Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 199

 

| PN | Dreams Come True | 199

That day, puppet masters of the association were grumbling online as usual about the organization's poor benefits.

 From time to time, they glanced at their inboxes, contemplating whether to switch jobs.

Then, like a bolt of lightning, a piece of news suddenly sparked an uproar online.

【What on earth is this? The association president killed the former emperor?】

【Wasn't there no surveillance? The president was investigated back then and released, right? Why is this being tied to that incident again?!】

 【I heard it was reported. There's no official conclusion from the higher-ups yet.】

The posts quickly became hot topics, but they were soon wiped clean by administrators, indicating that public discussion of this matter was currently forbidden. 

However, banning discussion only fueled the public's curiosity, causing the issue to spread even more rapidly in private. Even Shen Yuxi came across the story while scrolling on his light brain.

By then, it was already the next morning. Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi, along with their children, had stayed home, enjoying some rare extended family time. 

After playing with the kids for a while, the two parents handed the children off to Qi Yang and returned to their room to rest.

The children were brimming with energy. With their parents joining in the fun, even Xuan Jian and Shuang Jian, usually the quiet ones, were drawn to their side, as lively as wild horses.

No matter how much stamina the two adults had, they were bound to get tired. In contrast, the internet-addicted youth upstairs could really use some exercise, so his older brother dragged him down to help.

Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi retreated to their room, seeking some peace and quiet. It was then that Shen Yuxi came across the news about the association president.

“Who orchestrated this?”

Shen Yuxi tilted his neural device slightly toward Qi Chao, making it easier for him to see.

“What’s this about?” Qi Chao asked in confusion. After glancing at the screen, he replied casually, “Probably Qiao Sheng. If anyone had evidence of the president killing the emperor, it’d only be him.”

Based on their suspicions, Qiao Sheng was very likely the real mastermind behind the president’s actions in killing the emperor.

Shen Yuxi agreed with this assessment. After pausing for a moment, he said, “I’m curious why he chose to release the evidence now.”

Qi Chao didn’t have an answer either.

He pondered for a moment, and a sudden realization struck him. Qi Chao recalled the agreement he had made with Qiao Sheng the day before. Could that guy have decided to release the evidence now because he wanted to expedite the plan to blow up the association?

“Do you know why Qiao Sheng is doing this?”

Shen Yuxi, knowing Qi Chao all too well, immediately picked up on what he was thinking.

Qi Chao rubbed his nose sheepishly and gave a hum of acknowledgment. He then explained his conversation with Qiao Sheng the previous day about planning to blow up the association.

The smile on Shen Yuxi’s lips remained unchanged. “You two have a good relationship.”

Even Qi Chao could detect something subtle in that remark. He quickly raised his hand in defense. “Brother Shen, I don’t have a good relationship with that guy at all. It was just an offhand comment yesterday—I didn’t give it much thought, I swear!”

“Of course, I believe you,” Shen Yuxi replied warmly. “After all, Qiao Sheng isn’t exactly a good person, is he?”

Qi Chao felt relieved and grinned. “Exactly. The only thing we have in common is a grudge against the association.”

At that point, Qi Chao remembered he needed to check in with Elliton. Holding up his light brain toward Shen Yuxi, he said, “Brother Shen, let me talk to Elliton about this. We can talk more later.”

“Alright,” 

Watching Qi Chao walk out with his light brain, Shen Yuxi's eyelashes fluttered slightly. He then opened Qiao Sheng’s chat window.

【Was it you who uploaded the evidence?】

Qiao Sheng replied quickly: 【Yeah, what about it?】

Just as Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi had suspected, the emperor’s death was indeed tied to Qiao Sheng. The association president had already held a grudge against the emperor, and Qiao Sheng, along with Chao Yang, had simply given him a push.

Initially, Qiao Sheng had kept the evidence with the intention of waiting until the association was on its last legs. 

His plan was to send the video to the president, relishing in the old man’s desperate pleas not to release it. He had imagined that the president’s panicked expression would be quite satisfying to watch.

But yesterday, after Qi Chao mentioned the plan to blow up the association, Qiao Sheng suddenly found his previous idea a bit dull.

After all, what could be more devastating than seeing the hard work of half a lifetime obliterated in an instant?

