Chapter 34
by GideonChapter 34: The Puppet Master – 10
“If you don’t let go soon, the little one might really become impossible to repair…”
Night Jiujui didn’t spare even a glance at the Puppet Master, who was pretending to look weak off to the side. Her cool gaze remained fixed on the little puppet, whom Tu Jin was holding tightly in his arms.
R-Repair?
So she could be repaired?
Tu Jin immediately forgot all about the Puppet Master.
That’s right! The little puppet was an item, a puppet, an artificial construct. She could be repaired. She could definitely be repaired!
With trembling hands, he followed the Puppet Master’s instructions, carefully placing the little puppet’s head and body on the sofa before stepping aside. He stared eagerly as Night Jiujui approached.
The beautiful Puppet Master pretended to examine the little puppet from every angle. The longer she looked, the darker her expression became, until she finally couldn’t hold back and shot a vicious glare at the grinning Puppet Master.
That behavior, that expression, that attitude…
Tu Jin, who had been watching every tiny change in the Puppet Master’s expression, felt his heart sink on the spot.
A grown man was desperately suppressing his sobs, clutching his chest as he tried to ask with as much composure as he could muster.
“Miss Night Jiujui, c-can she… still be repaired?”
“Restoring her completely is impossible.”
Night Jiujui said this without the slightest hesitation. But just as Tu Jin was about to turn around and drag the Puppet Master down to hell with him—
“However…”
That quiet little word immediately stopped Tu Jin’s violent movements.
Even under Tu Jin’s bloodshot stare, the beautiful Puppet Master remained perfectly calm.
“Restoring her to eighty percent of her original condition is still possible.”
As though she hadn’t noticed Tu Jin’s face turning deathly pale, she sighed regretfully.
“This puppet will never again be my perfect masterpiece.”
But Tu Jin clearly didn’t care whether she was perfect or not.
What he cared about more was…
Eighty percent?
The light that had gone out in Tu Jin’s eyes flickered back to life.
He practically stared at Night Jiujui with impatient anticipation.
“If she’s restored to eighty percent, will she still remember me afterward…? No, no, it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t remember me. You just have to repair her… Just repair her, okay?”
Tsk—
Just look at how utterly pathetic he was…
Night Jiujui gave Tu Jin a rather peculiar glance.
It felt as though the lofty, mysterious aura surrounding an S-rank NPC—the kind that made everyone think they were untouchable—had just shattered into pieces.
“…All right.”
Under Tu Jin’s hopeful gaze, Night Jiujui slowly put aside the little thoughts she had been entertaining and picked up the little puppet’s head and body.
“Where are you going?”
Seeing that Night Jiujui seemed about to leave, Tu Jin, who had only just completely merged back into his Strange Orb, immediately grew anxious.
“Have you no manners? Don’t you know that my dear Puppet Master needs a private space to ensure she isn’t disturbed while working?”
Before Night Jiujui could react, the Puppet Master had already cast a faintly amused glance over.
“Besides…”
He looked critically around the room, which had been left in utter disarray by their earlier fight.
“For a place that looks like a pigsty, having my dear Puppet Master even set foot in it is already its greatest honor. Every additional second she spends here makes my heart ache for her…”
Tu Jin: …?
What the hell…
Who the hell was responsible for turning this room into such a mess?
How did this bastard have the nerve to say something like that?
If he weren’t too weak to beat this lunatic simp, he would…
“Shen Chengye.”
Just as Tu Jin could only smile at the Puppet Master while cursing him inwardly, the Puppet Master girl, who had reached the doorway, suddenly stopped.
She softly called out a name Tu Jin had never heard before. Her voice was still as gentle and cool as ever, yet the irritation in it was unmistakable.
Hm?
Just as Tu Jin was wondering who Night Jiujui was calling—
The Puppet Master’s expression suddenly turned solemn.
“Darling, don’t be angry. I really didn’t mean to damage your puppet. I swear, I—”
“That’s not what I mean.”
The Puppet Master lowered her eyes. Her voice grew even colder, almost completely devoid of warmth.
Following her gaze downward—
Oh!
A corpse with its heart ripped out was lying right in the middle of the path the Puppet Master had to take.
Even worse, the spreading blood had lightly stained the soles of her shoes.
The Puppet Master, who had received all of Tu Jin’s assets and become so absorbed in the performance that he had nearly forgotten there was still a player around: …
Although he really wanted to say, What’s the big deal?…
Looking at the blood staining her shoes, and remembering that he was supposed to be playing a particular role, the Puppet Master fell silent for a moment before lightly snapping his fingers.
The flow of time surrounding Storm, who had previously been nothing more than a corpse, was rapidly rewound.
Every drop of spilled blood returned to its original place. His heart slid back into position, and the hand that had been thrust into his chest returned to its original state.
In the blink of an eye, Storm was alive again.
Within the domain designated as the stage for his performance, the Puppet Master was the absolute ruler who controlled everything. Time was no exception.
The moment he revived, Storm hadn’t even managed to understand what was happening. The excruciating pain of having his own heart ripped out seemed to still be spreading through his chest, and he immediately curled up on the floor again.
As he moved around in pain, his hand was just about to touch the Puppet Master’s shoe when—
That same sensation of being controlled seized his entire body once more.
He was forced to stand upright. When he slightly raised his head—
His eyes met the Puppet Master’s sinister green gaze.
“As a gentleman, attempting to offend a lady is terribly impolite, wouldn’t you agree?”
His tone was gentle, almost intimate, as though he were whispering sweet nothings to a lover. Yet the expression on his face was nothing but chillingly sinister.
“Ah… As a little price for teaching you to remember your manners, how about I take both your hands?”
What?
Storm’s memories were still stuck at the moment just before his death. He clearly hadn’t understood what the Puppet Master meant. He stared back at him in confusion.
Just as the Puppet Master was about to make his move—
“You seem to be constantly causing trouble.”
A female voice, filled with unmistakable detachment, reached Storm’s ears.
The next instant—
Storm felt the force controlling him disappear completely. And then…
“Darling, listen to me! I think you’re being rather prejudiced against me!”
The green-eyed man, whose face had been so sinister just moments ago, changed expressions faster than someone flipping through a book. In an instant, he put on a thoroughly aggrieved look.
He no longer spared anyone else even the slightest glance. Instead, he hurriedly turned his attention to…
Struggling to turn around, Storm watched the back of the girl who was now being surrounded by the green-eyed man with almost excessive attentiveness.
And suddenly, everything became clear.
Damn it!
Another freaking simp!
After taking a deep breath and receiving the system notification that his room service assignment had been completed, Storm finally recovered from the lingering illusion of pain.
He struggled to his feet. Before leaving, he cast one last glance at the Puppet Master and Tu Jin, who were both likewise trapped outside Room 3-03.
In his heart, he offered the two pathetic simps his most sincere and heartfelt blessing.
Keep simping, you fools! In the end, you’ll both be left with absolutely nothing!
0 Comments