| PN | Clown | 174
Qi Chao's comment about the world's consciousness made Shen Yuxi chuckle. He looked at the mother stone on the table and said softly, "I hope Moss can figure it out on his own."
Moss was the first puppet Shen Yuxi had created.
He was also the most clingy and simple among them. Shen Yuxi didn’t want Moss to remain trapped in the past.
Qi Chao lowered his head and kissed the corner of Shen Yuxi's eye to comfort him. "Don't worry. Moss is braver than you think. Get some sleep; he'll work it out."
Shen Yuxi nodded. After turning off the lights, the two lay down together. Perhaps because he was still recovering from a serious illness, Shen Yuxi quickly fell asleep while resting next to Qi Chao.
On the other hand, Qi Chao, who kept insisting it was fine, quietly got up after Shen Yuxi fell asleep. He left the room and knocked on Moss's door. On his way past the desk, he casually slipped the mother stone into his pocket.
The forcibly taken world consciousness: ...
Why are you taking me along?
The world consciousness had no idea what Qi Chao’s intentions were until the door opened, and a puppet wrapped in bandages from head to toe appeared. It was then that the world consciousness realized Qi Chao had deliberately sought out the puppet whose appearance closely resembled his future body.
In the original plot, puppets created by the villain did not met good ends. When the plot began to deviate, the world consciousness had refrained from taking action against the puppets.
To it, puppets were insignificant. Even if they weren’t destroyed, as long as the ultimate outcome of the world’s destruction remained unchanged, their fates were not important at all.
Looking back, it now realized it had made a grave mistake.
The more the world consciousness thought about it, the more it regretted its arrogance. If it had known things would turn out this way, it would have killed all the puppets back then. Even if it meant breaking the rules, the worst consequence would have been losing half its energy.
Consumed with regret, the world consciousness couldn’t help but eavesdrop on the conversation between the human and the puppet.
Their conversation wasn’t long.
The human didn’t mention anything about the shell puppet in the basement. Instead, he brought up an unrelated topic, asking Moss to collect assignments from the other puppets in the morning.
After Moss nodded in agreement, the human ruffled the puppet’s head and urged him to go back to his room and sleep. It seemed his only reason for coming was to discuss that one trivial matter.
However, the world consciousness understood better. The human was far more concerned about Moss's state of mind. Once he noticed the puppet’s emotions had returned to normal, indistinguishable from how they usually were, he finally felt at ease.
As the night deepened, Qi Chao returned to the room and lay down on the bed, put his arms around Shen Yuxi's waist, and quickly fell asleep, leaving the world's consciousness alone on the table, thinking about Qi Chao's intentions.
It doesn't understand why a human can care about these lowly puppets, just like it doesn't understand why the villain would become a lover with the incarnation of the mother tree.
Human emotions are very complex.
The world consciousness thought that this was not an emotion that it could have. After all, it was the highest existence. Even if it was always alone and did not understand human emotions, it was still the highest existence.
This idea persisted until Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi completed the puppet shell.
When it knew that it would enter the puppet's body in the next second, the world consciousness was filled with rejection. However, its resistance was useless, and it could only watch in shame as Qi Chao put it into the puppet's chest.
The world consciousness is determined that once it enters the puppet's body, it will escape immediately and kill all these humans.
In the brightly lit basement, Shen Yuxi watched the mother stone gradually melt into the puppet's chest, and a smile gradually appeared in her eyes.
"The world consciousness will definitely make trouble."
Qi Chao reached his hand into the nutrient solution, slowly transferring energy to the puppet's body, while telling Shen Yuxi his guess.
"Um."
Shen Yuxi nodded in agreement when he heard those words. After all, they had stopped the world’s self-destruction—if the world consciousness didn’t resent them for it, that would be the truly strange thing.
“Aren’t you afraid?”
Shen Yuxi looked down at Qi Chao. Now that the world consciousness had a physical form, it might not be as easy to control as when it was in its mother stone state.
Qi Chao chuckled lightly. “No, there’s nothing to be afraid of. That little idiot won’t be able to stir up much trouble.”
The freshly awakened world consciousness: ...
It raised its head to look at Qi Chao, the corner of its mouth twitching. Placing its hand on the edge of the bathtub, it formed a swirling vortex, attempting to teach the human a lesson.
Standing behind Qi Chao, Shen Yuxi frowned slightly. At some point, a dagger had appeared in his hand. Acting on instinct, he moved to stab the puppet’s heart to prevent it from hurting Qi Chao.
But before Shen Yuxi could strike, Qi Chao made the first move. He reached out with his right hand and patted the puppet’s head, while propping his left hand against his temple in a casual gesture.
Drawing out his words, he said, “Don’t waste your energy. If you’ve got time for this, you should get out of the bathtub first.”
