Meeting the Puppet Master

Faced with this hopeless romantic minefield, Ling An knew there was nothing left he could do.

He simply tilted his head and collapsed into Tide Sis's arms.

Playing dead it was.

He had to admit that, although Tide Sis was rather intimidating, at least some parts of her were soft.

Her heart, for one.

"Hmph. Your punishment is to give it your all later," Tide Sis said beside his ear.

Ling An's heart leaped with joy. There was still hope.

He quickly poked his head out, his face brimming with righteousness. "That's my duty! I won't let you tire yourself out in the slightest!"

"That's more like it," Tide Sis said magnanimously.

Only then did Ling An finally get a chance to ask his question. "Why are you here?"

Tide Sis stood up and said evenly, "You're not the only one investigating the Soul-Return Mutual Aid Society. Chixia contacted me about this a while ago. I just didn't expect to catch a cheating cat first."

Ling An scratched his head awkwardly. "So you got in the same way I did?"

Tide Sis nodded. "Of course. Feign weakness to get into the enemy's base. Did you really think they could capture me otherwise?"

Just then, Yinlin's voice came from outside the door. "You two, get up."

Tide Sis carried Ling An outside. Only then did he realize they had been confined in a small room.

Yinlin stood outside with an elderly woman. Seeing the two emerge, she explained:

"This is the Soul-Return Mutual Aid Society's main camp. The citizens who fled Jinzhou are all here."

Ling An pressed the switch. "You're under arrest!"

"Under arrest? Hehe..." Yinlin chuckled. "You've already been poisoned. Without the antidote, you'll soon die."

Hearing that, Ling An quickly checked his body.

Sure enough, he sensed something unusual inside him.

The next second, Ling An swallowed.

He digested the poison.

For ordinary humans to poison a Tacet Discord of his caliber was nothing short of a pipe dream.

Still, he decided to play along with Yinlin. "You're a Jinzhou Patroller."

"That's right. I'm a Patroller." Yinlin walked up to him, leaned down, and whispered:

"But have you considered that I might have belonged to the Soul-Return Mutual Aid Society before I became a Patroller?"

She glanced at Tide Sis and said evenly, "The Soul-Return Mutual Aid Society deals in business that can't bear scrutiny. Planting an informant in the Public Security Bureau certainly makes things much easier."

"You two happen to be exactly who the Puppet Master is looking for. Now we have everyone we need. If you're interested, you can learn more about the Soul-Return Mutual Aid Society. Who knows? You might want to join us."

Yinlin's faintly enticing voice gradually faded into the distance.

Ling An and Tide Sis exchanged a look.

Since Yinlin was letting them act on their own, it would be rude not to oblige her.

"What should we do this time, dear Patroller?" Tide Sis asked teasingly.

Goosebumps rose all over Ling An.

Could you please talk normally?

He said quietly, "There's definitely more to Yinlin's identity than meets the eye. Since she's letting us investigate, let's investigate thoroughly. I need to gather evidence anyway."

Tide Sis nodded, and the human and cat began searching around the Soul-Return Mutual Aid Society's camp.

Half an hour later, they met up again, both looking thoughtful.

"Got it all figured out?" Tide Sis asked Ling An.

Ling An nodded.

According to the information he had gathered in the Soul-Return Mutual Aid Society, Yinlin was far more than an ordinary member.

The fellow called the "Puppet Master," whom he had heard about while pretending to be unconscious, was not merely the person controlling the Soul-Return Mutual Aid Society behind the scenes.

He was also Yinlin's adoptive father.

Yinlin's unusual behavior pointed to one thing-

She no longer wanted to help her adoptive father commit wrongdoing.

A father-daughter betrayal drama, then.

How entertaining.

He looked a short distance away, where Yinlin stood alone by the roadside, her eyes filled with lingering sorrow.

She was a double agent.

That sort of life probably brought her little happiness.

It had also shaped her current personality.

