Please be my partner.

After hesitating for a moment, David reached out and picked up the sphere. Johnny's expression changed, but he finally restrained himself and did not stop him.

After fiddling with it in his hands for a while, David's face became more confused. He frowned, as if there was something he couldn't figure out.

Johnny asked, "Brother, how is it? Is this it?"

David said in an uncertain tone: "Maybe..."

Johnny asked anxiously, "What do you mean by 'maybe'?! Brother, what exactly are you…"

At this moment, the door was pushed open, and a voice that shocked both of them rang out: "Of course he can't be sure!"

The two of them suddenly looked back and saw a middle-aged man in a formal suit, who seemed ready to go on stage for a gorgeous performance at any time, walking in slowly.

Johnny stammered in a trembling voice, "Teacher?! How could you..."

David's eyes widened as he stared at the teacher he had been learning and imitating standing before him. He said in shock, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! You can't be alive! I saw your body buried with my own eyes!"

Their teacher, the puppet magician Nomi, gently stroked her cheek and said with a smile, "My dear students, there are still many things you don't know."

Nomi turned his gaze slightly, looking at the sphere in David's hand, and said in a mocking tone: "Of course you can't be sure whether the thing in your hand is the one I gave you for safekeeping, because it is completely different from before."

"Although the [Source Energy Core] was damaged at that time, it still held a small amount of Source Energy. It was then that you were affected by the dissipated Source Energy, and not only was your body transformed, but your thoughts were also distorted. This is why you are so obsessed with the [Source Energy Core], and even so paranoid that you refuse to believe my advice."

Then, he carefully looked David up and down, and said with satisfaction: "It seems that the source energy has transformed you very well in the past few years. It is worth my effort to introduce you to the spiritual world."

This sentence flashed through David's mind like lightning, and he said tremblingly: "It's you?!"

Nomi nodded with a smile and said, "It's me!"

Although Johnny was a little puzzled by the two people's riddle, the situation before him made him feel quite bad.

He said somewhat embarrassedly: "Teacher...I..."

Nomi looked at Johnny and said casually, "Johnny, among my students, you seem to be a bit clueless, but in reality, that's just a disguise. You're like a venomous snake hiding in the shadows. Once your prey shows a flaw, you'll bare your fangs."

Johnny said anxiously: "Teacher, I'm not..."

Nomi waved her hand, interrupting Johnny and saying, "Do you need me to explain how Julian and Sears were eliminated, and how you became one of my two closest students?"

"Every year, David asks you to return to Puppet Manor with him. It seems like he's using you as a pathfinder, but isn't this actually all part of your plan? Aren't you the one who's been fooled and still so smug, you foolish senior brother?"

David couldn't help but look at Johnny. Seeing this, Johnny slowly restrained his expression and said calmly, "Teacher, why do you have to bring it up so clearly?"

Nomi smiled and said, "Of course there is a reason. The spirit world is not a comfortable place. If you want to survive here, the teacher needs your help."

"Of course, all of this will happen after I transform you into puppets. Don't worry, unlike your stupid senior brother, I will preserve your thoughts so that you can serve me better, right?"

Hearing this, David and Johnny felt a chill in their hearts at the same time, and the former was even more terrified. The implication of Nomi's words was very clear. If Johnny still had a way to survive, then David would only become a puppet controlled by others.

After saying this, Nomi no longer paid attention to his two students. He looked elsewhere and said, "Sir, you've been watching for so long. Do you have anything to say?"

David and Johnny were a little confused. They followed Nomi's gaze, but there was nothing there except an empty sofa.

But they soon understood. With a flash of colorful light, Mellen's figure appeared from nothing. He sat casually on the sofa, watching their performance quietly.

Melen didn't care that his identity was exposed. In fact, when he saw Nomi appear, he knew that he could not hide from the other party's eyes and ears.

He said calmly, "In addition to looking for something of interest, I came here to rescue Miss Vera. I hope these two goals don't conflict with you."

Nomi's expression turned indifferent, and she said coldly: "Vera is my granddaughter, I will naturally protect her, and she doesn't need anyone to save her!"

Melen looked at Nomi with a strange expression and said, "You? Protect her? By turning her into a puppet?"

Nomi's expression suddenly turned furious, and she shouted, "What do you know?! What do you know?! Vera has been contaminated by the source energy. The only fate that awaits her is to be gradually transformed into a puppet. Do you know how much I have paid to prevent this?!"

"Huh?" Mellen chuckled and said, "Who are you as when you say this? Miss Vera's grandfather? Or... an unrelated spiritual being?"

Nomi's expression became dull, as if Melen's words had awakened him and made him realize something.

