by N. Heller
Before his voice died away, his body congealed into a streaking shadow, darting toward Lin Sanjiu. She had become vigilant the moment Puppeteer laughed. Nevertheless, if it weren't for the little boy grabbing Puppeteer's trousers at the very last minute, Lin Sanjiu believed that she would've ended up in a bad situation. At least one of her limbs might no longer be attached to her body. With this thought in her mind, her face turned ashen white as she retreated from the side of the grimacing Puppeteer.
"Stop messing around, mister," the little boy said like he was an a.d.u.l.t, "Upon checking, I know you have one hundred and eighty-seven Stamina Points. Now, give them all to me."
Puppeteer's face turned ugly. He spat at the little boy, and his eyes went bloodshot. His words that came out from his lips were filled with unbounded anger and fury, "What about the rest? What do you want to take from me?"
"You have lost the most precious organ. Along with the ten Stamina Points, I'll be taking both your legs and one of your arms."
Upon hearing this, Puppeteer calmed down just like the ocean after being ravaged by a storm. With a stern face, he sat on the ground and glared at Lin Sanjiu. He did not even glance at the little boy, "Fine, take whatever you want, then."
Seemed like he had compromised and accepted the reality.
Even though he had a squadron of puppets in his arsenal, his own body was his greatest weapon. If he lost a large portion of his body, he might not even be able to catch himself new puppets.
If Lin Sanjiu was the person who was going to get her limbs removed, she would not have compromised so fast.
As soon as the little boy took his first step, a hand fell on his shoulder. He tilted his head above and met with Lin Sanjiu's gaze.
"Kid, can you give us a moment, please?" She smiled at him. Since she still had five minutes before the effect of the Pygmalion Choker warded off, it was natural that the little boy would do what she had asked. Then, she went forward and crouched beside Puppeteer.
Both of them were silent.
"I hate to admit it, but this could be considered as your strength as well," Puppeteer sneered.
Sighing, Lin Sanjiu said slowly, "Even though I have discovered your secret, I don't mean it, and my lips are sealed. I don't get it why you had to get into such a mess. Now you have to lose your limbs."
"Do you think I care? These limbs?!" Puppeteer chimed in with a sharp voice. His eyes reddened again due to his rising anger, "You have no idea what I have lost, you idiot!"
"Alright, alright," Lin Sanjiu nonchalantly waved her hand, "I know what you have lost. The grand prize at the final pitstop, right?"
Puppeteer's jaw tightened. His eyes were filled with razor-sharp anger that could slice Lin Sanjiu into a zillion pieces.
" He is such a gloomy person that tends to go to extremes to get what he d.e.s.i.r.es. I suppose I needed some time before I can get the whereabouts of Rena and Reno out of him ," as the though swayed into her mind, she smiled at Puppeteer and said, "You're the idiot! Do you know Santa Claus? Is there bad blood between you two?"
Puppeteer was stunned.
"Let me tell you something: he is in here as well. Although he's not a Growth type, he is catching up fast. He is going for the grand prize at the final pitstop as well. You're powerful, no doubt, but I guess neither of you could emerge unscathed if you two ever engaged in a fight. May I ask what is so great about the prize that could make you go through so many difficulties to get it?"
This sentence had pressed a button in Puppeteer. His expression changed. It was an expression that Lin Sanjiu had never expected would appear on his face. She even wondered if her eyes had played a trick on her—
"Oh, so he has come as well," Puppeteer's tone was soft. With downcast eyes, he continued, "A wish. The prize is a wish. The Starry Carnival Amus.e.m.e.nt Park will grant you any wish."
"A wish?"
Lin Sanjiu was dumbstruck.
It seemed that all emotion had left Puppeteer, leaving only a blank behind. Rather than saying he was talking to Lin Sanjiu, he was more likely talking to himself, "It seems like what has happened in the past is irreversible no matter how hard you try. Hah, human strength is the weakest."
Thump. Puppeteer seemed to be very tired. He fell to the ground and stayed still.
"Where is that kid? Is he not coming to claim what he wants?" He asked expressionlessly as he stared into the dark blue night sky.
Not knowing what kind of story was happening in Lin Sanjiu's mind, she halted the little boy and studied Puppeteer.