After some thought, Qiao Sheng decided not to bother sending the video to the president. He figured it would be far more entertaining for the president to sit in prison and witness the association’s destruction from behind bars.

And so, the previous night, Qiao Sheng had uploaded the video of the president killing the former emperor to the internet.

He knew that if anyone guessed it was his doing, that person would undoubtedly be Shen Yuxi. 

But at the same time, he was also aware that Shen Yuxi had already blocked him long ago.

To Qiao Sheng’s surprise, after the video was released, Shen Yuxi directly asked him about it. Shen Yuxi had disliked him for years, and this matter certainly wasn’t significant enough to make him initiate a conversation.

【Did the sun rise in the west today?】

Qiao Sheng couldn’t resist sending that message.

Shen Yuxi didn’t reply. Or rather, after getting his answer, he exited the chat window and blocked Qiao Sheng again.

His fingers tapped lightly on the screen, his expression inscrutable. At this point, the association was indeed done for, but thanks to its years of accumulated resources, it could still hold on for a little longer.

Qiao Sheng’s video, however, was undoubtedly the final blow.

Based on Qiao Sheng’s usual behavior, he wouldn’t have publicized the evidence so dramatically. 

Instead, he would have acted like a rat in the sewers, sending the video directly to the president and gleefully watching as the man grovelled and tried to curry favor with him. 

When the matter first exploded, Shen Yuxi had even thought someone else was responsible.

Now that he knew it was indeed Qiao Sheng’s doing, Shen Yuxi felt at ease.

No interference from others—that’s good.

Shen Yuxi thought to himself, temporarily setting aside his disgust for Qiao Sheng.

Meanwhile, Qi Chao had no idea that Shen Yuxi had exchanged words with Qiao Sheng after he left.

 At that moment, Qi Chao was outside the room, initiating a video call with Elliton.

Elliton seemed busy; Qi Chao’s first attempt to reach him went unanswered.

Just as Qi Chao was about to head back to the room and try again later, Elliton returned the call.

“Sorry, I was just discussing matters with the cabinet ministers,” Elliton said.

“It’s fine,” Qi Chao replied. He hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking, “Is it about the president?”

Elliton nodded.

He wasn’t surprised that Qi Chao knew about the situation.

“It really was the president,” Elliton confirmed. “The military has already taken him into custody. Although the legislators were preoccupied with earlier assessments, once they learned of this, they started working to distance the association from the president, hoping to salvage the association’s reputation.”

Elliton spoke with a faint trace of amusement in his tone. “Still, no matter how much they want to preserve the association, it’s futile. After all, the president committed murder. Even if the legislators want to keep the association intact, I now have the justification to reject their efforts.”

Qi Chao chuckled at this. Though he didn’t know why Qiao Sheng chose this exact moment to release the video, he had to admit it gave Elliton the perfect reason to deal with the association decisively, rather than waiting for the puppet masters to leave over diminishing benefits.

After a brief pause, Qi Chao continued, “Superman told me he’s already activated one of the puppet mother stones. I’ll bring it to you shortly.”

Activated?

Elliton froze for a moment, then became visibly excited. His puppets could truly be reborn? 

Although he had heard about this possibility before, he hadn’t placed much hope in it, having never witnessed it himself.

“Has a mother stone really been activated?” he asked, his lips trembling slightly as he looked up at Qi Chao. “Which one is it?”

Qi Chao thought for a moment, then gestured with his hand. “It’s slightly smaller than a fist and shaped a bit like a cube.”

“It’s Chun Chun,” Elliton immediately blurted out the puppets nickname. Unable to remain seated, he stood up at once. “I’ll go pick her up. You don’t need to come to me—I’ll come to you.”

Elliton couldn’t wait another second.

Qi Chao understood his excitement. After all, anyone about to reunite with a loved one they thought lost forever wouldn’t be able to stay calm. He gave a gentle reminder: “Be careful on the way.”

“Yes, yes,” Elliton replied, nodding fervently.

“Oh, right,” he added as if just remembering something. “If the association gets dissolved, when the demolition crew is sent in, can I help out?”

“Of course, of course,” Qi Chao said.

With his child resurrected, Elliton was overjoyed. At this point, even if Qi Chao suggested tearing down the president’s house, Elliton would agree without hesitation. 

In fact, he might even personally help flatten it to save Qi Chao the effort.

