When Lin Chi walked out of the door of the Qin Emperor Divine Soldier Store, he only had more than four thousand yuan left in hand. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

At this time, the Demon Slayer Hand Armor he had just purchased was already installed on his right arm, and the Tiger Claw Hunting Knife brought from the warehouse was put back into the backpack by Lin Chi.

Although his proficiency is still a bit low, the attack range of this blade on the Demon Slayer Hand Armor is much larger than that of the Tiger Claw Hunting Knife. And it can also be used to strike a knife in an instant, and a surprise sneak attack in the battle.

So now, Lin Chi also decisively put away the "tiger claw" and turned to use the demon slayer armor hidden under the sleeve to defend himself.

――So, what should we do next?

In the face of this kind of true-sandbox game with no task hints at all, even Lin Chi had a feeling of bewilderment.

This time, there are no NPCs who have volunteered to die to send them quests, and there are no obvious prompts like "go to the speakeasy".

Lin Chi knew that not only himself, but the vast majority of players who entered this new map should be in a state of confusion at the moment, not knowing where to go.

In this way, we can only start with the existing intelligence:

Now, he has developed a strong interest in the puppets that fill the city.

According to the records in the book and what I saw with my own eyes, these puppets are simply controlled by a feng shui engine, and they can complete all kinds of commands and even talk "robots"!

If you can hire a puppet, your chances of winning the next battle will undoubtedly be greatly improved.

So, where might there be a store that sells dolls......

Recalling the large number of broken puppets piled up in the alley where he was "born", Lin Chi thought for a few seconds, turned around and walked back in the direction of the alley.

When he left the area, he didn't see a shop selling puppets.

However, the discarded puppet stumps in the alley should be the garbage that only this kind of store "produces".

With the dim light cast by the oil lamps on the side of the street, walking briskly through the streets that were still snowing, Lin Chi quickly returned to the front of the alley, carefully observing the surrounding buildings.

Then, in front of a small, inconspicuous-looking gray building, he saw a wooden signboard the size of a palm, which read "Broken Water Flow Doll Shop".

"Do you have any business like that?"

Lin Chi smiled and pushed open the wooden door of the broken water doll shop.

Since the dolls don't need to sleep, the shops in the city remain open until midnight.

When you walk into the doll shop, the first thing that catches your eye is a row of scary-looking "human heads" on the shelves in front of the door.

The building of this shop is an all-wooden structure, and like the previous weapon shop, it is only two floors.

The kerosene lamp hanging on the wall emits a leisurely glow. Lin Chi looked around, facing the chaotic shops, he was also a little confused for a while, so he asked loudly, "Is there anyone?" ”

Before the words fell, a black shadow suddenly flashed from behind the shelves next to him.

Immediately after, a deep female voice sounded, sounding like she was in a bad mood:

"Coming to buy something?"

"I want to see it." Lin Chi looked at the other party's face as he spoke.

It was a woman with waist-length hair, white to the point of bloodlessness, and a pair of strange cyan eyes that stood out.

She wore a long dress painted with various flower patterns, and her appearance could be called a "black straight classical beauty". However, Lin Chi still judged that this woman was also a puppet through the unnatural movements of her arms.

"I'm the owner of this shop, what do you want to see?" The woman stared at Lin Chi with cyan eyes, looking impatient.

"I came here after watching the price reduction advertisement outside."

Speaking of this, Lin Chi smiled and began to use his usual means, trying to extract information from the shopkeeper: "You seem to be in a bad mood, has something happened?" ”

He originally thought that the puppets in this city were all "humanoid machines" that would only obey the designed orders, but he didn't expect that this kind of puppet could also have emotions.

It seems that the black technology of this organ city is even more amazing than I imagined......

When Lin Chi was thinking, the voice of the puppet shopkeeper interrupted his thoughts:

"It's okay, it's just that this store is closing."

Seeing the expression on Lin Chi's face, the shopkeeper seemed to have guessed his thoughts, and the "facial muscles" made of unknown materials on his face trembled, and his brows suddenly wrinkled:

"I know what you're thinking, you think that broken wood controlled by a feng shui engine can't have human emotions, right?" The shopkeeper whispered.

"I didn't say that." Lin Chi shook his head.

As if he hadn't heard him, the shopkeeper continued to complain to himself: "It's not easy for me to open a store, and I have to disguise myself as a 'real person' every day......

"And this?" Lin Chi raised his eyebrows.

By now, he finally understood why the store didn't have a normal sign, and the remains of the dolls were piled up in the alley behind the store.

