Xing Ye believes that the key to achieving an intimacy level of 80 is trust. Both those who obey fate and those who disobey fate must have absolute trust in each other. Those who obey fate are willing to trust each other at the risk of being wiped out, and those who disobey fate are also willing to share all their information.
When there's no certainty of being wiped out, trust easily develops. When a tool is surrounded by only those who defy fate, they'll naturally develop a fondness for it; the defiant, in turn, finds the tool obedient and sensible. When both parties believe the other is special, reaching 80% favorability isn't difficult.
But his situation is different from Jingzi's. Jingzi knows that Xing Ye can kill him.
Xing Ye was a little nervous. He wanted to win, and he also hoped that the mirror would have no grudges against him.
A voiceover prompt sounded: "Congratulations on reaching 80 intimacy between the player and the item. You are good friends who are willing to entrust everything to each other. You can use the item's initial skills, and the corresponding points will be deducted from the player. There are many more advantages waiting for you to slowly discover. There are not many friends with this kind of relationship, so cherish it!"
Cherish? When playing games, you need to be "tender", and when dealing with props that follow your destiny, you need to "cherish your friends".
Xiao Jingzi's favorability increased really quickly. Even though she knew that doing so was equivalent to giving Xing Ye the right to hurt herself, Xiao Jingzi still did it.
"The world depends on you this time." Xing Ye said to the mirror.
The two men clenched their fists and rushed into the mine together.
This was their first time going deep into the mine, but through the projector, they were already familiar with the structure inside the mine.
Xing Ye and Mirror rushed directly to Benedict's laboratory and met the robot on the way.
Xing Ye was well prepared. The moment he saw the robot, he used the redrawing pen to draw "You are already a mature xx". This time, the object of his use was the entire mine!
The QR code in the void was attached to the stone wall, and the structure of the mine changed immediately. While the robot aimed its weapon at Xing Ye and Jingzi, a stone wall suddenly appeared between them, blocking the attack from the mine for the two.
"How did you come up with the idea of using QR codes in mines? Most people would choose to use them on robots, right?" Mirror asked in disbelief as he ran.
The difference between a genius and an ordinary person is that Xing Ye's brain circuit is completely different from that of a normal person. Whether it is reasoning about the plot, guessing about the system or how to use the QR code, his thinking is as broad as the universe, and he can always think of things that others can't think of at all.
Xing Ye smiled and said, "You're already a mature mine. It's time to learn how to change your structure. Is there anything wrong with this? Since this QR code is applicable to non-living objects, why must it be limited to tables, chairs, benches and other objects around us? Don't mountains and rivers count?"
The mirror answered with difficulty: "Forget it..."
With the help of the structure-changed mine, the two of them didn't need to walk for forty or fifty minutes to reach the center like Randy and the city lord's son. Instead, they only ran for five minutes to reach the core area.
It's a pity that the validity period of the "mature" QR code after redrawing is only five minutes, and the original QR code setting cannot be used continuously for the same item, so Xing Ye cannot change the structure of the mine again.
Fortunately, the "mature" mine was smart enough to help Xing Ye separate the attacking robots before it failed, and to move the laboratory as much as possible without causing a mine disaster, so that Xing Ye could run less steps.
Mirror touched the stone wall that had lost its spirit and whispered, "Thank you."
Even though it understands that the mine is only temporarily active because of the QR codes, the mirror will still be grateful for them instead of treating them as props.
After running for another three minutes, the two finally arrived at the laboratory. The door of the laboratory was open, and they could see Benedict standing in front of the container containing the heart.
When he saw that the two puppets were coming, he angrily said, "What on earth have you done?"
He stood in front of the core controller and pressed the button hard while shouting this sentence.
It was too late to draw the QR code at this time. Xing Ye fell down directly, lying stiffly on the ground with his eyes blank.
But the mirror didn't look back, he continued to rush towards Benedict.
Benedict took out a gun to attack Mirror, but Mirror raised his hand before him. Without aiming, he fired a shot, and the bullet hit the target as Mirror wished, shooting into Benedict's wrist and preventing him from lifting his weapon.
After just this one exchange, the mirror reached the core controller. Most people would try to destroy or shut down the controller, but Xing Ye had previously analyzed it. If the controller were so easy to shut down, the system wouldn't have provided a QR code like "Puppet Show." Benedict must have a remote control, and the core controller was very sturdy, making it difficult to destroy under the rules of the world.
Mirror did not try to shoot the core controller's energy tank with his gun, as he was worried that it would cause an explosion.
He raised his wrist, and there was a bracelet on it, and the mirror could control this bracelet!
This is Xing Ye's system bracelet. There is only a QR code in it, which is the original version of "You are already a mature xx" that he got in front of the fountain but never used!
