Naming

Its joints turned as its body slowly began to move, walking in circles around Zhao Jin.

Its red-accented eyes remained fixed on Zhao Jin, as if sizing him up.

As it moved, Zhao Jin stared back.

Behind the opera-robed puppet's back were three white triangular flags that swayed slightly with its steps. It wore black boots on its feet, and its wooden hands were exposed, their joints crafted to be fully articulated.

In his mind, a prompt appeared:

Special Existence: To Be Named

Status: A unique entity drawn to evil intent; it will appear wherever there is evil to eradicate it!

Race: To Be Named

Looking at the two “To Be Named” fields, Zhao Jin pondered for a moment before filling in its name and race.

Special Existence: Opera-Robed Puppet

Race: Puppet

He didn't feel like overthinking some overly fancy name; keeping it practical was enough.

With the naming settled, Zhao Jin turned to look at the puppet, which had walked to his left. “Do you know what you are?”

The opera-robed puppet's eyes shifted slightly, looking at Zhao Jin as if trying to comprehend the meaning of his words.

After waiting a few minutes, the opera-robed puppet tilted its head, seemingly unable to understand him.

It began to circle Zhao Jin once more. It seemed to possess a special attachment to this unique being who had brought it to life.

Seeing this, Zhao Jin took out his notebook and began to write.

Opera-Robed Puppet

【Initial observations: It does not possess high intelligence, and its behavior seems somewhat simple-minded. Its abilities require further observation.】

Having written this, he cast another glance at the opera-robed puppet, then turned and leaped off the stage.

Since it was drawn to those with evil intent, he wanted to see how it would be attracted and how it would eradicate evil.

Seeing Zhao Jin leave, the opera-robed puppet's reaction seemed a step behind.

It wasn't until Zhao Jin rounded the corner of the street and vanished that it finally took a step forward, heading toward the street exit.

The sound of its footsteps caused a light to turn on in a single-story house to the left.

The door opened, and a white-haired old man poked his head out, cursing angrily, “What the hell is that racket? It's the middle of the night! Let a man sleep!”

With that, he looked furiously in the direction of the noise. Standing further down the street was a puppet dressed in a white opera robe.

As if hearing his angry shouts, the puppet turned its head to look at him. Its colorful makeup-painted face looked exceptionally horrifying under the moonlight.

Seeing this, the old man's breathing quickened. He slammed the door shut, leaning against it with wide, terrified eyes. “Holy ghost... Isn't that the abandoned puppet from the stage? How can it move?!”

The sound of wooden joints moving continued outside, but this time, the sound was drawing closer to him.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, the old man's legs trembled. He tried to walk forward, wanting to hide in his bedroom, but his legs felt as heavy as lead.

As the sound drew nearer, the old man suddenly shuddered. His pants grew wet, and a sharp smell of urine filled the air.

Unable to take it anymore, he spun around, fell to his knees, and began frantically kowtowing, his voice trembling. “General of Loyalty and Valor... I was wrong... Please don't kill me...”

“General of Loyalty and Valor” was the name the locals had given the puppet. He had never imagined that one day he would actually see the General of Loyalty and Valor come to life.

The old man desperately knocked his forehead against the floor, terrified that the opera-robed puppet would strike him down.

He didn't know how long he had been kowtowing, to the point where blood began to stain the floor, but the front door never opened, and the commotion outside eventually faded.

Only then did the old man breathe a sigh of relief and slowly raise his head. But when he saw a pair of worn black boots standing right in front of him, his pupils dilated in sheer terror.

Outside the street, under a streetlight, Zhao Jin stood by the roadside.

This was the outskirts of Ningcheng. On both sides were dilapidated two- or three-story buildings. Streetlights were sparse, spaced dozens of meters apart, leaving vast stretches of the road in pitch darkness.

Just then, a wisp of faint golden light, visible only to him, flew over from the direction of the street he had just left.

Destiny Force: 35 wisps!

‘Making a move so quickly? It seems there really are bad apples among the public,’ Zhao Jin thought, glancing back toward the street.

Judging by its description, the opera-robed puppet would only attack those with evil intent. Anyone who died by its hands fully deserved it.

He turned back around and pulled out the stack of cash he had previously obtained from Liu Jiyun.

From what he had gathered during his single day in Ningcheng, the outskirts were crawling with thugs and gangs, making it highly prone to trouble at night. The city center, patrolled by inspectors, was slightly safer.

So, he simply stood under the streetlight, waiting for some enthusiastic Ningcheng residents to find him.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, just as Zhao Jin was considering changing locations, the roar of motorcycle engines echoed from behind.

Turning around, he saw four motorcycles speeding toward him. The riders were thugs with multi-colored hair and tattoos covering their exposed skin.

As they drew near and saw Zhao Jin standing by the roadside, they noticed the thick stack of green, thousand-yuan bills in his hand.

Seeing so much money, and seeing that Zhao Jin was completely alone, the thugs' eyes instantly lit up.

The leader was a green-haired punk with a nose ring.

He slowed his motorcycle, circling Zhao Jin with an arrogant smirk. “Hey, little bro, out for a stroll so late? Don't you know there's been a murder case recently? It's very dangerous.”

The other three motorcycles joined in, circling Zhao Jin to fence him in.

“Yeah, little bro, waving around so much cash at this hour... you're practically begging for someone to rob you.” A red-haired thug stared hungrily at the money in Zhao Jin's hand. There had to be at least a hundred thousand yuan there.

It was four of them against one, and there were no surveillance cameras around. This money was practically a gift from the heavens.

With a faint smile, Zhao Jin looked at the thugs circling him. “What, are you planning to rob me?”

The green-haired punk sneered, “Little bro, you're joking. How can you call this a robbery? We're just borrowing it. Ever heard of the Sanhai Gang?”

“Kid, our Brother Gui here is a member of the Sanhai Gang. If you lend us this money, and anything happens to you in the future, just drop Brother Gui's name. No one in this area will dare touch you,” a yellow-haired thug said, stopping his motorcycle with a cruel grin.

“Oh? What on earth is the Sanhai Gang? My money isn't that easy to take. Your Sanhai Gang isn't qualified.” Zhao Jin's smile vanished, and he looked at them calmly.

He could already hear the faint clacking of wood. Though these thugs were smiling, the malice they directed at him was immense.

Hearing Zhao Jin's words, the smile on the green-haired punk, Brother Gui, instantly vanished. He brought his motorcycle to a halt.

Stepping up to Zhao Jin, his face twisted into a snarl. “Kid, I gave you face, and you threw it back at me. I'll show you exactly how the Sanhai Gang handles things!”

Two of the other thugs also got off their bikes, ready to teach this arrogant kid a lesson.

Zhao Jin didn't bother speaking anymore. There was no need to waste words on dead men.

A series of strange clattering sounds echoed from further down the street. Brother Gui looked back in confusion.

In the darkness, a figure about 1.7 meters tall, carrying something on its back, was slowly walking toward them.