Where's the cute girl we were promised? She's completely wiped out S-rank dungeons!

After the puppeteer agreed, Song Yuan sighed inwardly. This guy agreed too readily; if she had known she could have asked for more, she would have lost out this time.

The puppeteer picked up the small yellow triangular warning sign and smiled, "So it's decided then? The main building is right next door, let's go talk in the music room, I heard it's usually empty there."

Song Yuan nodded calmly: "Okay. But let's make this clear beforehand, if you deliberately use vague language and play word games with me, I will immediately break the contract and leave. I hope you will be serious and clear in your statement."

Puppeteer: "Haha~ Don't be so serious, I was really sincere. How could I do something like this, right?"

Qiao Ran and An Xiaoyou still seemed quite worried. However, An Xiaoyou chose to stand aside with a stern face to show her dissatisfaction. Qiao Ran, on the other hand, reached out and tugged at Song Yuan's sleeve.

"Song Yuan, you'd better reconsider this matter. The puppeteer..."

"Don't worry about me, I know what I'm doing." Song Yuan glanced at her watch—she had bought one from the system store after getting the schedule. "There are still twenty minutes before class starts, so I won't talk to him for too long. You guys go back to the classroom first, I'll come over later."

If the Oathkeeper's Warning Sign, this god-tier item, were a one-time use item, she probably wouldn't have risked taking it. However, this item is reusable and has a master-slave relationship. No player can use it directly after finding it until the owner signs a transfer agreement on the game panel.

This item is extremely useful whether you're trying to turn the enemy against you, force cooperation, or coerce NPCs into providing clues. Once you get it, progressing through subsequent levels will be much smoother.

However, it must be said that the player ranked first on the leaderboard is indeed eccentric. Giving away such a precious item so casually, just to say a few words to Song Yuan, who just reached C-rank, inevitably makes one wonder if this guy has some bad intentions.

Her tone was so resolute, as if her decision was irreversible, that Qiao Ran couldn't say anything to her. The puppeteer, holding the prop "Warning Sign of the Oath-Taker," made a rather meticulous promise at Song Yuan's request:

The puppeteer must swear an oath not to subject her to any physical or mental attacks, ensure she returns to the monitoring area unharmed after the conversation, and the entire process must not exceed ten minutes. In addition, ownership of the divine item, the "Oath-Taker's Warning Sign," must be transferred to her.

"Is that alright?" After reciting the oath, the puppeteer smiled and gently taped the warning sign to his chest, whereupon it automatically disappeared. "So, can we set off now? This way, please~"

Before Song Yuan left, An Xiaoyou frowned and coldly said to her, "Be careful, don't mess things up and die at the hands of this pervert." Qiao Ran didn't say anything, but just stuffed something into her hand, telling her to use it if necessary—probably a life-saving item.

Song Yuan followed the puppeteer through the green belt. The main building was equipped with elevators. However, art education was not valued at this school, so the music room and painting room were often unused and therefore lacked surveillance.

The puppeteer opened the door and politely ushered her inside. Song Yuan didn't want to waste any more words with him. Once inside, she leaned against the piano and coldly spoke:

"Alright, what exactly is it that can't be heard by others and must be said to my face?"

Compared to her, the puppeteer seemed much more relaxed. He patted his clothes, sat down on the piano bench, and rested his chin on his hand.

"What's the rush? You have ten minutes. Take your time."

Song Yuan didn't care. Anyway, once ten minutes were up, the puppeteer would have to get her out of the room no matter what. A brief silence fell, precious time slipping away. After almost half a minute, the puppeteer finally asked his first question slowly and deliberately:

"My lovely lady, do you have any mental disabilities?"

Song Yuan raised an eyebrow, not denying it: "Yes. You could tell?"

The puppeteer, a cynical smile playing on his lips, brought up his personal profile:

"After all, we're all the same kind, how could we not tell? You agree, right?"

He didn't deliberately hide his personal panel; even in front of Song Yuan, the panel was a physical entity and could be viewed. So Song Yuan read it aloud without hesitation:

The puppeteer concealed her talents and skills, displaying only basic stats. However, the data in the attack power and agility sections greatly surprised her:

Player ID (real name has been hidden): Puppeteer

Attack power: ? (Detection failed for unknown reasons)

Agility: ? (Detection failed for unknown reasons)

Exactly the same as hers.

"Haha, what's with that expression?"

The puppeteer stood up, looking down at her, one hand lightly resting on the piano keys, his eyebrows slightly raised, and leaned down to whisper in her ear, his tone teasing:

Do you believe you're the only genius in the world?

Did I say that?

Song Yuan straightened up coldly, moved away from the piano, and stood to the side, giving the man in front of her a cold look:

"I really dislike it when people accuse me of things I didn't do. Are you trying to imply I'm arrogant by saying that?"

"Haha~ How could that be?" The puppeteer laughed and straightened up, putting away his personal panel. His eyes, which were looking at her, flashed with a strange, unsettling crimson light. "I just think that it's so rare and precious to meet someone like me in this game. How about joining my guild? I'll take good care of you."

"Do you really have to use such ambiguous words?"

Song Yuan glanced at him distantly: "Did you really call me here just to get me to join the Crystal Guild?"

"Well..."

The puppeteer gazed for a long time at her emotionless, quiet eyes, as still as an ancient well. He narrowed his eyes, admiring her intently for a long time, and finally, with a look of fascination, he reached out a hand, as if wanting to trace the outline of her eye sockets:

"Perhaps your eyes are just too beautiful... If only such eyes could be preserved in a glass jar and remain beautiful forever... *bang*!"

A gunshot rang out, and the glass of the music room was shattered by a bullet that seemed to come from nowhere. It was aimed precisely at the puppeteer in front of her, and the bullet blew her head off!

Blood plasma and brain tissue spurted out with a "plop," and the man's handsome face turned into a pile of minced meat in a short moment, falling to the ground with a thud.