Yu Feizhou was completely unaware that he had just made a sarcastic remark.
After speaking, amidst the speechless expressions of the others, he added, “…Seems like he really was beaten to death.”
Everyone: “…”
Even Lin Zhen paused in his steps, his eye twitching at Yu Feizhou’s words.
The sounds of fighting outside grew louder—Manjusaka’s people had arrived. This time, there was no need to spread out their perception to investigate; Yan Wei and Yan Mingguang could directly hear the commotion outside from within the room.
Originally, Manjusaka should not have been a match for Morning Star. However, one of Morning Star’s members had been severely injured by Lin Zhen earlier, effectively reducing their numbers by one. Additionally, the others had been worn down by Yan Mingguang, Yu Feizhou, and Lin Zhen, so they were not in peak condition. At first, Xu Miaomiao was retreating step by step, but after the rest of Manjusaka’s forces arrived, the two sides were momentarily evenly matched.
Lin Zhen said impatiently, “We still have to wait for them to decide the winner.”
Yan Wei smiled, “We don’t need to wait for them to finish. Just a slight imbalance will prompt the Yu Hua group to act. And do you really think the Man in Black Robe is just a lifeless object? Earlier, Yan Mingguang acted quickly, and everything happened too fast for the Man in Black Robe to save himself. Now that so much time has passed, do you really think the master of the Puppet Castle will just let them fight over him?”
“The Man in Black Robe will also act? How will he act then…” Lin Zhen stroked his chin, thought for a moment, then gave up, “It’s better if it’s a fight, not some kind of deduction thing.”
The Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei showed no signs of panic or confusion about being a Benevolent Automaton. He leisurely pulled up a chair and sat down, taking out a wet wipe, maintaining the same meticulous habits as Yan Wei. While chaos reigned outside, he took out a pack of wet wipes and slowly cleaned the dirt off his hands.
Lin Zhen also sat down beside him and said, “Little pet, your Benevolent Automaton is just like you, even sharing the same quirks.”
Yan Mingguang glanced at Lin Zhen, his expression deep and unreadable, but he said nothing.
Yan Wei ignored him.
Lin Zhen asked again, “You always act like you know everything. If you’ve figured it out, just say it, so I don’t have to guess.”
The Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei suddenly spoke up from the other side, “As if you could guess it yourself.”
Lin Zhen: “…Why does your Benevolent Automaton always like to pick on me just like you?”
Yan Wei tossed the Swallow Coin in his hand and said, “Because that is me.”
He opened his palm, and the Swallow Coin landed perfectly in his hand, the side with the swallow spreading its wings facing up. But this actually meant nothing; Yan Wei currently had no questions that required a random answer.
He said, “Have you forgotten what the Man in Black Robe does? Have you forgotten what’s on the third floor of the castle?”
Yu Feizhou: “The third floor is full of tools for making puppets.”
“Right, puppets. His current performance is too weak, making everyone, even me just now, momentarily forget that he is the master of this castle. Benevolent Automatons are real and self-aware, creations that, once made, will not be controlled unless the True Self dies. But what about Malevolent Automatons?”
Yan Wei raised an eyebrow, “Don’t forget, the game has been going on for a while now. At first, there were few Malevolent Automatons, so the Man in Black Robe might have been weak initially, but now… do you think he can’t control the increasing number of Malevolent Automatons in the castle?”
“He probably can,” Yan Mingguang said, “but there’s a cost.”
Yan Wei understood this too. If he could control them freely, even if there were few Malevolent Automatons at first, the Man in Black Robe could have used them at will. Since he wants to destroy all the Benevolent Automatons in the castle—or rather, all the conscious people—why would he use this game rule, even offering the temptation of being able to buy a puppet to take away with Gold Coins in the instance, to drive the players to kill each other and help him achieve his goal?
The Man in Black Robe certainly doesn’t have the ability to act recklessly; there must be a price to pay. Similar to Yan Wei’s Perception Burst skill, things that require the use of perception mostly consume the controller’s energy, and after each significant use, they need a long period of rest and adjustment before they can be used again.
Yan Wei speculated that the Man in Black Robe is similar. So the Man in Black Robe won’t act casually, but if he’s truly pushed to the brink, he’s not an easy NPC to deal with.
Earlier, when Xue Wan was at the Stargazing Platform, the Man in Black Robe didn’t do anything because, no matter what, the players were helping him achieve his goal. But now, the players are preventing the Man in Black Robe from continuing to destroy the puppets, which is contrary to his goal. The Man in Black Robe won’t just sit back and do nothing.
“So later… after Xu Miaomiao and Xue Wan confront each other for a while, Manjusaka will still be unable to face Morning Star head-on, and Manjusaka will fall into a disadvantage. Based on my understanding of Xu Miaomiao’s style of doing things over the past two days, she will choose to pay a certain price to avoid the fight, take the Man in Black Robe away, and even sacrifice one or two teammates to hold off Xue Wan. She has the brains; she can do this step. But after she succeeds, although Manjusaka has taken the Man in Black Robe away, they will also be severely depleted, and the Yu Hua group hiding in the shadows won’t let this opportunity slip.”
