Chapter 20
by GideonChapter 20: The Doll Is Delicate and Incapable of Taking Care of Herself (13)
Only after Qing Guizhu had left did the restaurant manager finally make his belated appearance.
He immediately ordered the staff to start cleaning up the aftermath.
“What a waste! That was a brain, something each person only gets one of! Hotpot made with brains is quite popular among certain types of customers. How could someone just ruin it with a single stomp?!”
“And that skull, too! Ah~ How could he crush it like that? With a little processing, it could have become the raw material for a highly sought-after item!”
Clutching his chest as though his heart were breaking, the restaurant manager muttered regretfully, his face full of pain over the loss. He then turned his gaze toward the surviving player-waiters, and a barely concealed eagerness crept into his eyes.
But it was only eagerness.
Until a player committed a “mistake,” no NPC would make a move against them.
Storm, who understood this rule perfectly well, calmly wiped away the last trace of blood beneath the restaurant manager’s greedy gaze.
Pushing a small cart loaded with players’ corpses, he paused just as he was about to return to the kitchen. His eyes thoughtfully glanced in the direction Qing Guizhu had left.
In his mind, countless scenes from earlier gradually intertwined, eventually settling firmly on one particular image—
That beautiful doll.
Storm smiled faintly.
He thought he might have finally figured out where to find the breakthrough point for completing his mission.
…
Completely unaware that a player had already set his sights on her, Ye Jiujiu was currently staring at Tu Jin.
Ever since he’d carried her back to the room and placed her on the sofa, he’d been silently staring at her without saying a word.
Seriously, what exactly did he want?
“That’s exactly how you were looking at that flirtatious fox earlier.”
Only when Tu Jin noticed that Ye Jiujiu’s favorability toward him seemed to be declining did he finally deign to speak.
His words were clearly accusatory, yet, strangely enough, when they came out of Tu Jin’s mouth, they carried an unmistakable hint of… grievance and reproach.
“You’ve never looked at me that attentively.”
He reached his conclusion with absolute certainty, his tone gradually turning sarcastic.
“If I hadn’t taken you away a little sooner, would that flirtatious fox have completely stolen your soul?”
Now, what was that supposed to mean?
Ye Jiujiu felt completely innocent!
“When have I ever stared at someone as openly as you just did?”
Besides…
“He has a name, you know. His name is Qing Guizhu. Is it really appropriate to give him such an unpleasant nickname behind his back?”
Tu Jin: …?
Well, well, well!
They’d only met for the first time, and she was already defending him?
Did this little doll even consider him her husband?
“So what if I call him a flirtatious fox?”
Tu Jin let out a cold laugh and lightly ground his back teeth.
“That green tea man is lucky I’m only calling him a flirtatious fox! That’s already being generous!”
Exactly! A green tea man!
Tu Jin had finally figured it out completely.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
Ye Jiujiu immediately took offense.
What green tea man?
The more he spoke, the more ridiculous he became.
“He’s obviously just a little more considerate than you! Even if he’s better-looking than you, gentler than you, and more eloquent than you… Is there really a need to slander him behind his back?”
Tu Jin, who couldn’t help laughing out of sheer anger: …?
Huh?
“Are you blind?”
He could already see through that green tea man’s tricks. How could this little doll possibly be so clueless?
And what was even worse…
“You’re actually comparing me to a green tea man?”
You’re saying that flirtatious fox is better than him?
Are you serious?
Faced with Tu Jin’s self-destructive question, what could Ye Jiujiu possibly do?
She could only…
Honestly nod.
How could he even bring himself to ask such a question?
“He was willing to sell off his properties to gather three hundred billion for me. What about you?”
Did he really have no idea how he compared?
“All you’ve done is threaten and intimidate me. And when we first met, you even called me garbage discarded by my former master…”
Ye Jiujiu counted on her fingers, growing angrier with every point she brought up.
