Two Rooster Talismans rested on the counter. They were identical in shape, featuring a rustic stone exterior engraved with tiny runes. The only difference was the pattern carved onto them.
Shendu's Rooster Talisman bore the red silhouette of a rooster, while Zenith's Rooster Talisman featured a white, pixelated chicken with a profoundly stupid look in its eyes.
Uncle held a talisman in each hand, his mind still replaying the scene that had just unfolded.
There was no doubt that this goofy-looking Rooster Talisman was a genuine magical artifact. The same went for the Rabbit Talisman that had been crafted right in front of him moments later.
Two for one, and they were all magical items either way. It was a deal!
To Zenith, the original talismans were more like collectibles to satisfy his inner fanboy. It was just like how, if he ever went to the Marvel universe, he would definitely collect the Infinity Stones just to play around with them.
Moreover, he was incredibly curious about what would happen if he embedded these Minecraft mod talismans into Shendu's statue.
Even though they shared the same names and tried their best to replicate the effects of the real talismans, the ones from the Minecraft mod were still absurdly abstract.
After leaving the antique shop, Zenith asked Serie to exchange some gold for US dollars and buy a manor to serve as their temporary base of operations.
Meanwhile, he set about crafting a complete set of the twelve talismans.
Four blocks of obsidian, four stone bricks, and one diamond were all it took to craft a blank talisman. By holding the blank talisman and right-clicking on the corresponding creature, it would transform into the specific animal talisman.
Expecting to gather the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac in vanilla Minecraft was obviously unrealistic. So, without adding any new animal mods, things got a little abstract.
The Rat Talisman actually contained a Silverfish. The Tiger Talisman held an Ocelot. The dragon in the Dragon Talisman was the Ender Dragon, and the Monkey Talisman... contained a Villager.
As for the Snake Talisman, it straight-up contained a Creeper!
What was that even supposed to mean? Was it a joke about how Creepers always silently spawn right behind the player like a snake in the grass?
Having accompanied Zenith for so long, Serie had a pretty good grasp of his personality by now.
She genuinely enjoyed the feeling of traveling through different universes and acquiring new knowledge. However, the price she had to pay was the constant headaches he caused her.
Seeing Zenith's wicked grin, she knew he was up to no good. "What kind of stupid stunt are you planning now? The SPW Foundation hasn't established a branch here, so there aren't legions of people to clean up your messes for you!"
"Relax, I only have one ass, so I don't need that many people wiping it," Zenith replied. "I'm planning to take a trip around the world and secretly swap all the real talismans with these ones!"
He wouldn't change their locations; he'd just swap the items. Since no one had ever seen what the other talismans looked like anyway, maybe they'd actually fall for it!
He was ready to jump right into it, but pinpointing the talismans' locations wouldn't be easy. Aside from a few specific ones that had their general areas mentioned in the original story, the rest lacked clear descriptions.
Things like 'on a train,' 'in the North Pole,' or 'in a volcanic cave'—there were countless places around the world that fit those criteria. Searching for them like a needle in a haystack would be nearly impossible.
While Uncle had various ancient texts and tomes to reference, Zenith had to look elsewhere for a tracking method—like a talisman radar, for instance.
If he remembered correctly, Shendu had one of his own.
Finding the talismans was a hassle, but finding Shendu couldn't be simpler. For one, Valmont was the mastermind behind this arc, and the dark aura radiating from him was so thick Zenith could see it from hundreds of miles away.
For another, compared to Shendu's aura, Valmont was just a small fry. Shendu was the overarching boss of this entire world.
When a big shot makes an entrance, the underlings go first. Taking the stairs or the elevator lacked prestige, so everyone used their ODM gear to smash straight through the skyscraper's windows.
In a modern city, aside from their slightly lacking combat power, the members of the Survey Corps were basically all Spider-Man.