Even if he doesn't know exactly how the "Feng Shui Engine" works, it seems that according to the setting of this game, some of the puppets in the Trap City are actually self-aware, just like the AIs created by supercomputers in the real world!

"yes, I know you always discriminate against us." The shopkeeper shook his head helplessly, shook his right arm and made a clicking sound: "Is it wrong for the puppet to open a shop?" Can we just be tools of service? Can't you have your own life? ”

Lin Chi was about to explain to the shopkeeper that he had no malicious intent, but he heard a bang, when the door of the store was suddenly kicked open with a rough kick, and two men in black with fierce faces and not a good thing at first glance rushed into the doll shop, holding an irregularly shaped iron rod in their hands.

At the same time as the two of them entered the store, a task prompt suddenly popped up in the lower right corner of Lin Chi's sight.

Start Mission: Standoff.

There's an emergency at the Doll Shop, and now you can choose to help one of them, or let it go.

Mission Rewards: Varies with the player's choice.

"Oh? It turned out to be this kind of task......" Lin Chi rubbed his hands thoughtfully.

In RPGs with linear plots, this kind of "choosing a faction" mission usually does not appear. But for a sandbox game, this kind of mission is not a new design.

Sometimes, a seemingly casual choice can affect the development of the entire subsequent story of the game. And those players who choose the wrong option, even if they continue to play, they will not be able to undo the situation, so they can only read the save file and try again.

Thinking of this, Lin Chi didn't act immediately, just leaned against the wooden wall and began to observe the situation in the store.

"What are you doing here? I'm moving out tomorrow! The shopkeeper shouted angrily: "The goods have been smashed by you, what else do you have to do?" ”

Although her cloak looked pitiful, the two men opposite obviously didn't have any meaning of "pity the fragrance and cherish the jade", but just whipped a stick on the wooden counter, leaving ugly scars on the counter.

"Doll, we're working in your shop today, and we forgot to charge for our hard work!" One of the men laughed, stretched out his left hand and shook it at the woman: "Is it time to give money?" ”

"Is smashing a store a job......

Judging by the way the shopkeeper gritted her teeth when she spoke, if she wasn't a doll, I'm afraid she would be so angry that she would vomit blood.

However, Lin Chi, who was standing on the side "watching", suddenly thought of another question:

Why didn't she resist?

From the guards on the street, it can be seen that the combat power of the puppets is much stronger than that of flesh and blood humans. Although the shopkeeper looks very weak, as the owner of the puppet shop, it is naturally impossible for him to be completely ineffective.

According to Lin Chi's inference, if the shopkeeper made a move, he should be able to directly kill these two black-clothed men who didn't know whether they were alive or dead.

So, why didn't she do it?

When Lin Chizheng was thinking, he saw a man in black striding forward, grabbing the shopkeeper's long hair and pulling it hard, and the beautiful puppet suddenly fell to its knees, and the joint of its right arm twisted back half a circle strangely, making a dangerous crackling sound.

"Toy, do you still have the guts to talk back to us?"

The man in black smiled and stepped on the shopkeeper's hand: "The puppet disguised as a human is already a complete sinner, not only can you not do anything to us now, but you are also not qualified to negotiate with us, get the money quickly!" ”

Hearing this line, which was suspected to be an "official commentary", Lin Chi immediately understood the reason why the shopkeeper did not resist.

Then, without much thought, he made his choice:

"In other words, can 'humans' do it to you?"

A deep voice sounded from behind the two men in black, like ringing a funeral bell.

Before the two of them even had time to turn around, a sharp white light flashed, and blood gushed out and splashed on the shopkeeper's face with a frightened expression!

Under the surprised gaze of the puppet shopkeeper, the man in the gray robe who had just chatted with him kicked down the headless body of the man in black and put away the blade that stretched out from his right wrist.

Then, the man turned to himself and stretched out his right hand, stained with blood—

"Can you trust me now?" Lin Chi had a kind smile on his face.

"You...... Why help me? There was obvious confusion in the owner's voice.

"Maybe it's because those two bastards are so ugly?" Lin Chi teased.

With the decapitation of the two men in black, the "Confrontation" quest in his quest bar has also become completed, but he has not received the quest reward.

However, Lin Chi knew that he should be able to see the "task reward" soon.

"Is there anything you'd like to say right now?" He laughed.

"Thank you...... Come with me, I have something to show you. ”

The shopkeeper said as he used his cold and soft fingers to hold Lin Chi's bloodied right hand.