Under One Person: The Puppet Immortal in the Tang Sect

Chapter 4 The Shadow Spider's First Battle

Among Cui Ming's fellow disciples from the same period, Cui Ming and Yang Lie had the best relationship.

Although Yang Lie, the young master, is a bit of a repressed and eccentric person, he is, after all, from the same hometown.

He would occasionally join Xu Xin, Dong Chang, and a few others to help Cui Ming test various mechanical puppets.

These fulfilling yet ordinary days passed by in a flash...

One day, when there was a knock on the door of Cui Ming's workshop, he was fine-tuning the leg joints of a lurking spider.

He didn't even look up before replying with a "Go in."

But when the door opened, it was Tang Jiaren who walked in with a smile.

Cui Ming quickly put down his tools, stood up, and bowed, inwardly complaining.

Within this vast Tang Clan, everyone's steps and breathing have undergone rigorous training, resulting in a high degree of uniformity.

So if someone tries to break into the Tang Clan, they can be spotted from 800 miles away, and then they will be dealt with clearly.

"Master."

"Okay, you go ahead and do your thing."

Tang Jiaren waved his hand, walked to the workbench, and glanced at the three spider puppets that looked slightly different.

It is a small, streamlined animal with a unique limb structure, clearly designed for speed.

The other mouth was modified into several small nozzles, which were connected to the venom sac in the abdomen.

The last one had thicker, sharper legs that gleamed with a metallic glint, and its joints seemed to have an additional explosive structure.

"Oh? Another new trick?"

Tang Jiaren asked with great interest.

Cui Ming nodded.

"Your Excellency, I do have some new ideas and have improved several different types of Shadow Spiders."

But blueprints and physical objects are ultimately inanimate objects; the student... wants to apply for an overseas assignment.

Tang Jiaren's smile remained unchanged as he looked at him.

Is there anything else?

"Students want to test the effectiveness of these puppets in practical applications, find shortcomings, and make further improvements."

"The target doesn't need to be too strong; just enough testing environment is sufficient."

Tang Jiaren was silent for a few seconds, then tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

He could naturally see that Cui Ming was afraid of losing his life and wanted to use a puppet to complete the mission in order to avoid putting himself in danger.

That's not wrong. If there's a safer way, why risk your life?

After a moment of silence, Tang Jiaren finally spoke.

"Perfect timing. We recently received a commission from the sect. A group of blind bandits took advantage of the terrain to rob and kill several groups of merchants."

So the families of these merchants joined together and placed an order with the doorman.

The targets are mostly ordinary people. The leader is said to know a little bit of basic martial arts, but he's not exactly a superhuman. It'll be good for you to practice your skills.

Cui Ming was overjoyed.

"but."

Tang Jiaren then changed the subject.

"After all, this is the first real combat exercise. To be on the safe side, Xu Xin and Dong Chang..."

He called out towards the door.

Two boys entered in response; they were Cui Ming's inseparable friends from the same class.

Xu Xin's eyes were lively, while Dong Chang appeared more composed.

"You two go with Cui Ming."

Tang Jiaren gave the instructions.

"The task is to ensure his safety and allow him to complete the test smoothly."

"Yes, sir!" ×2

Xu Xin and Dong Chang responded in unison, their eyes filled with curiosity as they looked at Cui Ming and the several new puppets they had never seen before.

Two days later, the three men lay in ambush in the dense forest outside the bandit stronghold.

The stronghold was built against the mountain, with walls made of rough timber. There were figures moving around on several watchtowers, and bandits chatting idly with knives and guns at the gate.

Xu Xin surveyed the terrain and whispered:

"We've figured out the approximate number of people, around a hundred or so. Dong Chang and I will sneak in from the side, take out the watchtower first, and then..."

"and many more."

Cui Ming interrupted.

He took off the leather bag he was carrying, took out the three specially made shadow spiders from it, and placed them on the ground.

"Let me try first."

Xu Xin and Dong Chang exchanged a glance, both looking puzzled.

Although I've heard that Cui Ming is tinkering with these things, do I really think I can solve a mountain stronghold with just a few gadgets?

Cui Ming didn't offer much explanation. He took a deep breath and put on the modified control gloves.

He closed his eyes, concentrated, and simultaneously controlled the three puppets.

