Puppet Art

"Very well." The other party seemed to heave a sigh of relief, their tone maintaining an uncomfortable level of politeness. "To avoid any misunderstandings, let us continue to refer to you as 'Heifu' for the time being. I regret to inform you that you, and the area you currently occupy, have been surrounded."

"Now, please hand over the [Mo Mei] in your possession. As long as you cooperate, I can guarantee on my personal honor that I will strive for the most lenient outcome possible for you. You are a rare talent; you should not fall here."

Chen Jin pondered for a moment, and suddenly understood the nature of his previous encounter:

"Interesting..." he muttered to himself, "So these guards were intentionally sent to me to be slaughtered?"

"No, it should be called a chain of schemes. If I had surrendered, you would have succeeded immediately; if I resisted and killed them, it would confirm the heinous crime of 'slaughtering comrades and resisting the law with violence,' giving you even more justification to mobilize greater force to encircle and suppress me, or even 'execute me on the spot.'"

"This way, whether I kill them or not, you lose nothing."

Even this current call was merely a ruse to keep him in place.

In the distance, several trails of fire dragged thick plumes of smoke as they roared toward him.

Without warning, an extremely sharp, piercing whistle tore through the sky.

The sound approached at high speed, shredding the clouds.

Every hair on Chen Jin's body stood on end!

He didn't even have time to look up; acting purely on instinct, he lunged violently toward his rear flank.

The moment he vacated his spot—

BOOM!!!

A massive, strange construct shimmering with cold metallic light slammed into the position where he had just been standing like a falling star.

A colossal shockwave, laden with flames and dust, erupted outward. The ground was cratered, and gravel sprayed in every direction.

Although Chen Jin avoided the direct impact, the blast wave still sent him stumbling.

He quickly steadied himself, his heart filled with horror: What in the world is that?!

He suddenly remembered Nuonuo! He turned back in a panic—

He saw that the little one hadn't even had time to react, perhaps not even understanding what had happened, before she was completely swallowed by the roaring flames and the shockwave.

"Nuonuo!" Chen Jin barked.

As the dust settled, the small figure lay at the edge of the crater. Her once-clean dress was now charred and tattered, and large patches of her exposed skin were burned to a carbonized black. Her small body lay motionless, as if she had truly become a charred corpse.

Chen Jin's pupils constricted, a strange tightness gripping his heart.

But he immediately recalled Nuonuo's ability: [Resurrection of the Remains].

Sure enough, the surface of her charred body began to squirm at a speed visible to the naked eye. Dead flesh peeled away, and new, pale skin regenerated rapidly beneath it.

Chen Jin snapped his head up, staring at the sky from which the attack had originated.

A "giant bird" with an extremely bizarre design, composed entirely of bronze and wooden structures, was whistling as it swept past at low altitude.

It had no feathers; in their place were cold metal skeletons and complex, rotating gear-linkage mechanisms. The "wings" on both sides were fixed-wing structures, and the exhaust ports at the tail flickered with ghostly blue energy.

So, the Mohist School in this world can push the Puppet Art to this extent?

In Chen Jin's eyes, black ripples suddenly spread.

Glance of the Startled Swan activated!

[Vermilion Bird-Type Mechanical Annihilation Wing]

[Category]: Mechanical Construct

[Affiliation]: Qin Mohists of the three Mohist lineages (Xiangli Mohists)

[Note]: The Xiangli Mohists focus on technological research, emphasizing practicality and extreme pragmatism. They believe that the Qin State's system of agriculture and warfare and its strict laws during the Warring States period were the closest to the Mohist ultimate social vision of "Universal Equality" and "Exalting the Worthy." Thus, they fully supported Qin, becoming a vital technological pillar in its conquest of the six states and unification of the world. Today, Qin Mohist Mechanism Art has been deeply integrated into the Great Qin military system, serving as one of its core forces for intimidating the world.

Just as Chen Jin read the information, more uniform, heavy metallic clanking sounds echoed from the sky and all around the street.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

More than ten mechanical warriors, over a zhang tall with humanoid silhouettes and constructed from bronze and reinforced wood, leaped from rooftops and turned out from alleyways. They slammed their heavy feet onto the bluestone pavement, completely surrounding Chen Jin and the still-regenerating Nuonuo.

Their structures were precise, with gears in their joints meshing and rotating to produce teeth-gritting mechanical sounds.

Their arms were designed with embedded, razor-sharp bronze blades, and their mechanical wrists featured crossbow bolt ports that had yet to be triggered.

Their cold "faces" lacked any expression system; only the crystals embedded within them glowed with a red light, locking onto the two figures in the center.

"We have received a report suspecting you of possessing weapons of mass destruction. Abandon resistance and submit to inspection!"

A synthesized mechanical voice emanated from the speakers of every mech.

"Believe that... weren't you the ones who threw bombs without a word just now? You never intended to leave anyone alive." Chen Jin spat.

[Xuanhu-type Mechanical Garrison Warrior]

[Category]: Heavy Mechanical Defense Unit

[Affiliation]: Qin Mohists of the three Mohist lineages (Xiangli Mohists)

[Note]: The Xuanhu series are garrison units developed by the Qin Mohists to complement the Great Qin Elite Soldier combat system. Their name is taken from the divine beast that guards the borders in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Each warrior can be remotely controlled via the Law Eye system and achieve array synchronization during battle through the resonance jade within their bodies. They once set a record during the night battle at Xianyang Palace by suppressing a hundred swordsmen from the remnants of the six states, and are regarded as the quintessential example of the Qin Mohist philosophy of "Replacing Soldiers with Machines."

Chen Jin slowly stood straight, shielding the still-twitching, regenerating Nuonuo behind him, his cold gaze sweeping across this circle of era-defying killing machines.

"Qin Mohists..." he murmured the name.

Rain had begun to drizzle again at some point, tapping against the bluestone path and splashing into fine, scattered droplets.

Lead-gray clouds hung low, shrouding all of Langya in a stifling mist.

There really was a bit too much rain in Great Qin.

"Clack, clack, clack—"

Heavy, metallic footsteps echoed through the damp alleyway.

More than a dozen mechanical soldiers, constructed from bronze and hardwood, closed the encirclement with rhythmic, lethal strides.

The gears in their joints meshed and turned, emitting teeth-grinding clicks, while the crystals embedded in their faces flickered with ruthless red light, locking firmly onto Chen Jin.

Rainwater slid down their cold shells, adding to the grim, murderous atmosphere.

"So that's how it is... what a fine scheme to borrow a knife to kill."

That Shark Person princess, Cen Qing, had never harbored good intentions from the moment she shoved Mo Mei, the Token of the Grand Master, into his hands.

The Qin Mohist lineage had long since deeply bound their Mechanism Art to the imperial hegemony; were they not more desperate than anyone to obtain this token, which symbolized the supreme authority of the orthodox Mohist School?

No, not just the Qin Mohists—the fractured Chu Mohists and the reclusive Qi Mohists, which lineage did not crave this object?

It was simply that only the Qin Mohists, backed by the great tree of Great Qin, could be so unscrupulous, openly and brazenly mobilizing war machines to come and seize it by force.

And Cen Qing... that woman had likely anticipated this scene from the very beginning.

She was unwilling to see Mo Mei remain in her own hands, yet even less willing to see it fall to the Qin Mohists, which would help them consolidate the power of the Mohist School and become even harder to restrain.

What she wanted most was to see him and the powerful Qin Mohists fight until both sides were crippled, so she could sit back and reap the rewards—eliminating a thorn in her side while simultaneously weakening the Qin Mohists.

Heh, she certainly thought highly of me.