Chapter 431: Declare War! Declare War! Declare War!

Huo Po's gaze fell on the dilapidated puppet body of Fengyun Tianxia; shortly after, her cloudy eyes suddenly contracted.

She extended her withered finger, fingertip hovering over the puppet's broken joint, trembling slightly but not touching.

"This thing…" Her voice suddenly became extremely hoarse, obviously because her emotions were too turbulent, she could not even control the most basic calm: "Where did you get this?"

Cheng Shuili couldn't tell what emotion was in her voice.

"Seen in the instance," she said concisely, her eyes locked on every subtle reaction of Huo Po, "It wanted to kill me, I took it apart. Huo Po, do you recognize this craft?"

Huo Po did not answer immediately.

Her hunched back seemed to stiffen for a moment, then she slowly went to the other side of the workbench, from the bottom of a dust-covered wooden box she took out a grimy piece of leather wiping cloth, wrapped it around her finger, and only then dared to fiddle with the broken interface at Fengyun Tianxia's neck.

Her movements were extremely careful, as if touching something highly poisonous.

"Do you recognize it? More than just recognize…" Huo Po's voice was pressed extremely low, as if afraid to disturb something.

She said several more sentences, but her voice was too low and muffled; even though they were close, Cheng Shuili couldn't hear clearly.

The small house fell silent again; Huo Po stared blankly at the half puppet, as if seeing an old belonging of someone familiar.

Cheng Shuili carefully observed her expression and also remained silent.

After a while, Huo Po finally spoke: "You're not asking whether I know someone who can make puppets, are you? The one I know is the person who made this."

There's a lot to this story; Cheng Shuili glanced at the time, confirmed it was still early, shifted to a more comfortable sitting position, and said: "Grandma Huo Po, please tell us in detail."

This address was the first time Huo Po had heard it; she lifted her head to glance at Cheng Shuili, noticed that the person had changed posture without reservation, and couldn't help but let out a laugh.

Her laugh carried obvious helplessness.

Really, how could there be such a human?

Just moments ago she was tense and ready to draw swords, but in the blink of an eye she could assume the posture of listening to a story, as if the earlier emotions had never existed.

Yet this almost shameless frankness actually makes people unable to dislike her.

Huo Po shook her head, then sat on a wooden crate piled with miscellaneous items nearby, her movements slow, as if the act of remembering itself had weight.

She did not speak of the person she knew when she opened her mouth, but first described the puppet's current state:

"In the past, puppets weren't as hard to find as they are now; back then, each beastman tribe had some inheritance of the craft. Puppetry sounds miraculous, but it's just a skill that helps people do heavy labor, or makes toys for children."

Her fingers unconsciously rubbed the leather patch on her knee: "But after the Rat King took power, things changed. He saw the use of puppets—tireless, absolutely obedient—and could send them to do the dirty, exhausting, dangerous tasks that living beings refuse or cannot do."

Huo Po suddenly lifted her head to look at Cheng Shuili: "You should be clear about the Rat King's methods."

Cheng Shuili was a bit puzzled; does she know?

How could she know something that happened who knows how many years ago, even before humans appeared?

"First they gathered those puppet artisans, then used threats and inducements; those who still resisted were given a pretext and killed—after all, the Rat King already controls everything, no one could sanction him."

"Then… it became a monopoly."

As soon as the words "monopoly" were spoken, Cheng Shuili immediately perked up.

No wonder Huo Po said she knew—she really does know all too well.

The Rat King's tactics are remarkably similar to those of certain corporate giants and industry oligarchs in reality!

First, under the guise of cooperation and development, they gather technology and talent; dissenters are suppressed, excluded, even erased, eventually forming technical barriers and market monopoly, firmly grasping all discourse and profit in their own hands.

Only, in this world, the Rat King's methods are more direct and bloodier.

By this point, Cheng Shuili also understood why the wolf and beast tribes never mentioned puppets to her.

It's not that they don't know; rather, after years of monopoly and purge by the Rat King, puppets have become a core taboo and symbol of his power.

Ordinary beastman tribes either cannot access them or keep it deeply secret, even possibly believing this is one of the Rat King's invincible relied-upon assets; mentioning it is useless and might invite disaster.

"So, the usable puppets circulating outside now almost all come from the Rat King's workshop?" Cheng Shuili concluded: "And the artisan you know is also one of his subordinates?"

