Seven claps rang out in the spacious surveillance center after most of the staff had been evacuated. It was especially dry and eerie.

Lu Siya realized that these guys with weird faces and stiff postures were definitely not normal humans.

She stopped her useless struggle, and flames of fury shot out of her eyes. She tried to burn the puppets’ shells to expose the guys hiding within the darkness.

“Who are you people?!” Meng Chao gritted his teeth and asked.

“It doesn’t matter who we are.”

The seven puppets spoke at the same time, their voices overlapping as if they were echoes coming from the depths of a dark cave. Not only did they contain soul-stirring magic power, they could also conceal the words of a single puppet, an indelible characteristic that originated from Yun Feidian.

“The most important thing is that a civilization will always have people like us, and it will never be able to leave people like us behind.”

The seven puppets continued. “We are the people destined to rule Dragon City; we are the people who shoulder the mission that we were born with, and that is to lead the entire civilization forward in great strides; we are the chess players sitting behind the chessboard; we are the captains who plan the course, manage the ships, and cleave the waves; we are the commanders of the torrent of steel; we are the tomorrow; we are the future!

“Our plan might fail, and some of us might even be killed. But as a whole, we will never perish because Dragon City needs rulers, humans need guides, and civilization needs rulers. That is our eternal mission!”

The seven puppets uttered those words in an aria-like tone in unison. Their voices echoed in the surveillance center, as though an invisible wave was surging back and forth.

“I understand.”

Lu Siya, however, was not affected by the wave in the slightest. “You must be some of the members from the nine cultivation families. You must be the ones I hated being with in the past—those who are childish and selfish, who think that they are superior and have the right to sacrifice the lives of innocent people at any time in exchange for their own benefits!”

“Why are you acting so righteous? Aren’t you such a person?”

The seven puppets continued. “Lu Siya, sometimes I really admire you. Your superb acting skills has not only fooled others, but also yourself. Your mask is simply on your face, not inseparable from your flesh and blood.

“No matter how wonderful your performance is, I can still smell the familiar scent on your body. It’s… the scent of our kind.

“Admit it, Lu Siya. We are basically the same type of people. We are all natural chess players, commanders, and captains. It’s our duty to lead Dragon City to tomorrow and create the future.

“However, your ambition is bigger than all of us. You don’t want to spend decades climbing up the ranks of the nine great cultivation families step by step and follow the established rules of the game to become the ultimate winner.

“No, for you, this game is too slow and boring.

“That’s why you broke the rules and took a different path. You betrayed the nine noble families of cultivation and joined the Azure Alliance, trying to leverage the popularity left by Meng Chao to mobilize the power of several dozen million ordinary citizens and become Dragon City’s ruler, the maker of the New Order, and the biggest beneficiary. Am I right?”

“Hmph!” Lu Siya snorted. Her snow-white and sharp teeth were deeply embedded in her scarlet lips, leaving two meandering red marks on her teeth that flowed all the way to her trembling neck.

“Although we are on different sides, I still admire your methods. I really can’t bear to destroy a talent like you just like that. You should know that the war of Dragon City conquering the other world has just begun. I have a feeling that you can shine in this war.”

The seven puppets said, “So, I’m willing to give you one last chance.”

Lu Siya narrowed her eyes.

Deep in her eyes, the flame was like a snake’s tongue.

Of course, she didn’t agree easily.

But she also didn’t continue to struggle or angrily rebuke.

The seven puppets laughed at the same time.

Even Meng Chao, who was on the two decks, could feel their vitality magnetic fields, dancing like a little ghost who had found a substitute.

“Don’t be in a hurry to refuse. Why Don’t you listen to my conditions first? We are all here for the future of Dragon City. There is no conflict, and we can’t solve it properly, right?”

The seven puppets said, “I know that you want to seize the absolute majority of the seats in the Survival Committee and control the entire Dragon City by controlling the Azure Alliance.

“The question is, can you really control the Azure Alliance Now?

“Although you’ve tied yourself to Meng Chao and cleverly borrowed the power left behind by him to be deeply connected to the operations of Superstar Company, the Broken Star Club, and the entire Azure Alliance, you’ve also become the spokesperson of the Azure Alliance with your superb acting skills and long-sleeve dancing skills.

“However, ‘operation rights’ and ‘decision rights’ are two different things, just like how a ‘spokesperson’ and a ‘leader’ are two different things.

“Right now, there are at least ten experts in the Azure Alliance who have higher authority than you. The Azure Alliance is far from being a tool for you, Lu Siya, to carry out your own will.

“At such a speed, no matter how many miracles you create, it will be impossible for you to ascend to the highest throne of the Azure Alliance in three to five years.

“Don’t you wish to shorten the time?”

Lu Siya narrowed her eyes and licked the blood at the corner of her mouth.

“If you think that our goal is to completely destroy the Azure Alliance, you’re wrong.”

The seven puppets continued, “We know very well that as long as the tens of millions of ordinary citizens of Dragon City still exist, the Azure Alliance will never be destroyed. Even if we find all kinds of reasons and use all our strength to destroy the Azure Alliance today, in less than twelve hours, before the sun rises tomorrow, another five or so organizations of the same type will appear in Dragon City, claiming to be able to defend the interests of tens of millions of ordinary citizens.

“Therefore, rather than destroying the Azure Alliance, it’s better to keep this organization, which is trusted and relied on by tens of millions of ordinary citizens.

“However, the leader of this organization must be one of us. At least, it must be someone we can communicate with calmly and reach an understanding and compromise with.

“Don’t you think that this is the best situation for Dragon City’s future?”

Lu Siya’s eyes flashed.

“You all have people in the Azure Alliance?

“People who can help me rise to the top?” Lu Siya probed.

“You don’t have to test our strength.

“We are everywhere, we are omnipotent!” the seven puppets said in unison.