Their commission was suspicious.

Now, please take out the golden apple.

"Oh."

[Then he shouted the puppeteer's real name.]

"……grass!"

Chen Luo instantly understood why the humanized plugin called this plan a worst-case scenario.

And he instantly understood the truth behind the plan.

Chen Luo originally intended to give the ordinary but genuine golden apple to the female senior who had helped him the second most—the puppeteer.

Chen Luo wouldn't dare send gifts to people his own age, because he knew something bad would definitely happen if he did.

You can't even send it secretly, because there are no secrets in the world!

Aside from his own mother, the only female elder Chen Luo knew who had been of great help to him was the puppeteer.

Calling someone by their real name is the only way to get them to follow your lead.

However, Chen Luo hadn't forgotten what the puppeteer had said: "If you summon me when you have nothing better to do, you're doomed!"

"Although I did intend to give this golden apple to the puppeteer, wouldn't it seem like I'm being too opportunistic if I summon the puppeteer in this treasure vault now?"

[What's there to worry about? Don't underestimate a puppeteer, okay? Do you think she wouldn't know what you're thinking?] The human-like plugin very humanely expressed its contempt for Chen Luo.

No way, no way, you don't really think that a transcendent being can't read your mind, do you?

"Alright... then." After hesitating for a moment, Chen Luo decided to try this last resort.

"I just hope that if the puppeteer lady is going to beat me up, she'll go easy on me," Chen Luo sighed.

"Hmm? You're ready to get beaten up?"

"Of course. Maybe the puppeteer doesn't like this golden apple."

"No, I really like it."

"What do you like..." Chen Luo's voice trailed off.

Then, the golden apple in Chen Luo's hand was snatched away.

Chen Luo's neck seemed to have a rusty mechanism, and he looked to the side with a clattering sound.

The moment the beautiful girl in the black dress came into view, Chen Luo couldn't help but cover his face.

The other party seemed very interested in the golden apple, while Chen Luo felt like he wanted to die.

"Um... teacher? What are you doing here?"

A teacher is one who imparts knowledge, teaches skills, and resolves doubts.

The puppeteer allowed Chen Luo to address him as "teacher" the moment he completed his apprenticeship.

Chen Luo didn't hear the humanized plugin reminding him at all.

"I heard you the moment you tried to call me. You really are the worst class of students I've ever taught in terms of comprehension." The stunningly beautiful girl with black hair and a black dress seemed to be somewhat annoyed by your lack of ambition.

"I'm sorry, teacher."

"There's nothing to apologize for. I really like this gift. My little cutie~~ Although you're not very smart, you're definitely very filial. Oh my, golden apples... even I only have a dozen or so." The girl pinched Chen Luo's cheek with her slender fingers, then looked at the golden apple in her hand with delight.

"A dozen or so golden apples? But I've heard that golden apples only appear once every hundred years... then..."

"You'll die if you rashly ask a girl's age."

Chapter 1800 The Puppeteer: Let's do something big!

"..." Chen Luo immediately shut up.

But thinking about it carefully, the age at which one can become a transcendent being could be so young... No, I can't even think about it.

The puppeteer glanced at Chen Luo, who was lost in thought, but didn't seem angry.

Sigh, kids will be kids...

"But since you already have so many golden apples, teacher, you probably won't care too much about this one, right?"

"What do you know? Each golden apple has a number, though ordinary people can't see them. I was originally planning to collect all the golden apples, but unfortunately, I'm not the only female transcendent..."

"Even those who have transcended worldly concerns can easily fall for a scheme that even those who have read fairy tales wouldn't fall for?" Chen Luo was somewhat puzzled.

"You know a lot about mythology, but you don't understand girls at all." The puppeteer rolled his eyes at Chen Luo.

This is called an open conspiracy.

"And this is the first gift Xiao Luo has ever given me, and it came from the bottom of her heart. I'm very happy."

Chen Luo was strangely struck by the doting affection an elder showed to a younger person that he could see on the puppeteer's face when the puppeteer said those words.

Chen Luo knew the puppeteer was very old, but the puppeteer looked really young...

As Chen Luo was thinking this, he was so frightened by the puppeteer's cold gaze that he dared not think of anything else.

"Speaking of which, how did you obtain this golden apple?" the puppeteer asked.

"Teacher, can't you look at it yourself?"