The three Shadow Spiders instantly sprang into action, silently disappearing into the bushes and rushing off at astonishing speed in different directions from the mountain stronghold.

The speed-enhanced Shadow Spider, like a black lightning bolt, used the shadows of vegetation and crevices in the rocks to be the first to approach the eastern watchtower.

The bandits on the tower were yawning and rubbing their eyes as they looked into the distance, completely unaware that a fist-sized dark figure was rapidly climbing up the wooden pillar.

The next moment, he felt something cold prick his ankle. Before the slight numbness could spread, a slender black shadow suddenly sprang up and precisely sliced ​​across his throat.

The bandit's eyes widened, he clutched his neck with both hands, making hoarse noises, but couldn't produce any alarm, and collapsed limply to the ground.

Almost simultaneously, by the gate of the mountain stronghold, two bandits were huddled together, joking and chatting about how much they had gained from the merchants they had killed some time ago.

One of them was talking enthusiastically when, just as he raised his hand, his face turned bluish-purple and he fell straight backward.

The other was startled and just as he bent down to check, a cloud of mist spewed out from the shadows behind him, covering his mouth and nose.

The bandit didn't even have time to utter a groan before he collapsed to the ground along with his companion, his body convulsing.

Just then, a few patrolling bandits strolled out of the village, carrying knives.

The leader of the bandits was cursing under his breath.

"Damn it, where have those two lazybones, Wang Mazi and Li Gou, gone again?"

He led the three men to the vicinity of the village gate, and sensed something was wrong. He gripped his knife tightly warily and looked around.

"Something's wrong! Everyone, start the attack..."

The moment he spoke, a dark shadow fell from the lintel above his head; it was the Shadow Spider, an attack-specialized creature.

Eight sharp steel claws gripped his head and neck tightly, their tips digging deep into his flesh.

Before the bandit leader could react, the Shadow Spider's body suddenly spun at high speed!

As the leader's head was removed, the eight spider legs detached from the main body and began to spin rapidly like propellers.

The sounds of flesh being torn apart, accompanied by a rain of blood, stained the gate crimson.

The entire patrol team was easily wiped out by the Shadow Spiders.

With a series of crisp clicks, the eight spider legs, guided by invisible threads, reattached to the body.

At this moment, the headless corpse of the leader swayed and fell to the ground.

The Shadow Spider landed lightly and steadily, returning to the shadows, leaving behind only a rapidly spreading pool of dark red on the ground...

Concealment, surprise attack, and a single, decisive blow.

Poison spraying, throat slitting, strangulation...

Under Cui Ming's control, the three Shadow Spiders acted like three top assassins, using the terrain and shadows to precisely eliminate the outer sentries and scattered patrols.

In less than half an hour, all the sentries, both visible and hidden, and the patrol teams inside and outside the stronghold were silently turned into corpses.

Chapter 5 Unexpected Discovery

Meanwhile, in the dense forest, Cui Ming, who was assessing the results of the battle through the senses of the Shadow Spider, turned slightly pale, but quickly recovered.

And began to record various data in his mind:

The wear and tear on speed-type joints after rapid climbing, the spread and duration of the poisonous fog, and the load on the mechanical structure from the instantaneous burst of power in attack-type structures...

Xu Xin and Dong Chang, who had watched the whole thing unfold, had abandoned their initial contempt and were now showing expressions of surprise.

They knew they could handle these sentry posts with their current skills, but never like this...

Quiet, efficient, and it doesn't even need to be near risky areas.

The puppet that Cui Ming created is indeed a bit strange.

Although these puppets might be a bit lacking in speed and lethality when dealing with real experts from other worlds, don't forget that Cui Ming, who controls them, is even a few years younger than them!

The potential and room for improvement of this thing made them feel a little apprehensive just thinking about it.

Just after the last outer outpost was cleared, Cui Ming regained his composure.

He took a deep breath, reached up and untied three metal boxes from his waist, and took out four sealed iron boxes filled with crossbow bolts from the leather pouch he had previously put down.

Then gently press a spot on the box with your finger and give it a shake.

With a few soft clicks, the mechanism extended and shifted, and a finely designed hand crossbow, exuding a murderous aura, appeared in his hand.

The crossbow gleamed with a cold, hard metallic luster, sending chills down your spine.