Seeing Ling An and Tide Sis talking, she slowly approached. "Well? Have you made your decision? The Soul-Return Mutual Aid Society treats everyone as family..."

Before she could finish, a little boy ran up to them and said:

"Yinlin, a group of people in uniforms just charged in! The one leading them is a red-haired lady, and she's shouting something about the Jinzhou Little Feathered Hero and evil begone."

Ling An froze.

Chixia?

Why was she here?

He looked at Tide Sis, whose expression showed no surprise.

Apparently, she had sent word.

Yinlin looked anxious. "Hurry! It's the Jinzhou Patrollers."

Threads crackling with lightning instantly stretched across Ling An and Tide Sis's path. "You two, come with me."

Ling An and Tide Sis obediently raised their hands, playing along with her act.

Under Yinlin's guidance, they entered an underground passage.

The sounds of fighting above gradually faded, and a dark factory appeared before them.

"This is..."

"The Soul-Return Mutual Aid Society's production facility. As it happens, the Puppet Master wants to see you too," Yinlin said coldly.

But beside her, Puppet Marionette held up an Encrypted Communicator:

"You both have secrets the Puppet Master wants to uncover. He planted listening devices on you. He's hiding in the deepest part of the base right now. Work with me and find him!"

Tide Sis glanced at the Encrypted Communicator and nodded in understanding.

Ling An, meanwhile, stared at the communicator and tilted his head.

The clues in his mind immediately fell into place.

Like him, Tide Sis had pretended to be overpowered and let herself be brought to the Soul-Return Mutual Aid Society's main camp. And according to what he had learned there,

the Puppet Master, Yinlin's adoptive father, was determined to use the Fractsidus's help to "resurrect" her biological parents as puppets.

In the process, the Puppet Master's puppets had harmed many ordinary people, driving a wedge between him and Yinlin despite their outward harmony.

This time, she intended to use their help to take down the Soul-Return Mutual Aid Society in one fell swoop and capture the Puppet Master!

Their goals aligned.

In that case...

Purple light slowly began to glow in Ling An's eyes.

All we had to do was capture the Puppet Master!

He opened his mouth to ask the last question he wanted answered:

"Rover has a special identity, so I can understand why the Puppet Master wants to see her. But why does he want to see me?"

Ling An's refusal to cooperate briefly stunned Yinlin, and she unconsciously overlooked the fact that his words had not come from the gourd.

Annoyance crossed her face as she feigned a stern tone. "Shut up!"

The Encrypted Communicator held by Puppet Marionette beside her displayed:

"The Puppet Master heard about you. He firmly believes you're hiding a secret, and that this secret might help him improve his puppet-making techniques..."

More words appeared on the communicator: "The base has layers of defenses. Only by cooperating with me can you reach the Puppet Master. If you alert him, we may never catch him again, you stupid cat!"

"So that's how it is..." Ling An murmured.

Tide Sis seemed to notice something. With an indulgent smile, she stepped back and left Ling An to do as he pleased.

Ling An looked at Yinlin, his eyes blazing. "If we're trying to capture the Puppet Master, why not just attack?"

Yinlin's expression changed drastically. "You stupid cat! You've ruined everything!" she cried urgently.

As her words fell, layers of defenses lit up throughout the base.

Yinlin sighed, her eyes full of resentment.

But in an instant, all that resentment vanished. Dumbfounded, she slowly turned around.

Behind her, Ling An continued speaking nonchalantly:

"With invincible power, why go to all this trouble? How could a few paltry defenses stand in my way?"

Before he finished, purple flame ignited around him, obscuring his form.

A powerful arm reached out from the purple flame.

The arm held a spear.

Under Yinlin's dazzled gaze, the spear shot forward as a streak of light.

Everything in its path was swept away.

Every defense shattered like paper.

Wreathed in purple flame, the spear melted a passage straight through the base.

At the end of the passage, a masked man stood frozen in place, still poised to flee.

Ling An struck.

With just one spear, he met the Puppet Master.