"Is it possible that I've always been a good person?"
Lucian: "Villains don't go around with 'I'm a villain' written on their faces."
Yinlin teased, "If you want to expose the Dollmaker, I'm the only one who can help you."
Lucian: "I can contact the Partrollers for assistance."
Yinlin smiled faintly. "You won't find him."
"However… he'll be here soon."
"But even if you arrest him now, you won't find any evidence linking him to the Fractsidus."
"At most, he'll be taken back to Jinzhou for a few days of interrogation before being released."
Lucian frowned. "But aren't you also a member of the Séance Society? You have no reason to help me against him."
Yinlin: "Of course, I have my reasons."
"And as I said earlier, I'm an undercover agent."
"Believe it or not, I'm an infiltrator sent by the Public Security Bureau."
Lucian was skeptical. "An infiltrator?"
He had never heard of such a position among the Partrollers.
Yinlin: "Exactly. So if you want to wipe out Dollmaker and the Séance Society for good, you'll need my help."
"Or… you can choose not to trust me and arrest me instead. But I'll be back here before long."
Yinlin gazed at Lucian with a faint smile, her eyes filled with confidence and resolve.
She was genuinely curious about what choice he would make.
Originally, she had planned to reveal this information to him slowly after taking him to their base, then bring Dollmaker to justice. But she hadn't expected the first step to fail.
It seemed she had underestimated him. Though Yinlin hadn't used her Resonance abilities earlier, the fact that Lucian could evade her attacks as if foreseeing them was no ordinary feat.
During her surveillance of him over the past few days, aside from witnessing him take down an exile with brute force, she hadn't noticed anything particularly remarkable. Now, however, she found herself growing increasingly intrigued by this man.
Lucian let out a scoff and pulled out a golden coin from his pocket.
Yinlin asked curiously, "What's that for?"
Lucian silently thought: Is Yinlin really an infiltrator?
He flicked the coin with his thumb, sending it spinning elegantly before catching it on the back of his hand.
He looked down—the side facing up was engraved with: Yes.
Séance Society Headquarters
Inside the capsule chamber, Lucian checked his belongings and found all his weapons and terminal still on him—nothing had been confiscated.
"First, I'll send Chixia my coordinates via terminal…"
His terminal was system-provided, with encrypted communications, so he wasn't worried about being detected.
"Alright, time to go out."
Yinlin had been waiting outside for a while.
Stepping out of the capsule, Lucian saw a crowd gathered—this was indeed the Séance Society's main base.
The plan was progressing smoothly.
Yinlin had told him that to uncover evidence against Dollmaker, they needed to infiltrate his secret facility—a place even she had never entered.
So, seizing the opportunity, the two decided to proceed with Yinlin's original plan: using Lucian as the "test subject."
However, Lucian had feigned unconsciousness the entire time, listening in on every conversation along the way.
When Dollmaker attempted to extract Lucian's memories, he found it impossible—not only could he not extract them, he couldn't even glimpse them.
This was due to the system's protective functions.
Naturally, Dollmaker grew intensely interested in Lucian and ordered Yinlin to send him to the secret facility for further study.
Now, all that remained was to notify the Midnight Rangers to surround the place. Once Dollmaker realized he had nowhere to run, he would be forced to reveal all his cards.
Still, Yinlin had also explained that while the missing individuals in Jinzhou had indeed been experimented on, they were all willing members of the Séance Society.
The reason she had framed it the way she did was to provoke Lucian's "sense of justice."
After all, she had seen firsthand how Lucian and Rover had handed over all those exiles to the Midnight Rangers.
That didn't mean Dollmaker was innocent, though—Yinlin already knew he was colluding with the Fractsidus.
Dollmaker provided the Fractsidus with Remnant puppets capable of inducing overclocking, while they supplied him with resources and materials.
Thus, infiltrating the secret facility was necessary to gather concrete evidence and bring him to justice. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel·fire.net
Yinlin asked with concern, "How do you feel?"
Lucian shook his head. With the system's protection, he wasn't worried at all.
Yinlin slowly approached him, reaching behind his back to search for something.
Her fingers soon closed around a listening device—identical to the one she had secretly planted on him earlier.
She dangled it in front of Lucian before placing it back.
Lucian stroked his chin. So, Dollmaker planted this.
Still, he found it strange—why would a "test subject" like him need to be monitored?
When he glanced at Yinlin, her eyes held an unreadable emotion.
From the conversations he had overheard on the way here, Lucian had learned:
Yinlin's parents had also been Partrollers in Jinzhou's Public Security Bureau. They died when she was young.
Dollmaker's lifelong goal had been to revive her parents using puppets. While the world saw him as a freak, Yinlin's parents had taken him in, and he never forgot their kindness.
Yet, in his obsession, he had lost sight of their true legacy—fighting against evil to protect the innocent.
Though Yinlin had been raised under Dollmaker's care, her parents' convictions had guided her, preventing her from straying down the same dark path.
That was why, upon discovering his illegal activities, she resolved to dismantle both him and the Séance Society.
The listening device served as a reminder—even Yinlin, whom he had raised, was just another pawn in his schemes.
Seems like I'll have to keep acting the part until we reach the secret facility…
Lucian said coldly, "Should I thank you for being so concerned about me?"
Yinlin played along. "No need. After all, the Dollmaster wants you alive. If you didn't wake up, we'd be in trouble."
An elderly woman nearby snapped, "You youngsters have no manners! Show some respect when speaking to Miss Yinlin!"
Lucian shrugged. "This is nothing. I've done far worse things."
Though his tone was indifferent, his expression carried a hint of ambiguity.
A flicker of irritation crossed her face, though she kept her composure. Once this is over, I'll make sure to teach him a lesson…
The old woman demanded, "Where's your family?"
"You young people always abandon your homes to wander around."
"Today is the camp's Family Reunion Day. I won't allow anyone to leave without permission."
"Go back to the bonfire and stay put—no sneaking off! Miss Yinlin, please escort him."
Yinlin smiled faintly. "You heard her. Don't overthink it—just follow me."