“Good, then,” 

Qi Chao reported to his superiors and successfully accomplished his goal, which relaxed him considerably.

After reminding Elliton to stay safe, he returned to his room, planning to inform Shen Yuxi that Elliton would be coming over soon.

While the villa remained peaceful and harmonious as usual, the situation online regarding the president continued to escalate. 

The rumors, which hinted that the association might be dissolved, were on the verge of causing a public uproar among the association’s puppet masters.

【What does this mean? If the president really killed the former emperor, does that mean the association will be dissolved?! Is that the case?!】

【To the person above: The association is an organization. If the leader of the organization murders the former emperor, who can guarantee that no one in the association will follow the president’s example? What if something like this happens again?】

In truth, everyone understood the logic, but the puppet masters of the association couldn’t help but feel anxious at the thought of the association being dissolved and them receiving nothing. It was a heavy blow to their livelihoods.

【Damn, what an idiot the president is.】

Most of the puppet masters in the association were envious of the benefits offered by the Alliance. 

In fact, the majority of them had even sent in their resumes to the Alliance, but since their applications hadn't been approved yet, they had no choice but to stay in the association for the time being.

Now, because of the president’s actions, it seemed very likely that the association would be dissolved before many of them could successfully make the switch. 

Naturally, the puppet masters were upset, and some began venting their frustrations online by cursing the association. But even with all their anger, they still felt unsatisfied.

As the posts full of curses escalated, the small forum eventually had to delete the threads to avoid offending the authorities.

With no outlet left to vent their anger, some of the puppet masters even considered staging a protest to prevent the association's dissolution. However, this suggestion was quickly met with internal opposition.

【I still want to join the Alliance. If they see me supporting the association like this after the protest, they might not want me anymore.】

【You guys can go if you want, I’m not going. Even if the association survives, without the mining rights, it’s still going to be dissolved eventually.】

By now, they had figured it out. After the association dissolved, the Alliance would surely become the official organization for puppet masters. 

At that point, they would have no choice but to be recruited by the Alliance. Otherwise, if so many puppet masters flooded into the puppet market, the market would eventually fall into chaos.

【That makes sense.】

With this thought in mind, the puppet masters of the association felt less angry. Now, they just had to wait for the official notification.

However, as they waited and waited, they never received the news they were hoping for. The notification of the association’s dissolution never came. Instead, they only saw videos circulating of the association being torn down.

The puppet masters anxiously watched as the video spread through their group.

In the video, a man wearing a yellow helmet stood in front of a demolition crew. He took a few steps forward, measured the right spot, and then whistled loudly. 

The next moment, numerous demolition robots aimed their rolling cannon at the old association building, firing several times.

The association building, which had stood for nearly a century and held countless secrets of puppet masters, was reduced to ashes in the explosion and smoke.

【Why does that person look so familiar?】

【You noticed that too? I keep thinking that figure looks a lot like Qi Chao.】

Qi Chao had worked at the association for a period of time, so it wasn’t surprising that the puppet masters recognized him.

However, that speculation was quickly dismissed.

【Are you stupid? How could that person be Qi Chao? He’s the son of the richest man, okay? Even if he’s not the richest, he’s a master-level puppet master and a trusted subordinate of the current emperor. Any one of those things makes him far more valuable than a construction foreman. Besides, why would he become a foreman?】

【You’re right. It’s probably just someone who looks similar.】

The association's puppet masters exchanged comments back and forth, eventually all sighing.

They didn’t understand why the Alliance was still hesitant to accept them. The so-called “love for puppets” condition was likely just a lie to fool outsiders, but they were convinced the real reason they weren’t being accepted had nothing to do with that.

【Let’s wait a bit longer. The Alliance is probably just restructuring internally. They wouldn’t dare to reject us. If they still refuse after some time, we’ll just go to the black market!】

The puppet masters, thinking that they could stir up chaos in the puppet market and make the Alliance beg them to join, felt a bit more at ease.

However, soon they heard that the black market had shut down. It was rumored that a group of well-organized puppet masters had done it. 

They had come in and freed the puppets that were being held captive, and apparently, the black market boss had developed a psychological trauma. 

As a result, the boss wasn’t planning on trading puppets for the time being.

The puppet masters who had planned to cause a stir in the black market were left speechless:

Puppets?

Is this a joke?

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