Quadruple split.

Chapter 2612 The Puppet
"【Puppet】..."

Mo Tan didn't show too much surprise. He simply looked down at the petite blonde girl in front of him, who looked to be only a little over ten years old, and said softly, "As far as I know, as the most senior of the three first-class deacons stationed in Ankana by the Viper Merchant Guild, the identity of 'Puppet' should be Sera Linxi, the manager of the Ninth Office of the Gold Coin Merchant Guild."

"Haha, Brother Mo, you're really good at joking."

The girl... or rather the doll, grinned and said cheerfully, "This identity was a simple, crude trap from the beginning, only good for fooling simpletons. The premise is that 'anyone who can find out that [the doll] is Lin Xi Sera must be able to tell that they are definitely not the same person.' So, since you can't be a fool, Brother Mo, why should we go through all this unnecessary trouble?"

Mo Tan's gaze narrowed slightly, and he said noncommittally, "Although I've gotten used to being around immortal beings, the title 'Brother Mo' is still a bit too strange. Let's change it."

"As you wish, Brother Mo."

The doll readily changed her tune, smiling playfully, "But I want to clarify one thing: although I'm not as young and beautiful as I 'look' right now, my real age is probably much, much, much younger than you imagine!"

Mo Tan nodded casually and gave a perfunctory "hmm," clearly not interested in the topic.

"Oh, by the way, let me tell you something you're interested in."

The doll blinked, fiddling with the stack of [Heavenly Fire Burns the City] magic scrolls in the basket, and said in a light tone, "Regarding those passersby just now, they weren't actually under control. What you saw earlier, Brother Mo, had nothing to do with mental attacks or hypnosis."

Mo Tan, who had been worried about the safety of the passersby since the beginning, was indeed very concerned about this topic and immediately asked, "So what exactly happened just now..."

"It's just a show."

The puppet smiled slightly and said happily, "Although I didn't know these people until recently, that didn't stop them from helping to put on a trivial show after receiving a small sum of money. And indeed, it has been proven that the cost of doing so is far less than if I had actually turned them into puppets through some kind of bizarre and terrifying ability, or... it's still a puppet show, but in the current situation, whether it's me as the planner, them as the performers, or you as the only audience member, everyone can accept it."

"In my opinion, this is just a harmless joke."

Realizing that no one had been injured in the 'turmoil' just now, Mo Tan's attitude immediately softened. She smiled at the little girl selling Fireball scrolls in front of her and said, "So, as the most mysterious of the three first-class deacons in Anka Market, Miss Doll, why are you here in front of me?"

The doll tilted its head and thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you mean before, or now?"

Mo Tan slowly walked to the bench next to the magic crystal lamp and sat down, saying in a gentle tone, "If it's convenient, I'd love to know more."

"Haha, I don't dislike greedy men."

The doll sat down next to Mo Tan without any hesitation and said with a grin, "Let's go in order then. My first meeting with you two, Brother Mo, was just a coincidence."

Mo Tan nodded slightly: "I think so too."

"Eh?"

The doll stared wide-eyed in surprise and asked curiously, "Aren't you surprised?"

"No, because our operations here are very secretive. Even if you local tyrants can receive the news immediately, it's still a bit unrealistic to expect you to run over there and pretend to be victims before we take action and wait for rescue."

Mo Tan shook his head and readily agreed, saying, "It's not that I'm overconfident in my intelligence-blocking capabilities, but rather that at least before the [Playground] and [Excavation Site] under the Chaochong's command were destroyed, our Woof Woof Adventurer Team doesn't deserve your excessive attention. That's why I think that previous meeting was just an accident."

The doll playfully stuck out its tongue and chuckled, "Back then, none of you doubted me at all."

"In fact, if you hadn't deliberately revealed your weakness just now, I probably wouldn't have recognized you even now."

Mo Tan gave the doll's disguise a rather subtle compliment, then asked, "So, why were you there back then?"

"Because whether it's me, Wildfire, or Black Wolf, we all care a lot about the shady business behind the scenes of the Tide Worm. After all, we are all members of the Viper Merchant Guild. If he goes too far, even if his entire faction is eradicated by insightful people like you, it could still cause us considerable trouble."

While lazily tidying up the scrolls haphazardly stuffed into the basket, the doll casually remarked, "So for a long time, Wildfire and Black Wolf have been continuously sending people to keep an eye on that area. But keeping an eye on it is one thing; whether they can respond and handle emergencies in a timely manner is another matter entirely."

Mo Tan nodded slightly and asked softly, "So you went to the amusement park on your own initiative to ensure that you could respond and deal with any situation that might affect your own interests in a timely manner?"

"It's not difficult, is it?"

The doll casually pulled the straps of her tattered dress down to her shoulders, struck a very cute and innocent pose for Mo Tan, and said with a smile, "To deal with third-rate people, you only need to use third-rate methods."

Mo Tan frowned slightly and sighed silently, "I should have acted sooner."

"Heh, that's quite unexpected."

The doll put her clothes back on and said slowly to the young knight, whose gaze was calm and gentle, without a trace of blame in his eyes, "I thought you would blame me."

Mo Tan shook his head and calmly replied, "I have neither the standing nor the right to do so."

“See, you even know very well why I think you will blame me.”

The doll lazily stretched her obviously underdeveloped body, and after failing to lean on Mo Tan's shoulder, she rested her chin on the armrest and said softly, "But... just like you said, no one has the right to ask me to save certain people, and I have no obligation to save certain people either. This is not a necessary evil, but simply cold-bloodedness and indifference, because I have understood a principle for a long time: the gratitude gained from charity can never fill the emptiness and lack in one's heart."

Mo Tan glanced at the doll noncommittally and casually said, "It seems you have a past that wasn't exactly happy."

