Chapter 2576

They had arrived at Luan Mountain ahead of time during their stay at Smoke Mist Bay, with He Lingchuan's subordinates from the Earth Mother Plains making preparations to welcome the Spirit Essence Palace team.

The first step for He Lingchuan's plan to succeed was to leave the Spirit Essence Palace and escape the surveillance of Helu Heaven.

They had indeed managed to do so, but who would have thought that Duan He Yun would suddenly change his mind and not go to Luan Mountain!

"What now?" Zhu Xiuer scratched her head, "Missing this opportunity, when will Duan He Yun and A Lian get another chance to go out?"

It must be settled today!

Hearing the curses of his companions, He Lingchuan ordered the team to continue forward, rushing toward Baiqiu.

Baiqiu is less than five li from the north gate of Baisong City, so this release will be the closest to Baisong City yet. The puppet masters of the Spirit Essence Palace also felt it was somewhat improper, as in crowded places, the puppets' reactions are hard to predict.

But Duan He Yun unusually insisted: "Isn't this exactly what we want to test?"

Here he is the highest authority, and everyone listens to him.

The Earth Mother's stone clone also asked He Lingchuan in the Snail Toad:

"Should we rush to Baiqiu right away and then make preparations?"

"No." At this moment, He Lingchuan happened to have no one nearby, so he lowered his voice, "When we reach Baiqiu, he will likely change his mind again."

To keep an eye on Duan He Yun, we must prioritize adaptability.

Fortunately, He Lingchuan himself has such a carefree and unreliable person by his side, and he can understand this kind of person's thinking.

Zhu Xiuer doubted: "Could it be that the surname Duan has noticed something?"

"You overestimate him." Dong Rui said lazily, "He just does as he pleases, with no fixed preferences. No wonder the Spirit Essence Palace is under Xiao Ping's leadership—having such an unreliable superior, who would want to work under him?"

Zhu Xiuer glanced at him and said nothing.

But Dong Rui was quite sharp: "How so?"

"It sounds so familiar." Cang Yan also has a puppet master team, led by Dong Rui. Their operational skills are equally solid, but their administrative abilities……

Zhu Xiuer truly felt that he and she are evenly matched.

The Earth Mother clone pressed on: "Then what should we do exactly?"

He Lingchuan looked toward A Lian beside Duan He Yun, then toward the direction of Baisong City, lost in thought.

Then he said to Dong Rui: "Do you remember when we followed the Tuocheng caravan? They said, Tuocheng's fireworks are the most famous within a three-hundred-li radius."

"Right. So?"

"You rush to Tuocheng right away and buy the biggest and most beautiful fireworks— they might come in handy later."

Tuocheng is not far either, otherwise it couldn't be designated as the supply city for Baisong City.

"Okay, anything else?"

"Be careful not to blow things up. Don't delay the matter."

Dong Rui rolled his eyes. When He Lingchuan was capturing the Snail Toad in Chiyan State, he just stuffed big firecrackers into its shell and blew it to pieces. Thus, Dong Rui was invited by the Frost Leaf State Preceptor to serve as a veterinarian for several months, specializing in treating Snail Toads.

"Mingke." He Lingchuan called again.

"Present."

"You sneak back to Baisong City, find a way to locate the Escape-Prohibition Array or barrier, and destroy or shut it down before our operation." He made the request, "Remember, do it without anyone knowing."

"The Escape-Prohibition Array in Baisong City itself emits no light; even if temporarily shut down, it would not be easily detected." Mingke the immortal replied, "Its main body should be inside the city walls—I'll go look for it now."

He is also an expert in array formations, especially when dealing with archaeological relics—I don't know how many strange barriers I've encountered. Right now, causing this small disruption in Baisong City is nothing.

……

Duan He Yun choosing Baiqiu as the destination cannot be said to be entirely without consideration.

The terrain here is also complex but close to the official road, and there is also a farmstead.

At this time, with darkness approaching, the team opened the cages on the hilltop and released the experimental puppets.

From a distance or from behind, these puppets already look humanoid, walking upright, with upper limbs shorter than lower limbs, and even the waist-to-leg ratio is normal, quite proportionate.

But when viewed from the front, they still deviate from normal human aesthetics.

One puppet has distinct facial features, but each is different— not only are the eyes unequal in size, but the right hand also has an extra finger compared to the left.

Another has its mouth not aligned with the facial midline, skewed to the left.

Yet another has a nose that is soft and limp, unable to hold its shape like clay.

The basic aesthetic formula for the human face is symmetry; symmetry brings harmony, which is the foundation of beauty.

The more it deviates, the more grotesque it becomes.

Besides A Lian, this release also involved six experimental puppets, each more or less showing a flaw visible at a glance.

As Duan He Yun said, experimental subjects as perfect as A Lian are unique—pure coincidence.

He Lingchuan stood on the high ridge, watching these six puppets vanish into the tall grass in an instant.

The grass kept swaying, obviously they had gone in different directions.

The regular releases organized by the Spirit Essence Palace aim to test the performance of experimental subjects in natural environments, to see what abilities they display when encountering unseen objects or unprecedented problems.

Soon, two puppets killed the first living things they saw: a wild boar and a yellow rabbit, then feasted heartily.

The puppet masters were not surprised— the first instinct of living beings is, of course, to eat.

Then they noticed the farmstead in the distance, possibly catching the scent of humans, and began to sneak toward it. Surprisingly, these two fellows actually moved together.

Previously released puppets had no camaraderie, often fighting over prey. But these two monsters cooperated while hunting the wild boar; during feeding, a dispute arose, with one clearly dominant, the other quickly showing submission.

Subsequently, they actually teamed up and acted together.

This social trait intrigued the puppet masters greatly.

Ling Jinbao muttered: "Really a bunch of oddballs."

At this moment, Duan He Yun also ordered the restraints on A Lian to be undone.

Considering the commotion A Lian caused during the last release, everyone nearby was on high alert, fearing she might suddenly lash out. "Hu Xin" even half-blocked in front of Duan He Yun, separating him from A Lian.

But A Lian's performance was excellent— after being unbound, she just scratched her wrist, then took a deep breath and softly said:

"It smells so good, what is this fragrance?"

"There are a few clusters of Michelia flowers nearby," He Lingchuan answered. "Look, those white little flowers, their fragrance is especially rich and refreshing."

A-Lian walked over to the Michelia, reached out and picked a few blossoms, tucking them into her own thick hair.

She glanced at Duan He Yun, turned, and walked onto the official road.

"You can't go that way," Duan He Yun spoke up. "That is the road leading to Baisong City."

A-Lian looked at him, pursed her lips, somewhat displeased, but still chose another direction and strode forward.

Dong Rui kept watch inside the Wochan, receiving the experiment's first-hand data in real time via long-distance communication, and was also full of keen interest.

(End of Chapter)