by N. Heller
The man was clad in a black leather jacket. He was so thin, and his waist was so small that Maxin was confident he could snap him into two with ease. A fiery red plume sat obediently on the side of his shoulder, dangling along with the tassels with every step he took. Under his head of obsidian black hair was a face that was as pale as a sheet. There were two circles of reddish tinges around his eyes that looked like wounds. However, upon closer inspection, Maxin realized it was red glitter. He strolled on top of a carpet that unfurled itself automatically as he moved forward.
Soulsqn shouted sharply as if she had seen her Prince Charming. Then she pounced toward the carpet.
Before the flesh worm could land on the carpet, the man grabbed her by the nape of her neck and hurled her back onto the platform with practiced ease.
"Don't come near me," he hissed a warning in a low, dangerous voice. Without sparing even a glance at the flesh worm, he continued, "Wait for me there. I'll come to you after I've settled my business."
Soulsqn fell and connected with the platform with a meaty smack. Nevertheless, the flesh worm seemed unaffected as she jerked up from the ground in the next second and continued to shout enthusiastically, "What kind of business is that? I can help—"
Before she could finish her sentence, the sea churned. Then, with a loud splash, Zen, who had fully transformed into Zeus, climbed out of the water. He now looked exactly like the last Zeus they had seen earlier. If not for the tattered robe on his body that suggested that he was the calculative posthuman, Maxin might have thought that the same Zeus had returned.
Zeus rolled his pair of abysmally large eyes around before turning to look at the man that Soulsqn addressed as Lord Puppeteer.
"This is… Zen?" asked the man with a frown.
"You know him?"
The man paid no mind to Maxin's query. He stared fixedly at Zeus standing in front of him. Then, a sinister smile blossomed across half of his face as he said, "Yes. He's one of my scouts."
"Are you from the white camp?" Maxin jerked up. "Why are there more than four members in the white camp?"
No sooner had his question scattered into the wind than Zeus chimed in and spoke in a sickly sweet voice, drawing everybody's attention to him, "Yo! If it isn't Puppeteer! What brought you here?" Whenever he opened his mouth to talk, he gave everyone the opportunity to take a peek at his densely crowded teeth. "Unfortunately, I happen to know the scheme in that little brain of yours. That's a very bad idea, dude!"
Sighing, Puppeteer brought his arm up and began inspecting his nails. "Well, of course, it is a bad idea. After all, nobody would appreciate the consequence of turning into a puppet." Puppeteer paused for a moment, shifting his eyes away from his nails and back to Zeus. "Not even a god."
'What puppets? What are they talking about?' Maxin thought as he rubbernecked between Puppeteer and Zeus.
"So, what are you gonna do now, Lil Pep?" asked Zeus as he rested his chin on top of a finger. Then, he tilted his head and laughed. "If it were them who dropped into the water, perhaps you might have already succeeded in getting yourself three new puppets since they wouldn't know about your plan. Unfortunately, I know what you're going to do, so your plan won't work anymore."
Right now, even Maxin, who had zero knowledge about Puppeteer, finally came to the realization of what Puppeteer was going to do. He stared at him as if he was looking at a lunatic.
Arlo and Zen were sent by Puppeteer into the black camp to push all of the members from the black camp into the sea. When all of them transformed into Zeus, Puppeteer would then make his appearance and transform them all into his puppets.
"You're wrong," said Puppeteer calmly. He hid his hands inside his sleeves, making him appear more like a teenager. "My plan will only fail if you are dead or have escaped."
Giggling, Zeus rolled his eyes once more, but he remained standing still. Maxin had no idea why, but he had a hunch that Zeus was a little uncomfortable.
"Alright, alright, you can try if you want, but I have a few new rules that I need to announce."
Turning a deaf ear to Zeus's prattle, Puppeteer spun his head around and commanded the two humans and flesh worm on the platform, "Find a place and hide, but don't try to escape."
Chapter 646 - 646 这就是命运的相逢啊
Nobody wanted to court death. The moment those words tumbled out of Puppeteer's lips, the two humans and flesh worm reacted instantly and immediately darted behind him.