Yan Wei half-closed his eyes, visualizing the step-by-step progression of events to come, murmuring to himself, “Xu Miaomiao’s skill is Puppetry, which can cause confusion in this kind of situation where truth and falsehood are mixed, but the Yu Hua group has a pair of twins—that is, four identical people—in this aspect, both sides have their strengths. Plus, Manjusaka is already heavily depleted, so Yu Hua can take advantage. But at that time…”
Yan Mingguang said, “At that time, the Man in Black Robe will act.”
Yu Feizhou clicked his tongue, “No way, Yan Wei, you’ve been thinking about this step since last night?”
“Of course not,” the Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei said, “I just thought of it now. Didn’t I say the plan has changed? The original plan was to reap the benefits, but I overlooked the Man in Black Robe as a variable, so the plan changed.”
Yan Wei isn’t someone who can truly plan without any oversights; he’s just doing his best to estimate and adapt flexibly.
He clenched his palm, enveloping the Swallow Coin, and chuckled softly, “The plan has changed. We won’t compete with Yu Hua and Xu Miaomiao for the Man in Black Robe. We’ll help the Man in Black Robe leave, then follow him and see what secrets this puppet-making man has.”
Lin Zhen was puzzled, “Won’t he just go back to the Stargazing Platform and wait for the players to destroy the puppets?”
“No, if he really controls the Malevolent Automatons later, he will be severely depleted. Several groups of players have already thought of targeting him; he won’t go back at this time. He might be intercepted by other players halfway, so he will definitely find a suitable place to rest and hide. When he’s confident, he will return, and by then, there will be many Malevolent Automatons in the castle, and he can directly act against those occupying the Stargazing Platform.”
“And where will this Man in Black Robe choose to hide? He knows the castle best; the location he chooses won’t be simply hidden. I think we might be able to find some clues related to the Man in Black Robe, which could be useful for the final breakthrough.”
Yan Wei and the Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei both stood up, ready to listen for the commotion and act at the last moment to help the Man in Black Robe instead. But just as they stood up, they both paused, first looking at each other, then simultaneously turning to look at Lin Zhen.
Lin Zhen was idly yawning when he was suddenly stared at by both Yan Weis, causing him to stop abruptly.
“What?”
Both Yan Weis spoke at the same time, “How do you know which of us is the Benevolent Automaton and which is the True Self?”
Earlier, because they had already distinguished the True Self and the Benevolent Automaton in front of Yu Feizhou, and the intercom Item between them and Lin Zhen was on, Yan Wei’s mind had subconsciously assumed that everyone knew who was the True Self and who was the Benevolent Automaton. So when Lin Zhen came in and effortlessly distinguished them, Yan Wei naturally thought Lin Zhen knew.
But the intercom Item couldn’t transmit images, and the two Yan Weis’ voices were identical.
Even if Lin Zhen knew they had distinguished the True Self and the Benevolent Automaton through the intercom, he wouldn’t know which position the True Self Yan Wei and the Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei were standing in at the time. In theory, he shouldn’t have been able to distinguish them as soon as he entered the room.
Lin Zhen seemed to have just realized this too, frowning slightly, his dark red eyes flickering with confusion, “I just… saw it at a glance? Is it that hard to tell?”
Yu Feizhou honestly said, “It is.”
Yan Wei furrowed his brows.
Lin Zhen’s character has always been straightforward; he wouldn’t lie about something like this. Since Lin Zhen said so, he must have really relied on his instincts. This kind of judgment without any basis…
The True Self Yan Wei and the Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei both turned to look at Yan Mingguang.
Yan Mingguang was by the window holding a cigarette. Outside, crows were circling, so he couldn’t open the window, and he hadn’t lit the cigarette. He was just standing there with the cigarette, not saying a word. Feeling Yan Wei’s probing gaze, he seemed to avoid it slightly, but no other emotions could be seen.
Yan Wei raised an eyebrow.
Yan Mingguang could instantly distinguish the real him, and so could Lin Zhen.
He didn’t hide it and simply said, “This is really strange. Even I can’t tell the difference, but you two can recognize me at a glance just by feeling?”
Both Yu Feizhous quickly said, “We can’t!”
“…Relax, I know,” the True Self Yan Wei said, half-laughing, his doubtful emotions slightly reduced, but he still said, “Hey, Ice Block, nothing to add? You also recognized me by feeling?”
Yan Mingguang nodded, “Yes, feeling.”
This guy wasn’t going to say anything more.
“Alright, alright, feeling,” the Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei pouted, a bit amused, joking in this tense moment, “Lin Zhen recognized me as the Benevolent Automaton by feeling, and you also recognized me as the Benevolent Automaton by feeling. Since Lin Zhen beat his Benevolent Automaton to death at first sight, I hope you can chop yours up when you first see him.”
Yan Mingguang’s hand, which was lightly turning the cigarette, paused slightly. His long, powerful fingers bent gently, and his eyes flickered for a moment.
—”Boom!”
A loud noise.
Yan Wei’s attention was completely drawn to the sound.
He turned to look in the direction of the door, listened for a while, and then chuckled, “Xu Miaomiao has played her trump card. She’s already taken the Man in Black Robe and run.”
“Let’s go, we’ll help the Man in Black Robe.”