Valmont wore a green suit, his long white hair tied back into a single ponytail. He didn't panic in the slightest at the sight of the uninvited guests. With a clap of his hands, a massive swarm of his subordinates poured out from all directions.
Levi and the others didn't understand what a 'mafia' was. However, Zenith had explained it to them on the way over: the mafia was just a high-end group of murderous thugs and bandits.
Just kill them and be done with it. No need to hold back!
Minions didn't have plot armor. In less than two minutes, every single one of the Dark Hand enforcers was laid out on the floor.
With a crisp *ding*, the central elevator doors slid open. Zenith strolled out, completely ignoring the bloody mess on the floor, and met Valmont's gaze with a smile.
A big boss needed presence. A slew of iconic boss quotes and expressions flashed through Zenith's mind. Half-closing his eyes, he spoke in a muffled, gravelly voice that sounded like he had a sock stuffed in his mouth. "Valmont, your Dark Hand has rotted away. Your obsession with wealth has blinded you to the truth."
Zenith's gaze drifted past Valmont, landing on the statue of Shendu mounted on the wall behind him. "Shendu, by comparison, we are the optimal candidates to aid in your resurrection."
Hanging on the wall, Shendu currently looked like a prisoner trapped in a cage.
He could see, hear, and speak. He could breathe fire from his stone dragon maw and summon the Shadowkhan, but he was completely incapable of moving.
As everyone knew, Shendu was notoriously untrustworthy—but that only applied to a free Shendu. Right now, he was still a statue. Paying a small price upfront was just a necessary humiliation he had to endure for the greater good.
"I accept your allegiance. What is it that you seek?"
The corners of Valmont's mouth curled up into a smirk. He and Shendu were partners, and this group of people was about to become Shendu's subordinates. Rounding it out, that meant these people were basically his subordinates too.
Thinking about it that way, losing the elite enforcers of the Dark Hand headquarters didn't hurt quite as much.
"We are the Illuminati. We seek to return this world to the era of demon rule. Only demons can lead humanity into the future."
When conning someone, you naturally had to hit their sweet spot. Zenith's lines instantly scratched Shendu right where he itched.
With Valmont, it was always a transactional exchange for treasure. When had he ever heard such devoted rhetoric?
It felt good. It felt *too* good! The red dragon eyes flared with brilliant light, and he immediately handed over the talisman tracker exactly as Zenith requested.
It was a yellow-green stone device carved with dragon heads facing north, south, east, and west. Whenever it detected the nearest talisman, the eyes of the dragon head pointing in that direction would glow.
"Then we shall take our leave."
Zenith turned and led his people away. Actually pledging loyalty to Shendu was out of the question. The stubborn fool had been locked up for so long that his only social interaction in years was with Valmont. In his desperation for freedom, he had temporarily forsaken his own intellect.
Besides, the talisman tracker wasn't exactly a precious artifact. Even if Zenith took it and ran, Shendu could always just make another one.
With the radar in hand, things became much easier. Relying on his supersonic flight and Minecraft Invisibility Potions, it only took Zenith a few days to swap out the vast majority of the talismans.
Now, the only one left was the Ox Talisman embedded in El Toro Fuerte's mask.
El Toro Fuerte was a Mexican luchador. In their wrestling matches, unmasking an opponent was the ultimate declaration of victory, and El Toro Fuerte famously claimed that he would never remove his mask.
Because he was the championship belt holder, an undefeated legend in the wrestling ring.
Although he was technically one of the good guys, it had to be said that his debut wasn't exactly honorable.
El Toro Fuerte's own skills were decent enough, but right now, he was relying heavily on the talisman glued to his mask.
After thinking it over, Zenith decided it was best not to disrupt the original plot too much. The J-Team members were a core part of his childhood memories, and he wouldn't like it if they ended up with one more or one less member.
Paco didn't count.
So, he planned to just use a time stop to pull a bait-and-switch on El Toro Fuerte's Ox Talisman.