After having gone through a ton of life-threatening events, almost all of the posthumans had acquired a primal instinct that would find the best route to steer themselves away from danger. Although the heavy fog disrupted their vision, they were very certain that there must be a platform in the direction where Puppeteer came from. They did not even have to worry about the distance at all since the carpet in between would catch them should they fail to estimate the gap and fall. Moreover, was there any safer place than Puppeteer's back?
When the rustling of the carpet reached their ears, the three of them leaped onto a platform.
"Stop right there!" Soulsqn shouted. Utilizing her massive size, she stopped Maxin and Hegel from going onto the next platform. Her body pulsated with every breath she took. Apparently, it was not difficult for them to deduce the location of the third platform after they had leaped through two platforms in a row. "Lord Puppeteer ordered us to stay here."
"Are you his dog or what?" Hegel harrumphed. He stopped and zeroed in on Puppeteer's direction with a raised brow. "I want to see if he is really capable of catching Zeus."
Without giving any comment, Maxin rose to his feet and looked over his shoulder. All he could see was the thick fog and the carpet that bobbled up and down with the waves of the ocean. Puppeteer was nowhere to be seen.
Earlier, when Zeus was going to announce the new rules, something stopped him from talking, and he had not spoken anything yet until now. After a short bout of rumination, Maxin turned to look at his two temporary comrades behind him. He set his teeth and climbed down from the platform.
"Where are you going?"
"Hey, I just want to ask you something," he shouted to the front, "Are you a friend of Lin Sanjiu's? Do you know Ji Shanqing?"
Maxin had no idea what drove him to make such an attempt. This was not something that he would do. After dwelling in the doomsday alone for so many years, he had learned how to discreetly keep out of harm's way and when to beat a retreat in the face of difficulties. What had Lin Sanjiu and her group of wackos done to him? Even if Puppeteer lost his duel against Zeus and failed to rescue Ji Shanqing in the end, so what? Why did he have to bend his back and take care of Ji Shanqing, someone he barely knew?
When a silhouette slowly came into his sight from within the fog in front, Maxin stopped moving forward at once. Since he did not get any response from Puppeteer, he dared not to go any closer to him. He crouched down, squinting his eyes. When he was finally able to see through the fog, he was stunned.
Something had entered Zeus's mouth, so he was unable to finish what he was about to say. His lower jaw was dislocated and hung loosely in front of his c.h.e.s.t. His neck was a dozen meters long, yet Maxin could only see his blackened lips. Right now, his arms were both inside his mouth, going deeper and deeper down his throat as he struggled to remove whatever it was inside.
With a hair-raising noise, Zeus pulled something out of his mouth. It was a lump of meat, and no sooner did he throw the lump of meat into the sea that he shoved his arm into his throat once again. He seemed to be in a lot of pain.
"A befitting affliction for somebody as disgusting as you," Puppeteer sneered coldly.
'Why doesn't Zeus just leave? Were those meat lumps that he pulled from his throat?' Just as the thought surfaced in Maxin's brain, Zeus grabbed ahold of an opportunity and maffled, "The new rules are…" Nevertheless, it was a wasted effort because lump after lump of sarcomas continued to grow out of his mouth and pushed his remaining sentence back to the pit of his stomach.
'Hold on a sec.' Maxin's eyes glowed as he suddenly had a brainwave. 'Could it be that Zeus can't leave if he doesn't get to finish announcing the rules?'
Suddenly, a thunderous roar came, and Maxin snapped out of his thoughts. Raising his head, he saw Zeus begin to fight back, as he refused to remain passive any longer. He jerked his arms out of his mouth and reached for the sea.
Maxin found no words to describe what was happening in front of his very eyes. As if he was shaking a massive piece of blanket, Zeus pinched a corner of the sea and raised it high into the air. The carpet was thrown skyward, and if not for Maxin lunging and pressing himself tightly onto the carpet at the last minute, he would have been flung away already. Be that as it may, he still could not save himself from being assaulted by the wriggling yellow shadows that were falling along with the water from the sky. Whenever one of those monstrosities grazed past his skin, it burned like fire.