Huo Po nodded heavily, then shook her head; under Cheng Shuili's doubtful gaze, she gave a bitter smile: "She used to be, but not anymore. I only know she fled; I can tell this thing is from her hand, but I really don't know any other details."

Cheng Shuili pondered for a long time, nodded, and said: "I understand."

She asked with a hint of inquiry: "Your relationship should be quite good, right?"

This question was really offensive; Huo Po stared at Cheng Shuili for a while, seeing her firm gaze and considering she was under someone's roof, she had to lower her head, sighed, and somewhat helplessly denied that claim.

"... Not very good. Just when we were both in the beastman village, we had a few interactions, enough to be acquainted. She's skilled; sometimes I need special parts or material processing, I'd ask her for help and pay her. Our acquaintance… is merely superficial."

Cheng Shuili did not rebut Huo Po, then asked in detail about the mysterious artisan's appearance and name, noted everything down, and only then rose to take her leave.

Although Huo Po said it was just a superficial acquaintance, when describing that artisan's appearance she unconsciously used many praising words, and even when uttering the name she couldn't help but blink.

This hardly looks like a superficial acquaintance.

Huo Po and that artisan look like close friends no matter how you look at it, merely having had some quarrel or misunderstanding.

This way, Cheng Shuili has an eighty percent confidence of bringing this puppet master into her territory.

As long as she can meet her.

This counts as a good thing; Cheng Shuili hummed a little tune while wandering around her territory, occasionally picking fresh fruit to taste, feeling quite at ease for a moment.

Until Ye Bing came running up, shouting: "Boss boss! Something's coming!"

She stopped in front of Cheng Shuili, bent over, panted for a while, then got her breath steady: "Again… there are… those strange footprints from last time… appearing!"

Ye Bing's first sentence Cheng Shuili didn't understand at all, but this second sentence made Cheng Shuili react instantly.

Footprints at the border.

She understood.

Last time it was because she had connected to the wolf tribe's territory; this time… it should be the bear tribe, right?

Cheng Shuili didn't rush to handle it, but ordered: "First send people to guard that place, don't let any bear tribe beastmen pass through; if necessary, they can take action."

Soon there will be the zone merge test; she currently has no time to deal with this.

First have people guard the exit, just prevent the bear tribe beastmen from causing trouble.

Ye Bing had never received such an order before; hearing it, she was completely stunned, and naturally had no idea how to carry it out.

Cheng Shuili also knew this person was the freebie from a buy-one-get-one deal; she immediately waved her hand and said: "Go notify the others—Wan Yi, Xinxue, Ailin… anyone will do, have them arrange it."

"O-Okay!" Yu Bing hastily nodded, then turned and rushed off toward a direction where there were more people.

Cheng Shuili watched her retreating back and suddenly felt a bit uneasy, so she simply opened Ailin's chat box and explained the matter once more.

After that interruption, Cheng Shuili no longer felt in the mood for a stroll.

She returned to her vehicle, and just as she sat down on the sofa, she received a message from Wan Yi.

【Wan Yi】: Where is Lao Da eating?

This was asking where to deliver her meal.

Ever since she had a territory, there was this routine inquiry before every meal. If she ate in the vehicle, Wan Yi would send the food over through the gifting system; if she ate in the territory, someone would be called to deliver it to her.

After Cheng Shuili briefly replied, Wan Yi immediately gifted the meal over.

The food was laid out on the small table in front of her. Front and center was rice served in a golden rice bowl, and besides that, there were seven or eight dishes, all in small portions so nothing would go to waste.

At first Cheng Shuili found it a bit strange, but once she learned it was a sample made for the cafeteria, she didn't say anything more.

Being able to eat these things, she was also benefiting from her members' good fortune.

The exquisite flavors reached her taste buds, and Cheng Shuili contentedly narrowed her eyes.

After finishing her meal, she opened the regional channel for a look.

The closer it got to the time of the server merger test, the livelier it became here.

Messages in the regional channel scrolled by at lightning speed, dense text nearly spilling off the screen. A jumble of emotions tangled together, with all kinds of remarks flying around—a single glance was enough to give anyone a headache.

Some were showing off their hoarded supplies, declaring they would seize the initiative after the merger.

Some were huddling together for warmth, calling on friends and companions to form temporary squads.

Others were spreading anxiety, saying that after the merger everyone should watch their words and actions carefully; though they were all human, things certainly wouldn't be as harmonious as they were now, claiming there would be large-scale forced mergers.