The warmth of his palm tilted the puppet’s head to the right, his gesture affectionate—like dealing with a misbehaving child. The world consciousness froze for a moment, and at some point, the vortex in its hand quietly dissipated into the air.
It had been struck by a human.
How dare he?!
The world consciousness instinctively ignored the unsettling discomfort in its heart. Its fingers twitched as it attempted to reform the vortex and kill the two humans in front of it.
To its shock, however, the energy within its body felt sealed off, refusing to form no matter how hard it tried. A mix of panic and disbelief coursed through it as it instinctively looked up at Qi Chao.
Could it be that this guy had known all along that it wouldn’t be able to attack him, which was why he hadn’t taken any defensive measures?
The world consciousness flexed its hand, opening and closing its palm repeatedly. No matter what it tried, the energy wouldn’t gather.
This realization shattered its hopes of escaping, and it raised its head to glare fiercely at Qi Chao, demanding, “What’s going on? Where’s my energy?!”
No wonder he had so confidently given it a physical body. It turned out everything had been part of a meticulously crafted plan!
Behind them, Shen Yuxi silently sheathed his dagger, his gaze falling on Qi Chao with a trace of curiosity. He, too, was intrigued as to why the world consciousness had lost its energy.
In truth, the world consciousness hadn’t lost its energy at all. It was merely being temporarily suppressed—by the mother tree.
The puppets’ unique energy came from the mother tree.
When the world consciousness was turned into a puppet, it meant that its energy source had shifted from the plane’s rules to the mother tree.
Only by shedding this physical body could the world consciousness regain access to its own abilities.
As long as it remained in the form of a puppet, its powers would rely entirely on the mother tree. If the mother tree chose to withhold its support, the world consciousness would simply have to endure it.
Qi Chao had learned this from the mother tree’s memories long ago, which was precisely why he had decided to make the world consciousness into a puppet in the first place.
Seeing the resentment in its eyes, Qi Chao patted its head again. “Alright, stop glaring. Get out of the bathtub already. Don’t worry, even if you can’t use your powers, we won’t harm you.”
The world consciousness remained silent, sitting stubbornly in the bathtub, as though determined to stay there forever, refusing to budge out of sheer defiance against Qi Chao.
Not intending to press further, Qi Chao shifted his approach and asked, “What’s your name? How about we have a little chat?”
The world consciousness didn’t respond.
For one, it didn’t have a name. And even if it did, there was no way it would tell Qi Chao.
“Not interested in talking?”
Qi Chao chuckled but didn’t push it. “Alright, then. We’ll leave for now. When you’re ready to talk, let us know.”
“You should know how to leave this place, right?” Qi Chao paused for a moment before continuing, “Right?”
The world consciousness still said nothing.
He really needed to be disciplined.
Deciding not to waste more time on the stubborn child, Qi Chao turned away with a small smile directed at Shen Yuxi. Taking his hand, Qi Chao led him out of the room.
Once they were outside, Qi Chao finally explained what had just happened.
“Is it really okay to leave it in there?” Shen Yuxi tilted his head slightly, looking at Qi Chao with some concern.
“It’s fine,” Qi Chao reassured him. After thinking for a moment, he added, “When the world consciousness decides it wants to come out, it will.”
Although they hadn’t spent much time together, perhaps due to the mother tree’s energy having been supplied to the world consciousness, Qi Chao found the world consciousness to be more like a stubborn child.
Initially, Qi Chao had hoped to reason with the world consciousness and convince it to abandon its self-destructive tendencies. However, given the current situation, trying to change the mind of a stubborn child felt like nothing short of a fool’s dream.
This was going to be a long-term project.
Qi Chao decided it would be best to ignore it for now, to humble it and take some of the wind out of its sails.
At the same time, pressing it too hard would only push the world consciousness further away. In this delicate situation, they needed someone who could align with the world consciousness—someone to offer it a way out, so to speak.
When Shen Yuxi heard Qi Chao’s plan, he remained neutral. He wasn’t sure whether the world consciousness would cooperate, but as long as it couldn’t use its powers while in a puppet body, Qi Chao wouldn’t be in any danger.
Without that concern, Shen Yuxi saw no reason to oppose the plan.
After a pause, he said gently, “You handle the planning as you see fit. Just promise me one thing—don’t let yourself get hurt.”
Qi Chao smiled and responded with a soft “Mm.”
The two walked from the basement to the living room.
The puppets in the house were all seated on the sofa. Seeing their Dad and Father return, they cheerfully greeted them. Qi Chao responded to each of them in turn, his gaze finally landing on Moss, who was sitting alone, braiding the doll’s hair.
After a moment’s thought, Qi Chao spoke up:
“Moss, could you help me by going to the basement and calling the puppet sitting in the bathtub to come out?”
Hearing this, Moss looked up. Hugging the stuffed doll in his arms, he nodded and prepared to leave the living room.
