Under One Person: The Puppet Immortal in the Tang Sect

After Cui Ming finished collecting most of the information, it was lunchtime.

Taking advantage of this moment, Cui Ming pretended to doze off.

His spirit, however, quietly extended throughout the entire police station, beginning to eavesdrop on all conversations in the offices.

In order to continue eavesdropping, Cui Ming secretly replaced some objects in the police station with a disguised puppet.

That afternoon, he was ordered to deliver a document for cross-investigation to the intelligence agency.

Using his clerical position, he was able to briefly enter the outer area of ​​that sinister building that had murdered countless compatriots.

This gray-white three-story building is heavily guarded, with several armed guards at the entrance, and all people entering and leaving must have their identification checked strictly.

Cui Ming used his position as a clerk to successfully pass the initial security check.

But given his status, he can probably only reach the boundary of this floor.

He bowed his head, handing over the file bag with both hands, but his mind was already quietly unfolding.

Building structure, staircase location, floor layout, personnel control...

This information was instantly recorded by Cui Ming in his brain, which was comparable to a computer, under the detection of his divine soul.

This was the most intensive moment for the handover of Special Higher Police personnel. Among those coming and going were Japanese spies in uniform and traitors from the puppet Manchukuo regime.

There were also a few plainclothes men dressed in ordinary clothes, some of whom exuded a faint and cold aura, clearly indicating that they were supernatural beings.

Cui Ming did not attempt to investigate or alert the Japanese. After the Japanese soldiers at the border finished checking the documents, he politely took his leave.

But just as he turned to leave, Cui Ming's soul overheard two Japanese spies in a heavily enclosed lounge, deliberately lowering their voices to complain to each other in Japanese.

Although they were careful enough, they couldn't withstand the power of Cui Ming's soul, nor could they withstand the Japanese language skills that Cui Ming had extracted from the Japanese soldiers he had transformed.

"...'Painted Skin' is pushing too hard, this time they want three! And they want detailed physical data, lifestyle habits, and social relationships of the targets... It's utterly absurd!"

"Keep your voice down! I heard that 'leathersmith' has a special technique and high standards... but lately the material has been really hard to get, it's getting increasingly slippery, and it's even harder for locals with connections to get their hands on it..."

"Sigh, anyway, we're only responsible for providing intelligence and initial screening; the actual 'processing' isn't our concern. The one we sent over last time, wasn't it later sent directly to the dyeing factory..."

Shh! Don't mention that place!

The sound stopped abruptly, and one of them ceased their conversation.

Cui Ming walked out of the building without stopping, but the words "painted skin," "leather maker," and "dye" and the appearances of the two spies were firmly memorized by him.

After get off work, Cui Ming, working as a clerk, left on time and returned to his residence.

After confirming that the surroundings were safe, Cui Ming released the unconscious Zhen Wenyuan from the food bag.

The power of Dan Shi, mixed with the differentiated divine soul, began a delicate operation for this clerk, weaving a vivid memory for him.

Cui Ming recounted his experiences of acting as the other party over the past few days, the people and events he encountered, and all his memories.

They carefully implanted each other's consciousness and perfectly integrated it with the original memories.

At the same time, Cui Ming also left a hidden backup plan in the other party's consciousness.

This is a technique that Cui Ming developed based on Tomie's parasitic ability and his own control over his soul.

If needed in the future, Cui Ming can activate this backdoor with his thoughts and remotely control these modified people.

After dealing with the clerk's matter, Cui Ming immediately transformed into the appearance of a Japanese soldier he had seen in the Special Higher Police and quietly approached the dormitory area near the Special Higher Police.

Soon, Cui Ming identified the two Japanese spies who had complained in the lounge during the day.

These two were just ordinary people, but they were ruthless intelligence agents who had been trained.

Cui Ming didn't have much trouble. In the dead of night, he sneaked into their dormitories and quickly subdued them in the same way, probing their memories and gathering intelligence.

From the memories of these two people, Cui Ming obtained more detailed information.

The "Painted Skin Project" was indeed led by the Special Higher Police, but its actual execution was handled by an inhuman codenamed "Deep Diver" who belonged to the Curse Binding Society.

These spies' mission was limited to collecting and screening suitable targets (who were usually members of anti-Japanese organizations, local people with connections, or specific individuals).

After interrogating them and gathering as much intelligence as possible, they were secretly taken to a base codenamed "Dyehouse".

As for what happened inside the dye house, these two were not of high enough rank to know. They only heard that it was a leatherworker's workshop, and materials that went in rarely came out again.

One of them vaguely heard that the dyehouse was located in an old warehouse near an abandoned railway station in the northwest of the city.

That area used to be owned by the Russians, but it was later taken over by the Japanese, though the exact location is uncertain.

"Dyehouse...leather workshop..."

A cold glint flashed in Cui Ming's eyes.

As expected, it must be related to this future fortune.

Every day this thief lives, another compatriot may be brutally murdered and turned into a tool for his infiltration and sabotage.