Cheng Shuili glanced at a few messages, then closed the regional channel.

After that day's meeting, Long Guo's faction alliance was officially established.

There were thirteen Long Guo factions in total. Cheng Shuili pulled these leaders and the few Gu Lang members into a group chat for easy mutual contact.

At this moment, the atmosphere here also carried a hint of tension.

"The merger is happening soon. Even though it's only ten minutes, I keep feeling like something big is going to happen."

"Ten minutes, what can anyone do? That's barely enough time for me to take a dump."

That remark was a bit too crude, and the group chat instantly went quiet. It was Zhan Lang who stepped in to bring the atmosphere back:

"Ten minutes is enough for someone with ill intentions to do a lot. Don't forget, we discussed this before—players from other regions, especially those hostile to us, could very well launch a surprise attack the instant the merger happens. Duel cards or declarations of war... ten minutes is enough for a blitzkrieg."

"Brother Wolf is right. We need to prepare in advance. The leaders should time their duel cards first, so they don't get caught in an organized gang-up. As for declarations of war... I actually think that's less likely. After all, this concerns hundreds of people; players from other regions wouldn't be that reckless, right?"

The group chat fell briefly silent, then Qingping Yue's message popped up:

"We can't rule out the possibility of a declaration of war. Ten minutes, after all, is enough for premeditated attackers to cause maximum chaos, striking at our morale and organization. They don't need to aim for total annihilation—they just need to hurt us, putting us at a disadvantage when the real merger happens. Don't forget, our Wuya Dalao is the only player to have been announced server-wide. That makes them a thorn in many people's sides."

"True, Wuya Dalao's fame is too great. If I were a faction leader from another region, I'd definitely take advantage of those ten minutes to gang up on Black Feather. After all, two fists can't match four hands. No matter how powerful Wuya Dalao is, if several factions focus fire on them simultaneously for ten minutes, even they won't be able to cope all at once."

【Qing Qing's Gentle Kiss】: There's also the disparity issue. There's no need for any deep-seated grudge—the title of strongest alone, plus the fact that the only safe zone belongs to Long Guo, is enough to make them unite. During these ten minutes of the merger test, they'll try to give Wuya Dalao a show of force, and even find ways to seriously wound Black Feather.

Although Cheng Shuili had anticipated this, reading these discussions full of worry and tension in the group chat still made her feel mentally drained.

Everyone's analysis was reasonable, and the pressure came along with it.

As the primary target of focused fire, the burden on her shoulders was especially heavy.

However, she had long been prepared.

Xinxue had already extracted the faction rankings of other regions through players from those regions in the safe zone.

This list was a roster of potential enemies, but also a beacon, letting Cheng Shuili know in advance about these enemies lurking in the shadows.

All the preparations that needed to be made were done. The rest was simply: when soldiers come, meet them with generals; when water rises, block it with earth.

Time quietly slipped by. The instant the countdown hit zero, an announcement popped up.

【First cross-region connection test, officially beginning!】

【Duration: 10 minutes.】

The instant the announcement appeared, the regional channel—already boiling like a pot of oil—was instantly ignited completely, the stream of messages flooding the screen at explosive speed.

"Holy shit! It really merged! I can see people from other regions! A bunch of IDs just showed up in the list all at once!"

"Long Guo weaklings, ready to receive your baptism? Hahaha!"

"Lost lambs, only through conversion can you be saved. Friends of Dong Da Qu, join our Holy Light Sanctuary and share in the peace."

"Get lost! Take your pyramid scheme and get out! Holy Light? More like leftover scraps!"

"Enough nonsense! Where's Wu Ya? Where's that so-called number one player in the whole server? Come out and show yourself! Don't tell me you're hiding?"

"Probably busy with the highway merger. Heh, the tall tree catches the wind—Wu Ya had this coming."

"What's with the barking! How dare you talk about our Wuya Dalao like that?"

"Oh, here comes the guard dog? Too bad your Lao Da can't even protect himself. Several big shots from our region have their eyes on him—these ten minutes will be more than enough for him to handle."

"Number one in the whole server? We're here to fight the number one in the whole server! Declare war! Declare war! Declare war!"

The regional channel... or rather, this brief World Channel, messages stopped right at that line.

Immediately following, came declaration of war messages from one faction after another!