Upon hearing Yan Wei’s words, Lin Zhen, who had already been somewhat bored, finally perked up. He grabbed his longbow and was about to rush out.
Yan Wei immediately pressed his shoulder and pushed him back, saying, “You’re a ranged attacker, stay with me at the rear. We need to split into two groups because of Manjusaka and her people. Yu Feizhou and Yan Mingguang will go to Xu Miaomiao’s side to stir up trouble.”
Lin Zhen shrugged.
The Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei stood up and said to the True Self Yan Wei, “I’ll go with Yan Mingguang and the others. If we temporarily separate, the fluctuations during combat might be too intense, and our communication Items could be affected. We need to use the Perception Burst skill to maintain communication among everyone. It’s better for the two of us to directly connect using the Perception Burst skill. Xu Miaomiao’s side is more dangerous, so I’ll go. Manjusaka and her group, you and Lin Zhen can handle.”
“Manjusaka is wary of me but still somewhat trusts me. You can use that to your advantage.”
Yan Wei nodded and turned to Yan Mingguang and Yu Feizhou, “You know what to do, right?”
Yan Mingguang looked at him, and both Yu Feizhou nodded simultaneously. Yan Wei pulled Lin Zhen aside, and without hesitation, Yan Mingguang led the way out, followed closely by the Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei. The two Yu Feizhou and Lin Zhen exchanged a quick “be careful” before leaving.
Yan Wei spread out his Perception, subtly sensing the surroundings while using his Perception Burst skill to communicate with the others and guide their path.
A moment later.
“We can move out now,” Yan Wei said. “Xue Wan and her people are currently blocked by two members of Manjusaka. I suspect Xu Miaomiao has completely abandoned those two—they won’t last long. Xu Miaomiao and a few others from Manjusaka are leading the Man in Black Robe up to the second floor. Yan Mingguang and Yu Feizhou are already following them, and Manjusaka’s group is also trailing behind.”
“Once Xu Miaomiao and Xue Wan are separated, I don’t believe the Man in Black Robe won’t seize the opportunity to act. So now is the perfect time for us to follow. Later, you’ll stay by my side and provide ranged support for Yan Mingguang. You should know what to do without me having to explain further.”
As Yan Wei spoke, he was about to step out when Lin Zhen suddenly grabbed him.
The man rolled his eyes, “You’d better explain a bit more.”
“Oh,” Yan Wei realized, “You didn’t get it.”
Lin Zhen: “…”
“Manjusaka will definitely try to snatch the Man in Black Robe. The unorganized group and Xu Miaomiao’s people are both aiming for the same thing. They want to get their hands on the Man in Black Robe and, on the final day of the instance, use him to charge up to the Stargazing Platform. This way, they can leave others with no points while securing the top spot with minimal effort.”
“When they make their move, the Man in Black Robe likely won’t miss the chance. That’s when Yan Mingguang and the others will step in, pretending to be players also trying to snatch the Man in Black Robe—this will prevent Xu Miaomiao from realizing we’re actually trying to help the Man in Black Robe. As for Manjusaka’s group, it’ll be up to you to stop them.”
Lin Zhen chuckled, “So that’s how it is. Simple. It’s that group that’s been hiding in the shadows, right? I remember your Benevolent Automaton mentioned their advantage—they have a lot of identical copies. Easy. I don’t care what they look like anyway.”
Yan Wei raised an eyebrow.
That’s exactly why he left Manjusaka to Lin Zhen.
At that moment, Yan Wei heard his own voice in his mind—it was his Benevolent Automaton.
【Manjusaka has made her move.】
Near the spiral staircase leading to the second floor, the commotion of battle was intense.
One of the Manjusaka members was carrying the Man in Black Robe. Xu Miaomiao’s black staff glowed faintly, its tip pointed at a card floating in the air. Another version of her was doing the same, sneering, “You rabble actually dare to scheme!”
In front of Xu Miaomiao stood six identical individuals!
They were a pair of twins from the unorganized group and their Benevolent Automatons, along with Manjusaka and her Benevolent Automaton, who had used their skills to mimic the twins’ appearances.
These six weren’t particularly strong, but their identical appearances were enough to confuse the senses.
Earlier, one of the Manjusaka players had almost been tricked by one of the identical figures into getting close to the Man in Black Robe.
Now, a black light flashed from Xu Miaomiao’s staff, and the two cards transformed into two mechanical figures!
Puppetry.
One of them was someone Yan Wei and the others didn’t recognize—probably a powerful player not in this instance. The other puppet looked exactly like Xue Wan. Xu Miaomiao’s puppetry couldn’t create perfect replicas, but it could mimic to a certain extent.
Although this Xue Wan puppet wasn’t as strong as the real Xue Wan, it still possessed some of her abilities. Despite its mechanical movements, every swing of its blade was forceful, instantly severing an opponent’s arm!
Amid the screams, the Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei hid in the shadows, watching the chaos unfold. He stared intently at the spot where the Man in Black Robe was, waiting for the moment the Man in Black Robe would begin to act. They needed to intervene before that moment, pretending to also be after the Man in Black Robe, coincidentally giving him a chance to escape. This would both free the Man in Black Robe and mislead Xu Miaomiao and Manjusaka.
