Doomsday Wonderland

Hu Changzai let out a guttural sob.

He did not wear his glasses, and his eyes seemed to bulge due to his myopia. He darted his gaze between Puppeteer and Lin Sanjiu for some time until the former snapped and roared at him, “Speak!”

“Ah!” Hu Changzai was startled. He coughed, stammering and squeezing the word through his throat as a myriad of colors—scarlet red, pale white, fear green—flitted across his face. “She… She doesn’t seem to… to be lying.”

It was hard for Hu Changzai to twist the truth.

Puppeteer narrowed his eyes. The glitter changed back from crimson red to silvery white.

“She did not tell any lies? Not even a word?” Puppeteer asked softly.

Lin Sanjiu’s heart skipped so hard that it was now in her throat. Taking advantage when Puppeteer was not looking at her, she kept sending a signal to Hu Changzai. Nonetheless, since two puppets were guarding her, all she could do was quirk her lips and hope that Hu Changzai would get what she mean.

“T-that is not what I mean,” Hu Changzai continued to stammer. Then, something clicked in his mind as he finally found the excuse for him to speak fluently, “I didn’t hear what she said just now. All I can say is that from what I heard, she didn’t lie.”

Rage instantly dawned upon Puppeteer’s face.

“Didn’t you hear what she said? You could’ve said that earlier!” Puppeteer gestured angrily with his hand, and the two puppets carried Hu Changzai nearer to them. He then shot Lin Sanjiu a cold glare and snarled, “Repeat what you just said. Now!”

As the saying went, it would be difficult the first time and easy the second. After Lin Sanjiu repeated her words, Hu Changzai had become much more comfortable when he said she did not lie. Not only was he covering up for Lin Sanjiu, but he had also self-mastered the hardest form of lies, which was telling 30% of truth while the remainder were all lies.

“Most of her statements are true. She did tell some lies, but it’s just some very tiny things. For instance, when she said she doesn’t know the grand prize is humanoid, and also …”

“Okay, enough.” Puppeteer waved his hand impatiently and stopped him from talking. He had obviously run out of patience. He strode nearer to Lin Sanjiu and stared straight into her eyes. They remained silent for a few full seconds.

Lin Sanjiu had to put on a tough facade though she was extremely nervous. “You see, I’m not lying. I have already opened the grand prize—”

Before she could finish speaking, the countenance of the man standing in front of her was getting grimmer and grimmer. It was as if a storm was brewing inside him. Lin Sanjiu took a half step back as she realized that something was not right about him. To protect herself, she activated her Defense Forcefield. No matter what, she could not allow Puppeteer to touch her skin, not even a slight graze, as the part of the cat doctor and AYU that had been turned into a puppet was still vividly clear in her mind.

“I… don’t believe you,” Puppeteer said softly, causing an upheaval in the duo’s heart. His expression was bland, giving away nothing, so Lin Sanjiu could not be sure what was he thinking about. Throwing Hu Changzai a sidelong glance, Puppeteer said, “No matter who you are, humans are less trustworthy than puppets. Since I’m unable to turn you into one of my puppets, I’ll make you stick with me a while longer. Take him away.”

He gestured with a finger, and two puppets dragged Hu Changzai away.

‘He didn’t get any stronger after so many months, didn’t he?’ said Lin Sanjiu inwardly as Hu Changzai was towed away into the space behind them and disappeared. Apparently, Puppeteer had placed a space pocket over there.

‘Is the cat doctor in there as well?’ Lin Sanjiu tightened her jaw. Her mind was blank, and she had no idea what to say.

Then, a bitter smile found its way and sat on the corner of her lips. Aside from the cat doctor and the grand prize, now there was one more person that she needed to take care of—Hu Changzai.

“So, what you want me to do?” She sighed. “The only thing I have that looks like a human is this man with half a body. Take him if you want. Just give me back the cat doctor.”

Puppeteer had probably already seen the elder brother that was strapped to Lin Sanjiu’s back. He was not interested in him as he knew the grand prize would not survive after being cut into half.

“Never mind,” Puppeteer said fondly, “I can see there isn’t anybody besides you, so I’ve decided to give you another chance. You go and get the grand prize for me. Until then, I won’t give you the cat doctor back.”

Lin Sanjiu’s face turned pale. She tried to persuade him, “I have already opened the grand prize. The man just now has—”

“I’ll wait for you here.”

This sentence added another strain on Lin Sanjiu’s checklist. Her heart was sinking into the bottom of her stomach.

‘Puppeteer cannot stay here!’

There was a towel tied to the branch of a tree in a woodland not far away. The grand prize did not have many towels, and given that fact alone, Lin Sanjiu was confident that he was going to go back there. After all, what was the use of leaving a mark if you were not coming back? She had no idea whether all the grand prizes in the Starry Carnival Amusement Park looked the same, but she could not afford the risk to have Puppeteer meet the grand prize.

She had to think of a way to chase him away.

Although she seemed very calm on the surface, in reality, her brain was working fast, and her heart was beating like a galloping horse. She tried to think of a plan, but nothing came into her mind.

When Puppeteer was walking away, Lin Sanjiu got nervous and yelled, “Wait!”

Puppeteer stopped but did not say anything.

“Erm… You are alone with only a few puppets. Don’t you feel it’s a little bit risky to stroll around here?” After a short contemplation, Lin Sanjiu decided to bite the bullet and said, “I fear you can’t protect Dr. Hu.”

Puppeteer turned around, the white glitter around his eyes turning into dark red once more. Even though Lin Sanjiu could see the bulging vein on his forehead, she continued, “You need someone experienced to guide you around. There are a few Titans here. And I’m afraid you can’t—”

With a snap of his fingers, a large shadow loomed over the white mist above which soon turned into the shape of a foot as it rammed itself into the ground behind Puppeteer. Looking up from the gigantic ankle, Lin Sanjiu saw Sanduria’s red blouse.

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” asked the man donning black leather.

Lin Sanjiu looked at Sanduria, tongue-tied. She stammered for a few seconds before she finally found her voice back. “How? How can you control a god?”

“Simple.” There was still some rage lingering on Puppeteer’s face. His smirk now looked crooked to Lin Sanjiu. “Find a Lesser God, turn some part of her into puppet material and help her kill some gods. Then, you will have it. A powerful Titan. It’s actually pretty simple after you’ve tried it.”

Lin Sanjiu shivered as a chill crept down her spine.

“Oh yeah.” Puppeteer lowered his head, his black hair shrouding half of his face. “I believe you must be missing your friend a lot. Well, good graces that I’m a benevolent person.”

Lin Sanjiu’s opened her eyes wide as understanding dawned upon her.

AYU, who had dozens of souls inside of her body, soon appeared in front of Lin Sanjiu. She was holding a little girl. The puppets pushed them forward, and they both fell beside her. Soulsqn looked different from the last time Lin Sanjiu saw her. She seemed to have a particular liking for little girls with twin ponytails. The skin she wore this time was a young girl’s too. The body had been wearing ponytails all the time. Since it was dead and was no longer growing hair, there was an unhealthy green patch on top of Soulsqn’s head.

“They aren’t my friends!” Lin Sanjiu growled.

“I know.” Puppeteer smiled. Then, he turned and left.