| PN | Repair | 170
Black mist curled around the branches, and indistinct black shadow puppets huddled together in a cluster. It was difficult to see through the haze to determine exactly how many puppets were there.
However, this was not a challenge for Qi Chao.
Or rather, in his recent conversations with the shadows, Qi Chao had carefully counted their numbers. He clearly remembered that there were a total of fifty shadow puppets on the branches, but now one was missing.
Where had this shadow gone?
Qi Chao had a vague suspicion. He closed his eyes and extended his spiritual energy toward the mother tree, distinctly sensing that its energy had grown more concentrated than before.
Its resentment had dissipated, right?
Qi Chao silently posed the question to the essence of the mother tree hidden within the shadowy space.
The little tree shook its green leaves in confirmation.
When Qi Chao opened his eyes and looked back at the branches, his gaze was filled with evident surprise and doubt. He could not understand why that child had quietly returned to the mother tree within just a few hours.
Currently, Qi Chao was the only one in the trial ground.
It was hard for him not to associate the disappearance of the shadow with himself. Yet, in the past two hours, all he had done was repair a deformed puppet.
Why had the shadow vanished?
Suppressing his tangled thoughts, Qi Chao sat down on the ground and started chatting with the shadows again, hoping to glean some truth from their reactions.
"I was just treating that child’s injuries earlier. Sorry to have kept you waiting," he said.
The shadows remained silent, crouching on the branches and gazing down at Qi Chao with lowered heads.
"Tomorrow, I might spend this time repairing more deformed puppets," Qi Chao continued.
At his mention of this plan, some of the shadows on the tree grew visibly restless, as if unwilling for Qi Chao to waste his time on those puppets.
Watching this reaction, Qi Chao thought for a moment before tentatively saying, "Even if I treat the deformed puppets, I’ll do it here. After I’m finished, I’ll spend time with you like I have the past few days, chatting together."
The previously restless shadows instantly calmed down.
It seemed that as long as Qi Chao stayed with them, they were satisfied. Even so, the shadows showed no intention of coming down from the branches.
The shadows clearly adored the mother tree.
However, they still appeared to maintain a certain distance from Qi Chao in his human form. This thought deepened Qi Chao’s curiosity about the reason for the shadow’s disappearance.
Noticing Qi Chao lost in thought, head lowered and silent, the shadows on the branches began to stir again. The dark mist around them rippled and shifted, but when Qi Chao finally looked up, they fell quiet once more.
Although the comparison wasn’t entirely accurate, Qi Chao couldn’t help but think they were somewhat like cautious but endearing animals. He chuckled softly at the thought and continued chatting with the shadows.
In the dense and shadowed forest, Qi Chao’s voice sounded again, carrying a warmth tinged with an inexplicable gentleness.
It wasn’t until the eyeball floated over to Qi Chao’s side, reminding him of the late hour, that he bade the shadows goodbye and left the area.
After Qi Chao disappeared into the vortex, the shadows finally realized he had truly left. They let out hoarse, piercing screams, filled with an indescribable unease, as if unwilling to let Qi Chao slip from their sight.
Unfortunately, Qi Chao was already gone and naturally could not comfort the puppets during their moment of agitation.
A green orb of light drifted toward the shadows, sensing their restlessness.
It was the mother tree, soothing the irritable shadows.
In the past, whenever they felt the spiritual energy of the mother tree, the shadows would immediately calm down and gradually fall into a brief slumber.
This time, the shadows quieted as well.
The difference was that their gazes remained fixed on a specific spot beneath the tree.
Through layers of dark mist, their expressions of confusion became apparent.
Despite the mother tree’s response, why were they still so concerned about that human?
The shadows couldn’t make sense of it.
Clearly, they often found the talkative human with the aura of the mother tree rather annoying.
Yet, after he left, their agitation only grew stronger.
This unease was oddly similar to the feeling they had when they watched Qi Chao repairing the deformed puppets.
It was the first time they had seen a human treating deformed puppets.
[Did he return to the mother tree?]
The shadows communicated sharply amongst themselves. After becoming shadows, only others like them could understand the meaning behind their words.
[He did.]
The shadows fell silent.
The puppets who had already died all longed to return to the mother tree—it was the resting place of their souls. But now, that was merely a luxury they could not afford. They envied the shadow who was able to return, yet they couldn’t comprehend the reason behind his return.
Humans had brought them too much suffering.
This pain and hatred were impossible to dispel. For the shadows who couldn’t return to the mother tree, it was unfathomable how any puppet could so easily forgive humans.
That question still had no answer when Qi Chao arrived the next day.
Perhaps the disappearance of the shadow yesterday had motivated him, as Qi Chao was unusually talkative this morning.
He spoke to the shadows about his three disciples, about how they loved his puppets, and about the current condition of those puppets.
The shadows listened quietly.
From the mouth of this human carrying the aura of the mother tree, they learned that there were indeed humans in the world who cherished puppets. It was simply that they had never encountered such humans before.
The shadows were not pleased. Instead, their hatred for all they had endured deepened. Outwardly, they appeared unchanged, but the dark mist surrounding them grew thicker.
“Your creator was truly despicable.”
They heard the human standing up for the deformed puppet he was treating. Perhaps mindful of the puppet's feelings, the human’s cursing was restrained.
“He doesn’t deserve to be a puppet’s father. Now that you two can’t meet again, you should live happily every single day, understand?”
They heard the man comforting the deformed puppet.
His voice was magnetic and low, imbued with genuine concern and gentle advice.
The shadows thought bitterly to themselves: How could the past possibly be forgotten so easily, as he claimed?
