Puppet Notes (Wearing Book) - 206

 

| PN | Take It Away | 206

No matter how much the puppet masters cursed the Alliance in their hearts, the established facts could not be changed: the puppets they created still needed to go to the Alliance every day for education.

"Just endure it for a few more days."

Once the puppets no longer had to go to the Alliance, they could quickly sell them away, either continuing to scrape by and exploit loopholes while waiting for this ridiculous system to be abolished, or taking the money and switching to another industry.

This was the common mindset of most puppet masters who had failed to join the Alliance.

However, as they counted the days eagerly, waiting for the puppets to finish their education and return, joyfully planning to sell off their low-tier puppets, they suddenly realized that there were very few people who met the Alliance’s requirements.

Of course, it made sense. These puppet masters, who hadn’t joined the Alliance, were already deemed unqualified as “fathers” in the Alliance’s eyes. 

How many suitable trading candidates, who weren’t puppet masters, could the Alliance possibly consider acceptable?

One misstep led to a cascade of mistakes.

The non-Alliance puppet masters were filled with regret. If they had known things would turn out like this, they would have joined forces to appeal and block the policy as soon as rumors about it began to circulate. 

But now it was too late.

According to Alliance regulations, a puppet could only leave the puppet master's hands with the agreement of all four parties: the puppet master, the puppet, the new guardian family, and the Alliance. 

The Alliance would even conduct periodic follow-up visits, showing more concern than a biological parent.

How were they supposed to find buyers under these circumstances?

The only option left was to lower prices, hoping to attract buyers who met the Alliance's standards.

What unsettled these puppet masters even more was that the puppets at home seemed to be getting smarter.

Once freed from the isolation of closed doors, the puppets had experienced a broader world. 

Though they still stayed close to their creators, they now displayed a stronger sense of independence.

[No matter how much I used to beat that idiot puppet of mine, he never reacted,] one puppet master furiously typed on the keyboard, venting to their peers. [But yesterday, he grabbed my sleeve and told me to stop hitting him!]

[How dare he defy me? I created him; I can treat him however I want. He never made a sound before, and now he has the nerve to resist? The Alliance is truly a menace!]

In the past, whenever someone ranted about the Alliance, a flood of others would jump in to agree. This time, however, there was only silence for a long while. 

Eventually, one person responded with a single question mark, followed by:

[You hit your puppet?]

This reaction left the original poster bewildered.

[What's going on?]

After a delay, a message came back: [Maybe it's best not to hit the puppets. They're actually pretty good. The ones I made, after going through the Alliance's training, feel much more humane. I can't bring myself to treat them like tools anymore.]

In their group, most people did indeed treat the puppets as tools, but they were largely influenced by the selfish mindset promoted by the association. 

However, deep down, most puppet masters felt a sense of affection for their creations. After all, many of the puppets trained by the Alliance had become more lively, almost like children.

Perhaps this was why, when they heard a peer talking about beating their puppet, it made the other puppet makers uncomfortable.

They didn't think of themselves as fond of their puppets, but that didn't mean they would ever mistreat them.

After seeing someone speak out against the abuse, more and more group members spoke up, criticizing the original poster.

The puppet maker who had come looking for sympathy never expected to be met with such criticism. His face turned red with embarrassment, and, in frustration, he left the group chat.

What kind of ridiculous group is this? I don’t need this.

What he didn't know, however, was that some members had quietly reported his name to the Alliance's enforcement team.

Soon, the enforcement team had a "friendly" conversation with the puppet maker, and after that, he never dared to lay a hand on his puppets again.

As the Alliance and the puppet makers slowly adapted to each other, Qi Chao, Shen Yuxi, and the puppets at home also gradually adjusted to the routine of going to the Alliance during the day and returning home to rest at night.

"What's wrong? Are you tired?"

Shen Yuxi was lying on the bed, watching Qi Chao sitting beside him in a daze. 

She Yuxi propped himself up with one arm, turned his body toward him, and looked at him, his soft golden hair hanging over the edge of the bed.

"I'm not tired." Qi Chao shook his head, placed the recently activated Elliton’s mother stone back in the top right corner of the desk, and then sat next to Shen Yuxi. "I just feel like this kind of life will have to last a little longer."

Shen Yuxi looked at Qi Chao, fully aware that becoming the behind-the-scenes leader of the Alliance or being revered as a master-level puppet master were never Qi Chao's goals. 

From the beginning, he only wanted to continuously improve his skills in his studio and create puppets.

"When everything here is over, let's go back to Ganfen District and make puppets, okay?"

Ganfen District was quieter, and there would be no one to disturb them.

Upon hearing this, Qi Chao seemed to envision a future where he wouldn’t have to worry about the Alliance every day and could focus solely on perfecting the puppets' bodies. 

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Of course, that sounds great. I’m really looking forward to that day."

However, they both knew that with the current situation, it would take a long time to reach that goal.

Qi Chao wasn’t the type to dwell in negative emotions for long. Once he had a goal in mind, he quickly got back on track. 

By the next day, he first took the newly activated mother stone to the palace and handed it over to Elliton, then returned to the Alliance to handle matters with Shen Yuxi and his students.

By the afternoon, Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi finally managed to find some time to rest.

"Brother Shen, how about we take a walk around the teaching building?" Qi Chao offered, handing Shen Yuxi a glass of water and smiling.

The three students, You Zhao and the others, overheard and became interested. They eagerly chimed in, "Teacher, we want to come along too."

However, Qi Chao declined, "If you all leave, who will handle your work? We'll take a quick look around, and when we come back, we'll take over your duties. You three can rest after that."