"...Are you itching for a beating?"

"I found this at the treasure location after I made a wish to the Dimensional Sea with 300 Primogems and obtained a treasure map. However, I didn't get it myself; I gave the treasure map to others to help me find it," Chen Luo said.

"Sigh, you might be a good match for the Dimensional Sea."

"Perhaps. I was minimally affected by the Dimensional Sea. However, since I need to collect Primogems, I probably won't stay in the Dimensional Sea for too long... After all, it's easier to complete quests within the world."

"Yes, indeed. There are too many variables in the Dimensional Sea. Everyone says that you can only grow by stepping out of your comfort zone, but who would be willing to take the risk if they could stay comfortable forever?" The puppeteer felt this deeply.

"The darling of the dimensional sea..." The puppeteer looked up, seemingly speaking to someone.

"Ah, boss, what did you just say?" Chen Luo asked, somewhat puzzled.

Chen Luo is not a descendant of the dragon. Chen Luo even has the divine skill of listening, but Chen Luo really didn't hear what the puppeteer was saying just now.

"If you can't hear me, then you shouldn't be able to hear me. Alright, let's talk about things other than the Golden Apple." The puppeteer finally turned his gaze to the somewhat dazzling pile of treasures beside him, as if to the puppeteer, this huge pile of five-star items was no different from scrap metal.

In fact, it was pretty much the same for Chen Luo.

Aside from the unusual golden apple, Chen Luo genuinely didn't care about any of the other items during this exploration of the Dimensional Sea.

It's not much better than Chen Luo's props, so why does Chen Luo need to pay special attention to it?

However... the amount of treasures in front of us is indeed enormous.

"Oh, right, teacher, besides the matter of the golden apple, I also wanted to ask you about the rules of this treasure vault." Chen Luo behaved quite honestly in front of the puppeteer.

It's about the same as being in front of your own mother.

Respecting teachers and valuing their teachings is a very good habit.

Chen Luo himself also gained some advantages because of his status as the direct disciple of the puppeteer, and the puppetry techniques taught by the puppeteer were indeed of great help to Chen Luo.

"I know. The rules about the Mimic's Vault, right? You're such a cheapskate, you'll be stingy to death sooner or later."

It seems the puppeteer not only knew why Chen Luo had summoned him, but also knew that Chen Luo chose this last resort because he was unwilling to spend raw materials...

"Haha...it's just because...it was convenient. Besides, I think this treasure trove might be useful to you, teacher."

"Me? I don't want this junk." The puppeteer shook his head.

"So, regarding the mimic and this treasure vault..."

"Since I have some time recently, I'll give you a brief explanation. First of all, this special treasure trove is actually partially man-made."

"Ah, is this treasure vault man-made? Why do my tools tell me it was formed naturally?"

"Half-human. The Mimic is indeed a creature that naturally evolved during the development of the Dimensional Sea. Because the characteristic of a treasure chest is to contain treasure, due to the inherent impression of everyone in the Dimensional Sea and countless worlds, the treasure chest has become synonymous with wealth. As the only race born from treasure chests, the Mimic naturally inherited this concept. This led to the accumulation of the concept of wealth."

"Willpower is a very magical attribute, especially the potential willpower of all living beings... In order to prevent the Mimic race from truly mastering the rules of wealth due to conventional thinking, a certain transcendent being took action and plucked the fruit before the unified concept of wealth was formed."

"Take it off? Why take it off? Isn't it good that the rules of wealth are manifested?"

"No. Only within a world is there a need for unified laws and principles. It is precisely because the Dimensional Sea lacks unified laws that transcendent beings can be born, and those active in the Dimensional Sea can become stronger."

"Especially given that the Mimics themselves aren't particularly intelligent, if they were to actually take control of a portion of the rules governing wealth, the Dimensional Sea would be thrown into chaos."

"Won't the Dimensional Sea be angry?" Chen Luo asked curiously.

"No. Because if rules are established, it won't benefit the Dimensional Sea itself. To put it in terms of your limited knowledge of the primordial world... if Hongjun hadn't merged with the Dao, he would still be the strongest being in the world, able to do whatever he wanted. But if Hongjun merged with the Dao, he would have to abide by the rules," the Puppeteer said.

