Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 55

 

| PN | Bandage | 55

Inside the box were two dark red crystals. Compared to the transparent hearts of normal puppets, these crystals were much duller in color, with a poor texture, almost as if they were poorly made replicas with no sense of vitality.

Qi Chao’s gaze darkened as he looked at the two crystals tightly pressed together, as if no one could separate them.

Although deformed puppets have a short lifespan, an S-level puppet should live for at least a year. It seemed strange that they would die in just three months.

Beside him, Shen Yuxi’s smile slightly faded upon seeing the crystals. His eyes showed no surprise, as if he had expected this all along.

Vice President Li closed the box and placed it in front of Qi Chao, smiling as he said, “As the champion of the previous competition, Qing Yu’s creations are valuable just as the motherstones are. However, these two hearts have lost their energy fluctuations, so their research value is minimal.”

In Vice President Li’s view, Qi Chao’s desire to meet Double Mirror was likely driven by an interest in studying how the energy of deformed puppets worked. After all, why would the champion of a puppet master competition go out of their way to meet a deformed puppet otherwise?

To the association, puppets were merely tools. No matter how rich their emotions or how human-like they seemed, they were still not human.

This was a key lesson taught in the first class at the Puppet Masters Association.

Ordinary people might sympathize with puppets because of their exquisite and beautiful appearance, but members of the association cannot afford such sentiments. 

Vice President Li looked at Qi Chao; even though this son of a wealthy family was not yet a member of the Puppet Masters Association, he was certain to join them.

After all, the association was backed by the Empire.

Vice President Li thought that although Qi Chenming was very upset about Qi Chao’s situation, he would eventually come to reconcile with them once everything was resolved.

Continuing, Vice President Li said, “If you join the association, we have dedicated research institutions that I believe you will find very appealing.”

Qi Chao’s gaze shifted from the box to Vice President Li’s face. He gave a slight smile, his deep brown eyes fixed on Li with a look of keen interest. “Research institutions? What aspects of puppets do you study?”

“Oh, there are many aspects.”

Vice President Li smiled, his friendly face revealing a hint of significance. “Just know that the Empire has invested a substantial amount of funds into this project.”

Investment from the Empire?

Qi Chao’s smile remained unchanged. “I’m very interested, but you also know that my father is very angry about the incident involving the association’s puppets. If I join your association now, my father will certainly not let me off easily.”

Hearing this, Vice President Li examined Qi Chao’s face but could not discern whether his words were genuine or merely an excuse. 

Ultimately, he decided to go along with it. “I understand. Your father’s concern for you is natural, and our association’s lack of supervision is indeed a fault. However, we’ve had a pleasant cooperation with your father in the past. This incident was truly an accident. I hope you can speak favorably of us to him.”

“Of course,”

Qi Chao said with a smile, though his deep brown eyes grew somber.

After obtaining the hearts of the Double Mirrors, Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi left the venue. On the way, neither of them spoke, and the only sound was the wheels of the wheelchair crunching over fallen leaves, creating an eerily quiet atmosphere.

Shen Yuxi was not surprised by Qi Chao’s reaction. He knew that Qi Chao viewed puppets as children. Even if Double Mirrors wasn’t a puppet made by Qi Chao himself, he would still be upset by its plight.

He was a very strange person.

Shen Yuxi’s lips curled into a slight smile. If Qi Chao weren’t such a peculiar individual, he wouldn’t have taken an interest in him, and he certainly wouldn’t have arranged for him to be a part of his plans.

Knowing the fate of Double Mirrors, would Qi Chao voluntarily join the association? He probably would. Given his character, Qi Chao was very likely to join the association to investigate the so-called research institutions.

Shen Yuxi’s eyelashes shielded his eyes, hiding the complex emotions within. Even if Qi Chao had no intention of joining the association, it didn’t matter. 

He always had a way to make Qi Chao join.

After all, making Qi Chao join the association was a part of his plan. Shen Yuxi tightened his grip on the wheelchair’s armrests, his blue eyes darkened slightly. Ignoring the sudden discomfort in his heart, he took the initiative to speak, “What are you planning to do with the hearts of Double Mirrors?”

Qi Chao, seated in the wheelchair, fell silent for a moment before giving a soft laugh. “Let’s put them in my study. It’s quieter there.”

Shen Yuxi nodded in agreement, his fingers lightly moving as he said nothing more. It was as if Qi Chao was roused by this suggestion. He glanced at the box and spoke in a somewhat hoarse voice, “I didn’t expect Double Mirrors to be gone as well.”

In this world, it seemed that puppets were not valued much.

Qi Chao thought to himself how, despite their considerable worth, these beings seemed to be treated as mere tools in the hands of those people.

Shen Yuxi looked down at the top of Qi Chao’s head, as if he could imagine the confusion and dismay on his face. With an unchanged expression, Shen Yuxi spoke gently, “The life of a deformed puppet is inherently short. Don’t let it bother you too much.”

“Mm.” Qi Chao understood that Double Mirrors’ death was undoubtedly related to the so-called research conducted by the association. He smiled at Shen Yuxi, resting his hand on the box without saying anything further.

Meanwhile, at the desolate spacecraft parking area, two black figures suddenly appeared, shrouded in an ominous black mist.

