In those days of Plants vs. Zombies

Chapter 652 Wishing you sweet dreams tonight

"Wait, what did you say?"

Mo Chen's pupils contracted sharply, and the composure on his face vanished instantly. He suddenly raised his voice, his tone carrying a barely perceptible urgency.

"You...do you really know where Adele is?"

Staring intently at Yingyu before him, Mo Chen seemed to be trying to see through the paper mask and discern what kind of soul lay hidden beneath that ever-changing exterior.

Yingyu seemed to have anticipated Mo Chen's reaction. He chuckled and made the chips reappear in his hand.

"Of course, Lord Mo Chen, I have no reason to deceive you about what we agreed upon."

As he tossed the chip around in his hand, Yingyu's voice took on a playful tone: "If you think I went to all this trouble to invite you here just to make a harmless joke? Then you don't understand us, the actors of the Masked Society, at all."

He cleared his throat and said righteously, "Only those sycophantic jesters of the empire who only know how to pander to the crowd would do such a ridiculous and stupid thing."

Mo Chen's tense nerves relaxed slightly, and he forced himself to calm down.

For some reason, Mo Chen now becomes anxious whenever anything related to Adele is mentioned.

"In that case, stop keeping me in suspense, Mr. Yingyu, tell me, where is Adele?"

"Don't rush, Lord Mo Chen. An impatient cattail plant spirit can't eat catnip."

Yingyu rubbed the chips between her fingertips, amplifying the subtle sound in the silent, pure white space: "Before giving an answer, I want to know one thing."

Mo Chen suppressed his anxiety and asked coldly, "Then what do you want to know?"

"It's simple. I want to know how much you know about Miss Adele Esmode? For example, what do you know about her identity?"

Where Mo Chen couldn't see, beneath Ying Yu's mask, a glint of unfathomable light flashed in her gray eyes.

"You mean...the guilty party?"

After a moment's hesitation, Mo Chen cautiously offered an answer.

Yingyu paused slightly as he rubbed the chips, his tone subtly shifting from playful to unusually serious.

"By the way, Lord Mo Chen, it seems you are not entirely ignorant."

His demeanor changed dramatically in an instant, transforming him from a cynical gambler into an insightful observer awaiting an answer.

"Since you know that Miss Esmode is a sinner, you must also know which great power of sin she possesses, right?"

Mo Chen's heart sank. It seemed that this actor knew more about sinners and the power of great sins than he did.

It's 'lust'.

His voice was dry, as if he had forced those two words out of his throat.

"That's right, it's 'lust'."

Yingyu nodded slightly, a complex expression flashing in her gray eyes behind the mask.

It seemed both an approval of Mo Chen's answer and a sigh for someone's fate.

"Throughout the recorded history of the modern world, the guilty parties who wielded the power of lust have always been women. They often possessed stunning beauty that was almost enviable, yet they were as fragile as glass lamps in a storm, which could be extinguished at any moment."

As if remembering something, Yingyu's voice became lower: "This is the cruelest truth. It clearly symbolizes the most extreme love, but these sinners of lust can never get the 'love' that belongs to them."

Mo Chen asked in confusion, "Why do you say that?"

"The price of being burdened by lust is far heavier than the power of other great sins. Most people, if they spend too much time with a person burdened by lust, will have their original emotions distorted by that power."

At this point, Yingyu's words carried a hint of melancholy: "That's why it's difficult for those burdened by lust to receive positive or neutral emotions from others. After all, these emotions are all transformed into the most primal and evil desires of the burdened person. As a result, they not only fail to receive love, but also become prey coveted by countless villains."

He paused for a moment, and after confirming that Mo Chen was still listening, he continued, "Since ancient times, beautiful women have often had tragic fates. Most of the guilty of lust are pitiful people with no power. Power endows them with infinite beauty and charm, but it makes them unable to protect themselves at all."

Through the pure white space, Yingyu gazed into the distance and murmured, "For these lambs walking among wolves, the so-called power of great sin is not a gift from the world's consciousness, but an inescapable death warrant. On this dog-eat-dog world, the prey that cannot protect itself can only desperately flee or hide until its body perishes and its soul goes to the other side. Only then will this death warrant fall on the next unlucky one chosen."

Mo Chen fell silent; he could feel the suffocating despair in Ying Yu's words.

Adele's image appeared in Mo Chen's mind, and he now realized what kind of sorrow and loneliness was hidden behind those charming, colorful eyes.

"Lord Mo Chen, I can now tell you where Miss Esmode is right now."

Yingyu sighed softly and tossed the chips in his hand into the air.

"You should know about the 'Path to Redemption'."

Upon hearing those four familiar words, Mo Chen's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally died.

"My last contact with Miss Esmode was ten days ago, and I delivered the Heart Ring to you on her behalf."

Yingyu raised her hand and pointed to the Heart-Connecting Ring on Mo Chen's left ring finger: "It was at that time that Miss Esmode told me that she had fallen into the hands of the Redemption Path's branch in War Zone 59 and was being held in the depths of an underground stronghold."

"You mean... Adele wants me to find her, and also wants me to rescue her?"

Mo Chen's voice was trembling, and his Heart-Connecting Ring was also slightly warm.

Suddenly clenching his left hand, Mo Chen seemed to be able to feel Adele's temperature through the ring.

"That's right, Lord Mo Chen. You must have recently received news that Redemption Road plans to hold an auction in War Zone 59 to auction off some 'valuable items' they recently acquired."

Yingyu said seriously, "And Miss Esmode is among them; she is one of the five final items to be auctioned."

Mo Chen's breathing almost stopped at that moment. It felt as if a red-hot iron had been inserted into his chest, burning him so painfully that he couldn't speak.

"The grand finale item..."

As he chewed on those words, each syllable felt like a poisonous thorn, piercing deep into Mo Chen's heart.

"Heh...hehe..."

That wasn't laughter, but rather suppressed anger.

"Winfish, tell me, how much time do I have left?"

Mo Chen's voice was as cold as the unmelting ice of Antarctica, every word carrying a chilling killing intent.

"It's past midnight, Lord Mo Chen. The auction will begin on the fourth day, three days from now."

Looking at the homeowner who seemed like a completely different person, Yingyu was not alarmed by his rage. Instead, a hint of relief flashed in his gray eyes behind the mask: "However, during this time, thanks to the help of a benefactor, Miss Esmode is temporarily safe. But time is running out. If you want to save her, you must hurry."

Yingyu's figure gradually became illusory, and the pure white space began to collapse and shatter.

"A small suggestion, Your Excellency Mo Chen: perhaps you could tell Miss Esmode about your plans in your dream tonight."

In his final moments before disappearing completely, he left a brief blessing: "Then, sweet dreams tonight."