28. You All Smell So Good

[Suppressor Tablet]

Unlike the anti-magic tablet encountered while unearthing Sister Alna, a suppressor tablet can only distort, interfere with, and weaken magic; it is a lower-tier version of an anti-magic barrier.

A massive, deep-blue suppressor tablet was embedded deep into the ground at the center of a collapsed temple. Because the core formation maintaining the Temple of the Lucid had been sabotaged by the Eternal Night Church, not only were the teleportation coordinates unstable, but all the formations in the Garrison Layer were operating intermittently. Irregular shutdowns and restarts were visible everywhere along their path.

Alna’s lantern played a crucial role. Perhaps due to its inherent identification as Alna’s property, every formation without exception recognized them as "Lucids," allowing them to pass through unimpeded.

Recalling what he had seen along the way, Original Fries narrowed his eyes. "It seems this is the only area that has been sabotaged so far."

"Is there a problem with that?" Orange Tea tilted her head.

"A massive one," Zhong Zemo cautioned. "The Garrison Layer is the first line of defense the Lucids use to counter intrusions. After the tragedy in the Dust-Cleansing Layer, it’s strange that there are absolutely no signs of resistance here, isn't it?"

Jiang Heyi voiced the possibility. "An inside job."

Only this could explain the total collapse of the Lucids. Their early warning system had suffered a critical failure; the formations, mechanisms, and puppets that should have been guarding them were either unable to identify the invaders or had simply ceased to respond, ultimately allowing the Eternal Night Church to breach the Garrison Layer without any effort.

The suppressor tablet was a red-tier material and was not a bound drop. Experience told Jiang Heyi that such special items, which could be obtained without much difficulty, were either purely a reward mechanism to provide positive feedback to players, or...

"There isn't going to be anything exceptionally dangerous waiting for us ahead, right?" Zhong Zemo gulped.

In the Garrison Layer, this worry proved unnecessary. Virtual-Real Boundary traversed all areas with vigilance, constantly fearing that another frog-headed amalgam monster might pop out, but the journey remained impossibly smooth. There were no signs of living beings, and the puppet guards that Alna had marked on the map were nowhere to be found. They arrived at the temple housing the teleportation point with ease.

The encounter in the Dust-Cleansing Layer made the silence of the Garrison Layer seem particularly abnormal. It was only when they activated the teleportation statue that they truly felt relieved.

The Garrison Layer was entirely empty.

Original Fries whispered, "Is this foreshadowing?"

Before some extremely difficult dungeons, game level designers would uncharacteristically create a map space with zero combat, zero friction, and a relatively relaxed atmosphere to lower the players' guard.

On the third floor of the underground temple, also part of the Garrison Layer, they finally saw the puppets. Hundreds of puppets of different races lay shattered in disarray near the teleportation landing point, covering the floor so densely that Virtual-Real Boundary could hardly walk without "wading" through their shells, which felt disturbingly fleshy like those of living creatures.

Based on the distribution of the wreckage in the temple, it was not difficult for Jiang Heyi to reconstruct the scene. When the previous layer was breached by the Eternal Night Church, some Lucids on the third floor had attempted to react. The destroyed suppressor hub had likely been sabotaged by the Eternal Night Church because it had suddenly been activated. Upon reaching the third floor, the puppets had sensed the invaders and rushed toward this temple in a frantic swarm.

Original Fries climbed a thick pillar to get a better view and discovered something. "The wreckage is very dense. All these puppets were 'killed' in an instant."

The puppets used by the Lucids to defend their headquarters were by no means inferior products. Judging by the clear signs of destruction at the center of each puppet's chest, the Eternal Night Church had dug out their drive cores after destroying them—a move that proved the immense value of the puppets.

Orange Tea realized the implication: "The inside traitor among the Lucids must have held a high rank; they were the one who stopped the puppets from counterattacking and allowed them to be destroyed."

By this point, the two most heavily guarded layers of the underground temple had completely fallen, without inflicting any casualties on the Eternal Night Church, nor even providing the slightest delay.

The third floor was equally quiet. Searching the exceptionally spacious temple complex was time-consuming, but Jiang Heyi did not dare to order them to split up; he had a feeling that if he gave that order, they would literally be "split up."

*Click.*

A faint sound in the distance caused the sensitive Jiang Heyi to stop abruptly, pricking up his ears.

"It’s just the noise from the formation restarting, same as the last layer," Jailer Brother said, dismissing it with a wave of his hand after hearing a high-pitched, rapid buzzing sound. "Let's keep moving. There's really so little to scavenge on this path, just a few unopened potions."