Even though she did not have the wisdom of Nüwa, she had a particular set of skills that belonged only to her. She could see that a shadow of despair had enveloped Puppeteer whole, even his soul.
" What could that wish be to make a person like him to exhibit such an expression? "
"I can offer you two items that can help you get the grand prize," Lin Sanjiu cleared her throat, and said hesitantly, "In exchange, you only have to tell me the whereabouts of Rena and Reno and stop hunting me."
She wasn't at all certain that Puppeteer would agree to her second condition, but she had to try. After all, there was no harm in trying, right?
A long time passed. Long enough that the stars were popping out to play hide and seek. When the little boy began to grow impatient, Puppeteer then spoke with a harsh voice, "What can you offer me?"
"I can help fill up the Stamina Points that you lack," Then Lin Sanjiu quickly said the next offer, "I can even tell you the next move of Santa Claus."
Puppeteer suddenly shot up from the ground, scaring Lin Sanjiu.
With a disbelieving look, Puppeteer looked at Lin Sanjiu like he was looking at the dumbest person in the world, "Do you know that I can still obliterate you once this little jerk is gone. Are those two kids worth the risk?"
Lin Sanjiu grit her teeth and gave it a go around her brain before she nodded. After all, if everything failed, she still had Hei Zeji on her side.
"I loathe you, people like you, and your kind of self-righteous justice the most," Puppeteer drew his eyebrows together tightly as if he saw some kind of bug, "Consider yourself lucky. I'm the kind of person who won't go back on his word."
"Who is the lucky one here?!"
As she cursed him inwardly, she warped her [Defense Forcefield] around her hand and falteringly held Puppeteer's cold hand.
Puppeteer saw what she had done, but he paid no mind to it. He scornfully raised his chin and opened his mouth. At the same time, Lin Sanjiu told him about Santa Claus as well.
"Yea, I've kidnapped the twins, but I handed them to the Progressor Alliance--"
"The Progressor Alliance has set both you and Santa Claus up so that you two would meet—"
Both of them fell silent at the same time.
" Huh? "
"Haha, well, well. Seems like our good samaritan Miss Lin Sanjiu is being hidden in the dark all these time. Then, a knowing smile appeared on Puppeteer's face as he said, "Do you have any idea who told me about this pocket dimension?"
Chapter 361 - You Can’t Wallow In Sensual P.l.e.a.s.u.r.es
Lin Sanjiu's eyes bulged and her brain was unable to process the information she just received.
Originally, she wanted to make use of this chance to persuade Puppeteer to release the Progressor Alliance. However, after listening to what Puppeteer said, the script that she had prepared was stuck in her throat, and all she could manage through her lips was a vowel "ah" filled with question.
With a cold laugh, Puppeteer got up from the ground which Lin Sanjiu hurriedly followed. Both of them completed the Stamina Point exchange procedure on a touch screen device and sent the little boy away.
"They are the ones who gave you the information about this pocket dimension? The Progressor Alliance? Really?" Lin Sanjiu's words escaped her lips in a disbelieving voice. She couldn't bring herself to trust Puppeteer just yet, "Why would they tell you about this pocket dimension if they want to keep the grand prize only for themselves?"
>
Puppeteer raised his chin slightly, exposing a hint of wicked, sarcastic expression on his face, "The connection between Progressor Alliance and I is not a recent thing. There are too many capable beings hiding in the Twelve Worlds. Even if it's me, I have to have some connections with a few clandestine alliances to make sure my plans run smoothly. Considering this, rather than working with people who are soon to be eliminated, I choose to work with Growth Types. Despite all this, never once had I had the notion that they would cook up such a trick behind my back."
Lin Sanjiu tightened her jaw. Her face turned ugly.
She had a pretty good grasp of the current situation. Looking from another point of view, Aker did not lie to her.
Stalling Puppeteer long enough for him to bump into Santa Claus and get them to engage in internecine strife was the plan all along. Besides, everything Aker had said—aside from the thing involving Rena and Reno—was true, so Lin Sanjiu found no reason to not believe in him. Of course, it appeared to her now that he would not come to reinforce her as planned.
And this was not the worst part.