Li Bai and Lan Luo stood outside the spacecraft, their eyes closely fixed on these two figures. 

The figures in the air moved with great speed, nearly impossible to track with the naked eye. 

However, for Li Bai and Lan Luo, the movements of the two puppets were easily discernible.

The usually silent Moss showed no mercy as he swung a knife, which he had apparently grabbed from somewhere, directly at Agu. The blade cut through the air, aiming to sever Agu's neck. 

At the last moment, Agu suddenly crouched down, skillfully avoiding the attack, though half of his black ponytail was sliced off.

"My hair!"

Agu looked at the black hair lying on the ground, touched the remaining hair at his waist, which had originally reached his waist but was now cut in half. His previously smiling face grew somber.

He said, "Agu is angry."

Li Bai, excited, stomped his feet on the spot and then tugged at Lan Luo’s sleeve, saying, "They’re having so much fun, I want to join in too!"

"Yes, it does seem quite enjoyable."

Lan Luo, with a bright smile on his face, grabbed Li Bai’s collar to prevent his silly friend from actually jumping in. He looked at the two figures fighting fiercely and showed a satisfied expression. 

Watching these two annoying guys fight each other is much more interesting than the trashy ads on animated shows.

Seeing Agu’s somber expression, Moss’s face remained unchanged. He entered a space vortex and instantly reappeared beside Agu, swinging his knife with no hint of mercy.

Agu, noticing this, swiftly dodged and countered by reaching out and quickly untying the bandage knot around Moss's neck in less than a second.

He was a very malicious puppet. Whenever anyone angered Agu, he would retaliate with all his might, targeting the deepest emotional scars. The more others suffered, the happier he became.

Due to the intense movement, the bandage fell off halfway, revealing the lower half of Moss’s delicate face.

Realizing Agu’s intention, Moss stepped back a few paces, clutching the falling bandage with his dark, shadowy eyes.

"Oh dear, big brother looks so ugly!"

Agu said with a smile, "I can even see the scars on big brother’s face. Hurry up and tie the bandage back on, or your whole face will be exposed."

Although the lower half of Moss’s face was delicate, it was covered with horrifying scars, as if someone had repeatedly cut him with a knife.

Lan Luo, standing next to the aircraft, heard this and his eyes darkened instantly. His fingers cracked ominously. He disliked big brother, but he disliked second brother even more, or rather, all the puppets in the trial arena disliked second brother.

Agu was so malevolent that he made all the puppets loathe him.

Li Bai also heard Agu’s words. Since Moss’s back was turned to him, Li Bai couldn’t see Moss’s face, but he still thought Agu was being a bit excessive. He whispered to Lan Luo, “I think Brother Agu is a bit mean. Let’s ask Brother Moss not to play with him. We three can play together instead, okay?”

Lan Luo was about to explain things to the naive Li Bai when a faint sound like a wheelchair rolling came from outside the parking area.

The previously tense situation suddenly relaxed. Agu, with a smiling face, ran in front of Moss, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “I knew big brother wouldn’t really want to kill me. Our brotherly bond is truly unbreakable.”

Moss, clutching the bandage in his hand to cover the scars on his face, with dark, shadowy eyes and a hoarse voice full of killing intent, said, “I will definitely kill you.”

Agu, still smiling like a flower butterfly, picked up the hair that had fallen to the ground, ran into the aircraft, and hummed a tune with a bizarre, almost psychotic demeanor.

When Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi returned, they noticed that something was off with the atmosphere. Qi Chao looked at the three puppets standing outside the aircraft and tentatively asked, “Are you waiting for me and Brother Shen?”

Lan Luo and Moss remained silent, while Li Bai raised his hand to explain, “No, we were playing outside, but Brother Agu was too excessive in the game. We’re just upset with him.”

Lan Luo’s expression was a bit stiff, but upon further thought, this seemed like the best explanation. After a moment of silence, Lan Luo nodded heavily, saying, “He was too excessive. Let’s not play with him anymore.”

This childlike explanation eased Qi Chao’s previously worried mood. He smiled and said, “I see.”

Qi Chao’s gaze shifted from the two small children to Moss. When he noticed that Moss was covering his cheeks with the scattered bandage, he paused for a moment.

Although Moss was doing his best to use the bandage to cover his face, Qi Chao still saw the black scars through the gaps in the bandage.

Moss noticed his gaze, his dark eyes flickering slightly as his eyes met his father’s. His lips moved, but he said nothing, turning and entering the aircraft.

Shen Yuxi, watching Moss’s silent back, clearly guessed something. He looked toward Agu inside the aircraft, who was humming something, his lashes hiding the complexity in his eyes.

The two small puppets also went into the aircraft, during which Li Bai said to Lan Luo, “Let’s ignore Brother Agu when we go in. He’s so mean.”

“Let’s go in,” Lan Luo replied.

Qi Chao smiled at Shen Yuxi. He was naturally very curious about the scars on Moss’s face, but when he saw Shen Yuxi’s expression, he suddenly lost the desire to ask. 

Qi Chao patted the box on his lap, wondering if the bandages on Moss’s face were to cover scars, what about the other bandages?

Qi Chao’s dark brown eyes were inscrutable.

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