Chapter 160: Reduced to a Plaything

At the foot of the mountain on the other side of the ridge behind the Irene Group.

Yu Shujun pressed the blade of her lightsaw against Silver Thorn’s neck, her gaze dark and cold.

In fact, putting aside the trash equipment Silver Thorn had brought into this map, even if her master had given her divine-level equipment, given her eleven-star level, she would scarcely have lasted twenty rounds if she went head-to-head with Jun Wuming.

Even with full divine gear, or even ten sets of divine gear, she wouldn't have much chance of winning.

A sneer appeared on Silver Thorn's face, blood trickling from the corner of her lips. "Do you really think that man would be willing to use divine-level equipment on me? To use it in a battle with zero chance of winning?"

This was the truth.

Given the temperament of the Guild Master of the Ghost Controller Alliance, he would never be so generous as to waste precious resources in vain on one of his own dogs.

And this truth made Yu Shujun's expression grow even colder.

Could it be... that Silver Thorn risking everything just now to snatch the player's "welfare item," crossing this ridge at top speed, and fleeing all the way to the foot of this mountain... was truly a diversion?

Yu Shujun frowned.

Impossible.

Right from the start, Yu Shujun had been guarding against the other party employing this exact tactic.

The reason she had dared to leave Ye Jiu's side so recklessly and pursue her this far at such a critical juncture was because Yu Shujun firmly believed that Silver Thorn lacked the capability for a feint, nor would she use a diversion.

Having been in this instance for so long, although Yu Shujun had spent most of her time following Ye Jiu, she had never once interrupted her communication and contact with the NPCs on this map.

Through the information fed back by those NPCs, Yu Shujun could be certain that Silver Thorn had no companions. Although the ultimate purpose of this covert infiltration by the Ghost Controller Alliance remained unclear, Yu Shujun was certain they had sent only Silver Thorn alone.

Of course, this alone was not enough to make Yu Shujun drop her guard and pursue her this far.

After all, even without assistants, the opponent could still use special equipment, items, or skills to cause harm to Ye Jiu.

Using soul threads to inversely control the character Zhang Beibei in order to approach Ye Jiu earlier was a prime example.

Therefore, Yu Shujun had notified Qiqi at the very first moment, instructing Qiqi to stay within arm's reach and guard Ye Jiu at all times.

As long as Qiqi was by Ye Jiu's side, any danger emerging around them would be reported to Yu Shujun by Qiqi immediately.

Yet, up to this point, judging from the feedback received through Qiqi, Ye Jiu and the other players were proceeding smoothly and were infinitely approaching the final destination of the main storyline.

There should be no trickery.

Gathering her thoughts, Yu Shujun had no desire to waste too much time here and decided to cut straight to the point, spelling out the most crucial question in the back of her mind—

"Hand over the anomaly you implanted into this map."

This time, the look of bewilderment and confusion on Silver Thorn's face deepened even further. Stunned for a moment, she suddenly burst into a fit of laughter.

"You thought the anomaly appearing in this map was caused by me?
"Hahaha, I was wondering. The mighty Jun Wuming, so arrogant and conceited—back then, no matter how many perks that man promised you, you refused to surrender. How is it that now, just to send a player account in, you were willingly willing to let this account be branded with the humiliation of enslavement?
"So... you had already discovered anomalies in this map?
"Well, inside an instance, how could any subtle movement possibly escape the eyes of you, Jun Wuming?
"You must have realized long ago that this anomaly has a formidable origin, right?
"An anomaly that even your character account cannot handle—what abilities do you think I possess to silently implant that anomaly here?"

Hearing Silver Thorn's words, Yu Shujun's heart sank.

It wasn't the Ghost Controller Alliance's doing? Then the anomaly... was a problem inherent to the instance itself?

If that was the case, then Yin Ci luring Yu Shujun to the foot of this mountain now...

"A diversion?"

In the end... it was still a diversion!

Yu Shujun's eyes were filled with frost. "Hahaha!" Silver Thorn laughed again, her laughter shrill and laced with madness. "Yu Shujun... Jun Wuming! There comes a day when you, too, get played around by me!
"Hahaha! Did you think a diversion was necessarily meant to harm your incompetent, useless master?
"No! Quite the contrary! I went to great lengths, first staging a reconnaissance mission, and then deliberately stealing that 'welfare item' in front of you, solely to make you believe my goal was to disrupt the main storyline here, so that you would willingly follow me here."

Saying this, Silver Thorn leaned forward, stopping at a spot extremely close to Yu Shujun's face, and said word by word in her ear:

"I am telling you now, my purpose, from the very beginning, was to ensure that your useless master successfully com-pletes-the-mis-sion!"

Before her voice had even faded, her entire head of silver hair stood on end like a white sea urchin.

Every single strand pierced toward Yu Shujun, and in the blink of an eye, she had wrapped Yu Shujun layer upon layer, like a giant cicada pupa.

"You no longer have a chance," Silver Thorn said calmly. "They have already reached the furnace. Even if you are as fast as me now, you won't make it back in time to stop him from completing the mission."

Why would staying by Ye Jiu's side make her want to stop the other party from completing the mission?

This question lingered in Yu Shujun's mind for only a fleeting moment before it was immediately suppressed.

At this moment, Yu Shujun's expression was pitch-black, and her voice was cold to the freezing point. "If you don't want to die, let go."

Silver Thorn was a Hair Ghost.

That head of silver threads was her final weapon, and could also be considered her true body.

Before being tamed by the Ghost Controller Alliance, she had used that head of silver hair to finish off countless players within her own instance.

Yet these myriad silver threads, in Yu Shujun's eyes, were no different from dragon-whisker candy; they shattered at the slightest touch and were utterly incapable of trapping her.

"You're gambling... that I won't want to deal a fatal blow to you?"
"A worthless life, what is there to gamble?" Silver Thorn sneered. "I simply had no choice. Using my life to keep you here was the final order I received from that man."

Yu Shujun's brow was locked in a tight frown as she stared closely at the other's skin, which was so pale it was almost transparent. "The Silver Thorn I knew would rather die than be controlled. Why have you become like this?"

Silver Thorn's eye sockets turned red, and then a heavy, violent emotion surged in her eyes.

"What right do you have to judge me?!
"Weren't you once the one who looked down most on controlled characters? Yet now, you've even let a player account be branded with the silver pattern!
"You know better than anyone how this pattern controls a person's mind!"

Saying this, Silver Thorn's gaze slowly moved from Yu Shujun's eyes to the adhesive bandage plastered across her cheekbone.

On that adhesive bandage, there were even two cute little pink hearts printed.

It was a rather cute design, but in Silver Thorn's eyes at this moment, it only looked glaring—so glaring it set her heart ablaze.

"Your low-level, useless master is certainly attentive to you, isn't he?
"Does this tiny bit of petty gain make you wag your tail and beg for pity at his feet like a dog? Willing to even hand over your main account?
"Where did the once unyielding Yu Shujun go?
"Why have you been domesticated so thoroughly? How long has it been, and you've already been completely enslaved by the other party, willing to pay so much for them?"

Silver Thorn's questions were thrown out without any intention of waiting for a reply. She raised a hand, pointed at her own forehead, and answered her own question:

"Because, the moment that ruling pattern lights up, right here, your soul is branded.
"You are being enslaved by your useless master.
"Not just your body.
"Even your soul, your mind, your emotions, everything—all of it is being enslaved by him.
"You can talk tough, you can deny it, but the moment you sent your player account in and willingly let that man enslave you, you already proved with your actions that you have completely lost your own mind.
"Whether you admit it or not, you have ultimately been reduced to his plaything."