Chapter 99

Wanbaotang VIP reception room.

Zhu Changan glanced down at the time and couldn't help scratching his hair. Over two hours had passed, but the staff member who was supposed to help deliver the message still hadn't returned.

Out of boredom, Zhu Changan got up and walked around the room.

He was familiar with the name of Wanbaotang; Shen Liuxue had mentioned it to him casually during a previous chat. Rumor had it that as an old sect with an indeterminate history, Wanbaotang ostensibly dealt in jewelry and antiques, but in reality, it also supplied the Bureau of Supernatural Powers with magical instruments.

Originally, Zhu Changan thought that he would never come into contact with such a huge creature in his life, until today when he went out, You Lin specifically asked him to run errands and deliver a package here.

"This thing is very important. I must hand it over to Boss Yan personally today." You Lin's expression was very serious at that time.

Along with the package came a temporary ID, and it was then that Zhu Changan realized You Lin was related to Wan Bao Tang. Thinking of You Lin's possible hidden identity, Zhu Changan silently added: It's also possible that he opened Wan Bao Tang.

Wanbaotang's address was far from the antique shop; leaving now would likely mean missing the last bus back. The package contained something important, yet You Lin chose to send a stranger he'd only known for a short time. Even with Yuheng's endorsement, wasn't that a bit too much trust?

Looking at You Lin's calm gaze, Zhu Changan suddenly realized: Mr. You Lin probably wanted to get him out of the way so he could discuss something with the senior alone. Sure enough, he had disturbed the senior during this period...

Zhu Chang'an scratched his head. The relationship between You Lin and Yu Heng was obvious, so he didn't overthink it and simply accepted the commission. He even said considerately, "Then I won't be back tonight."

At that time, You Lin looked at him with eyes full of approval.

"Brother Zhu, sorry for the long wait." A strange voice brought Zhu Changan back to his senses. When he was about to circle the table for the 365th time, Boss Yan finally arrived.

"I'm so sorry. It's the New Year these two days and I've been busy with so many things. I just finished the work at hand. I hope you don't mind, young man." Boss Yan gave him a kind smile.

Zhu Changan scratched his head. "No, I was the one who disturbed you first. Oh, and Mr. You Lin asked me to give this to you. I don't know what's inside."

After receiving the package, Boss Yan did not rush to open it. Instead, he looked at Zhu Changan with a smile and said, "Thank you, Brother Zhu, for your help."

He glanced out the window and said, "Oh, is it already this late? I guess I'll miss the last bus. Why don't you stay here tonight and go back tomorrow morning? It'll be safer on the road that way."

The intention to keep him here couldn't be more obvious. If Zhu Changan had only guessed at first, now it was practically certain—Mr. You Lin must have been getting on his nerves, so he'd gone to such lengths to get him out of the way. Thinking of this, Zhu Changan nodded awkwardly.

"Okay, thank you for your help then."

The area where Wanbaotang was located was quite prosperous. There was a crossroads right outside the building, and diagonally across from it was a hotel that "looked very expensive." There were no rooms for accommodation in the Wanbaotang building, so Boss Yan booked a room for Zhu Changan across the street.

"Isn't this too expensive?" Zhu Changan was a little panicked. It seemed that even if he sold himself, he might not be able to raise enough money for a night's stay.

"Actually, this hotel is also part of our Wanbaotang's business. It's just a matter of words and it doesn't cost any money." Boss Yan said with a smile.

"That's good..." It's good to be rich. Zhu Changan, whose pockets were cleaner than his face, shed tears silently in his heart.

Before seeing Zhu Changan off, Boss Yan handed a pure white "Nothing to Do" sign to Zhu Changan and said, "Little brother, you can come and sit here often when you have time."

Zhu Changan was a little surprised. If he guessed correctly, this Wu Shi card was probably some kind of recognition certificate from Wanbaotang, just like a VIP membership card in ordinary stores. With it, one can enjoy certain preferential treatment in Wanbaotang.

"But I was just running an errand and delivering something..."

"Brother, consider this an investment from Wanbaotang. You have great talent and will become a great man in the future. When that happens, Wanbaotang might even need your help."

Wanbaotang was, after all, a commercial organization. There was no way they would actually let him suffer a loss. If they were willing to offer benefits, it must be profitable. Zhu Changan quickly understood and stopped refusing.

After watching Zhu Changan leave, Boss Yan put away the smile on his face, took out his mobile phone and sent a message to the pure black avatar: Boss, the goods have been delivered as per your request.

The other side quickly sent a period.

The traffic light turned into a glaring red after a brief flash, and Zhu Changan had no choice but to stop and stand by the road waiting for the next green light.

