Chapter 081

Chapter 81: Are Your Loved Ones Still Alive?

The next destination was Green Square Star, the main planet of the Qingfang Star Cluster, the largest planet in the region.

Wang Jie made his way towards Green Square Star, encountering various modes of transportation along the way. There was no need for him to pay for travel—his status as a puppet master granted him much more authority than he had expected. Along his journey, he also witnessed the diverse lifestyles of the planet’s inhabitants.

The Ninth Star Chain was led by the Eight Prison Berserk Clan, a formidable force with many species under its control. One such species was the nine-eyed mantis. Each species had its own unique habits, many of which were on par with human intelligence. Wang Jie came across a city, one that, although empty of people, was teeming with strange and bizarre creatures. The buildings within were a mix of sizes, and he couldn’t help but wonder how these beings managed to live.

High in the sky, birds built nests above the clouds, even braving the fierce winds. His eyes were opened to an entirely new world.

It took him more than ten days to travel from the previous planet to Green Square Star.

Green Square Star was far more prosperous than the planet he had just left. To his surprise, he came across a futuristic city, its dazzling array of lights making him hesitant to approach. He wondered whether there were ways to detect his identity there.

Ultimately, his mission destination was Green Square Star—Green Mountain City.

Built along the mountainside, the city stood with peaks reaching into the starry sky, its cloud cover not even reaching the mountain’s middle. The entire city was encircled by towering mountains, with only caves serving as points of entry. At each cardinal direction of the mountains, colossal cosmic beasts lay in wait. Wang Jie observed carefully, but these creatures did not seem too strong, their size being their most intimidating feature. They reminded him of the mantis, though their sheer size made them far more terrifying. They were much larger than the Golden Hill Base on Blue Star. Their heads were so large that Wang Jie could not even see them clearly, as they were lost in the clouds.

Discreetly, he entered Green Mountain City using his puppet master identity, which, to his relief, worked just as well here. As he walked, the creatures around him regarded him with respectful eyes, occasionally bowing in deference.

This only made Wang Jie more uneasy.

He did not want to attract attention.

Hastily, he sought out an inn where he could rest. But it was too late. He had already caught the eye of two berserk clan creatures standing outside the inn.

The Eight Prison Berserk Clan was a species with eight arms, bull horns, and a height of over five meters. Their blood-red eyes and thick tails made them easily identifiable. This clan primarily resided within the Third Defensive Line, making them rare to encounter outside their territory, and their status was incredibly high.

It was understandable that other creatures would notice Wang Jie, but the attention from these two berserk clan creatures made him uneasy. However, he had no choice but to remain, as leaving was not an option. In this place, a single word from a berserk clan creature could mobilize all the inhabitants of Green Mountain City to search for him, and he would have no way of escaping.

The inn had rooms of various sizes, and Wang Jie was staying in the largest one, with the currency required for settlement drawn from a metal box that contained Ninth Star Chain currency.

Soon, a knock echoed at the door.

Wang Jie glanced toward the door and used his puppet to open it.

It was, as expected, the berserk clan creatures.

“Esteemed one, are you from the Little Round Lake?” one of them asked.

Without hesitation, Wang Jie replied, “No.”

The two berserk clan creatures exchanged glances, puzzled. “Esteemed one, are you not from Little Round Lake?”

Wang Jie’s voice remained calm but low, “No.”

If this puppet master had another identity, Yan Fu Yu would have said so. Being in an unfamiliar place with no understanding of the situation, he didn’t want to act rashly.

The berserk clan creatures walked away, their confusion apparent.

Wang Jie watched them leave, his anxiety simmering but not enough to drive him to act. He needed to rest.

The mission’s location was indeed Green Mountain City, and he knew where it was, but after encountering those two berserk clan creatures, he dared not take any hasty steps.

For the next few days, he quietly kept watch over the area. His inn wasn’t far from the location, so it gave him a good vantage point.

The two berserk clan creatures did not come back.

One day, another puppet master checked into the inn. This puppet was rather unique, resembling a four-legged beast.

