Under One Person: The Puppet Immortal in the Tang Sect

Chapter 266 Unexpected, Yet Reasonable

Okayama Prefecture, second floor of a hotel controlled by the Yokai Alliance.

Zhuiya stood by the window, peering at the street through the gap in the curtains.

As dusk approached, fewer pedestrians appeared on the street, and a few vendors were packing up their stalls.

Everything seemed normal, but he remained vigilant in the slightest.

The experience of those few days made him never want to go through it again in his life.

Ground insects suddenly emerge from beneath your feet, shadow spiders swoop from the shade of trees, sniper arrows strike precisely from hundreds of meters away, and then there's that insidious poison...

People die every moment, and every instant could be your own death day.

In all his years, he had never encountered such a formidable opponent.

"Chasing crows".

The voice of the shadow slit came from behind.

"The two wounded soldiers have been settled. I've arranged for them to stay next door and take turns resting."

Chasing the crow didn't turn around, but just grunted in response.

Shadow Stitch walked to his side, also looking out the window, and said in a low voice.

"Don't you find it strange? They clearly had the chance to wipe us all out, so why did they toy with us like a cat playing with a mouse the whole way?"

After a moment of silence, Zhuiya slowly spoke.

"Perhaps those mechanical puppets they operate also come with a price we're unaware of? And can't be used without limit?"

Shadowy Stitch shook his head.

"No. I've observed that the puppets' attacks are very rhythmic and they always have some reserves."

It's like...forcing us to go in a predetermined direction.

The crow turned to look at him.

"You mean, they deliberately let us into Okayama Prefecture?"

Shadow nodded.

"It's possible. But Okayama Prefecture is our Curse-Binding Society's territory. If they make a move here, they'll be walking into a trap."

So... what if they're not afraid of our people at all?

Chasing the crow frowned.

This guess is too bold, but upon closer examination, it's not impossible.

He had never seen the methods those people used before.

Ground insects, shadow spiders, sniper crossbow bolts, poison...

Each one is impossible to defend against, and each one is precise and deadly.

They clearly had the opportunity to annihilate the entire crow-chasing squad, yet they deliberately let them into Okayama Prefecture.

why?

"Whatever they want to do."

Zhui Ya said coldly.

"If they dare to enter Okayama Prefecture, they won't be able to escape!"

I've already sent someone to inform the person in charge in Okayama Prefecture; have him notify headquarters. Reinforcements will arrive quickly.

Yingfeng nodded, about to say something, when suddenly his expression hardened.

"what happened?"

When Chasing Crow noticed that Shadow Stitch's expression was off, he quickly lowered his voice and asked.

Shadow Stitch walked to the wall and listened intently.

A moment later, his expression changed.

"There's no sound from next door."

The two exchanged a glance and rushed out of the room at the same time.

Pushing open the door next door, the room was empty.

The two wounded soldiers, along with the beds they were lying on, all disappeared.

The windows were tightly shut, and the door was locked from the inside, as if they had vanished into thin air.

Zhui Ya's face turned ashen.

He rushed to the window, pushed it open, and looked down.

Below is the hotel's backyard, which is empty except for a few wooden crates piled up in the corner.

There is no trace.

"How could this be..."

"Shadow Stitch," he murmured.

The crow did not answer.

This familiar rhythm can't be wrong...

"underground!"

Zhuiya stood up.

"Those damn mechanical beasts again! They took people away from underground."

Shadow Stitch's face grew even uglier.

To escape the pursuit of these mechanical puppets, they had fled to the second floor of the hotel, which was far from the ground.

Surprisingly, these strange things still managed to track us all the way here!

Those mechanical puppets could actually emerge from underground and kidnap their people!

So, these things weren't using their full strength back in the jungle!

"What do we do now?"

Shadow asked with a worried expression.

After a moment of silence, Zhuiya gritted his teeth and said.

"Let's go. Let's get out of the city now. It's not safe here."

Without further hesitation, the two hurried downstairs.

Unbeknownst to them, on the rooftop opposite the hotel, a palm-sized mechanical spider lay silently, its eight eyes observing their every move.

Outside Okayama Prefecture, deep in the mountains and forests.

Cui Ming stood in the temporary camp, looking at the dozen or so corpses lined up in front of him.

No, they should be called "prospective members" now.

Since the Crow Chasing Squad began their pursuit, a total of eighteen people have died.

All eighteen corpses were secretly dragged away by the earthworms and transported here.

Cui Ming spent two days using the power of Dan Shi to sever their connection with the Holy Pool of the Curse Binding Society, and then used the alluring power of Dan Shi to conduct an initial brainwashing.

Bai Lian is responsible for the modifications; some require limb replacement, some require implantation of mechanisms, and some require facial adjustments.

The two wounded men who were taken away from the hotel were the last group.

They were already seriously injured and had no power to resist.

They were transported directly from the hotel to the outside by numerous puppets, and then carried here by earthworms.

At this moment, the two wounded soldiers were lying on the modification table, and Bai Lian was installing new arms and legs on them.

"Master, this will be ready soon."

The six mechanical arms behind the Hundred Refinements danced wildly.

"Once this is finished, this batch will be considered complete."

Cui Ming nodded and walked to the nearest modified body.

He was a man in his thirties who had lost an arm, but now had it replaced with a mechanical arm.

The mechanical arm was entirely black, with fine runes engraved on its surface, and a faint blue light flowed from its joints.

His eyes had also been replaced, and a faint light could be seen in his pupils—that was from the implanted surveillance device.

Cui Ming reached out and pressed his hand on his forehead, the power of Dan Shi probing in to confirm that the link with the Curse Binding Society had been completely severed by the power of Dan Shi.

"wake up."

Cui Ming dispelled the power of the Dan Shi that was obstructing his senses and snapped his fingers in front of him.

The man's eyes snapped open.

He first looked around blankly, then his gaze fell on Cui Ming, a glint of light flashing in his pupils, before he became docile.

"Lord!"

He sat up and bowed respectfully.

Cui Ming nodded in satisfaction.

This is the state after being completely brainwashed: absolute loyalty and absolute obedience.

What's your name?

Cui Ming stared into his eyes and asked.

The man paused for a moment, a flicker of struggle crossing his face, but it quickly vanished completely.

“My name is… I don’t know. Please give me a name, Lord.”