"I think it's more like a pretentious, affected lament, isn't that right?"

The doll said with a forced smile, then confirmed with Mo Tan, "I haven't mastered the essence of the otherworldly language yet, so I hope I didn't embarrass myself too much."

"You remind me of two friends who are far less humble than you."

The faces of Hugh Blaisen and Fiari Graham, two seasoned players, flashed through his mind. Mo Tan offered a brief compliment before continuing, "So, regarding the uncrowned king of the [Clown Card]..."

"Of course, I found out when I overheard you chatting with that spider lady."

The doll shrugged and solemnly reminded him, "So next time you discuss such sensitive topics, it's best to chat through friend messages. Or are you afraid that Night Song will get jealous, so you don't plan to add that spider as a friend?" Mo Tan didn't answer the doll's question, but just smiled slightly: "Alright, I have nothing more to ask."

"I think so too. After all, according to procedure, I should now briefly explain why I voluntarily revealed my identity to you, so you really don't need to ask any more questions."

The doll gave Mo Tan an approving look, then coughed lightly and said bluntly, "The reason I took the initiative to meet with you and even spent money to put on an entertainment show is very simple: I hope you won't go to Wildfire for cooperation."

"Ah."

Mo Tan wasn't confused that the puppet had guessed his purpose; he simply asked, "And the reason?"

"The reason? Hmm, let me think..."

The doll raised its hands, pointing its index finger at its little head as it pondered, "Although in those cliché bard stories, this information is usually revealed much later, I don't think there's anything I can't say, like 'Wildfire' being one of the Thirteen Committee members, Mr. Lake."

【? ! 】

Mo Tan was immediately taken aback, and asked, somewhat unusually, "You mean 'Wildfire' is [Mr. Lake]?"

“That’s right. In addition to being a first-class deacon named ‘Wildfire’, the manager of Anka Market named Krull Momor is also one of the snake heads of the Viper Merchant Guild and ‘Mr. Lake’ of the Thirteen-Member Committee.”

The doll casually revealed a terrifying amount of information, saying to the dumbfounded Mo Tan, "Neither the current [Woof Woof Adventurer Team] nor [Clown Card] can gain any advantage in dealing with that guy. Even if they can cooperate on an equal footing in the early stages, he will break the balance by piling up a lot of resources and chips, and eventually turn you into his tools and pawns."

Mo Tan remained silent for a few seconds before finally asking noncommittally, "So you believe you are the most ideal partner?"

“Us? No, no, no, the ‘Puppet’ of the Viper Merchant Guild doesn’t want to cooperate with you. The reason he showed up is because I know very well that you also don’t want to ‘go down with us’.”

The doll smiled and said cheerfully, "Only under these circumstances can we openly and honestly do things for each other without worrying about the mess that follows."

Mo Tan nodded slightly and said softly, "So you plan to help eliminate certain people whose very existence would make this ending less than 'satisfactory,' is that right?"

"This is not difficult for us."

The doll nodded and said lazily, "You guys are actually a bit too hasty. Think about it carefully. Now that 'The Sowbug' has been beheaded, it's almost inevitable that his faction will be purged. When it comes time to settle accounts, you'll only need to pay a small price, or even no price at all, to take advantage of those who are involved."

Mo Tan said noncommittally, "Delay may lead to unforeseen changes."

"That's true, so we don't object to the decision to settle scores with certain people in advance, but we just feel that doing so is not cost-effective."

The doll chuckled, raised its little hand and patted Mo Tan's shoulder, saying happily, "In short, as long as you trust me, I guarantee I'll deal with those people cleanly and thoroughly within three days. We don't even need a list, after all, I've been there for a long time, and there's nothing I don't know, whether I should or shouldn't."

Mo Tan didn't rush to agree, but instead asked, "Then, what is the price?"

"Haha, I remember that phrase was quite popular among you otherworldly beings~"

The doll maintained a cheerful smile and said with a pleasant expression, "We only need to trouble you with two things. First, the first thing is free: don't go to cooperate with Mr. Lake. Considering that you don't want to have too much to do with the viper in the first place, this should be considered a win-win situation."

Mo Tan nodded and asked, "And the second one?"

"The second thing is a bit more troublesome."

The doll scratched its beautiful blond hair and said with a subtle expression, "It's about the Anka black market..."

"black market?"

Mo Tan narrowed his eyes and immediately asked, "Is it related to that princess and Ye Ge?"

"Is such that."

The doll sighed and turned to Mo Tan with some helplessness: "Let me be frank, although it's a pity, I don't want those two to go to the black market together. To be honest, just imagining it gives me a headache."

Mo Tan opened his mouth, but failed to refute the other party. The reason was simple: he himself felt that it was not a good idea to have Ji Xiaoge and Xue Yin appear at the same time in that kind of situation.

"So my second condition is that I hope Night Song and that talented princess will not cause trouble. Anka's black market has maintained stability for so many centuries, and I don't want it to be destroyed overnight."

The doll looked at Mo Tan seriously, and before the latter could speak, it changed the subject with a smile, saying, "Of course, we're not the kind of people who like to spoil the mood, so even if they can't browse the black market, letting them take a look around is still no problem~"

"Ok?"

Mo Tan didn't point out the obvious grammatical error in the second half of the other person's sentence. Instead, her eyes lit up, and she spoke up before the puppet could continue, "Don't say it!"

"Eh? But..."

Don't tell me!

"Uh……"

"I agree with your idea, so just go ahead and make arrangements based on whatever comes to mind."

"Are you sure you don't want to listen to one..."

"No need. In short, I will accompany Ye Ge and the others to the 'black market' as usual later. I won't worry about the rest."

"oh oh."

Chapter 2603: The End