What did the factory look like? It was a tall building obviously pieced together from metal sheets. At the tail end on the other side of the building, there was a tall "chimney"-like structure. It wasn't a chimney in the true sense; it connected to a semi-transparent pipeline, which wound its way all the way to the sea.
This was probably the source of the garbage.
As for the specifics, Mu Anqi and the others couldn't see clearly. Although the pipeline was semi-transparent, they still couldn't make out exactly what was being transported inside. "Do we go straight into the factory?"
When they arrived at the factory, they encountered no obstacles at all, which left Mu Anqi and the others slightly unsettled. If the source of all this was living inside the factory, why wouldn't they stop them from reaching such an important place?
In fact, there wasn't even a single guard at the factory entrance.
Mu Anqi looked at the obviously unfortified factory and felt uneasy. If it had been heavily guarded by the plastic people, she would have considered it normal, but like this… she suspected it was a trap.
"Everyone, get ready. If the plastic people control this city, there's no way they don't know we exist." Xia Yun's expression was serious as she drew her bonded sword. If they were those rigid plastic people, she should be able to slice them apart easily, but… if plastic is cut, does it die? Could it just reassemble the next second?
Wu Sansheng expressionlessly ate a piece of cotton candy. If a fight broke out… she probably wouldn't be much help. Also not very helpful was Miss Mermaid, since no one knew if the plastic people could still be attracted by singing.
Entering the factory, the main door opened easily. There were lights inside, though it was unclear where the energy came from. Within the brightly lit factory, there were numerous large machines. Above these machines, a pipeline extended and connected to the large "chimney" seen outside. The plastic people stood in front of such machines, working. They sorted the various garbage being transported out and then placed it into a row of rectangular facilities behind them, tossing the organized trash in as if performing "waste sorting."
The rectangular facilities had many holes, each labeled with words like "Food Store 01" or "Clothing Store 01." Clearly, the plastic food that could be picked up inside the stores came from here. The moment Mu Anqi and the others stepped into the factory, the plastic people in front of the machines twisted their necks to look at them, but their hands never stopped moving, still skillfully operating the machines.
"Welcome to the sorting factory, guests." The uniform greeting came from the plastic people in unison, as if they were all controlled by a single person.
"As expected, people completely transformed become your puppets," Mu Anqi said, scanning the factory, but she didn't notice any plastic person who looked noticeably different at first glance.
"No, they are my subjects." The plastic people throughout the factory answered in unison again. "I grant them eternal life, and under certain circumstances, they can be controlled by me. This is mutually beneficial."
"Are you a ghost, or… an obsession? A spirit?"
"I have died." The voices of the plastic people sounded very low at first, then rose with intensity. "But I have come back to life, here, in this place. I possess incredible power, and I will create a kingdom of my own."
"I have never forced them; they voluntarily became my subjects."
Ah, this… isn't it just that if they weren't transformed, they would have died! Mu Anqi had nothing to say. "You have self-awareness? If you wish, you can join the Shattered Mirror Continent and live anew."
"No, only this place is my paradise!" The plastic people suddenly shouted angrily. This time, their hands stopped working. "Here! Belongs to me!"
Clearly, they refused to cooperate.
For a conscious monster… should be a monster, right? If he didn't want to join the Shattered Mirror Continent, what should be done? Eliminate him? Or… Mu Anqi felt a bit at a loss. Her storage ring heated up, and she immediately took out the token, just as General Ji's voice lowly sounded in her mind: "Destroy the factory. Subdue him."
Mu Anqi's expression turned serious. She looked at the group of plastic people. "Why don't you appear in your true form? You're still afraid of us. You know your own fragility."
"Provocation doesn't work on me. Use whatever means you have." The voices of the plastic people rang out again. They began moving, surrounding Mu Anqi and the others. "You are already influenced. Once trapped, you will voluntarily become my subjects as well."
"Heh." In response, Mu Anqi gave a cold laugh. These plastic people—her anti-ghost bullets were indeed running low, having used too many killing spirits along the Spirit Ghost route, but what did fighting plastic people require? Ordinary bullets would do!
Besides, she still had hand grenades and the flamethrower!
"Wu Sansheng!" Mu Anqi said, tossing the Little Fire Dragon flamethrower to her, then took out several hand grenades and handed them to Miss Mermaid. "Shake the prop ten times and pull out the tail to use it. Hand grenades are used just like normal hand grenades."
Miss Mermaid fumbled as she caught the hand grenades, still a bit out of sorts. Wu Sansheng, meanwhile, began shaking the Little Fire Dragon as Mu Anqi instructed.
