242: Chapter 242 Heloise's Soup

Nie Ning saw someone looking over and waved with a smile in response.

"They'll definitely make a move soon, but we don't have many ways to stop them. For now, we can only take it one step at a time."

Nie Ning transmitted a message to Heloise and the other person.

The two fifth-rankers on the other side were too troublesome. Their combat power was completely disproportionate, and even with a sleeping Sensen, they still couldn't win.

Moreover, they didn't know how to leave, which was the most problematic point.

"Dinner's ready, eat."

Just then, Heloise brought a large pot of soup and placed it in front of Nie Ning.

Nie Ning raised an eyebrow, unconsciously glancing at Heloise a few more times.

He'd known her for so long, how did he not know this girl could cook?

He remembered he usually did the cooking, or they'd just go out to buy food.

Nie Ning stared at the pot for a while. It looked good and smelled fragrant, but he still didn't dare to take a bite.

"Come, it's rare for Heloise to put so much effort into this, Abbott, you try Heloise's cooking and see how it is."

Saying that, Nie Ning pretended to be generous and pushed the pot in front of Abbott.

Abbott looked at Nie Ning, then at Heloise, and then at the soup in front of him, hesitating for a moment.

He just felt these two weren't up to any good.

"You don't want to drink it?"

Heloise stared intently at Abbott, her expression eerie as she spoke.

Abbott forced a smile: "Of course I have to try it."

After all, the contract was in Heloise's hands. Although Heloise usually seemed friendly, who knew if she'd suddenly go crazy?

He just didn't know if his physique could withstand it.

Nie Ning looked at Heloise with some surprise. Could it be that she really hadn't poisoned it?

Otherwise, with Heloise's personality, she should be forcing him to drink it by now.

Abbott steeled himself and took a spoonful, his eyes suddenly lighting up: "Delicious!"

Immediately, Abbott began to eat heartily.

Looking at the steaming pot of soup, Nie Ning felt a little eager to try, but based on his understanding of Heloise, this girl shouldn't be so kind.

"You drink it."

At this, Heloise pushed the pot in front of Nie Ning.

Seeing Nie Ning hesitate, Heloise pouted unhappily: "Are you suspecting I poisoned it?"

"How could I? It's just that my stomach hasn't been feeling well recently, and I can't eat greasy food. Let Abbott have it to recuperate instead."

Saying that, Nie Ning pushed the pot back.

Abbott didn't mind and continued to eat.

He felt warm all over, so it must have some precious medicinal herbs in it. This couldn't be wasted.

"Hmph! Don't eat it then!"

Heloise glared fiercely at Nie Ning, then helped herself to a bowl of soup and drank it.

But Nie Ning remained unmoved, taking out some dry rations from his spatial ring and gnawing on them.

The four people opposite saw Nie Ning and the other two, and a smile appeared on their faces, finding these three quite interesting.

Unfortunately, they were ultimately not on the same path.

...

Puppet making was very complicated. After five days, the four of them barely finished.

During this time, Nie Ning chatted with these four people and also learned their names.

The fifth-rank wizard was Paramond, the fifth-rank knight was Ryan, the fourth-rank knight was Dara, and the third-rank witch was He Ka.

It was said that they all came from a force called the Storm Guild.

Abbott said he didn't know about it, either because it wasn't famous or because these people fabricated it.

However, these people displayed very friendly personalities, even actively teaching Nie Ning and Heloise knowledge about puppet making.

If it weren't for the lingering malice, ordinary people would definitely have let down their guard.

On the third day, the witch He Ka shamelessly asked Heloise for some soup.

After tasting it, she reacted exaggeratedly, as if she had tasted a delicacy, almost fooling Nie Ning.

But Nie Ning remembered how he had just tricked Heloise, so he ultimately didn't dare to take a bite.

The other three, seeing that He Ka was fine, also somewhat awkwardly asked Heloise for some food.

According to them, all their money was used to make puppets.

Moreover, their puppets were only used to imitate people and didn't actually have many functions. They would have to be disassembled and the materials returned later.

Unfortunately, Nie Ning couldn't extract any information about the Trial Grounds, or perhaps the four of them simply didn't know.

...

Nie Ning examined the puppets made by Paramond and the others.

From the outside, they were indistinguishable from real people. If one didn't look closely, they were exactly alike.

However, he had watched the process of these people making puppets, and they indeed didn't seem like puppets specifically for combat, but more like decorations.

Even stranger, under the influence of his Spiritual Power, no matter how Nie Ning looked at them, he could tell that the puppets in front of him were not human.

Could this really deceive the detection of the Trial Grounds?

At this moment, Paramond suddenly took out a cylindrical glass vessel, with a spherical purple light orb floating in the middle.

"This is..."

Nie Ning was astonished. He actually sensed mental fluctuations from the purple light orb!

And unlike magical beasts, it was indeed human mental fluctuations. He believed his perception was not wrong on this point.

"It's just a special Artificial Spirit."

Paramond smiled slightly, then placed the light orb into the puppet's body.

Upon hearing this, Nie Ning's eyes immediately lit up.

His own puppets also needed this kind of thing, but because Artificial Spirits were too difficult to make, he hadn't succeeded for so long and had wasted a lot of materials.

After a moment, a purple light flashed in the puppet's eyes, and then the puppet's body slowly began to move.

Suddenly, the puppet clutched its head and knelt on the ground.

Although Paramond hadn't installed a vocalizer, Nie Ning could perceive from the mental fluctuations that the puppet was in great pain.

Is this normal?

Nie Ning couldn't help but look at Paramond: "Your Artificial Spirit..."

"Just a small flaw, don't worry, as long as it can be used normally, it's fine."

Paramond smiled, then inserted the purple light orb into another puppet.

Like the first puppet, the second puppet also showed signs of great pain, but Paramond suppressed it with his powerful Spiritual Power.

Then Paramond took out the remaining puppets.

And when the number of people was complete, the entire Trial Grounds suddenly shook violently.

Seeing this, Nie Ning quickly returned to Heloise and the other person's side.

At this moment, several black light pillars shot up into the sky, and the originally clear blue sky turned into a starry night. This change immediately put everyone on alert.

Before Nie Ning and the others could prepare, silver rays of light suddenly fell from the sky, enveloping everyone, including the puppets.

...