In contrast, Puppeteer was having an easy time countering the sudden onslaught. His feet were firmly rooted to the carpet, and there were silhouettes—a mix of males and females—all around him. They acted like a human barrier and shielded Puppeteer from the yellow shadows, snatching them away before they even touched him. Then, what they did next confounded Maxin to the core. After catching the yellow shadows, they would slap them onto their own bodies.
After the carpet had had enough playtime in the air, it finally dropped back into the sea. Maxin was drenched to the bone. His wound stung, but he was otherwise safe. At the very least, his condition was much better than the girl in the distance because Puppeteer suddenly pushed her off the carpet the moment they touched the ocean.
Maxin watched in awe as the girl sank into the ocean.
'The hell is he doing?'
Just as Maxin was losing himself in his thoughts, Puppeteer launched an attack at Zeus once more. Both of them had exchanged several blows in quick succession, yet they ended up in a tie every time. When Maxin finally came around to his senses, he peered into the sky and saw a slim rectangle of light heading headlong at Zeus.
Zeus's mouth was so full of tumors that he could not speak. He fully knew that he would not prevail over Puppeteer in his current condition, so he turned around and fled. Maxin had seen Zeus's speed before. Thus, he was confident that nobody, not even Puppeteer, could stop him if he wanted to leave. As expected, his figure blurred with the speed of his movement, and the next time they saw him, he was standing at the very far end of the horizon.
Nevertheless, since Zeus did not get to introduce the new rules, he had to return and get the job done. A jet of water squirted up in the distance, breaking into a cloud of white mist. Dashing across the ocean at full speed, Zeus arrived before Puppeteer again.
The attack was far stronger and more powerful than any other attack he had sent at Puppeteer before. Just when Maxin was leaping to the back, the stream of yellow shadows suddenly froze and disappeared in the air. When they reappeared, they became a mini painting that hung submissively at the corner of the box.
"This isn't what I wanted to resize." Puppeteer sighed as disappointment flitted across his face. "Why don't you come closer?"
The moment he finished speaking, an arctic white hand shot up from the ocean and slapped the carpet. Maxin looked like a deer in headlights as another Zeus appeared. The Zeus shot him an indifferent look. Nevertheless, Puppeteer seemed unsurprised by his sudden appearance.
"Is that the girl?"
A voice erupted from behind Maxin and jerked him to his senses. He turned his head to see that Hegel and Soulsqn were standing behind him.
"That is Lord Puppeteer's puppet," explained Soulsqn. Maxin had no idea why, but he felt a surge of pride from her when she said that.
As if he overheard their conversation, Puppeteer spun his head halfway around. He did not say anything, but the Zeus wearing a miniskirt walked closer and obediently bowed his head down. Puppeteer grabbed that Zeus's hair and pulled him in, shortening their distance as he stared him down.
"So everyone, dead or alive, will be turned into Zeus?" After a few minutes, Puppeteer said in a deep and calm voice, "But this one is useless."
Then, the Zeus retreated to the back. Puppeteer waved his hand, and as if he was given an order, Zeus leaped into the ocean. This time, he did not come up again.
"I don't understand," Hegel asked in a whisper, "Why does he want to make Zeus into his puppet? What is so great about them?"
However, nobody could answer his question but Puppeteer.
"If you are still thinking about attacking me, I suggest that you save your breath," said the man clad in a black leather jacket with a thick, impatient rasp to his voice. Everything about this seemed like a shaggy-dog story to him. "I've seen all the attacks you could use from the Zeus that escorted me here. You can't harm me. To defeat me, there's only one way, which you know very well."
Due to the heavy infestation of tumors in his mouth, the Zeus that Zen had transformed into could not utter a single syllable. He shook his head profusely as he attempted to say something through his wasted mouth, but everything that came out was nothing but mere dull, muffled noises.
"Why are you shaking your head? Do you have any better options?" Puppeteer's voice took on a soft tone that made Maxin's skin crawl.