"Sword formation!" The plastic people closed in. Xia Yun seized the moment and immediately cast a sword formation, enveloping them.
"Dark power sleeping within the bloodline, awaken!" Fang Yunjiu began chanting with absolute determination. "I am the supreme evil god; submit and tremble! Fire of the Evil God!——" Purple flames spread across the seabed, yet were not extinguished. Of course, even water from a bucket wouldn't merge with this seawater. They could breathe freely underwater; this seabed… felt more like some kind of vision or the obsession of the plastic people.
Under the cover of the Evil God's Fire, the plastic people at the front instantly melted, leaving them stunned, as if they had never expected this. However, even when burned to a charred black and giving off a foul smell, they stubbornly advanced with their mud-like bodies.
Within Xia Yun's sword formation, many plastic people were sliced apart, revealing bodies filled with various kinds of trash. Yet even when cut, if not reduced to fragments, these plastic people would reassemble and continue trying to surround them.
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Mu Anqi lowered her energy into her dantian, raising one hand high and pointing toward the horizon. "Money, come!"
Massive ingots fell from the sky. They only became solid after passing through the factory's roof, crushing a large group of plastic people directly.
"Search the factory! Find his true form!" Having shouted this urgently, Mu Anqi bellowed again: "Money, come! Money, come!" Using the ingots, she pressed down the plastic people on three sides.
As the siege eased, Fang Yunjiu used the Evil God's Fire to clear a path, charging directly into the factory, with Fang Xunjiu clutching his Good Person Card right behind. He casually handed out cards to a few plastic people—not to raise favor, but so that when they found the true form, he could immediately use the "Good Person to the End" skill after distributing the cards.
Mu Anqi knocked over several surrounding plastic people with her candy cane and followed closely. Wu Sansheng used the Little Fire Dragon flamethrower against the plastic people trying to encircle them, while Miss Mermaid, fumbling with the hand grenades, could only keep up. Xia Yun manipulated her bonded sword to repel the endless waves of plastic people, covering their rear.
"How many plastic people are there, really!" Fang Xunjiu was shocked. "Exactly how many sea creatures has he completely transformed?"
Not only inside the factory, but the plastic people outside—in the food stores, clothing stores, and hospitals—simultaneously abandoned their work. Even those still transforming ocean residents didn't hesitate and rushed toward the factory.
"Xia Yun, fly and search!" Endless plastic people appeared from nowhere, making Mu Anqi and the others' search extremely difficult. On top of that, the special plastic person could move, making it even harder to find.
"Surrender, and I will arrange a painless transformation for you. Once your final transformation is complete, you will become my most important subordinate." These plastic people not only kept attacking in waves but also spoke baffling words of persuasion.
Gritting her teeth, Xia Yun no longer covered the rear but instantly flew up with her sword. As she rose, she saw the special seat at the very back of the factory. Inside a small enclosure surrounded by transparent glass sat an extremely special plastic person. Mr. Seabird hadn't lied; the moment you saw him, you understood why he was different—he looked far too much like a human.
Hair, eyebrows, eyes, nose… his facial features were incredibly clear and lively. If he was a carefully crafted doll, then the other plastic people were mass-produced defective copies.
"Xia Yun!" Mu Anqi shouted, forcefully tossing a pristine hand grenade to her. "Use this!"
Xia Yun maneuvered her flying sword to catch it, then rode the sword toward the special plastic person, hurling the hand grenade forcefully.
"You've left me no choice." The plastic people murmured. In the next instant, they began "embracing" one another, fusing together. One by one, they merged and grew larger, eventually forming a super plastic person, bursting through the factory's metal roof.
Mu Anqi and the others had never seen such an ability before.
The gigantic plastic person bent down, extending a finger toward the transparent enclosure to touch the special plastic person. In the next moment, the special plastic person appeared atop the head of the giant plastic person, looking down on all below.
"You all still have one last chance."
"…No," Mu Anqi said, looking at the massive plastic person. "Everyone, spread out! Quick! Xia Yun—catch me!"
She needed to bless him! It was the first time Mu Anqi had encountered an enemy that could instantly fuse her hundreds of clones into a single gigantic monster. What was this? She only needed to say a single blessing to maintain control over him! Did this plastic person not know her ability?… It seemed he truly didn't.
"Quick! Spread out!" The moment Xia Yun descended on her flying sword, Mu Anqi stepped onto it, gripping Xia Yun's clothes. As the sword ascended, she forced herself to endure the discomfort of the high altitude and loudly recited a string of blessing words: "I wish you fortune as vast as the East Sea, longevity as enduring as the Southern Mountains, boundless life, and immortality!——" [T/N: Here comes the real devil's whispers of blessings lol]