| PN | Respect | 120
According to the system’s estimates, the villain's plan should have reached its mid-stage by now.
In the past, it would have eagerly wished for the villain's plan to be interrupted immediately, but now the system even found itself wanting to cheer for the villain, hoping he would quickly deal with the protagonist group so the host could live a good life.
However, the system was well aware that the likelihood of the villain succeeding was very low, or rather, the predetermined outcome was hard to change.
This was something the book travelers in the trial arena understood just as clearly.
Unlike Old Liu and Zhang Li, who only had a vague understanding of the plot, Li Ge had read the entire book from start to finish during his nearly five days in the trial arena. He spat out the tender shoots of wild grass he had been chewing.
The bitter and sour taste spread in his mouth as Li Ge walked to the lake, scooping water into his mouth to relieve the discomfort.
At this point, he felt that he was doomed.
Li Ge looked at his reflection in the water. He was a spirited young man with big eyes and a high nose, the only flaw being that he was too thin.
However, in this hellish place, it was not surprising that the original owner was so thin.
This cursed place was called the trial arena, and its name alone indicated that it was no good place.
In the book, this place was like a hellish existence. After the Red Moon Incident, the demon puppets seemed to have unlocked something and became extremely brutal.
They violently attacked the humans in the trial arena, using various bizarre abilities to make human life unbearable.
Each trial taker lived day after day, teetering on the edge of death.
It was at this moment that the protagonist, Lu Chen, made his entrance. He led his underlings in a battle of wits and courage against the demon puppets, quickly becoming a pillar of support for the trial takers.
Originally, according to the plot, the protagonist group was supposed to kill all the demons and ultimately save humanity from its plight.
However, in reality, while the puppets were defeated, this world was destroyed.
Li Ge recalled the page he had read before sleeping and wanted to smile, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so.
At the end of the book, just when everyone believed they were on the verge of victory, the mastermind behind it all finally appeared.
He was a man with golden hair and blue eyes, exuding a gentle and clean aura, making it hard to imagine that everything was orchestrated by him.
“Are they all dead?”
The humans present were still in shock from the man’s gentle voice when, in the next moment, countless branches erupted from his golden-haired body. His palms, eyes, and heart were all pierced by these branches, with blood continuously oozing from the wounds.
The crimson blood flowed down the contours of the man’s face from his eye sockets, staining the branches and giving them an eerie beauty. Everyone could sense the pain he was enduring, but what terrified them was that the golden-haired man slowly revealed a smile despite the agony.
Why was he smiling? This strange smile filled everyone present with an ominous premonition.
“They’re all dead,” the man repeated.
As soon as he finished speaking, the hearts of those present suddenly felt a sharp pain, and their spines were bent as if a heavy weight had been placed upon them, making it impossible to stand.
A few heard the man’s laughter, along with the sound of eggshells cracking. In an instant, the blood within their bodies began to flow backward, and their eardrums shattered.
The protagonist, Lu Chen, and his nearby underlings watched in horror as the humans around them fell one after another to the ground, soon losing consciousness themselves.
Just before Lu Chen was completely engulfed in darkness, he saw cracks appearing in the sky above.
From that moment on, everything on Blue Star was instantly obliterated.
At first, Li Ge felt exhilarated watching Lu Chen kill the demon puppets, but as he later encountered this ending, he felt utterly crushed.
What kind of twisted mind would concoct such a disgusting and stupid ending?
Not to mention the bizarre connection between the villain and the tree, but the fact that the entire protagonist group was annihilated, and even the planet was destroyed—was that appropriate?
Surely, if the author had eaten a few more peanuts, they wouldn't have ended up drunk enough to write such a conclusion!
Due to the villain's overwhelming power, Li Ge read through the scenes repeatedly, yet he couldn’t figure out how the villain managed to destroy the planet.
Perhaps it was because the main perspective was from Lu Chen, making the narrative so vague.
After pondering for a moment, Li Ge quickly came to terms with it. He didn’t understand how the villain destroyed the world and didn’t consider himself as powerful as the protagonist.
Since Lu Chen had met his end, there was no need for him to feel inferior.
Instead of wasting time on that, it would be better for him to consider how to sneak away. After all, he was going to die anyway, and enduring the pain of being on the brink of death every day was far too unworthy.
Before he died, he absolutely had to see what Blue Star’s holographic light brain really looked like!
Li Ge splashed some water on his face and stood up, ready to search for suitable candidates to team up with for the escape.
The trial takers in this cursed place had long since become twisted; each one was darker than the last. He needed to pick a few teammates to cooperate with and find a way out.
While Li Ge was busy contemplating his escape, Qi Chao, another traveler, had already started his daily work. The two were living in stark contrast—one was focused on extreme survival, while the other led an ordinary artisan life.