Zeus's eyes froze on his face. He suddenly stopped moving, and his body bobbed along with the waves on the ocean.
Upon hearing this, Maxin turned his head around. He saw that Hegel had already retreated a few steps back.
"We won't be able to see anything if we go back," said Maxin to the big, fat worm after a short moment of contemplation, "We should stay here and back him up."
"Why the hell do you want to back him up?" Hegel hissed as he continued to move back. "Don't tell me you've been infected by that woman's righteous virus…"
He did not get a chance to finish his sentence. His two thin eyebrows shot upward as his eyes widened in horror. Maxin's heart gave a little leap. He turned his head back to the front, and a similar horrified expression crawled upon his face.
Chapter 647 - End Of The Match And Carl Jung
Carl Jung once said, "Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is."
Maxin could not remember where he had read this quote, but it kept coming back to his mind ever since the appearance of the group of Zeus. Like a brass bell that kept ringing in his brain, he could not shrug it off no matter how hard he tried.
He wondered, of all the life quotes he read over the years, why did this one pop up in his mind instead?
Countless thoughts formed in an individual's mind subconsciously, and it was impossible for a person to understand the complex process of how their chain of thoughts changed. Looking out at the sea in the distance, Maxin shooed away the weird thoughts that kept bugging him.
Standing not far away from Maxin, Hegel mumbled, "Were these Zeus summoned by Zen?"
The Zeus wearing Zen's long robe suddenly jerked his head up. As if he had heard Hegel's mumbling, he offered the crowd an eerie grin as he said in a raspy voice, "Didn't you guys want more Zeus? Here they are. I've brought them to you."
"Damn it! It really is him!" Hegel cursed aloud and began to fall back. As he recoiled, he shouted as loudly as he could, "This wasn't my idea. Go after him. It's all his fault!"
He was not the only one who took to his heels. Leaping up to his feet, just when Maxin peered around for Soulsqn, he froze.
Among the crowd of weirdly-dressed Zeus, there was one who looked extremely familiar. Despite having the same deformed face that looked like grotesque sketches of Picasso that all the Zeus had, something about this one made him stand out from the others. There was an old, tattered grayish bandage hanging around his abnormally long neck.
Maxin turned to loo
k at Soulsqn, but despite his best efforts, he could not make out any visible expression from that creature's face that was made of nothing but layers of mandibles and strips of flesh. Be that as it may, she seemed to have realized the same thing as he did. Without wasting any second, she charged straight at Puppeteer as she yelled loudly, "Lord Puppeteer! Lord Puppeteer! There's one Zeus you cannot kill!"
Standing stock-still like a sentry on guard at the end of the carpet, Puppeteer observed the swarm of Zeus that was marching towards them.
"One of them is Lin Sanjiu— No, one of them is carrying Lin Sanjiu! You mustn't kill them all, Lord Puppeteer!"
This time, the gaunt figure finally responded. Puppeteer spun his head around, the red glitter around his eyes shining brightly. "What did you say?"
At the same time, he caught a movement from the corner of his eye and raised his hand without even spinning his head around. Zeus, who thought he could take advantage of the opening Puppeteer had offered, had no choice but to swerve and jump into the ocean to avoid a silhouette that came straight at him. The silhouette did not stop. Whizzing across the surface of the water at ultra-speed, the silhouette pierced through the shoulders and abdomens of several Zeus before disappearing into the horizon.
Although Soulsqn often boasted about her superb linguistic talent, she still faced some difficulties making Puppeteer understand such a complex matter in a short amount of time. "One of the Zeus is holding a pocket folder, and inside it is Lin Sanjiu. From what I heard, the person inside the pocket folder is very fragile and can die easily."
The fact that there was a living person inside a pocket folder was enough to strike somebody dumb. However, as a seasoned posthuman who had triumphed over several apocalyptic worlds, Puppeteer had become accustomed to strange things such as this. Thus, without asking any questions, Puppeteer turned his head back to the group of Zeus, staring them down. A cold smile danced at the corner of his lips.