"So he wanting me to delay you for an hour was all a ruse?" Lin Sanjiu's voice turned chilly. She finally saw the real problem, "So we have no idea when will Santa Claus arrive here!"
"An hour?" Puppeteer cast Lin Sanjiu a sidelong glance; his face scrunched, seemingly torn between disgust and surprise at Lin Sanjiu's words, "Are you real? Do you think you are capable of stalling me for an hour?"
Lin Sanjiu was tongue-tied. Puppeteer was telling the truth. Including the time they had talked and other things, she barely held him for thirty—no, probably less than thirty minutes.
"Those freaks from Progressor Alliance should know very well that you couldn't stall me for so long," After saying this, Puppeteer turned his head to the left as if he had lost interest in furthering this discussion with Lin Sanjiu. Then, from the direction of his gaze, his three puppets that he sent off to catch the artist appeared carrying that artist on their shoulders as they walked to him, "I guess, that green hat old fart will appear anytime now."
After running through the possible consequences of asking about the bad blood between him and Santa Claus in her brain, Lin Sanjiu decided to keep quiet and leave the topic untouched.
"Well, at least I have limbered up after battling you. Now, I can go full strength when that old fart gets here—Huh, so he is not a human?" Puppeteer said as his puppets flung the artist on the ground. After darting a glance at the man that was tied like a dumpling, he winced, "I have enough Special Items. Take him with you and get lost!"
As long as he didn't want to fight with her, Lin Sanjiu would not care about his tone.
Since Lin Sanjiu had no purpose to stay here any longer, she decided to leave Santa Claus to Puppeteer. All she had to do now was look for Aker and get whatever information he was hiding from her. With that resolution in her mind, she nodded to Puppeteer and immediately went the way she came from after replacing the artist into her card.
After all, Puppeteer was a person who acted whenever the mood took him. He was volatile and unpredictable. If she didn't leave now, she might not be able to do so later.
Obviously, she was paranoid. It didn't matter to Puppeteer whether she decided to stay or leave. For him, she was either a nuisance or a dispensable figure depending on the circ.u.mstances and his mood. Right now, it was the latter as he did not do anything to her even as she turned her back to him and walked a considerable distance away.
Looking over her shoulders, Lin Sanjiu saw the lanky figure that was yards away from her doing his last preparations and gathering his puppets for the upcoming battle.
Lin Sanjiu hastened her steps and plunged into the barbeque restaurant that they fought in not long ago.
"Boss," she called softly while walking on a floor of shattered glass shards, "Are you here?"
In Starry Carnival Amus.e.m.e.nt Park, a player could summon the staff with merely a call. Just as Lin Sanjiu's voice was dying away, a slothful voice suddenly appeared behind her, "We're under renovation. No selling today."
"I'm not here to eat," Lin Sanjiu quickly turned toward the dead-alive female store owner. She was still wearing the same qipao dress, "I'm here to inquire about Aker."
"Haven't I told you earlier? I can't take your Stamina Points if you're not here to eat," Lin Sanjiu never thought the female shop owner would reject her. Before Lin Sanjiu could say anything further, the female store owner pointed towards a shop at the far end of "Pumpkin's Route." Her crimson colored nails glimmered in the darkness, "I suggest you try your luck over there at that shop. They are still open."
Even though it was troublesome, as long as she could get Aker's coordinates, Lin Sanjiu felt that it was worth the trip. Following the guidance of the female store owner, Lin Sanjiu strode down the Pumpkin Road and came to a dead end. Further ahead was the attraction she saw in the evening. It was an enormous, enveloping veil of darkness under the stygian sky. All she could see was the outline of the swell and sweep.
Since night had fallen, most of the shops had sunk into the darkness save one. There was a carved bamboo lamp outside of one shop. Its warm tone made that particular shop stand out from the rest and was a nice beacon for Lin Sanjiu to pinpoint her target.
"What are they selling?" Lin Sanjiu mumbled as she lifted the door curtain.
It was a little, quaint shop. The burlap door curtain that clouded with a myriad of bamboo shadows gave off a Japanese shop vibe. Just as Lin Sanjiu stepped inside, an arm appeared and halted her progress. A pilgarlic man, who was apparently the staff of this pocket dimension, appeared in front of her. Nervousness filled his face, "What do you want? I'm sorry, but we don't entertain female customers here."