Li Ge could never have imagined that the broken and mysterious villain in his eyes would be the boyfriend of an ordinary puppet craftsman.
【Host, the previously delayed rewards have been reissued to your account and can be withdrawn at any time.】
“Great, thank you,” Qi Chao replied casually, his hands never stopping as he gently pushed the clay with a carving knife, continuously refining the mold he was working on.
Watching the host’s focused demeanor, the system didn’t disturb him further. Although the headquarters had sent it back to work, the matters concerning the host next door were still unresolved, and the system needed to return to take notes.
It calculated the time and went back to the central world. After completing its documentation, it hurried back, not daring to seek out the delicate host next door.
Upon returning to Blue Star, the system initially thought its most manageable host would still be working.
However, to its surprise, the host was not in the basement but was piloting an aircraft, seemingly headed somewhere unknown.
It observed as the host parked outside an unfamiliar villa, and not long after, several children from Qi Chao's household emerged from inside.
Listening to the conversation between Qi Chao and the puppets, the system vaguely guessed that two puppets with troubled pasts were living in the villa.
【I thought you would bring those two puppets home.】
By the time the system spoke, Qi Chao had already returned home and entered the basement to continue crafting puppets.
“Why would you think that?” Qi Chao chuckled.
【I’ve always thought of you as someone who treats puppets like children. Seeing them, you should want to help them.】
After shifting his mindset, the system began to feel that these puppets were actually quite innocent. Despite their incredible combat abilities, they were like the demon puppet Lan Luo in its eyes—if they received care, they would be the cutest children.
“That’s true,” Qi Chao admitted, lowering his gaze to stroke the clay mold in his hands. “But that doesn’t relate to whether I’ll take them home or not.”
Even though he had only met them once, Qi Chao could tell that Xiao Que and the others had no intention of getting close to him. Not all puppets were like Li Bai and the others, who needed him.
In this situation, respecting these two puppets and offering occasional help was more than enough.
The system listened to the host’s words with a naive understanding. It didn’t press further, realizing that the host didn’t plan to bring the two puppets back with him.
After answering the system, Qi Chao continued to work on the puppets. By the time he finished this particular mold, it was already ten o'clock at night.
The children had all fallen asleep.
Qi Chao rubbed his sore wrists, and just as the system was about to offer some words of comfort, he saw the host reach for his holographic light brain and send a video invitation.
The system immediately closed its mouth, sensing the shift in focus.
The person Qi Chao actively sent the video invitation to was Brother Shen. He knew that Brother Shen had been staying up late these past few days, so sending the video at this time wouldn’t disturb him.
“Qi Chao,” Shen Yuxi said, his eyes curving into a smile, with his peach blossom gaze filled with infinite affection. Just one glance made Qi Chao's ears turn red.
He gave a soft “mm,” rubbing his ears, though his expression remained neutral.
Noticing this, the smile in Shen Yuxi’s eyes deepened a bit.
For Lu Chen’s safety, Qiao Sheng wouldn’t reveal too much about himself to Qi Chao, and Shen Yuxi was aware of this.
Yet, deep down, he still harbored some worries.
Seeing Qi Chao’s familiar reaction now eased some of the tension in Shen Yuxi's heart.
“Brother Shen, are you still busy?”
Qi Chao noticed the fatigue in Shen Yuxi's eyes and pressed his lips together, his voice slightly somber.
“It's okay,” Shen Yuxi replied, his fingertips brushing the corners of his eyes.
There had been a lot of things happening at the trial arena recently, and he had been pulling a few late nights—had it really been so easy to see through him?
“I won’t be so busy soon,” he added, his tone gentle, making it hard not to believe him.
Qi Chao looked at Shen Yuxi's beautiful face, his expression contemplative. In truth, he hadn’t had anything specific to discuss; he simply wanted to see him.
Although they video chatted every day, Qi Chao still felt like something was missing. “Once I finish making the fifth puppet, can I come back to stay with you?”
Hearing this, Shen Yu Xi was taken aback for a moment, then smiled, “Of course, that sounds great.”
By then, the trial arena should be less busy, and he would have more time to spend with him.
Qi Chao gazed into Shen Yuxi's smiling blue eyes and recalled what Qiao Sheng had said about Brother Shen's past.
He hesitated for a moment, then pushed those thoughts aside; after all, such matters should be asked face-to-face—what was the point of discussing it through a screen?
“What’s wrong?” Shen Yuxi was very observant of the changes in Qi Chao's expression.
Qi Chao maintained his smile and answered naturally, “Brother Shen, do you know what the best material for making fairy-type wings is?”
“Fairy?” Shen Yuxi didn’t suspect anything.
In fact, he had never considered that Qi Chao would deceive him. “There are very few fairy-type puppets now, but I saw some related information in a book.”