The "mature" QR code must be in direct contact with the object to be effective, and the mirror sticks the bracelet to the controller.
At this time, Benedict was holding a remote control in his hand. He didn't know what effect would be achieved by pressing it, but it looked very dangerous anyway.
In a flash, just when Benedict was about to press the button, he couldn't move!
Xing Ye, who was lying stiff on the ground, slowly got up. He shook his head and said, "It's really uncomfortable to be controlled."
Little Mirror ran out of the lab, helped Xing Ye up, returned the bracelet to him, and said happily, "It worked!"
After the core controller "matured", it controlled Benedict and released Xing Ye.
The genuine "mature" product only lasts for ten minutes. Time is running out. Xing Ye endured the dizziness and quickly walked into the laboratory. He took away all the weapons and remote controls on Benedict and picked him up.
"How do we take the heart out?" The small mirror turned around outside the glass container. "This container seems quite complicated. If we take the heart out rashly, won't Pinocchio's heart die?"
"Then let the container help us."
Xing Ye quickly drew the QR code to make the glass container "mature".
The console of the "mature" glass container automatically operated, input the core password by itself, transferred the heart into a small portable container by itself, and placed the heart in the hands of the small mirror.
"This QR code is so easy to use, isn't it?" Little Mirror said in amazement.
The inhuman machines that Benedict trusted the most betrayed Benedict all at once after they became "alive".
"It's not the QR code that's working, but rather the machines Benedict created, like the residents of Puppet City, who, after acquiring human nature, want to control their own destinies." Xing Ye was speaking to the small mirror and also to Benedict, who had lost his ability to move but was still conscious. "They all understand that Benedict's actions are wrong and want to stop him. But they also love Benedict and hope he can fulfill his wish and give Pinocchio a heart. Love and hate are not contradictory."
"How do you know the objects love Benedict?" asked the mirror in confusion.
Xing Ye pointed at the core controller and said, "It's been preventing me from hurting Benedict. Try pointing your gun at Benedict's core."
Mirror obediently raised the gun to scare the core controller. As soon as he aimed at the master, Xing Ye immediately fell to the ground, and his whole body was twitching.
"It knows it can't control me, so it uses you to threaten me!" said the mirror in surprise.
He immediately comforted the Core Controller: "Don't be angry. We want to help Master Benedict reconcile with Puppet City. We will take Master Benedict and Pinocchio's heart to Puppet City. We won't harm him, nor will we let the residents of Puppet City harm Master Benedict and Pinocchio. Can you trust me?"
As soon as Jingzi finished speaking, Xing Ye stopped twitching and struggled to get up from the ground. The price of this was too high!
After reaching a consensus, Jingzi carried Benedict and Xing Ye carried the heart. They quickly found the mechanical vehicle driven by the mine owner's son and the security captain's son. After confirming that there was sufficient energy, Xing Ye used the "mature" QR code on the mechanical vehicle.
He can't drive a car in this world, but that doesn't mean he can't use those five minutes to learn.
The operating lever of the mechanical vehicle moved by itself. Five minutes later, Xing Ye learned the driving skills and drove out of the mine.
They didn't encounter any robots along the way, thanks to the clever mine, which must have trapped the robots tightly.
After leaving the mine, Benedict finally escaped the control of the core controller. He was tied to the car by the mirror and trembled with anger: "Give me back my son's heart!"
Xing Ye concentrated on driving, and Mirror advised: "Master, we are doing this to help you and Puppet City."
"You will kill my son!" Master Benedict roared. "The reason the people in Puppet City haven't destroyed his puppet yet is because I'm still outside. They need something to threaten me! Once I enter Puppet City, they will kill my son and me immediately. From then on, no one will threaten their lives anymore!"
Mirror patiently advised, "Master, if killing you or the people from Puppet City could really solve the problem, we wouldn't be in so much trouble. Believe me, Pinocchio won't be happy no matter which side is hurt."
If Benedict could be persuaded so easily, he and Puppet City would not have been in a stalemate for so many years.
The only person who could persuade him was Pinocchio.
Mirror said, "Master, I know you don't believe us, but I will take you into Puppet City. Old Nick should have the laboratory you used to work in. We've also brought the heart with us, so you can install it in Pinocchio. If you still want to leave Puppet City after installing the heart, and the residents will harm you, we'll risk our lives to get you and Pinocchio out."
Benedict looked in the mirror and suddenly said, "I remember you, you were a failure of mine.
I want to make a fully metal robot that does not require any core wire. I have tried countless times, and you are one of the failures.
You have no humanity and no life energy, so why can you move?"
The mirror chuckled and said, "Maybe it's just my luck. I'm very grateful to you, Master, for making this body. It gives me hands and feet, so I can help my companions with some things."
"It's not just one thing." Xing Ye said at the right time, "Without you, we would have failed now."