From the branches, they screamed in sharp protest, rejecting Qi Chao’s words.
But Qi Chao, unable to understand the shadows' protests, merely assumed they were greeting him. Instead of being perturbed, he smiled warmly.
He truly liked them.
The shadows knew this because the man often smiled and called them "adorable," even going so far as to weave little grass crafts during his breaks and toss them up into the tree.
The shadows fell silent.
They hadn’t realized that when the man chatted with them, they seldom thought about their painful past. Quietly, they watched as the man repaired the puppets, making no further sounds.
That day, another shadow disappeared.
After his initial surprise, Qi Chao began to sense a faint pattern: it seemed that every time he repaired a deformed puppet, one of the shadows would vanish.
However, this theory was quickly overturned.
On the third day, three shadows returned to the mother tree.
This irregularity and unpredictable progression made it difficult to discern any clear pattern.
Nevertheless, since progress was being made daily, Qi Chao saw no reason to change his routine. He continued spending mornings and evenings chatting with the shadows and dedicating his afternoons to repairing the deformed puppets.
"Things are going pretty well this way," Qi Chao remarked.
The shadows on the tree responded with a sound. Though still sharp and shrill, it was noticeably softer than before, almost like a simple interjection.
"It’d be nice if one day you could sit next to me and chat," Qi Chao mentioned offhandedly.
The shadows crouched silently on the tree, offering no reply.
The next day, just as Qi Chao was preparing to treat the deformed puppet, a group of shadows suddenly appeared around him. Despite being enveloped in black mist, which made them look terrifying and eerie, at that moment, they seemed oddly obedient.
Time had allowed the shadows to begin trusting this man.
Qi Chao smiled as he watched the scene unfold, as if he now understood why the previous shadows had returned to the mother tree.
The shadows were gradually returning to the mother tree according to the original plan.
Meanwhile, the ability user army arrived in Ganfen District once again, but they couldn’t find the trial ground at the same location.
After several days of fruitless searching, they could only return to the association in nervous apprehension to report the matter.
"Didn’t find it?"
The president was furious. Despite the emperor having clearly indicated the location, how could this group of ability users still manage to fail the task so badly?
They were all useless!
The leader and vice-leader of the ability user team lowered their heads, their faces flushed with embarrassment, too afraid to offer any defense.
The president took a deep breath and dismissed the two, then immediately contacted the emperor to report the situation.
A projection of the emperor's upper body appeared in the air, his aging yet imposing figure radiating authority. When the emperor learned that the ability users had failed to locate the core, a look of disdain flickered in his eyes. He waved his hand dismissively.
"In that case, have those ability users continue their training. I expect to see a well-trained army of ability users, not the useless team of amateurs we have now."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the president said, bowing respectfully. After a brief pause, he hesitated before asking, "Your Majesty, should we continue searching for the lost convertor device core?"
"Of course," the emperor replied coldly. He had no intention of abandoning his plans for the ability user army.
He looked at the president with a stern gaze and ordered, "Not only the core, but the S-rank puppets must also continue to be produced. As soon as the core is found, immediately begin the conversion process."
"Understood!"
The president immediately stood up, vowing to complete the task. After the projection was shut off, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Ever since the emperor gained his abilities a year ago, he had become increasingly dangerous and terrifying.
Meanwhile, the emperor, who had closed the holographic interface, sat before a mirror, attempting to communicate with "Heaven and Earth."
After confirming that implanting the ability wouldn’t harm him, the emperor had transplanted an extremely powerful ability—one that allowed him to communicate with the forces of Heaven and Earth. This was also the reason he had known where the core was located.
However, this ability was unstable. So far, he had only succeeded in making contact once.
He held his breath and focused his mind, trying to connect with Heaven and Earth again. But this time, what he saw was an enormous ball of light. The light seemed to be gathering something, exuding an unsettling energy that made him tremble.
The emperor was instantly startled awake, and when he came to his senses, he realized he could no longer exert any strength. He was overwhelmed with fear to the point of losing control of his bodily functions.
At that moment, the president sent a message, informing him that he had sent someone out again. This time, he had dispatched the marshal and Qiao Sheng together, confident they would find a lead.
The emperor didn’t have the time to think about this right now. He simply replied casually, then cursed under his breath as he ordered his attendants to find him a new pair of pants.
After receiving the emperor’s response, the president sighed in relief and turned to the ability user team leader. “You just mentioned that Marshal Lu and Qiao Sheng fell ill? What kind of illness is it?”
“They have a high fever, are completely exhausted, and their faces are pale, as if something has drained their energy,” the team leader explained.
The president nodded. “I see. It’s a fever. Take them both to Ganfen District, and let them drink some nutrient solution on the way.”
The team leader hesitated. The two of them clearly didn’t just have a fever, but seeing the president’s urging look, he reluctantly agreed.
Shen Yuxi was also running a fever.
At that time, Qi Chao had not yet returned from the trial ground.
Qi Yang was called out of his room by several puppets. Though he complained, he couldn’t ignore the situation given his older brother's presence. He glanced at the man lying on the bed, and with just one look, he immediately noticed that Shen Yuxi’s condition was unusual.
“The plane’s consciousness is accumulating energy, it’s preparing for self-destruction,” Qi Yang said, his expression turning serious.
He turned to the side, where Moss, wrapped in bandages, was standing. “Immediately notify my brother and have him come back as soon as possible. There isn’t enough time left.”
By now, it had been half a month since Qi Chao had gone to chat with the shadows. Only ten shadows remained on the mother tree.
No matter what, if his brother wants Shen Yuxi to survive, he can only start repairing the plane now.
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