At first glance, Wang Jie was stunned—could it be him?

This puppet master was the person who had been pushed out of the spaceship during Yan Fu Yu’s attack on the Fourth Defensive Line. Although Wang Jie hadn’t gotten a good look at the person’s face at the time, his keen observation of the energy flow had made an impression. The aura of this puppet master was identical to that of the young man he had seen before. It was distinctive, like flames scattered across the body.

This type of aura, he had only seen on that person.

A puppet master’s puppet could conceal the individual, but it could never conceal their aura. At least, in this remote star link, Wang Jie hadn’t met anyone skilled enough to mask or hide their energy. Even the Frost Radiance Sect was no exception.

Why was this person here?

Hadn’t Yan Fu Yu said that the berserk clan could detect the scent of the Frost Radiance Sect? That was why they had been tasked with handling the mission. This should have been true, as Mu Ran had also mentioned it.

Then why was this person here?

He had only appeared recently; before, he had been nowhere to be found. And now, he appeared in this very place.

Could he be the one capable of completing the mission?

Wang Jie’s face darkened as he considered this. Yan Fu Yu had sent him to eliminate the other individuals who had entered the Fourth Defensive Line, only to have himself act as the scapegoat. But in reality, it was this person who had the ability to complete the task.

This person’s cultivation was far beyond his own, and if they possessed the ability to avoid detection by the berserk clan, they were the perfect candidate.

This person was at least at the Star Breaking Realm, or perhaps even in the Full Star Realm.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, everything became clear. In fact, from the beginning of the mission, Wang Jie had wondered how those people had been lured to their deaths. Were they truly willing to risk everything for the temptation of Yan Fu Yu? Wang Jie understood that they were going to die, but what about him? Yan Fu Yu had given him an immense temptation, but had never considered the possibility that Wang Jie might be captured or betray him. He had not imposed any restrictions on him, which made no sense.

Now everything made sense. Yan Fu Yu had never seen him as alive.

From the moment the mission started, Wang Jie and the others were already dead.

Did Jin Chu know? Did Jun Hua know?

Wang Jie entered the inn and sat down to rest.

If there were no attachments, he would have refused the mission outright, but Blue Star was in the Silver Radiance Empire, and he had to return. The mission’s restrictions were unnecessary—Yan Fu Yu had not placed them on him. Wang Jie had bound himself with his own chains.

But now that this person was here, how could he possibly complete the mission?

Even if he couldn’t complete it, how could he return?

The method Yan Fu Yu had given him to return was clearly a dead end. Wang Jie had likely left his puppet master identity in the mines, hoping that if anyone survived and made it here, they would be discovered and eliminated by this person, rather than falling into the berserk clan’s hands.

Everything had been carefully planned.

But the mission’s location was real, or else he wouldn’t have encountered this person. Had Yan Fu Yu been careless? Or had he never imagined someone could actually reach this place?

While Wang Jie was lost in thought, there was a knock at the door.

He opened the door to find another puppet master waiting, standing in a humanoid puppet. But this wasn’t the person he had seen before.

“Your humble servant, Puppet Master Lou Jiang Cai, requests your esteemed presence at the Puppet Master’s House,” the puppet master said.

Wang Jie furrowed his brow. “Why must I go?”

Lou Jiang Cai responded, “Please come with me to the Puppet Master’s House.”

No further explanation was offered.

Wang Jie agreed, knowing that refusal would not end well.

The same thing happened to the other person. When Wang Jie waited outside the inn, the other man was also taken by Lou Jiang Cai. Together, they headed toward the Puppet Master’s House.

Wang Jie didn’t know what the Puppet Master’s House was, so he glanced at the man beside him.

He couldn’t make out his face, but his aura was unmistakable.

“Brother, what is your name?”

The man’s voice was low, “Bei Feng.”

“Nice name.”

Bei Feng glanced up at Wang Jie.

He couldn’t see Wang Jie’s face either. Even if he could, he wouldn’t recognize him. The people in the line of fire were beneath his notice.

