Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 265 - 184: The Answer to the Riddle

Chapter 265: Chapter 184: The Answer to the Riddle

"You will never be able to walk out of this place."

The puppet had absolute confidence in the maze it created, and this statement only served to convince Duan Mingyuan that something was indeed happening on Mechanical Star at this very moment, the recent tremors had been disturbances from outside.

This couldn’t help but evoke some unpleasant memories for Duan Mingyuan.

When the antagonist faced the "invincible" protagonist’s mentor, they resorted to the Seal Technique.

The entire Dreamland was like a seal, personally woven by the consciousness of Mechanical Star turned "Cocoon," its complexity and energy far surpassed any opponent he had encountered so far, trapping him in this empty room all night.

"Because from the very beginning, you did not design a way out from here."

Duan Mingyuan had roughly figured out the room’s structure, which was a sealed space created by Mechanical Energy, with no paths leading to the outside world.

He had communicated with the "Cocoon" consciousness in the spirit of participating in a puzzle game, yet the other party had disappointed him with their cheating in the puzzle.

"Realizing it now is too late."

The puppet mocked.

No matter how many more doors Duan Mingyuan opened, the space wouldn’t change, but outside this space, things were far from stationary, the flagship of the Cosmic Pirates had breached a gap on the "Mirage," and soon the people Duan Mingyuan had saved would be buried under cannon fire.

Although achieving his goal through the hands of others was against his original intention, he had never before encountered a being like Duan Mingyuan.

Emanating an aura like his own, yet their modes of thinking were entirely different.

But when it first encountered Duan Mingyuan in the great hall, it thought he was a comrade of the same camp, who had come here specifically to admire the transformation of Mechanical Star into a completely mechanical prison, devoid of life.

It also learned that there were many beings like itself in this universe, whom humans called "Cocoon."

"What a pity, I was actually thinking of becoming your friend, to hear about the things on your planet."

The puppet shrugged with a degree of humanization, its crude features arranged into an expression of regret.

"Yes, what a pity."

Duan Mingyuan shared the sentiment.

He had felt apologetic toward the consciousness created by the "Cocoon" transformation, as it was an internal affair of Mechanical Star, and he, an outsider, should not be the one to decide the fate of Mechanical Star’s people and planet’s future. Unfortunately, the Sixteen Star Summit was about to commence there, and he would have to stay on that planet for a while longer.

So, after falling asleep, he accepted the other’s "invitation" to this puzzle game.

A puzzle that could never possibly be solved because the designer cheated.

And now, something was happening outside that required him to stop the game.

"Game time is over."

"Given up? Then just stay here at ease, once the affair outside is over, perhaps I will let you out."

"Thanks to you, through one game, I have come to understand how Mechanical Energy operates."

Duan Mingyuan offered his sincerest gratitude.

Although he ultimately couldn’t solve the puzzle set by the "Cocoon" of Mechanical Star, he had learned everything he wanted to know about Mechanical Energy.

To confine him, "Cocoon" had dragged his consciousness to the most energy-filled place on this planet, where only there Mechanical Energy could suppress Life Energy to some extent, preventing him from freely altering the space he was in.

Reversing "Cocoon" formation had indeed consumed quite a bit of Duan Mingyuan’s strength; he had spread out his own energy, while "Cocoon" had gathered all energy back, thus a delicate balance was achieved in this unknown space.

The puppet was not wrong, at least in the short term, he couldn’t use Life Energy to break open a gap in this sealed space.

So, Duan Mingyuan changed his angle.

Previously, on the flagship of the Ashen Consortium, he had learned that different energies do not only have mutually exclusive relationships. In his view, Life Energy had always been a mild, inclusive type of energy.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

The puppet questioned.

It confirmed the integrity of space again, quite certain that not even a trace of Life Energy could penetrate here.

If it viewed Duan Mingyuan with the eyes of its own kind, it would admit that the man before it had more control over energy than it did, but his foolish actions gave it an opportunity to exploit.

After spreading out such a huge amount of energy, how could he contend with the energy it deliberately gathered?

The only thing it didn’t understand was why the man in front of it would put himself at a disadvantage in this confrontation for the sake of a group of strangers.

"I’m just saying that if I were to view this as an escape game player, I would indeed have a hard time leaving this place."

As he spoke, Duan Mingyuan walked towards one of the doors—before this, he had already passed through this door dozens of times, "So this time, I’m changing my role, looking at this puzzle from the perspective of a designer."

"You—!"

The puppet’s speech came to an abrupt halt, its eyes widening in disbelief.

Duan Mingyuan had disappeared, vanished without a trace under its gaze.

Although it could still see him standing just a few meters away, his breath and energy had disappeared without a trace.

Here was left only its presence, endless Mechanical Energy, and nothing else.

"It seems to be just as I thought."

Duan Mingyuan pushed open a door, and the scenery behind it changed incessantly just like his thoughts.

Each of these doors could lead outside.

He saw the flagship of the Cosmic Pirates hovering above the city, and the metropolis set ablaze by bombardment, while he himself could reach anywhere he wished in an instant through this door.

"This is your planet, naturally, there shouldn’t be any cage that can hold you."

The puppet stared intently at Duan Mingyuan, who, despite his calm tone and humble expression of respect, had just opened a route to the outside world right in front of it... as if he were opening the door to his own living room!

At this moment, it was absolutely certain that the person before it was not of its kind.

But some kind of monster that it had never heard of, nor was ever recorded in any record!

"Rest assured, I will make good use of this Strength."

Duan Mingyuan expressed his final thanks to the puppet, then turned around and passed through the door that led to the flagship’s cabin.

The cabin had been breached with a hole, alarms blaring, and gunshots firing inside.

It seemed that an uninvited guest had broken into the ship.

"What’s happened?"

Duan Mingyuan stopped a crew member of the flagship and asked.

"An enemy has made a breach on the ship, and this move is a tough one to deal with..."

Suddenly, the crew member paused, looking at Duan Mingyuan and then at what was behind him, "Where, where did you spring out from?"