyalty through his actions.

The killing intent Lan Shiyu felt was real; he had indeed gone all out, each move aimed directly at vital points. He knew very well that Chen Shiyu was stronger than him, and even if he used all his moves, he wouldn't actually hurt him. This killing intent, felt by the enemy as it was directed at his "comrade," was his first pledge of allegiance to the Devouring Clan, more powerful than a thousand words.

Stripping away the complexities and fickleness of human nature, and reducing everything to the most fundamental chessboard of interests, the two sides in the game are simplified into clearly distinct forces. Chu Tianyao was very confident about the outcome—his stance conflicted with the true interests of Chen Shiyu, but aligned with the interests of the Gnawing Clan. Two people whose interests were touched from different perspectives would react entirely differently.

He was fully prepared to repeat the same lines to every single Chen Shiyu. Luckily, he guessed right on the first try.

Last night, Chen Shiyu left the Mirror Space with information about the Devouring Clan and discussed it with Ye Yunyan for a long time. Then they received another message from Chu Tianyao, who told them all the information he had obtained from Lan Shiyu and also explained in detail his plan to recover the clones.

As for why he didn't mention it during the first message, and instead claimed he didn't know if Lan Shiyu would reappear, it was because he hadn't obtained any useful information at that time. He didn't want to be just someone who relayed messages to them and then be excluded; he wanted to play a more important role.

Another point is that in the adult world, results ultimately matter. The same idea can be a good idea if it succeeds, and a bad idea if it fails. A plan to "infiltrate" the enemy would not only be unacceptable at first, but they might also doubt his true stance. Therefore, he needs to first produce results to show them that this path is viable, and their attitude will naturally change.

In this plan, his role is the most significant. Ye Yunyan only needs to play the clone, and Chen Shiyu only needs to act anxious when the clone Yunyan is knocked down. He, however, must not only confront the enemy directly but also subtly portray a cunning traitor through his interactions with the clone. He must also use his acting skills to drive every event forward, pushing them onto the predetermined path—essentially, he single-handedly carries the entire show. Whether his performance is convincing and whether he can gain the enemy's trust will be crucial to the plan's success or failure.

"You acted so well. I was worried you might actually switch sides at the last minute." Now that everything had ended successfully, Ye Yunyan could tease Chu Tianyao with a relaxed expression. Of course, she hadn't doubted him; this was simply the highest praise for his acting skills.

Chu Tianyao smiled broadly, his eyes filled with gentle warmth: "How could I do such a thing?"

Those who had previously berated him were stunned. Most people's past is marked by betrayal, but Chu Tianyao is a rare exception, leaving behind a "white history." He wasn't just someone who betrayed others. He made different choices depending on the people and the circumstances.

Some people tried to salvage the situation by saying that Shi Yu and Yun Yan were both too upright, and Chu Tianyao was indeed better at scheming and plotting. Does that mean he was a good person?

Another comment hit the nail on the head: "It's a natural performance, so of course it's realistic."

The man said that judging from Chu Tianyao's behavior, he was indeed the kind of person capable of doing and saying such things. The fact that he didn't betray anyone doesn't mean he had high moral standards; it just means the benefits of betrayal weren't great enough.

Currently, he genuinely considers Chen Shiyu and Ye Yunyan as friends. Sacrificing their lives, breaking faith with all his companions, just to become a slave to the Devouring Clan, and not even necessarily gaining much power, is clearly not worth it. If they could make him the supreme ruler of the universe, he would definitely betray his friends without hesitation.

This way, by doing Ye Yunyan a favor and using them to connect with the demon clan's bigwig, he could also wipe out all the usable members of the Devouring Clan, proving his own abilities. Perhaps the other party would offer him an even higher price to recruit him next time—this was the best option after weighing the pros and cons.

Some people say that this makes no sense. According to your logic, anyone who hasn't done anything wrong could be said to have done it because the benefits weren't great enough, which would mean there are no good people in the world.

Some people have even started shipping Chu Tianyao and Hei Shiyu, looking forward to their next battle of wits and love-hate relationship—being able to ship them anytime, anywhere is a kind of happiness for female fans.