You Zhao and the others reasonably suspected that their teacher just wanted to go out with Shen Yuxi and was making up this excuse, but they couldn't refute Qi Chao's reasoning. They could only urge, "Teacher, make sure to come back quickly!"

"Don’t worry."

With that, Qi Chao took Shen Yuxi by the hand and dashed out of the office, heading toward the nearby teaching building.

Though it was called the teaching building, it was actually a former office building that had been temporarily converted into a teaching space. Because the number of puppets was still small, there were only a few classrooms set up.

A handful of conference rooms, enough to hold about a hundred people, were sufficient to accommodate the puppets who were undergoing education.

When Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi arrived at the first classroom, they found that it was just in time for Xiang Yue's lecture. 

Agu was sitting at the front, occasionally interacting with the class, while the other unfamiliar puppets wore smiles. When Xiang Yue posed a question, they responded eagerly, though their reactions were slower than Agu's.

"We don’t need to worry about Xiang Yue's lessons," Shen Yuxi smiled. 

In fact, because of issues with the teaching materials, he had spent a good amount of time discussing them with the children at home yesterday. The puppets had promised him they wouldn't cause any trouble.

After visiting a few more classrooms with Qi Chao, a satisfied expression finally appeared on Shen Yuxi's face. 

Only at this moment did he completely relax.

Because there were so many matters to handle within the Alliance, the two of them didn't come here often. 

As a result, they ended up staying longer than planned, and before they knew it, it was time for the break after class.

Qi Chao was concerned that their presence might disrupt the puppets' focus on the lesson. After thinking for a moment, he decided to stay out of sight. 

Just as he was about to lead Shen Yuxi over to take over the students' duties, a commotion suddenly sounded from the entrance of the teaching building.

Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi exchanged a glance, then walked over and found a familiar face—Qing Yu.

Qing Yu was arguing with two Alliance puppet masters, holding onto a puppet in his hand. When he saw Qi Chao approaching, his expression soured. 

He spoke up, "Qi Chao, I want to take the puppet I made and leave here, but these two puppet masters won't let me."

In Qing Yu's eyes, as fellow master-level puppet masters, their relationship was clearly closer than with the Alliance’s puppet masters. 

Moreover, he couldn't understand why these two puppet masters had the authority to stop him from doing as he pleased.

"I’d like to ask why you want to take the puppet away?" Qi Chao asked calmly.

After the policy was introduced, even a master-level puppet masters puppets had to be registered according to the regulations.

"Why?" Qing Yu sneered. "There’s no reason."

With that, Qing Yu glanced around, his eyes becoming vague. He had originally thought that after that meeting, the Alliance would quickly invite him to join their organization, but after waiting for so long, no one had come to extend an invitation. 

Moreover, when the incident with the Emperor at the meeting came to light, those master-level puppet masters who had been friendly with him started distancing themselves.

All these factors combined, Qing Yu couldn't help but blame the Alliance for everything that had happened.

If the Alliance hadn't pressured him so much, the association wouldn't have collapsed so quickly after the president's fall. He also wouldn't have brought up the issue of the S-class puppet at the meeting, angering Elliton, and ultimately leading to his current situation.

Under the influence of these extreme thoughts, Qing Yu no longer wanted to have anything to do with the Alliance. He even forbade his puppet from continuing its education there.

This sudden decision led him to rush into the Alliance, determined to take his puppet away. 

However, before he could even enter, he was intercepted by two attending puppet masters.

This only fueled Qing Yu's anger further.

"I'm not letting my puppet continue its education. What are you going to do about it?" he snapped.

The two attending puppet masters exchanged glances, looking for help. Normally, they could simply eject anyone else, but Qing Yu was a master-level puppet master, and also a former imperial awardee, so they couldn't just act without caution.

Qi Chao, who already disliked Qing Yu, didn’t waste time on words. He immediately turned his attention to the puppet standing nearby, who was missing one eye. 

With a gentle expression, he asked, "Do you want to continue your studies, or do you want to go back with Qing Yu?"

The puppet, named Yang Ping, was a young male puppet without any special abilities.

In the past, Yang Ping would have unconditionally followed his "father." However, now he hesitated. He still wanted to continue his education but was unsure how to express it, nervously fiddling with his fingers.

Seeing this, Qing Yu grew even angrier.

"If you don't come back with me now, don't think about ever returning home," he threatened, his frustration palpable.

Hearing Qing Yu's words, Yang Ping panicked and was about to agree, but before he could speak, Qi Chao turned to him and said, "If you don't go back with him, then you can come with us."

This was Yang Ping's first time seeing Qi Chao.

He knew that his father was very jealous of Qi Chao's talent, and he should have hated Qi Chao as well. 

But for some reason, from the moment Qi Chao appeared, Yang Ping felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity and warmth from him.

In fact, Qi Chao felt even more approachable than Qing Yu.

This hesitation caused Yang Ping to lose track of his thoughts. By the time he came to his senses, Qing Yu had already turned and left. 

When he looked up, his father was nowhere to be seen. Yang Ping immediately grew anxious.

"Don't worry, you'll stay with us tonight," Shen Yuxi said gently, offering a soft smile to reassure him.

Feeling the warmth from both Qi Chao and Shen Yuxi, Yang Ping, still nervous and confused, could only nod and followed their lead.

Meanwhile, a post titled "#The Alliance Took My Puppet, Won't Let It Come Home with Me#" appeared online. The post was signed by none other than master-level puppet master Qing Yu.

This explosive post quickly gained traction. Given that it came from a renowned master-level puppet master, it rapidly dominated the forum's headlines and became the number one trending topic, drawing a large number of viewers and sparking widespread attention.

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