Tu Jin, who had nothing to say and was gradually falling silent: …
Seeing that the little doll was already preparing to bring up every old grievance, Tu Jin realized that the situation was becoming unfavorable.
He narrowed his eyes.
Quickly steering the conversation back on track, he tried to introduce a new way of thinking into the little doll’s head. He wanted her to understand that she should focus on him instead of being so short-sighted.
“Three hundred billion is all? Do you really think that’s all you’re worth?”
A hint of superiority gradually crept into Tu Jin’s voice.
“You need to broaden your horizons. My net worth is over eight hundred billion. Wouldn’t you be better off staying with me than with him?”
Well, Ye Jiujiu wasn’t impressed in the slightest.
“At least he was willing to spend three hundred billion on me. What about you?”
An illusion reflected in a mirror or the moon’s reflection in water—what good was that? Anyone could make empty promises!
Ye Jiujiu felt that the grand promise Tu Jin was making now wasn’t even as impressive as the promises she could come up with herself.
After all, she was practically a professional at making empty promises!
“If it weren’t for my master using me to pay off your debt…”
Ye Jiujiu gave him a hypocritical smile and deliberately left the sentence unfinished.
But her eyes said everything.
One eye clearly read Cheapskate, while the other read Miser.
Tu Jin, who had never before been humiliated over his financial standing: …?
He took a deep breath. For the first time, he genuinely began to suspect that this little doll would eventually drive him to an early grave.
“Isn’t it just points?”
She was acting as though he didn’t have any!
Licking his lower lip, Tu Jin calmly opened Ye Jiujiu’s item panel and located the option for using points to upgrade the doll’s skills.
Hmm?
There was actually something this convenient?
Ye Jiujiu immediately perked up.
It wasn’t as though she’d forced him! Tu Jin was doing this entirely of his own free will. In fact, she hadn’t even wanted to do it!
And so…
As an NPC who considered herself a rather kindhearted person, after successfully getting Tu Jin to spend nearly one hundred thousand points…
[Item Information]
Doll Name: ??? (Pending Editing)
Category: Special Item
Manufacturer: Ye Jiujiu (Puppeteer)
Owner: None (Pending Registration)
Rank: A+ Rank
Skill requirements fulfilled. Once ownership registration is successful, the S- Rank advancement pathway will be unlocked. Complete the advancement requirements to officially enter S- Rank.
Weapon: ??? (Unable to Determine)
Skills:
Puppet Mark (Lv. 10 — Maximum upgrade level available for A+ Rank):
Can transform any marked target into a puppet. All transformed puppets retain their original strength. If a puppet sustains damage, its owner can spend a corresponding amount of points to repair it.
(Marking method: Physical contact.)
P.S. Both direct and indirect contact can count as a successful mark.
Example: You touch A, and B touches A. Both A and B will be marked by you.
Puppet Control (Lv. 10 — Maximum upgrade level available for A+ Rank):
You can control your puppets.
Item Description:
Know what a puppeteer is?
Every puppeteer’s ultimate dream is to create the perfect doll.
Without a doubt, the puppeteer who created this doll has already fulfilled her dream.
What stands before you is the one and only perfect doll in the entire world.
Looking at the additional effect that had appeared under the Puppet Mark skill, Tu Jin was clearly very satisfied with the upgraded version of the ability.
The way he looked at Ye Jiujiu became increasingly intense.
This was no longer just an ordinary doll item. Her value had increased by another hundred thousand points in actual monetary terms!
One hundred thousand points!
Meanwhile, Ye Jiujiu was equally pleased as she looked at the suddenly replenished balance in her account.
From now on, nobody was allowed to call Tu Jin a foolish young master from a wealthy family!
He was clearly a generous and easy-to-persuade God of Wealth (a gullible fool)!
Don’t ask.
She’d suddenly decided that staying with Tu Jin might not be such a bad idea after all!
Qing Guizhu suddenly didn’t seem so appealing anymore!
She and Tu Jin were the ones who truly shared a genuine love!
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