Melen looked at Nomi with pity.

Legend has it that during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, King Zhou, under the design of Daji, dug out Bigan's exquisite heart.

Bigan did not die immediately after his heart was dug out. He actually had a glimmer of hope, which was to find someone and ask him whether he could survive after his heart was dug out. As long as that person answered "yes", he would survive. Otherwise, if that person answered "no", he would die immediately.

The 'Nomi' in front of him was actually somewhat similar. Melen could naturally see that he was not Nomi himself, but at most a spiritual life that brought a trace of the latter's essence.

But, as long as no one wakes him up, he will always think of himself as Nomi.

Of course, this is not a very good state, because the two instincts are affecting him all the time, which makes his behavior extremely contradictory, like a schizophrenic psychosis.

As for which two instincts?

Nature is Nomi's instinct to protect Vera, and the devouring instinct that comes from the spiritual life.

The 'Nomi' in front of him seemed to be protecting Vera, preventing her from becoming a mindless puppet, but he was completely unaware that it was this protection that was the source of Vera's current pain.

Moreover, in this tug-of-war, it is obvious that the instincts of spiritual life are gradually gaining the upper hand. Perhaps it won't be long before Vera will be completely pulled into the spiritual world and transformed into a puppet.

Time seemed to stand still, and Nomi's aura fluctuated, giving the impression of an impending storm.

In this oppressive atmosphere, David and Johnny didn't dare to breathe.

Melen had a casual expression on his face. Taking this opportunity, he came up to David and took the ball from the latter's hand. David subconsciously wanted to resist, but retreated immediately after a look from Melen.

A colorful light flashed, and the properties of the sphere were revealed...

[Energy Core (Damaged)]: A puppet core filled with energy, serving as the power source for a Tier 3 puppet. Currently, this core has been completely drained of energy and is completely damaged.

Mellen nodded slightly, having basically figured out all the causes and consequences.

Back then, Nomi accidentally obtained this [Source Energy Core]. Although it was damaged at that time, there should still be a lot of source energy in it.

It was the dissipation of these source energies that transformed his puppets, and even he himself was contaminated and transformed, possessing certain extraordinary abilities, which led to his later name of "Puppet Magician".

As time went by, Nomi continued his research on the [Source Energy Core] until some accidents occurred, causing a large amount of source energy in the [Source Energy Core] to leak, resulting in the death of his son and daughter-in-law.

At the same time, these source energies also polluted the entire Puppet Manor, causing it to intersect with the spiritual world, and even gave birth to a projection of the Puppet Manor in the spiritual world.

Later, Nomi tried to get rid of the evil [Source Energy Core], so he gave it to his student David, but he found that Vera had been contaminated. If this problem could not be solved, his only granddaughter would sooner or later be transformed into a puppet.

So Nomi had no choice but to ask for the [Source Energy Core] back and continue with more in-depth research.

Now, this spiritual life version of "Nomi" should be one of the research results.

I have to say that Nomi is really amazing. He was able to create so many things with just a damaged [Source Energy Core].

After a long time, Nomi's breath slowly calmed down. He looked at Mellen and said in a hoarse and low voice: "You shouldn't have said that."

As Nomi finished speaking, an extremely heavy aura rose from him.

Mellen shook his head helplessly and said, "Failed?"

But there is nothing to regret. Since Melen decided to save Vera, he must take away the part of the latter that is in the spiritual world.

If this is done, neither Nomi's consciousness nor the consciousness of the spiritual life can be allowed to go unchecked.

Therefore, Melen wanted to directly wake up "Nomi" who was in chaos to see if Nomi's consciousness could prevail.

If possible, Mellen could easily take Vera away because of the latter's affection for his granddaughter. Otherwise, if not, it would just be a show, and the result would be no different from the original one.

Now it seems that it has failed.

Just when the atmosphere was tense and about to explode, Mellen had an idea and looked towards the door.

Strangely, 'Nomi' did not take this opportunity to attack, but instead also looked towards the door.

After a few breaths, there was a knock on the door: "Grandpa, are you there?"

The person who came was Vera.

Melen looked at Nomi with an amused expression. He found that the latter's breath, which had originally stabilized, began to fluctuate again. It seemed that Vera's sudden appearance made Nomi's consciousness show signs of rising again.

Nomi's expression was uncertain, as if he was struggling with something. He didn't relax until Vera thought there was no one in the room and walked away.

He looked at Mellen and asked in a deep voice, "I took the initiative to transform Vera into a puppet. At least she can retain her self-awareness. Otherwise, even if she returns to her original state in reality, the contamination of the source energy will sooner or later reduce her to a mindless puppet."

