Chapter 345: Underground Tunnel
Lin Ye watched the Mannequin Leader fall to the ground, its heart destroyed by the Compressed Spiritual Energy Blade. This was where it would die.
There were no surprises or unexpected turns.
"Admirable courage, but meaningless."
Lin Ye turned to look at Ferrando. The Mannequin Leader, lying on the ground, suddenly sprang up and threw a mannequin's severed hand toward Lin Ye's location.
"Not bad, but still useless."
Lin Ye took a step back, glanced at the charging Original Mannequin, and used the Spiritual Energy Driving Technique to push aside Xiya, who was standing nearby.
The mannequin hand changed direction mid-air but failed to hit anyone.
The Mannequin Leader fell to the ground, completely losing its ability to move.
"You can get up now. We still need to get to the center of the ruins."
Having dealt with the Mannequin Leader, Lin Ye spoke to Ferrando. "...Huh? Why didn't I turn into a mannequin?"
Ferrando let go of the now-motionless Fixed Mannequin, looking at his own body in shock.
He had prepared himself to become a mannequin, yet no change occurred in his body.
"You defeated the other party in an unfair fight. Regardless of what it was before, this body is yours now."
During the fight, Lin Ye had also been paying attention to his teammates. Even though Ferrando had been focused entirely on his assigned direction, the consciousness within that mannequin had failed to overcome Ferrando. So it vanished. This was probably the Fixed Mannequin's last chance to move.
To be precise, it was that very focus that defeated the opponent. Mental willpower can sometimes be like a structure built from sand, crumbling at a touch, and other times be as hard as steel.
Both sides were fighting desperately at the time, but their goals were different.
"...Is that really okay? Even if I am a mannequin?"
Even now, Ferrando couldn't recall what happened before in the department store. But all the information he had gathered reminded him that he had stolen Ferrando's body.
"What are you talking about? Wasn't that just nonsense spouted by that bastard Mannequin Leader? Don't worry, no one believes what the enemy says."
Karan patted Ferrando's shoulder. If he had to choose between the real humans who attacked them and the mannequin who sacrificed itself to protect its teammates, he'd rather be friends with the mannequin.
"Right. I suggest you destroy that mannequin. Although we don't think you have a problem, it would be very troublesome if others saw it."
If she wasn't afraid that attacking the mannequin might cause issues, Xiya would have already taken action. She hadn't forgotten its earlier sneak attack.
"...I don't want to destroy it. Let's leave it here."
Ferrando was silent for a moment before speaking.
"If you don't want it, can I have it? These mannequin corpses have some research value, especially this Fixed Mannequin."
If his loot space wasn't full, Lin Ye would have wanted to take all the mannequin corpses here. They were excellent research materials and could also be used as spiritual energy materials to craft spiritual energy items.
"That's fine. But I'm not sure if it's dangerous."
As a doctor, Ferrando wasn't opposed to treating corpses as research material.
"No problem."
Lin Ye found a large woven bag, stuffed the Fixed Mannequin and the Mannequin Leader's corpse into it, and then left the department store with the other three through the safety window.