Qi Chao stopped him. “He was a bit upset with me earlier. When you go, try to speak kindly to him.”
But then, after a second thought, Qi Chao frowned. He didn’t want the world consciousness to feel too self-important or, worse, bully their sweet Moss.
So he added, “If he gets pushy or unreasonable, don’t bother. Just come back upstairs.”
“Okay, Dad.”
Moss, fully aware that the puppet in the basement was the world consciousness, hugged the doll in his arms tightly and headed downstairs.
“Why did you ask Moss to go and call him?” Shen Yuxi asked softly after Moss had left, tilting his head slightly to look at Qi Chao.
Qi Chao sat on the sofa, listening to the playful commotion of the children in the living room.
After a brief pause, he answered, “It’s nothing. I just think the world consciousness has a childish temperament, and Moss is steady enough to handle him.”
If Moss couldn’t get along with the world consciousness, Qi Chao figured he’d just send another puppet. If that didn’t work, he could always play the bad guy while Shen Yuxi played the good guy.
Qi Chao was determined—there was no way he couldn’t teach this obstinate little brat a lesson.
Shen Yuxi glanced at Qi Chao, seemingly catching on to his train of thought, and let out a soft laugh.
Meanwhile, in the basement, the world consciousness was still oblivious to how thoroughly Qi Chao had already mapped out its future.
Sitting in the bathtub, it stared at its reflection through the transparent nutrient fluid.
Its shoulder-length black hair draped down elegantly, while the beauty mark near the corner of its eye shimmered faintly in the liquid.
Its icy blue eyes carried an unyielding chill. This was an exceptionally beautiful body. The scar across the bridge of its nose didn’t diminish its allure; if anything, it added a touch of wildness.
Before inhabiting the body, the world consciousness had been somewhat dismissive of it. But now, as it gazed at its reflection in the fluid, the longer it looked, the more satisfied it felt.
Well, now that I’m in, what’s the point of leaving?
The world consciousness tried again to gather its energy, but, as expected, it ended in failure.
The brightly lit basement was eerily quiet, with only the sound of its own movements echoing.
Floating in the nutrient liquid, the world consciousness realized once again that Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi had truly left.
It felt a sense of grievance.
Why did they leave?
It was still in the basement, after all.
How could those two humans just walk away like that?
Was there any other world consciousness more unfortunate than itself?
The fate line had been destroyed, and it had desperately tried to find a way to reverse things.
Yet before it could succeed, an outsider had captured it and turned it into a lowly puppet.
The world consciousness was already feeling miserable. After everything that had happened, no one seemed to pity it.
Instead, it was left all alone.
It didn’t remember that it had stubbornly refused to leave in the first place. Now, it believed itself to be the most tragic existence in the world, thinking there was no other being who could possibly be more miserable than it was.
As these thoughts consumed it, there was a sudden knock on the basement door. Having lost its energy, the world consciousness was slower to react than usual.
By the time it registered what had happened, a puppet wrapped in bandages walked in. The puppet held a stuffed doll in its arms, its dark eyes impossible to read.
"Are you ready to come out?"
Moss had remembered his father’s instructions to speak kindly, so even upon seeing the puppet that looked so much like him, sitting foolishly in the nutrient fluid without coming out, he restrained himself and didn’t say anything rude.
It's not coming out, no matter what. It is not leaving.
Wasn’t it agreed that It wouldn’t be bothered? Why are they coming to find it again?
Looking at the puppet that had entered the room, the world consciousness quickly realized that it was sent by the two humans as a way of softening their approach.
"I’m not coming out," it declared firmly.
The world consciousness felt a bit smug.
Moss stared at the puppet sitting in the bathtub, looking as clueless as ever. After hesitating for a moment, he parted his lips slightly beneath the bandages and gave a small "hm," before closing the door and preparing to leave the basement.
Dad said he could just go upstairs.
The world consciousness, who had been hoping for some more coaxing, now found itself more confused and frustrated than ever. Wait, what?
Seeing the puppet actually leave, the world consciousness felt even more aggrieved. It almost felt like tears were welling up in its eyes.
But the world consciousness never cried.
It seemed that ever since it had become a puppet, it wasn’t quite the same anymore.
Meanwhile, Moss, having closed the door, started to feel a bit uneasy. Dad had said I should be more polite.
With that thought, Moss decided to try again. He turned around and opened the door. The next moment, he saw the world consciousness wiping its eyes.
Moss: …
World consciousness: …
The two puppets exchanged a glance. Moss, still holding the stuffed doll, closed the door again and politely said, "Please call me when you're done crying. I'll be waiting outside."
I should be polite, Moss thought to himself.
For the first time, the world consciousness, now a puppet, truly understood what it meant to feel embarrassed.