"Young man, you said you wanted to save Vera. So, can you solve the source energy pollution in her body?"

A smile appeared on Melen's lips, and the fairy tale kingdom unfolded, rendering the surroundings into a fairy tale world.

This is the spiritual world, so even if Melen expands the fairy tale kingdom, as long as there is no fighting, the power consumed will not be much.

After feeling the power of the Fairy Tale Kingdom, Nomi looked at Mellen deeply and said, "In that case, tell me your conditions."

Melen's smile widened, and he was very satisfied with Nomi's progress.

In fact, the Puppet Manor in the spiritual world was nothing more than a pollution caused by the third-level power. Even with the geographical advantage of the spiritual world, it was impossible to stop Mellen.

Among them, the most valuable is the Spirit World Puppet Manor itself.

Unfortunately, Mellen did not have the corresponding knowledge to make use of it, otherwise he would definitely launch an attack as soon as he entered the Puppet Manor in the Spirit World.

So, instead of doing useless work, it is better to settle for the next best thing. This is also the fundamental reason why he has been trying to save Vera in a peaceful way.

As for the fact that Mellen had already made a deal with Vera...

This does not affect his ability to gain more benefits from Nomi.

More importantly, Nomi has something he covets very much.

Of course, Mellen also thought about using force to force 'Nomi' to hand over what he wanted, but don't forget that 'Nomi' is a schizophrenic psychopath. He was also afraid that if he did so, it would backfire and he would end up with nothing.

Melen said, "I want everything you know about the spirit world, as well as your research on the [Source Energy Core] and how you obtained it."

Nomi's expression was gloomy, but after feeling Mellen's power, he realized that he had no choice, so he agreed immediately.

Nomi inserted his hand into his body and slowly took out a ball of light. The next moment, the ball of light turned into a thick book.

It can be seen that this practice has a great drain on Nomi, and his face has become visibly pale.

Mellen took the book, flipped through it casually, and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.

PS: I wish my brothers a happy holiday and stay young forever!

Chapter 161 Success and Preparation (Update 1/10)

'Nomi' almost drove Melen and Vera out of the Puppet Manor in the Spirit World.

Thinking of Vera's helplessness when she learned the truth from 'Nomi', Mellen just sighed.

Even when Melen took Vera away, the latter was still looking at Nomi with pleading eyes, as if she hoped that all this was just a joke, a prank.

However, until they left the passage, 'Nomi' remained expressionless.

Perhaps, 'Nomi' is really no longer Nomi, or perhaps, he is deliberately using this method to sever his connection with Vera.

When he returned to reality, Vera beside Mellen turned into a dream bubble and disappeared. He didn't care, but looked back at the disappearing passage with a thoughtful look.

Puppet Manor is located in the spirit world.

Its value is self-evident, but Nomi is quite wary of Mellen. After the latter returned to reality, he directly closed all the connecting channels between the two puppet manors.

Of course, this "closure" is not irreversible for "Nomi", but for Mellen, he can no longer sense the Puppet Manor in the spiritual world in the real world.

But fortunately, he is not without any solution.

In the real world, in Mellen's resting room, a stick figure drawing that was originally placed on the desk has disappeared.

In the spiritual world, corresponding to the real world, in the room where Mellen was resting, on the desk, the stick figure suddenly appeared, and under the influence of some force, it slowly folded in half, transformed into the shape of a book, and casually inserted into the bookshelf next to it, mixed with other books around it, without any difference.

This disguised book has a trace of the power of the fairy tale kingdom, which can form a positioning.

As long as the connection between the two puppet manors in the real world and the spiritual world still exists, Mellen can use positioning to forcibly descend into the puppet manor in the spiritual world while being in the real puppet manor.

Even if one day Mellen accidentally falls into the spirit world and loses his way back, he can use positioning to first reach the Puppet Manor in the spirit world and then return to reality.

In fact, this positioning can be regarded as an unexpected gain.

Mellen's original purpose was certainly not the Puppet Manor in the spiritual world. The simple drawing was just a backup plan he made when he noticed fluctuations in space. Unexpectedly, it played an unexpected role.

Of course, Mellen had no ill intentions when he quietly located the Puppet Manor in the Spirit World.

Well, at least not yet.

Recovering his thoughts, Melen returned to the villa leisurely.

At this time, Vera and the housekeeper were already waiting in the villa hall.

Vera's eyes were red and there were traces of tears on her face, as if she had just cried. Obviously, the fusion of the spiritual world had given her many more memories.

The butler's expression also became much more vivid and rich.

Vera bowed slightly and said in a muffled voice, "Mr. Mellen, thank you for your help."

Mellen waved his hand and said, "It's okay, this is what we agreed on."