The existence of this ability poses an extremely significant threat to the Eastern Kingdom.

Can't wait any longer!

After dealing with the two spies, Cui Ming set off overnight, sneaking towards the northwest area of ​​the city.

The area appears even more desolate at night, with dilapidated warehouses and factories scattered about, and the original railway tracks covered in rust.

Cui Ming did not rashly enter the core area.

He lay in ambush atop an abandoned water tower on higher ground and released several miniature reconnaissance puppets resembling crows.

These puppets silently dispersed, using the cover of night and the ruins to begin a thorough reconnaissance of the old warehouse district.

The images and energy fluctuations transmitted back by the puppet were summarized in Cui Ming's mind.

Most of the warehouses are empty, dilapidated, and lifeless.

But deep inside, around a seemingly abandoned warehouse, something unusual was discovered.

Cui Ming discovered the clue through his own spiritual sense; there was a faint trace of Qi hidden within.

If it weren't for the fact that the puppet Cui Ming modified this time contained earth vein stones, allowing him to sense this faint Qi through the earth's energy, it would have been easy for it to be concealed.

Inside the seemingly broken windows of the warehouse, there are actually very well hidden sunshades.

Faint light occasionally peeked through the gaps, suggesting that people were moving around inside.

There were recent vehicle tracks on the snow near the back door.

Although it had been deliberately cleaned, Cui Ming could still distinguish the differences based on the techniques he learned in the Tang Sect.

More importantly, Cui Ming caught a whiff of a familiar scent through a puppet that landed near a ventilation opening on the warehouse roof.

It smelled of blood, and it was seven or eight parts similar to the scent that had lingered on the bandaged man's disguised skin.

"This is it."

Cui Ming retrieved the puppet, feeling certain.

This warehouse is heavily guarded, its movements are shrouded in mystery, and it exudes a special aura related to "painted skin," so it is most likely a "dyeing workshop."

He did not launch an immediate attack.

Jing Fu has strange abilities and is good at disguise and infiltration. There may be traps and mechanisms in the workshop, or even other guards lying in ambush.

Cui Ming needs more detailed information.

Chapter 166 Night Raid on the Dyehouse (4K)

The night was as dark as ink, and a cold wind howled through the abandoned station, carrying fine snow.

Cui Ming hid in an abandoned warehouse, patiently waiting while using his spiritual senses to investigate.

His preparations were already complete.

Dozens of Shadow Spiders with runes engraved on their backs have quietly crept to the vicinity of the warehouse suspected to be a dye shop over the past few hours.

Following the formation routes set by Cui Ming, they completed the construction of several formations.

These Shadow Spiders deliberately left empty spaces in these formations to match the runes on their backs.

In this way, whenever Cui Ming needs to activate the formation, he can manipulate these inconspicuous Shadow Spider puppets to complete the formation and activate it instantly.

In this way, the supernatural beings within the stronghold would be unaware that a deadly trap had been set for them.

As night approached...

With a thought, Cui Ming directly controlled the Shadow Spiders to move.

First layer, the illusion array is activated.

The runes on the shells of the Shadow Spiders, hidden at the base of the warehouse walls, in abandoned pipes, and under the snow, lit up in succession.

They echoed each other from afar, forming a formation that covered the warehouse and a surrounding area of ​​fifty meters.

From the outside, this area looks no different from usual; it remains a dark and silent abandoned warehouse, with no unusual sounds of wind or snow.

However, any attempt to observe or perceive the true internal situation from the outside will be misled by the illusion of the formation.

The second layer, the isolation array, is activated.

Another group of Shadow Spiders released another energy fluctuation, forming an invisible barrier that isolated the sound, light, and most of the Qi fluctuations emanating from within.

Unless you deliberately investigate from a very close distance, it's difficult to notice anything unusual about this place.

The third layer is a method that Cui Ming specifically used to target the dyehouse.

Enhanced version of the Earth Vein Dragon Locking Formation.

The core consists of several leyline energy piles, which were buried deep underground by the previous Shadow Spiders and resonate with the leylines in this area.

Once activated, it will create a powerful gravitational suppression, causing all targets within range to experience sluggish movement and severely obstructed Qi flow.

However, Cui Ming has not yet activated this trapping formation, since using it prematurely would be a notification to the enemy that someone has begun to invade.

With the triple formation already set up, Cui Ming decided not to wait any longer.

He swayed and leaped out of the shadows. In mid-air, the Thousand Faces Puppet on his body flowed away like mercury, revealing the specially made dark brown Earth Vein Mystic Armor below.

Runes flowed across the surface of the mecha, subtly echoing the earth's energy.

The moment it landed, the structure of the Xuanji Armor's feet changed, and the entire person instantly disappeared into the ground beneath their feet.

Cui Ming activated the power of Dan Shi to stimulate the earth vein stone in the Earth Vein Mystic Armor, easily manipulating the earth energy to envelop himself. He sank silently into the ground like a fish entering water.