Chapter 40
by GideonChapter 40: Hotel – 6
The entire venue fell silent.
However, after looking around, the Puppeteer still seemed dissatisfied.
“Are you frightened?”
He sounded genuinely puzzled.
“Why would you be frightened?”
The guests present: “…?”
Why are we frightened? Do you seriously have no idea?!
As it turned out, the Puppeteer might genuinely have no idea what was going on.
After receiving no response for quite some time…
“Ah, I understand now—”
He tilted his head, making a seemingly innocent guess.
“Are you worried that you won’t get to participate in my performance?”
The guests present: “…???”
No! We’re not! We never said that! Don’t put words in our mouths!
“I—”
Overwhelmed by intense fear, one of the guests immediately tried to defend himself.
However…
The Puppeteer merely raised his eyes slightly.
Amid the scattering of flesh and blood, that same gentle smile remained on his lips.
He clasped his hands together in front of him, tilted his head, and leaned slightly to one side as though listening to something.
“Did someone just say something?”
Everyone present: “…”
At that moment, not a single sound could be heard.
Excellent.
“Since everyone is so enthusiastic…”
The Puppeteer sighed emotionally. He even wiped the corners of his eyes with an expression of profound “gratitude,” despite there being no tears there.
“Then today’s performance will be canceled. Instead, as everyone wishes… I’ll have to trouble you all to help make some dolls for the performance.”
What?
What was the connection between participating in a performance, canceling the performance, and making little dolls instead?
Why would participating in the performance ultimately turn into making little dolls?
Well, what could they do? He was the event organizer, after all.
The reason was simply that he felt like it.
As the Puppeteer’s voice grew increasingly low, his fingertips moved in a series of delicate gestures.
The next second—
The guests under his control seemed to have received some kind of command. With stiff, mechanical steps, they left their seats and gathered in the center of the dining area.
The Puppeteer meticulously assigned each of them a numerical label.
“Number One’s bones, Number Two’s skin, Number Three’s flesh, Number Four’s blood, Number Five’s liver, Number Six’s heart, Number Seven’s…”
As he assigned the numbers, he introduced each person according to the body parts they had requested earlier.
Until the very last person had been labeled…
“Bang!”
There were no people left.
All that remained was a pile of stacked body parts, reaching the height of a person.
The Puppeteer stood in front of the pile.
He squeezed the final heart in his hand. A few drops of blood trickled through the gaps in his gloves.
With the slightest application of force, the heart was reduced to a lump of minced flesh.
Casually tossing the bloody pulp behind him, he removed his soiled gloves. Only then did the Puppeteer look up, wearing an expression that seemed faintly troubled.
“Let’s not concern ourselves with these minor details. Shall we return to the main topic…?”
“Before dinner ends, find the correct materials and make the proper dolls…”
He spread his hands. The gentle smile on his face gradually twisted into something sinister.
“If you fail to provide the dolls, then, in order to fulfill your wish of participating in the performance, I’ll have no choice but to reluctantly…”
He didn’t finish his sentence.
Looking at the guests’ suddenly changed expressions, the Puppeteer happily curled his lips into a smile.
A piercing sound signaled the beginning of the battle royale.
The body parts were frantically snatched up. The relatively peaceful atmosphere from earlier disappeared completely in an instant.
“How brutal…”
“Yeah…”
Hearing the sudden voice beside him, Storm instinctively replied.
Wait!
That voice…
Storm’s body jolted as he came back to his senses.
He slowly, very slowly, turned his head—
And, just as he had expected, met a pair of smiling eyes.
“H-How coincidental…”
His stammering voice carried an unmistakable pallor of fear.
“Don’t be nervous…”
The smile in the Puppeteer’s eyes, meanwhile, was exceptionally pronounced.
He was sitting on the stage, resting his chin on one hand. His knuckles unconsciously tapped against the tabletop in a peculiar rhythm.
As he watched the chaotic battle for survival unfolding below, he laughed with unrestrained delight.
“Look, what a magnificent theatrical performance—”
Storm: “…”
Only at that moment did he finally realize the truth.
What performance?
The Puppeteer had simply come here to amuse himself!
Damn it!
He had completely misjudged the situation. So this lunatic wasn’t just a hopeless simp—he was genuinely a complete psychopath, too!
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