"...Haha, what a coincidence. I never expected to encounter a mannequin here that looks so much like me, and quite handsome too. It must have been custom-ordered by some patient wanting to thank me, right? Like giving a custom-made banner of appreciation..."

Ferrando nervously forced out a few dry laughs as he spoke.

"No, there's no such coincidence, right? I remember you escaped from here... Did 'you' really escape from here?"

Karan stared sharply at Ferrando, silently putting some distance between them.

"You'd all better stay away from him. Earlier when we were affected, it might have been his doing since he's been staying close to us all along."

"I'm not a mannequin! And I wouldn't attack my companions either!"

Ferrando seemed struck at his core, passionately defending himself in a loud voice.

"Enough! I don't care whether he's human or mannequin. Right now he's our companion. What you should be doing is leading the way and paying attention to the direction you're responsible for, not questioning whether our companion has problems."

Lin Ye interrupted the conversation between the two. He felt the position where that Ferrando mannequin appeared was somewhat clever—exactly at a spot that could be seen at first glance after going upstairs, with many obstacles around that could conceal figures. If their attention was drawn to that mannequin, they'd likely be ambushed by other mannequins.

This was a very obvious trap.

So after going upstairs, Lin Ye had been observing his surroundings through irregular turning movements. Xiya, who had noticed the same thing, stayed close behind Lin Ye, watching their surroundings together with him.

But now each of them needed to cover a hundred and eighty degree range, which could easily create vulnerabilities. That's why Lin Ye kept turning his body irregularly.

"...Sorry."

Only then did Karan realize the problem. He hurriedly turned to look in the direction he was responsible for, but at that moment, five mannequins darted out from behind obstacles, instantly closing to within five meters of them.

The three urgently looked at those mannequins, only to find they weren't stopping but continuing to approach them.

That's when they discovered that all the mannequins had another mannequin attached to their backs—it was the rear mannequins carrying the front ones as they moved.

They urgently looked at the rear mannequins, but those mannequins still didn't stop.

Lin Ye's pupils contracted slightly. Time instantly approached stillness, but this lasted less than a second before time returned to normal flow.

Lin Ye was currently in a prayer state. His level wasn't sufficient to support him using two mental techniques simultaneously.

Especially when one of those mental techniques wasn't used proficiently.

With the failed mental acceleration, Lin Ye had less than five seconds left for thinking and action. He had to make the correct choice in an extremely short time.

Lin Ye used only half a second to make his judgment. He controlled compressed spiritual energy blades to pierce through the hearts of those rear mannequins that could move, while simultaneously using spiritual energy driving technique to knock his three teammates aside.

Five compressed spiritual energy blades accurately pierced through the vital points of those rear mannequins, yet didn't touch the front mannequins at all. Unable to sense the correct positions, Lin Ye needed to use his vision to determine the positions of mannequins in different directions, plus predict the movement trajectories of different mannequins. Only a backstab master like Lin Ye could accomplish such operations in a short time—this was a combination of skill and proficiency.

The mannequins rolled to Lin Ye's feet, while his three teammates just managed to avoid being struck by the mannequins.

"Don't get distracted. Pay attention to the directions you're responsible for. If something comes out, alert me immediately."

Lin Ye's tone remained calm, without even the slightest change in his breathing rhythm.

*Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap...*

Crisp applause sounded from deep within the fourth floor. A mannequin covered with other mannequins emerged from the shadows, followed by a group of mannequins that also had mannequins attached to their bodies.

"To react like that—you're more monstrous than we are."

The mannequin leader said with a smile.

"You actually dare to show yourselves? If I could kill them, I can wipe all of you out."

Lin Ye watched the direction he was responsible for while thinking in his mind about how to exterminate these mannequins.

"Although you've probably already guessed this anomaly's mechanism, I'll still explain it to you:

The mannequins here can be divided into three types. The first are original mannequins. These mannequins can only move in places no one is watching. Once humans make contact with original mannequins—whether touching or attacking—they get replaced by the original mannequins. The original mannequins become active mannequins, while the replaced humans become fixed mannequins. By the way, all these on me are original mannequins.

Fixed mannequins are the humans after replacement. These mannequins cannot move, only watching as their bodies move away from them.

Active mannequins are us—the ones who have completed replacement. We can move freely but have lost most abilities of the original mannequins. That companion beside you is one of ours. Aren't you coming over?"

The mannequin leader revealed a malicious smile. It hoped Lin Ye would kill Ferrando, creating a gap in their field of vision so it could find an opportunity to deal with them.

"I'm not a mannequin."

Ferrando didn't shift his gaze, only offering this defense. He knew the mannequin leader's purpose.

"I always thought only humans deceived themselves. I never expected mannequins to do it too. Of course, if you're acting, you've really fooled me."

The mannequin leader said with a smile.

"What's your purpose? To turn us all into mannequins?"

Lin Ye didn't understand the meaning behind their actions. If it was to increase their numbers, after Lin Ye killed five mannequins, they shouldn't have come out anymore since that would only mean losing more mannequins.

It couldn't be wanting to avenge their companions, could it?

Thinking this, Lin Ye used spiritual energy to smash the head of an active mannequin corpse. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The mannequin leader's smile froze.

"So you want to avenge them. Then I'm sorry—no one can provoke me without paying a price, not even mannequins. Not only will I smash their heads, I'll wipe all of you out. You don't think wearing that turtle shell means I can't hit you, do you?"

Lin Ye's calm tone overflowed with icy killing intent.

From a distance, Lin Ye indeed wasn't confident about killing them without touching the original mannequins. But as long as they approached within a certain distance, wiping them out wouldn't be difficult.

"Then do it! Let's see how you kill me!"

The mannequin leader stood in place, completely unwilling to approach Lin Ye. Those five compressed spiritual energy blades earlier had somewhat frightened it.

"Aren't you going to avenge your people? Why don't you dare come over? Standing there won't let you get revenge."

Lin Ye smashed another head. Of course he wouldn't go over—with his spiritual perception ineffective, he didn't know how many original mannequins were hidden over there.

Bringing his teammates over would be even more troublesome. Those active mannequins could completely use original mannequins as ranged weapons to throw over. One careless move and they'd get hit.