By the time Moss returned to the room, the world consciousness had already stood up from the nutrient liquid, trying to make Moss forget what had just happened.
"I didn’t cry."
The world consciousness stubbornly refused to admit it.
"Okay," Moss nodded, unfazed. "So, can we leave the basement now?"
The world consciousness had lost count of how many times it had been rendered speechless. Standing barefoot on the floor, it said nothing, still silently battling its own pride.
Moss felt like it would take a long time for the world consciousness to be ready to leave, so he simply leaned against the wall and began to adjust the stuffed doll's hair. His bandaged fingers gently worked through the doll’s hair, an oddly tender feeling filling him as he did so.
The world consciousness hadn't expected this. Moss had come to call it out, but instead, he started braiding a doll's hair. It felt as though whatever the world consciousness wanted to do had nothing to do with Moss.
And, in a way, it didn’t.
The world consciousness thought to itself, I had hurt his father before. Maybe this puppet still resents me.
"Let's go," the world consciousness said, not wanting to stay any longer.
When Moss heard this, he stopped braiding the doll's hair and nodded. Just as he was about to leave, he paused and called out to the world consciousness in a raspy voice.
"Let me fix your hair."
This puppet looked so much like him.
Moss was worried that if the world consciousness went out with disheveled hair, it might affect his image.
The world consciousness didn't understand his reasoning. However, recalling how Moss had braided the doll’s hair earlier, something impulsive stirred within it, and for some reason, it agreed.
Moss braided the world consciousness's hair quickly. Since he wasn’t keen on getting too close to the puppet that had hurt his father, the task took only three seconds before he finished.
"All done."
Moss said as he hugged the stuffed doll and walked out of the room.
The world consciousness was left behind, curiously feeling its new hairstyle.
Through the glass cabinet, it could see that its hair had been styled into small buns at the back of its head—quite charming.
This puppet was quite something.
Better than its father and the other parent.
The world consciousness thought to itself, Once I figure out how to regain my abilities, I’ll save this puppet for last and kill it.
"Are you not leaving?"
Moss turned around, his voice hoarse as he spoke.
"Let's go."
The world consciousness immediately followed behind Moss, and the two puppets walked to the living room one after the other. As soon as they entered, they heard several excited voices from within.
"How about calling it Xiao Wei?"
Li Bai raised his hand. "It’s a prefix to world consciousness."
"That’s still better than calling it a clown,"
Agu chuckled, grinning.
"A cheap name is easier to raise."
"Alright, stop with the strange names."
Qi Chao tapped each children’s head as he spoke. Hearing the door, he turned his attention to the two of them and smiled. "You two are back?"
He then looked at the world consciousness. "Just in time, I was picking out a name for you. Want to come over and choose?"
The world consciousness didn't need a name.
However, recalling the term "clown" that Agu had mentioned earlier, the world consciousness's face darkened.
He quickly walked to the sofa, fearing that, unbeknownst to him, these puppets and humans might be giving him some unpleasant name.
Meanwhile, inside the palace, the emperor was once again trying to communicate with the heavens. During the last attempt, he had received nothing but the word "scram."
The emperor refused to believe that the heavens would say such a word to him.
Perhaps it was due to his insufficient abilities that the message was so limited. The heavens might have intended to say something like "roll," "tumble," or "cylinder," not that vulgar word.
The more he thought about it, the more plausible this explanation seemed.
This time, he had spent three days regaining his strength. When his spiritual energy was fully restored, he chose the bright, sunny daytime to try again, hoping for a better outcome.
"Respectful heaven and earth, please tell me where the core of the converter device is hidden."
With his eyes closed and a focused expression, he knelt humbly on the throne.
On the other side, the world consciousness was overwhelmed by the taunts of names like "clown," "little devil," and "little fool" echoing in his ears.
Unable to restrain himself, he shot a look of hatred at the puppets nearby. These puppets harbored deep animosity toward him.
He swore that once he regained his abilities, he would make sure to kill those puppets who dared to mock him.
While the world consciousness was still arguing about his name, the voice of the human emperor murmured again in the background.
So annoying.
Didn't he see it was busy?!
The devout emperor once again sensed that soul-chilling, eerie presence. He bowed his head in reverence to express his respect. But the next moment, that same curse word echoed again, only this time, it felt even more disorienting than before.
The usually emotionless and indifferent being spoke with an air of authority: 【Scram, I'm busy, can't you see that?!】
In that single instant, the emperor’s face darkened.
That was definitely not the voice of the heavens. Perhaps, he thought, his ability wasn’t even for communicating with the heavens at all!
"Tell the president of the association to come over here. What kind of mess is he running?!"
With a wave of his sleeve, the emperor stormed off, cursing under his breath. His attendants, pale-faced, hurried to follow.
They all knew, the association's president was in for a real headache this time.
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