[Marionette]

"This guy really has a lot of life-saving items and books..."

On the rooftop of a tall building in the distance, Bai Zhi pursed his lips and stood up from the puddle, carrying Sniper Rifle.

Strictly speaking, given his sniping skills, he only had one chance to fire that one shot, taking advantage of the opponent's momentary lapse in concentration to lock onto the target with [Failed Writer], which was the only way he could possibly hit the target.

Otherwise, if he were to rely solely on his own sniping skills, at a distance of over 3000 meters, who knows how far he might miss, and he might even hit friendly forces or something...

But he had only just stood up when a figure ran over from the side, standing on tiptoe, grabbing his collar with hands, and shaking him with a look of utter despair.

"You bastard!! What have you done to my Earth Puppet!? How did my cute Earth Puppet become such a monstrosity!? Fine, I don't need the money back!? Give my Earth Puppet back!!"

"Well..."

Seeing the Young Girl in front of him looking completely frantic, Bai Zhi's lips twitched slightly.

Withered Heart's strength is not bad; she can handle most situations flexibly by manipulating the Five Elements Puppet’s, but that's only "not bad."

The Water Puppet that was discovered and cut down by the Blond Young Man at the beginning was her true skill level, as was the wooden puppet that later grew vines on the ground and was mercilessly trampled by the White Horse.

As for the Earth Puppet, although they can also summon Stone Giant by lying on the ground, they are only about five meters tall at most. How could they be as enormous as the previous ones, where just one hand was hundreds of meters long?

--That's right. Using the Strength of the Anomaly that shroud this wilderness, Bai Zhi twisted the Earth Puppet, creating a brand new Monster.

To be honest, even Bai Zhi himself hadn't expected that the Monster he'd twisted from his fantasy mask seemed a little off—it seemed... a little too big?

One of its arms is hundreds of meters long. If all those Eerie Thing from underground were to crawl out, this city would be completely destroyed... So how did I even come up with such a terrifying and enormous creature?

"So what if it's gone? Look at that guy, he has so many good things. He might give you a Perfect Quality of Equipment or an item later, and you'll be rich, okay?"

After coughing a few times, Bai Zhi removed the other person's hand from his clothes.

"Alright, you'd better hide quickly. I need to get out of here soon, otherwise that thing will chase after me. If that guy hadn't provoked the other by launching an attack, it wouldn't have bothered with him. After all, the creator is the primary target..."

"Repairing Water Puppet would cost a fortune, wooden puppets were basically trampled to pieces, and Earth Puppet were completely gone... Do you know how difficult these things are to make!?"

Before he could finish speaking, the Young Girl interrupted him with a murderous glare, her expression showing a hint of gritted teeth.

"My losses are immeasurable; the Five Elements Puppet’s are a series..."

"So? To sum it up, I'm in a hurry."

Looking at the Young Girl in front of him, Bai Zhi couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"The Earth Puppet was my most important Item, but now it's completely cut off from me, and there's no way to repair it."

The bitter and resentful look on her face vanished instantly, and the Young Girl solemnly held up a finger in front of her.

"So, you'll have to pay extra."

"No problem, how about adding 1000?"

Bai Zhi answered very readily.

"At least 3000!!"

"1000."

"No, that's too little, 2500!!"

"1000."

"Ugh... 22,000, that's the lowest I can go!! I still owe the Guild Master a lot of money!!"

"1000, I'll just give you a few more loot later."

"Ugh... how about you add another 500?"

After much internal deliberation, Withered Heart asked, somewhat unwillingly.

"Seriously, I'm facing an extremely serious fiscal deficit right now. I'm desperate for money, sometimes I even consider turning to prostitution. You see how miserable I am, can you please add a little more?"

"... Is it really worth it for a little money?"

Bai Zhi's lips twitched slightly.

"Is it really necessary?!"

With her head held high and chest out, the Young Girl looked utterly self-righteous.

"How about this, how much do you charge for escort services? I'll cover it."

After thinking for a moment, Bai Zhi took out a notebook from his Inventory, wrote a few lines on it, tore off a piece of paper, and handed it to the other person.

"From now on, you will be..."

"Aren't you getting excited too soon?"

Just then, a chilling voice suddenly rang out above them.

"!!!"

When Bai Zhi and Withered Heart looked up in astonishment, they discovered that the Blond Young Man, who should have been far outside the city, had silently appeared above them in less than half a minute.

The Golden Crown that had been used to hold his hair back was shattered by Bai Zhi's shot. Now, his hair was disheveled, his body was covered in black mud and filth, and blood was still flowing from his forehead. He looked utterly wretched, a far cry from his previous Prince demeanor.

Just as Bai Zhi and the others instinctively looked up upon hearing the sound, the other party seized the opportunity and instantly appeared, transforming into a bolt of lightning and closing in on Withered Heart.

Golden flames burned on the longsword in his hand, transforming into roaring lightning, which instantly slashed down towards Diao Xin, who was still reeling from the sudden Withered Heart of events.

Sensing the impending danger, the Young Girl's Circular Shield suddenly appeared, then shattered easily like fragile glass. Immediately afterward, Young Girl coughed up a mouthful of blood and was sent flying uncontrollably, crashing into the wall of a nearby Residential Building, creating a cracked crater.

Blood gushed from beneath the Young Girl head slumped down, her bones shattered, revealing white bone fragments and the book's contents. Her body was deeply embedded in the wall pit, the huge wound on her body almost cleaving her in two at the waist.

The changes that occurred were too rapid, with an interval of less than a second. With Bai Zhi's current physical attributes, he simply couldn't keep up with the opponent's speed.

--A kill in an instant!!

"You really think you can defeat me with just that? You're seriously underestimating me!? I'm about to become Patrol Envoy, what can you do to me!?"

Without even glancing at the dying Young Girl, the Blond Young Man turned to look at Bai Zhi, his gaze sweeping over the Silver Sniper Rifle in Bai Zhi's hand. His expression was terrifyingly cold.

"You don't even Inheritance Item on you; you're not the Inheritor at all. How dare you subject me to such a humiliating disgrace! Today, all of you will die here..."

"Little Sister Carries a Doll ~ The idiot Puppet Miss is dead again~ Everyone come and see~ The way the Puppet Miss died now~ Her head is drooping like a Dead Person ~ Sharp White Bones are sticking out of her body~ Blood keeps flowing out of the tattered bag~ The smell is amazing~"

At that moment, quite abruptly, a rather eerie little Girl's voice echoed through the torrential rain.