"The Dimensional Sea is having a great time now because there are no rules, so it can do whatever it wants... like a child without parental supervision. It's like, if you had everything you needed, would you rather stay home and laze around or go to work at a company and be treated like a beast of burden?"

"Of course, I'll lie down!"

"See? The Dimensional Sea itself thinks the same way."

"I see... But why is it 'laissez-faire' instead of 'doing whatever one wants'?"

"Because there are Transcendentals. Although Transcendentals may not be very good at the realm of creation, they can overturn the table. But since Transcendentals also need a place to live, they also cherish the Dimensional Sea itself. Therefore, as long as the Dimensional Sea doesn't go too far to the point of destruction and rebirth, we will not interfere with its actions."

"I see. So what does this have to do with this treasure vault?" Although hearing many secrets had indeed broadened Chen Luo's horizons, but...

"Oh, this treasure trove is the manifestation of the unripe fruit that was picked by the transcendent. Such things are superfluous to us, but if we take them away, they will damage the dimensional sea. So, when we pick these fruits, we usually modify them and throw them back into the dimensional sea."

“So generous?”

"Don't imagine us Transcendent Ones as wicked and evil-doing troublemakers who act recklessly and arrogantly with their own power, okay? Such people can never become Transcendent Ones!" The puppeteer put away the golden apple, then clenched his fists and rubbed Chen Luo's temples hard with the protruding knuckles of his index fingers.

"Okay, okay, okay. It hurts, it hurts..."

"Hmph. Anyway, that's how it is. If you think the name 'Treasure Chest Monster's Treasure Vault' is too awkward, you can just call it 'Wealth Dao Fruit'."

"The Dao Fruit?"

"Yes, that's right, it's the thing that, once consumed, allows one to instantly become a super-powerful being and wield the rules of a region." The puppeteer nodded.

"!!!" Chen Luo gasped.

"But no one will eat it. Because obtaining the Dao Fruit also requires aptitude, and those with such aptitude are all eager to become transcendent beings. Anyway, such people can usually live a long time and will not die due to lifespan, so they can naturally wait."

Hearing the puppeteer's explanation, Chen Luo inexplicably recalled the treatment the Third Magician received in the bar after materializing his soul.

They could have ascended to the heavens with just a drop of Chen Luo's blood and become a powerful being with almost endless magic power... but everyone felt that they could go further and become even stronger, so no one wanted Chen Luo's third magic.

Those who desire the Third Law are all in the Type-Moon universe.

But to obtain the third method in this way, you first need to get into the bar... that's a hurdle.

In summary: those who desire the Dao Fruit are not qualified, while those who have attained it want to advance further...

"What are the rules of this treasure vault?" Chen Luo asked.

Not understanding the rules of the treasure vault was the reason why Chen Luo dared not take anything after arriving at the vault.

"To enter the treasure vault, there must first be a mimic willing to sacrifice its life to send someone in."

"Like me?"

"Like you."

"But I want the Mimic more. If he dies, where am I going to get Primogems?"

"...Just say you don't like this junk. But then again, it's just a five-star treasure vault, nothing special. It's normal that you'd be interested in it."

"A five-star treasure vault?"

"Oh, you can't see, right?" The puppeteer realized what was happening and wiped his fingers across Chen Luo's eyes.

Following the puppeteer's upward-pointing finger, Chen Luo looked up and saw five stars in the sky.

"User-friendly plugins are outdated." That was Chen Luo's first thought.

Chen Luo didn't see these stars at all just now.

"...You let me see the foundation of your Dao Fruit? Master, you really think too highly of me."

Although the user-friendly plugin doesn't understand Dao Fruit, it knows that this thing is definitely far superior to SSS-level talent.

"See that? Five stars indicate a five-star treasure vault, nine stars indicate a nine-star... This is related to the mimic that sent you in. The number of stars it possesses determines which treasure vault it can send you to. And if the value of the items you choose inside exceeds the value of the treasure that mimic provides to that vault, you will be immediately teleported back, and that mimic will be destroyed. That's why all mimics have died without exception before—those who enter the vault are too greedy."

"And if you want the mimic to stay alive, it's simple, just don't take anything."

"I see... then let's just forget about it." Chen Luo no longer intended to take the treasure.

Because the five-star Mimic doesn't seem to contribute much wealth, taking one or two items yourself could cause the Mimic to be destroyed along with you.