It was not a defeat to the core line, but a defeat to Randy's words.
From now on, the desperate Guan Ling will hate all players who defy fate and will never team up with them again. Cao Qian may not have the courage to pick up the swan crystal, and Xing Ye himself will probably be devastated because he missed his brother's call for help.
It was Lu Mingze who saved this precarious team and made them more united.
How can this be called useful?
If we were to choose the MVP, the mirror would definitely be the winner.
The failed product that Master Benedict had crafted and discarded became the only means of restraining him.
Three hours later, the three arrived at Puppet City and saw a shocking scene.
The walls of the Puppet City have all collapsed. A small stick figure stands on the ruins. A group of soldiers point their guns at the stick figure. Guan Ling is beside her, struggling to hold on with her initial skill "Losing Everything".
Seeing Xing Ye and the others finally arriving, Guan Ling shouted, "Boss, help! The city lord doesn't believe us. Cao Qian smashed the city wall in anger. My initial skill only has one minute left!"
Xing Ye: "…"
Cao Qian, well done.
Cao Qian herself does not have such powerful strength. She must have used the genuine "Fist of Shining Power" to completely destroy the walls of Puppet City. She was really cruel.
"It's Benedict!" Suddenly a soldier standing tall shouted, "The one on their cart is Master Benedict!"
"What? Master? Master?"
"Hasn't the Master left Puppet City thirty years ago?"
"I heard that the Master was disappointed with us, so he abandoned Puppet City."
"The mayor said that the order in Puppet City was too chaotic, with theft and robbery everywhere. Someone even accidentally broke the leg of the puppet that Master Benedict had prepared for the young master. That incident completely disheartened the master, and he left Puppet City."
"The mayor has already dealt with the bad puppet who broke into the house and robbed us. He has also enacted laws and recruited us as soldiers to protect the entire Puppet City."
"Is it because we have become better that the Master will come back?"
"Has the Master really forgiven us? I've always missed the Master. I still remember when I was first made, the Master used his deft fingers to tighten the last screw for me. Now that screw is old, Old Nick asked me to replace it, but I always can't bear to do it because it's the screw the Master touched."
"The city lord wants us to go to the suburbs to find the master. Do you want to bring him back?"
"Master, Master!"
The soldiers dropped their guns, and some even waved at Master Benedict.
The city lord shouted loudly: "Everyone, don't let your guard down, the master will kill us!"
"How is that possible? That's the Master!" a puppet said to the city lord. "The Master created us with his own hands, how could he kill us?"
Only a few puppets knew that Benedict wanted to destroy the Puppet City. Under the guidance of the city lord, most of the other puppets just thought that Master Benedict was disappointed in them, and as long as they were good puppets, the master would come back one day.
The puppet's hearing is different from that of humans. Even from a long distance, Xing Ye and others could hear the soldiers' conversation.
The mirror said to Benedict, "Listen, none of the puppets want to kill you. Even if the city lord orders them to, they won't hurt you at this moment."
Guan Ling had an idea when he heard the soldiers' words. With the mentality of taking a gamble, he immediately removed his absolute defense, stood up and shouted to the soldiers, "I am Little Nick, the son of Old Nick. My father asked me and my companions to go and take the Master home. Now that the Master is back, why don't you all quickly clear the road and line up to welcome the Master?"
He simply didn't mention the matter of destroying the city wall. Anyway, he couldn't care less about it now.
The soldiers' emotions were stirred by the return of Master Benedict. They always believed that they had done something wrong, which was why the master was angry and left Puppet City. Now that the master is back, it means that they have done a good job and the master has forgiven everyone!
In order to appear obedient in front of the master, the soldiers rushed to work and clear the road. Seeing how hard everyone was working, Xing Ye deliberately slowed down the speed of the mechanical vehicle.
The mirror said at the right moment: "They all love you. Can you bear to kill them?"
Benedict said nothing.
Xing Ye drove slowly into the city. Both sides of the road were filled with puppets who had heard the news. They squeezed into the car, waving their hands and shouting "Master".
Guan Ling and Cao Qian elbowed their way through the crowd and jumped onto the car. To prevent the puppets from blocking the road, Guan Ling shouted, "Soldiers, the master has returned with the young master's heart. He wants to install it in the young master. Everyone, please maintain order and don't block the road to prevent the master from seeing the young master!"
There was a whisper among the group of puppets.
"Is the young master still in Puppet City? I thought the master had taken him away."
"How could that be? The master built the Puppet City for the purpose of letting the young master live here. It's just that we are too disappointing."
"Then the master hasn't taken the young master away yet. Does that mean he still likes us?"
"I thought the master had given up on us. When he left, I cried for several days."
"Go away! Stop lying! You don't have any tears! Don't lie in front of the master!"