" Why can't they entertain females? "
Even though the shop owner had evoked Lin Sanjiu's interest, she still decided to ignore her curiosity first and concentrate on what she had come for, "I'm here to ask about a player's coordinates, do you have them?"
The pilgarlic man jaw tightened, his muscles wound up so tight like a spring that was about to break. As he wiped the sweat that oozed from his forehead, he stuttered, "Y-yes. I have the coordinates of all players, but I can't give it to you unless you buy something from me first."
"Let me go in, then! Why are you—"
Before Lin Sanjiu could finish her sentence, she glanced aside and finally saw the reason the pilgarlic man did not allow her to enter his shop. On the casing just beside the door curtain, there were two words engraved in an enchanting pink that read "Luscious Lounge."
Her eyes widened as Lin Sanjiu slowly turned her head and exchanged glances with the pilgarlic man. The man's face instantly flushed red. He rubbed his hand and said awkwardly, "We just opened recently, and we're not yet ready to serve female customers. Why don't you come back next week?"
"The hell would I want to revisit you next week!"
She had no time to blabber with this middle-aged man, and her patience was thinning. She shoved the man aside, lifted her feet and stomped into the shop. The shop owner stumbled on his own feet and almost fell. A female voice rang out. Only then Lin Sanjiu realized that there was a customer inside.
A man, who seemed to be a posthuman, was holding a glass of wine, sitting on a wine table in the corner. His hand froze in mid-air.
Sitting beside him was a petite woman with curly hair. The couple did nothing but stared at the tall woman who had spoiled their right moment. Lin Sanjiu ignored the pilgarlic shop owner marched toward the couple. She dragged the petite woman up from her seat.
"Hey, what are you doing—"
Before that male posthuman could finish uttering his sentence, a dark shadow whipped in front of him, and the next thing he knew, the wine glass in his hand had been snatched away by the woman with vile expression and skeletal wings on her back.
Clank. The petite woman bewilderedly toasted with Lin Sanjiu and gulped the wine down her throat.
"Now, she had a drink with me
," Lin Sanjiu turned back to the shop owner. She extended her wrist, as a signal for the shop owner to scan her wrist to charge her Stamina Points. "Can you tell me the coordinates of Aker now?"
The shop owner begrudgingly scanned her wrist, "Fine, fine. Please leave then after I've told you his coordinates. Your very presence here will affect my business. Aker is now on the "Grizzly's Route." He has cleared an attraction, and he is on his way to the next."
Stunned, Lin Sanjiu unconsciously freed the petite woman, and she fell back to her seat, "He is still on the "Grizzly's Route?" Are you certain?"
According to Aker's plan, Santa Claus should've bumped into Puppeteer at any time sooner or later. It was hard for Lin Sanjiu to believe that Aker still had the time and mood to roam freely on "Grizzly's Route" while clearing the attraction. If she were Aker, she would have long rushed to "Pumpkin Route" and claimed the fruit of her well-cherished plan.
Or was Aker going to come over here when their fight was coming to an end?
At this moment, Lin Sanjiu's second-sight kicked-in. She somehow felt something was not right, " If Aker doesn't come earlier, how's he suppose to tie the loose end if something out of his hands happened? "
Lin Sanjiu ignored the shop owner that was urging her to leave his shop. Instead, she grabbed herself a seat and pulled out a paper crane. She wanted to discuss with Puppeteer about the moot point in Aker's plan. Ultimately, she wished Puppeteer could win the fight as this was the only way that benefited her the most.
The shop owner could not continue his business with Lin Sanjiu sitting inside his Luscious Lounge. Perspiration filled everybody's foreheads excluding Lin Sanjiu. Luckily, Puppeteer was not far away from her, so the paper crane flew back to her within a few minutes.
However, Puppeteer's reply had stunned Lin Sanjiu. She could not return to her senses for quite a few seconds.
"Who is Aker?" Puppeteer's grim voice was brimmed with anger. He was probably not happy with Lin Sanjiu for disturbing him, "Why would I know his coordinates?"
" He didn't know Aker, the mastermind of this whole plan? "