Scattered earth-yellow fragments easily brought to mind something akin to amber candy.
Duan Chen’s gaze was somewhat deep as he stared at these fragments floating in the air, the corners of his mouth turning down slightly.
“These earth-yellow fragments are filled with an especially surging power; one could say it's incredibly potent.”
Jun Ci walked up beside Duan Chen, gently pulling up the mask on his face.
He was wearing a high-necked shirt, which was why Duan Chen had been able to easily grab Jun Ci’s collar and run earlier.
Because the high neck was very thick, there was no need to worry about it snapping midway due to the pulling force.
The net that was held was covering half of Jun Ci’s face.
Jun Ci said in a muffled voice, “If these core fragments scattered here aren’t dealt with in time, they could potentially have a considerable impact.”
A look of determination flashed in Duan Chen’s eyes.
The corners of his mouth curved into a slight smile, and he said, “Don’t worry, I didn’t break the core with such difficulty just to leave its fragments here as dowry for those who come later.”
After speaking, he looked around directly.
These puppets, with their cores destroyed, had lost their power source and were completely still, having truly become puppets.
At the very center, closest to Duan Chen, was the silver-white puppet that had almost successfully ambushed him again.
Looking at the silver-white puppet, Duan Chen showed no mercy. He walked forward, snapped off the silver-white puppet’s two legs, and then broke off its head, leaving only a torso.
The short torso, held in Duan Chen’s arms, looked no different from a real person except for the color of its skin.
Jun Ci instinctively turned his eyes, shifting his gaze to the other puppets.
Duan Chen, without any pretense, held the puppet he had dismembered and directly cut it open, splitting it into two halves.
Under Jun Ci’s somewhat shocked gaze, he held half of the puppet in his arms, scooping up all the yellow fragments as if using a ladle to scoop water.
Then, in a flash, he covered the other half of the puppet’s body over this half.
Only then were all the broken fragments completely scooped into the puppet’s body.
Next, without regard for anyone’s gaze, Duan Chen stuffed all the collected items into his ring in one go.
“You…”
A man from the surroundings stepped forward, his face filled with indignation as he looked at Duan Chen, ready to scold him.
However, before he could even utter a word, Duan Chen’s sharp gaze swept over him.
“What do you want to say?”
“Are you implying I should share my spoils with you?”
A cold smile was about to spill from Duan Chen’s lips, like water overflowing a cup.
He chuckled coldly, “A fool’s dream.”
The four words were spat out coldly, striking the man who had stepped forward, causing his expression to become exceedingly unsightly.
However, he was now alone and helpless, completely unable to refute Duan Chen’s words.
He could only resentfully remember Duan Chen’s face.
Duan Chen, however, felt nothing at all about his face being remembered.
He paid it no mind, looked at Jun Ci standing beside him, and asked, “How are you feeling now?”
Jun Ci shook his head and raised his hand to wipe away the blood at the edge of his lips.
He had been using his high-necked shirt to cover the lower half of his face.
He shook his head slightly, revealing some silence.
Duan Chen understood.
Jun Ci was probably not in a condition to speak comfortably right now.
It was unlikely to be because he recognized someone around, but rather because his throat had been injured from swallowing too much power earlier.
Since that was the case, there was no need to force Jun Ci to speak.
A look of realization flashed in Duan Chen’s eyes. He reached out, grabbed Jun Ci, and scanned his surroundings, looking at the living people scattered around.
He and Jun Ci, side by side, walked towards their intended destination, leaving only Duan Chen’s words hanging in the air.
“I advise you all to leave this place as soon as possible. Although the core has been taken by me, these puppets here might spontaneously detonate at any moment!”
Each puppet’s body contained a reserve of energy.
After the main energy source disappeared, the backup energy would activate sequentially within fifteen minutes.
If these people did not leave the desert arena quickly, a barrier would rise, formed by all the puppets, trapping them inside.
At that point, the difficulty would be entirely different from what Duan Chen and Jun Ci faced.
Duan Chen and Jun Ci’s challenge could barely be considered one against a hundred, but if these people didn’t leave soon, the number a hundred might soon become a thousand.
And that wasn’t the worst part.
The most serious issue was that Duan Chen had infiltrated through numerous puppets to shatter the core.
But for these people, once the barrier was re-established, their task would be entirely different from what Duan Chen needed to do.
Unless they killed all the puppets here, they would have no way to leave.
Upon hearing Duan Chen’s words, some people were indifferent and continued to search for potential treasures.
Others chose self-preservation and fled in haste.
Everyone made their own choices, but they no longer concerned Duan Chen.
He closed his eyes slightly, feeling a little weary.
Jun Ci, standing beside him, asked, “Is there any sign of Yuan Qingqing on your map yet?”
Each person’s mental energy was different, and the extent of the map they could explore varied.
As the primary carrier of their map, Duan Chen could see a much newer map than they could.
It was much more detailed.
However, just as Duan Chen was looking at the map, he suddenly felt something squirming by his leg…
Duan Chen’s brows suddenly knitted together, and he instinctively kicked out, sending the thing by his feet flying.
A naked yellow object shot into the air, tumbling and spinning, before it slammed violently into a withered tree and fell to the ground, dazed.