He had been about to agree with Jailer Brother when another *click* caused everyone to freeze. The sound was much closer than before. They were currently in the center of an open-air temple, which was slightly elevated, allowing them to easily survey every corner of the area.

*Click.*

Wait, this sound seems...

As fellow FPS experts, Jiang Heyi and Zhong Zemo were the first to realize the possibility. They looked up, and their hearts nearly stopped.

The signature tail of a fox and long, slender ears were the first things to catch their eyes, followed by the lithe, charming curves of a body outlined by the tight-fitting tunic of a Lucid. Her chest was very, very flat...

But that was a false perception. If one shifted their gaze slightly to focus on the whole, they would discover a terrifying fact. The Demon Fox currently crawling on the uneven rock wall of the dome had her head rotated 180 degrees, her mouth slightly agape to reveal a set of sharp teeth. She was facing away from Virtual-Real Boundary.

The overwhelming dissonance caused everyone's brains to suffer a momentary lapse in judgment, until Jailer Brother’s high-pitched shout—"There’s a monster, we can farm some gold coins!"—perfectly dispelled the shock.

"A demon fox can't twist its head at that angle. This is a puppet."

Jiang Heyi took out Alna’s lantern and shone it toward the rock wall of the dome. The lantern, containing Alna’s identity information, caused the formations and creations of the Lucids to recognize them as friendly units.

Sure enough, the moment the beam of light enveloped her, the Demon Fox, which had been showing signs of aggression, shuddered, and her limbs lost their grip on the rock wall. With a dull *thud*, the puppet landed on all fours, maintaining that eerie, head-reversed crawling posture.

"Phew... this plot item is really useful," Jailer Brother remarked. "Players who don't follow the normal flow and take the 'evil' path to miss out on the lantern are going to have a hard time."

"Why was this puppet spared?" Original Fries asked, puzzled.

"What could go wrong? It probably started up too late," Zhong Zemo speculated. "It finished booting up only after all the Eternal Night Church members had already passed."

Orange Tea smiled. "I get it. Your boot-up speed has already beaten one percent of the Lucid puppets."

As they watched the Demon Fox puppet tentatively approach, Jailer Brother squatted down to observe it closely. Aside from the unnatural 180-degree head rotation that made it look unsettling, it was actually quite well-crafted.

"Sc... scared," the Demon Fox puppet emitted a confused and helpless female voice, soft and delicate.

Before the short blade appearing in Jiang Heyi’s hand could be gripped tightly, a sharp flash of light passed by. An invisible blade sliced through the air, leaving a horrific gash on the ground. The terrifying "Qi" struck the puppet’s head, causing it to cave in, and the force pushed the puppet back until its claws skidded into the ground and came to a halt.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?" Zhong Zemo was startled. "She spoke! This might be an interactive NPC!"

That was how they had obtained their lanterns, the key items for easily passing through the second and third layers. Without the lanterns, he dared not imagine how much time it would have taken to solve the puzzles and bypass the formations by their own wits.

"She’s acting 'tea-like'—this thing isn't normal."

Zhong Zemo paused. He suddenly remembered a special skill of Original Fries—"Tea-Detection." Many people in their gaming group were inexperienced youths with zero emotional history, often prone to letting their "little head" control their "big head" due to hormones. During the time Original Fries was active, she had once pointed out the anomalies in the posts of two group members who were flaunting their relationship, providing guidance that helped the group members identify the "tea" (manipulative behavior).

Although she had only intervened twice, her sharp intuition ensured her name was still legendary in the group. Given the "Lyleh surfing" meme, "Sea-Salt Fries" became her nickname, as the group members were convinced she was a seasoned heartbreaker in real life. Only a heartbreaker could possess such insight into the human heart. Regarding this, Original Fries had merely sent a nonchalant message: "You guys need more social interaction." That single sentence had successfully silenced the lively group for five minutes.

*Click, click~~~*

The caved-in head gradually reset itself amidst constant twitching. The Demon Fox tilted her head, grinning to reveal a hideous smile.

"Scared... I’m so scared... Why won’t you let me hug you? Ah... hug, hug!"

Using hands and feet, the crazed Demon Fox moved with lightning speed, lunging toward them. Zhong Zemo blocked with his massive shield. The moment they collided, the Demon Fox’s body jerked backward.

Orange Tea had sharp eyes and immediately called out, "Her chest was also destroyed."

How could a puppet with a destroyed central formation move on its own?

"Hehehe, ehehehe, ehehehehe~~~"

"Your bodies are so warm."

Even with just a light touch on Zhong Zemo’s hand, the Demon Fox let out a series of perverted laughs.

"The puppet shells are so cold... come now, come, let me live inside your bodies."

"You..." The Demon Fox licked her lips, saliva dripping. "Smell so delicious."