Their conversation smoothly shifted to the matter at hand. The advantage of having the same profession was that when Shen Yuxi provided a simple explanation, Qi Chao could immediately understand and even draw inferences from it.
From this perspective, the two of them really were a perfect match.
The system observed the host and the villain discussing puppets, pondering to itself.
After the holographic call ended, Qi Chao, who had originally planned to go to bed, immediately returned to his desk and began writing down the materials that Shen Yuxi had just mentioned.
He lowered his head in thought, occasionally adding a few of his own ideas.
Watching this scene, the system felt inexplicably moved. This behavior of recording ideas as soon as inspiration struck embodied the craftsmanship spirit that the headquarters promoted.
Compared to the emotional yet somewhat neurotic host next door, Qi Chao was practically a model example, wasn’t he?!
Meanwhile, in the Ganfen villa, Shen Yuxi was sitting on the sofa, gazing at the black screen of his holographic brain. He recalled the gradually excited look in Qi Chao's eyes while they were chatting, a hint of a smile emerging in his own.
Qi Chao probably wouldn’t be sleeping for a while.
Running his fingertips over the holographic brain, Shen Yuxi thought about how Qi Chao might wait until he finished organizing his notes before going to bed.
Qi Chao had mentioned being busy, but Shen Yuxi was well aware that he too had been occupied, constantly working on making puppets.
“Father, what did Dad say to make you so happy?” Agu jumped down from upstairs, grinning widely. Although he hadn’t seen his father video chatting with Dad, he could guess that only Dad could make his father this happy.
Shen Yuxi glanced at Agu and replied nonchalantly, “Nothing much. He said that next time he comes, he doesn’t want to see Agu anymore, and I agreed.”
Hearing this, Agu immediately realized it wasn’t something Dad would say. The fact that his father would make such a joke was really amusing.
Looking at Shen Yuxi sitting on the sofa, Agu's smile grew even wider.
It was indeed thanks to Dad.
With that thought in mind, Agu quickly lowered his head and excitedly sent a few messages to Xiang Yue.
Among all the puppets, only Xiang Yue would respond to him.
This made Agu even more enthusiastic about messaging.
Shen Yuxi cast a glance at Agu, sensing something, but he didn’t address it. Instead, he shifted his focus to Ayu, who was standing behind Agu. “How’s it going?”
Ayu was different from the waste of space next to her who had been constantly typing away.
She walked over to the sofa, removed her naval cap, and with a serious expression, confidently said, “Ayu has placed a surveillance device on Qiao Sheng. Father can rest assured; once he meets up with Lu Chen, Ayu will inform you immediately.”
Shen Yuxi nodded, pausing for a moment before speaking, “What about the association? What are they planning to do lately?”
Ayu understood what her father was getting at. In fact, even if he hadn’t asked, she would have shared today’s events with him.
“The association has sent people to approach the head of the Qi family.”
The head of the Qi family was Qi Chenming, who was also Qi Chao's father.
Shen Yuxi lightly tapped his fingers on the armrest, deducing the association's intentions. He looked at Ayu and asked, “What’s the head of the Qi family’s attitude?”
“He hasn’t agreed, but since the association is using the Empire as an excuse, the head of the Qi family hasn’t directly rejected it for now.” Ayu added calmly, “After analysis, the head of the Qi family will ultimately refuse the association.”
Listening to Ayu, Shen Yuxi fell into deep thought. After a long pause, he said, “Tell Bugu and Miao Qi about this. Have them divert the association’s attention and secretly assist the head of the Qi family.”
“Understood, Father.”
Ayu placed her naval cap back on her head, gave a gentle nod, and turned to leave the living room.
In the living room, only Agu and Shen Yuxi were left.
“What are you staying here for?” Shen Yuxi tilted his head slightly, his voice soft. “Aren’t you going to sleep?”
Ayu wasn’t sleeping because she had been in a dormant state during the day, and now it was almost midnight. Moss was already asleep, but Agu still seemed so energetic, which was a bit unusual.
“Because it’s really interesting!” Agu replied. “Recently, there have been many fascinating people at the trial ground, and I want to go play there.”
Shen Yuxi quietly observed Agu’s cheerful expression. After a long pause, he smiled slightly and said, “It is indeed quite interesting. You can go tomorrow morning.”
With his father’s permission, Agu was overjoyed and cheered, “That’s great! Father, I love you to death!”
As Agu dashed back to his room, he began tapping away at the screen of his light brain, excitedly telling Xiang Yue about the good fortune he had encountered.
Of course, he wouldn’t reveal what that good fortune was.
Listening to Agu's movements upstairs, Shen Yuxi’s eyelashes fluttered slightly.
Was it those strange people from the trial ground?
Shen Yuxi’s gaze darkened. He wasn't interested in why those people had become peculiar, but if they interfered with his plans and prevented him from being with Qi Chao, he would make sure to deal with them ruthlessly.
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