All these words reached Benedict's ears. Seeing the puppets automatically make way, Benedict said nothing and stared at the city lord fiercely.
The city lord shrank back, thinking that the master would destroy the Puppet City. He was the one who suggested killing the master first, and he was too ashamed to see the master.
Xing Ye said to Cao Qian, "Bring the City Lord up here and have him have a good talk with the Master."
Cao Qian jumped out of the car without saying a word. With her agility, she grabbed the city lord from the group of puppets and lifted him into the car.
The city lord sat beside the master, his head lowered, not daring to say a word.
Benedict remained silent, his face sullen. The mirror placed the puppet's heart in Benedict's hands and let him hold it.
The mechanical car arrived at Cork's house surrounded by puppets. Cork got in the car holding the real little puppet, and Xing Ye drove to find Old Nick.
In the car, Kirk said to Benedict: "Master, I didn't hurt the young master. Look at the young master's health. I have always taken good care of him."
Benedict took the Pinocchio puppet and saw that every part of it was polished to a gleam. He remembered that the fake puppets sent by the two scammers (the players who obeyed their fate) had more or less old parts on their bodies, but the Pinocchio puppet was still as new as before.
He really wanted to say "thank you for your hard work", but when he thought about how it was Cork who hid the puppet and stuffed the fake puppet into the box, causing him to be separated from his son for so many years, Benedict's mood became bad again and he didn't want to talk to Cork at all.
Cork huddled together with the city lord, both of whom had betrayed Benedict.
The car drove to Old Nick's house again. Old Nick had heard the puppets mention this matter a long time ago. He opened all the doors and windows, paced back and forth in front of the door, waiting for Master Benedict to come.
Seeing the car driving into the commercial street, Old Nick couldn't bear it anymore. He rushed to the front of the car and was pulled into the car by Cao Qian.
Fortunately, the two obedient players got a large truck to transport dozens of puppets, otherwise it would not be able to accommodate so many people.
When Old Nick saw the Master, he was so excited that all the parts of his body were shaking. He said, "Master, the laboratory is ready. I check all the equipment every day. You can help the young master install the heart at any time."
The other puppets ran after the car and shouted to Benedict, "Master, I will never tell a lie again. Please don't leave now. Live happily in Puppet City with the young master!"
"Master, I'm a member of the security team. We patrol every day to catch bad puppets. The captain has even built a prison where all the bad puppets will be put!"
"master..."
"master..."
Benedict's ears were filled with expectant calls. The mirror said, "See, it's not as bad as you thought, is it? You love your puppets so much, how could you bear to use the core controller on them?"
"Hmph!" Benedict snorted heavily and suddenly snatched the musket from the city lord's hand. He didn't pull the trigger, but instead used the barrel of the gun to hit the city lord directly. "It's all your fault, it's all your fault!"
The city lord was hit without saying a word, and even stretched out his head to make it easier for the master to hit him.
Fortunately, Old Nick's house was very close to the intersection, and everyone quickly went to the repair shop. Old Nick took the master and Pinocchio into the laboratory, and everyone was stopped outside the door.
Xing Ye and the others waited anxiously outside the door. At this moment, the security captain arrived with soldiers and the mine owner. He said to the city lord and the mine owner, "I urge you not to act rashly. The master won't harm us! As long as we manage Puppet City well, the master will forgive us!"
"City Lord, please think carefully. Are you doing the right thing?" asked the security captain.
The city lord and the mine owner knelt in front of the repair shop without saying a word, like two children who had done something wrong.
Three hours later, Benedict walked out of the laboratory door holding the puppet's hand. He saw two puppets kneeling in front of him. He stepped forward and kicked them hard several times, cursing loudly as he kicked, "Luckily my son is okay, otherwise I would tear you two apart and throw you into the grinder!"
"Master!" the city lord hugged his legs and said, "I did something wrong, please kill me!"
Kirk looked at the master nervously, fearing that he would really kill the city lord in a fit of rage.
Pinocchio tugged at his father's hand and said, "Uncle City Lord has always taken good care of me. He often brings me raw ore and motor oil without the knowledge of Uncle Security Captain."
The security captain and the city lord looked at each other and said in unison, "Are you also secretly taking care of the young master?"
Pinocchio continued, "Uncle Nick often repairs my body and winds up my clockwork, and the mine owner always gives me beautiful clothes!"
Benedict kicked each of them and humphed loudly!
Xing Ye and the others heard the system's prompt sound at the right time: "The mission of finding the residents who tell the truth has been successfully completed. The total points for completing the mission are 16,000. Based on their respective contribution points, Xing Ye received 10,000 points, Guan Ling 3,000 points, and Cao Qian 3,000 points. Congratulations to players Xing Ye, Cao Qian, and Guan Ling for completing the mission perfectly."