The sound of fireworks exploding was heard not far away. Zhu Changan subconsciously looked up, but found that the deep night sky was covered with a layer of strange purple, which faintly revealed an ominous atmosphere.

The ordinary people around them obviously noticed the changes in the sky, but the worldview they had accepted since childhood made them easily ignore the inconsistency.

"Maybe it's the reflection of a light from somewhere else?" Almost everyone thought so.

Zhu Changan felt a chill in his heart. He suddenly remembered the strange creature he encountered in Xingfu Community during his first mission. The sky had also turned this purple at that time.

…

The Suolongtan Cave was in a mess.

The psychics were horrified to find that they had lost control of their bodies. It was as if their limbs were tied with invisible puppet strings, controlling them to turn their weapons against their own people.

"No...you can't do this, kill me now!"

"I can't control my hands. I didn't mean to do this. It's not me... it's not me..."

"Who are you? Get out here! If you have the guts, let's have a fair fight. How can you be considered a hero if you resort to such despicable tactics?"

Amidst the chaos, the puppeteer slowly emerged from a corner, leisurely admiring the fear and anger on the faces of the people, a delighted smile playing on his face.

"Good evening, everyone." He greeted the psychics politely, but it was just a superficial gesture. He walked past them without even glancing at any of them.

The puppeteer regretfully picked up the broken puppet doll. He had originally intended to use only puppets for this task, but these guys hadn't been so tactful and had broken his favorite puppet. As punishment, he had no choice but to let them experience the feeling of being a puppet too.

"SSS-level high-risk individual, puppeteer!" The captain recognized him and said through gritted teeth, "You're the culprit who caused a disturbance at headquarters twenty years ago, leading to the loss of so many magical weapons. The tragedy that occurred at that middle school... was also your doing."

"My rating is SSS? What an honor! Too bad this rating system won't work anymore." The puppeteer paid no attention to the man's question. They couldn't break free of the puppetry anyway, so there was no need to pay too much attention.

With this thought, he hummed a song as he walked towards the pond, a pure black hourglass gradually condensing on his fingertips. The beings in the Dragon Locking Pond seemed to sense his presence, and the thick chains trembled faintly, making a subtle metallic clinking sound.

"It's been so many years. It's time for you to get up and walk, Lord Longzun." The last four words were full of teasing. As he finished speaking, the hourglass floated up from his hand and spun, tiny black sand drifting out and about to fly towards the stone statue.

A knife tip with a cold glow pierced out from his chest, interrupting his movement.

"Don't even think about it..." It was the captain of the superpower team. He broke free from control at some point and stabbed the military dagger into the puppeteer's body from the back.

"What a surprise! You were able to break free from my puppet strings. But the backlash must be painful, right?" The puppeteer seemed to feel no pain. Apart from the initial surprise, he did not react at all.

Behind him, the captain's seven orifices slowly shed a few streams of blood, but he still held the dagger firmly, letting it sink deeper. "You underestimate us."

As he finished speaking, the attacks from the psychics behind him came one after another. Through their tactical helmets, blood continued to flow from their mouths, eyes and noses. Although each of them grimaced in pain and wished to be freed on the spot, their hands remained firm on their weapons.

"Damn it, if you want to cause trouble, you have to jump over all our dead bodies first!"

"Don't even think about breaking the seal here!" They roared and released their special powers, launching attacks like crazy.

The puppeteer showed a rare expression of admiration. His manipulation technique worked on the mind, but it wasn't impossible to break free. It was just that the process was extremely painful, unbearable even for a powerful psychic.

The puppeteer had used this technique to control countless enemies, all of whom were unable to endure the pain of being forced to break free. After hesitating and procrastinating, they lost the strength to break free and were finally reduced to puppets. However, these people were able to break free without hesitation after realizing it...

What a pity, they weren't on his side. The puppeteer sighed, raising his hand to release all the puppets on his body to block the attacks.

The captain sneered and locked his sights on the puppeteer's body. Unlike the puppet, the puppeteer's body was incredibly fragile, lacking even a ton of offensive power. As long as the body was eliminated, the current situation would be resolved.

As he predicted, the puppeteer gradually lost his strength and fell into decline, and the puppets became unable to move one by one. Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, a thick and strange aura suddenly burst out from the cave.

The ground beneath his feet began to shake violently, and the puppeteer lay on the ground, laughing triumphantly.

"Holy shit, what's going on?"

"Earthquake?"

The sharp-eyed psychic noticed something was wrong with the statue, his eyes widened immediately, and he pointed to the center of the Dragon Locking Pond: "Seal, seal, seal—the seal is about to be broken!"