A puppet could obscure sight, and although powerful individuals could sense the cultivation of those inside, they couldn’t see through the puppet. Unless one had a special ability.

His name wasn’t Bei Feng. It was Yin Bei Yi, one of the true disciples of the Frost Radiance Sect. However, he had never formally entered the sect to avoid being detected by the berserk clan.

He was part of the Frost Radiance Sect’s strategy against the Ninth Star Chain.

He had come here by using Yan Fu Yu’s attack on the Fourth Defensive Line, exploiting the situation to use the “lock force” practitioners as cannon fodder, all for the sake of completing the mission. Once it was completed, he would return to the sect and gain a wealth of resources and contributions.

He had expected everything to go smoothly, but now, he found himself taken to the Puppet Master’s House. Now, all he could think about was how to escape, and had no time to engage with Wang Jie.

Yin Bei Yi had no intention of responding to Wang Jie, but Wang Jie wasn’t about to let him go so easily: “Brother Bei Feng seems to be a straightforward man. May I ask if you’re from Little Round Lake?”

“No.”

“Where are you from then?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Brother Bei Feng, you’re being too distant. All puppet masters are like family, aren’t they? Brother He, would you refuse someone who has traveled so far? Who knows when any of us might die? If something were to happen to you, I’d be honored to take your belongings back to your family as a memento.”

Lou Jiang Cai turned back to smile, “Well said.”

Yin Bei Yi…

Throughout their journey, Wang Jie continued talking, causing Yin Bei Yi to become increasingly irritated. His cultivation was extremely high, and he had never lacked resources. But despite his immense talent, he lacked experience in dealing with people like Wang Jie.

How could he deal with Wang Jie?

A few words were enough to reveal Yin Bei Yi’s personality.

They arrived at the Puppet Master’s House, and Yin Bei Yi breathed a sigh of relief. This annoying person had been talking nonstop, and he almost wished he could slap him into silence.

“Brother Bei Feng, aren’t you going to ask for my name?” Wang Jie said with a smile.

Yin Bei Yi gritted his teeth, “What’s your name, brother?”

“I’ll tell you next time,” Wang Jie replied, walking away.

Yin Bei Yi’s anger flared—this guy was insufferable.

The Puppet Master’s House was a facility set up by the Seventh Star Chain’s puppet masters, who stationed themselves in the Ninth Star Chain. Its purpose was to serve as a gathering place for puppet masters from the Seventh Star Chain in the Ninth Star Chain. It was essentially an office for the Seventh Star Chain within the Ninth Star Chain.

Wang Jie and Bei Feng were not the only ones brought here. All of the puppet masters in Green Mountain City had been summoned.

Green Mountain City was large, and Wang Jie had only seen a small part of it.

At the moment, over a hundred puppet masters had gathered here.

All of their eyes were fixed on the humanoid puppet at the head of the room. This puppet was the leader, Puppet Master Tower Master Jiang You Sheng.

“I’ve hastily gathered you all because the Eighth Star Chain has launched an attack on the Fourth Defensive Line. A group of their people has infiltrated here. Their best skill is disguising themselves as puppet masters. Therefore, the berserk clan has asked us to identify if any of the puppet masters in Green Mountain City are from the Eighth Star Chain.”

Wang Jie’s heart sank as he listened. This was bad. He was not a true puppet master, and it would be easy for him to be exposed.

His face darkened.

Yan Fu Yu must have foreseen this, but he hadn’t mentioned it.

Someone spoke up, “How do we distinguish them? Since the Eighth Star Chain is prepared, they will likely have learned some puppet master techniques.”

Jiang You Sheng smiled, “The infiltrators are all at the Ten Seals stage. Even if they have puppet master techniques, how much can they really do? Moreover, we can distinguish them by their artifact forging methods.”

“Everyone knows that puppet masters are skilled in artifact forging, as they must repair their puppets themselves.”

“As long as you can demonstrate unique artifact forging techniques, I will be able to identify them.”

“As for those above the Ten Seals stage, they can be excused from this, but during this time, please stay in the Puppet Master’s House. We will take care of you.”