【Ice Cube,】 he said to Yan Mingguang, 【Xu Miaomiao’s puppetry is formidable in its versatility, but she herself isn’t much of a fighter. The two other Manjusaka members actually have higher Body Indexes. I’ll keep an eye on the Man in Black Robe. When I say go, the four of us will pretend to also be after him and charge out. Leave Manjusaka and the twins alone—my True Self and Lin Zhen will handle them. We just need to stop the Manjusaka group.】
Yu Feizhou asked, 【I think it’s about time. Let’s assign who’s responsible for whom? Yan Wei, you stay here and communicate with the other Yan Wei. Manjusaka currently has four members plus two puppets created by Xu Miaomiao’s puppetry. Let’s split them between us and Yan Mingguang—two each.】
The Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei stared ahead, noticing the Man in Black Robe seemed to stir. Amid the loud commotion, aside from the sounds of players avoiding the chaos, there were also faint, mechanical footsteps.
He silently smiled.
—The Malevolent Automatons that the Man in Black Robe could command had arrived.
But these people were already locked in combat, completely oblivious to the subtle movements.
Through his Perception, he communicated with Yu Feizhou’s Benevolent Automaton and Yan Mingguang, 【No, I’ll go out with you. We’ll use a staggered strategy against Manjusaka. Yan Mingguang, you deal with the two puppets Xu Miaomiao created. Destroy them as quickly as possible—once they’re gone, Xu Miaomiao’s puppetry will be weakened for a while, which will benefit us later. Yu Feizhou, you handle the three strong Manjusaka members. As for the two Xu Miaomiao…】
【Leave them to me.】
One of the Yu Feizhou was immediately alarmed, 【Are you crazy? Yan Wei, you’re no match for Xu Miaomiao. What if she catches you? Once Manjusaka and the unorganized group are involved, along with the Man in Black Robe and the Malevolent Automatons he commands, even Yan Mingguang and I might not be able to guarantee your safety.】
【Why guarantee it? I’m a Benevolent Automaton, not the True Self. Even if I’m thrown into the Meat Grinder, the most we’ll lose is one helper. I want Xu Miaomiao to catch me because once my True Self’s plan succeeds, the Man in Black Robe escapes, and Manjusaka, Morning Star, and the unorganized group are all weakened, Xu Miaomiao will be left with nothing. She’ll start thinking about the map’s mysteries and the Blockers she thought she’d successfully hidden.】
The Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei spoke methodically, 【There’s still some time before the game enters its later stages. We can’t let Xu Miaomiao discover too soon that we’ve replaced all the Blockers. Once the Man in Black Robe is gone, just act like you’ve abandoned me and run, cooperating with my True Self to continue unraveling the situation. I’ll let Xu Miaomiao capture me. After all, the Man in Black Robe won’t return to the Stargazing Platform anytime soon, and Xu Miaomiao won’t be able to use me to score points. It’ll also let me cause some disruption within their team.】
Yan Mingguang frowned slightly, as if wanting to say something, but in the end, he only said, 【Be careful. Yan Wei will worry.】
He was naturally referring to the True Self Yan Wei.
Even though an identical Yan Wei stood right in front of him, he still referred to the real Yan Wei by name, unlike Yu Feizhou, who called him “the other Yan Wei.” It was as if, in Yan Mingguang’s eyes, the Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei had never truly been Yan Wei, but rather a stranger who had joined the Blackbird team in this instance.
The Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei recalled the first day of the instance, when Yan Mingguang had stabbed him without hesitation, and earlier, when he and the True Self Yan Wei were in the same room, Yan Mingguang’s gaze had only been on the True Self.
This man…
He truly didn’t hide his favoritism.
The Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei didn’t feel unhappy or sad about it. In fact, he felt a strange sense of novelty. It was a kind of… care for “him” that emerged through the neglect in front of him. He felt both ignored and valued at the same time.
He even felt a bit happy.
But his emotions were relaxed. After all, he wasn’t a real existence. He didn’t need to consider the ambiguous matters between him and Yan Mingguang. He could even watch the drama unfold as the True Self dealt with it all.
【Don’t worry,】 he said, also starting to follow Yan Mingguang’s lead in addressing the True Self, 【Yan Wei won’t worry about me. I know myself, and he knows what I’ll do. He probably won’t show up later, so Xu Miaomiao won’t realize the two of us are working together. She’ll just think capturing me weakens Blackbird’s deduction ability—】
His tone suddenly shifted, 【Move! The Man in Black Robe is making his move!】
Yan Mingguang lashed out with his Long Whip, its tip reaching the Xue Wan puppet Xu Miaomiao had created before he even arrived. Yu Feizhou immediately charged at the remaining Manjusaka members.
At the same time, several Arrow feathers shot out from the other side, blocking the six identical individuals from the unorganized group.
The Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei didn’t hesitate. His Moon Wheel floated in the air, and with Yan Mingguang’s skill, he appeared in front of Xu Miaomiao.
The incomplete Moon Wheel emitted a soft, gentle white light, clashing with the black light from Xu Miaomiao’s black staff. The Benevolent Automaton Yan Wei immediately paled and took a step back. Xu Miaomiao saw him and laughed angrily, “Long time no see.”
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone’s movements paused.
The sound of increasingly loud, mechanical, and rhythmic footsteps echoed from all directions, reverberating through the corridors.
The player carrying the Man in Black Robe suddenly let out a scream and fell to the ground. The Man in Black Robe stood firmly, his hood drooping, obscuring his entire face.
A hoarse, low voice, wrapped in an eerie and sinister aura, spoke, “…It’s my turn now.”
