Chapter 419 - 418: Puppet?

Chapter 419: Chapter 418: Puppet?

’My own Polishing Knife is still F-level!’

’Where on earth did this person get a C-level Polishing Knife?!’

Artemis looked at the knife, then at the expressionless Seraphina Sinclair, and her heart began to pound wildly in her chest once more.

She was no longer defiantly seeking death, and she couldn’t care less about the Expansion Crystal.

All she wanted now was to make Seraphina Sinclair her true boss!

’It’s bizarre, but I’m absolutely sure that very phrase just drifted through my mind: *Woman, you have successfully piqued my interest!*’

Artemis took a long moment to calm down and suppress her turbulent emotions before she began to carefully examine the blueprint that Serafelle Sinclair had requested be improved.

The moment she grasped the knife, her entire demeanor changed.

Focused and quiet.

The smooth-talking Artemis from moments ago had vanished.

In her place was someone with her head lowered, eyes fixed on the blueprint, fingers gently stroking the back of the Polishing Knife.

Seraphina Sinclair noticed her eyes. Their color had changed.

Artemis’s eyes, normally a common amber, had now turned a silvery white.

The color was amazing. It looked as if it were painted directly onto her pupils, yet it also seemed to grow from within, the patterns within them exceptionally clear.

Seeing this, Seraphina Sinclair knew a test was no longer necessary.

’This person... she’s definitely an Engraving Master!’

’In that case... the Puppet Paperman is a perfect fit for her. This is the ideal puppet I’ve been waiting for!’

Artemis had no idea what Seraphina Sinclair was thinking. She was completely absorbed in figuring out how to improve the blueprint.

She had to prove her value, to make Seraphina Sinclair let her stay.

After a long moment, Artemis looked up and rattled off a long list of basic materials.

If Seraphina Sinclair could produce these items, she could prove her identity to her right then and there!

If Seraphina Sinclair couldn’t, well, that wasn’t her problem.

The moment she raised her head, Artemis knew her life was safe.

She waited quietly. Just as she expected, she saw Seraphina Sinclair gently shake her head.

"There’s no need for a test."

Artemis’s heart leaped with joy. A genuine smile spread across her face, and her frantic heart finally settled back into place.

"So I’ll be with you from now on! Boss Blacktiger! What exactly is the item that ends the arena match? Can I see it?"

Seraphina Sinclair was very generous, readily showing Artemis the Description page for the Puppet Paperman.

Artemis’s face was still wreathed in a smile at first, but when she saw the two words on the system panel—*Puppet Paperman*—the smile instantly froze.

She blinked her eyes, now back to their amber color, and after confirming she wasn’t mistaken, she snapped her head up to look at Seraphina Sinclair.

"Wh-wh-what... What is this thing?!"

Artemis’s voice had taken on an almost comical quaver.

Just moments ago, she had been fantasizing about latching onto a powerful backer and living the high life with Master Blacktiger. But in the blink of an eye, this so-called master had shown her an item with the word "puppet" in its name?

’A puppet!’

’Even an idiot would know this thing was bad news!’

A faint smile now appeared on Seraphina Sinclair’s otherwise expressionless face.

That small smile led Artemis to misunderstand.

She thought Seraphina Sinclair was trying to reassure her, so she pushed down her unease and read the item’s detailed Description.

After a closer look, Artemis’s pupils constricted.

She stared intently at the few lines of Description, reading them word by word as the color visibly drained from her face.

"...Forcibly establish puppet link... lose self-awareness... absolute obedience to commands..."

She mumbled the keywords, her voice growing quieter and more ragged, the hand holding the knife beginning to tremble.

The C-level Polishing Knife that had so excited her moments before now felt scalding hot.

She instinctively wanted to open her hand and drop the knife, but her fingers seemed to have frozen, refusing to obey her.

"You... You never planned on letting me go, did you?"

Artemis looked up at Seraphina Sinclair, and for the first time, genuine fear flickered in her amber eyes.

She was truly afraid.

"I just want to live," Artemis said, her voice hoarse. "I don’t want to become anyone’s puppet."

Seraphina Sinclair watched her, her eyes as placid as ever, betraying no emotion. Only the smile on her face had faded.

The Polishing Knife slipped from Artemis’s grasp, clattering sharply on the arena floor.

She staggered back a step until her back hit the cold wall of the arena.

"No."

"I won’t be a puppet. I won’t lose myself. I’d rather die than—"

"Then die."

Seraphina Sinclair’s voice was soft, as light as a feather drifting onto the surface of the water.

Artemis’s words caught in her throat.

Her mouth hung open, but no sound came out.

Seraphina Sinclair took a step forward.

Artemis instinctively tried to flee, but with the wall at her back, there was nowhere to run.

"You just said," Seraphina Sinclair’s voice was slow and deliberate, "that you would rather die."

She bent down to pick up the Polishing Knife. The blade was still warm from Artemis’s touch.

"Then die."

Seraphina Sinclair held the Polishing Knife out to Artemis.

The hilt faced Artemis, the blade faced herself.

Artemis looked at the knife, then at Seraphina Sinclair’s blank face.

Her hand was trembling. Her entire body was trembling.

She wanted to reach out for the knife, but her fingers felt pinned down, refusing to lift.

"What’s the matter?" Seraphina Sinclair tilted her head. "Aren’t you going to take it?"

The rims of Artemis’s eyes went red.

This wasn’t some feigned look of grievance; they were genuinely red.

In all her time in this world, she had always been the one toying with the lives of others, the one watching others wear this exact expression.

She had never imagined that one day, it would be her turn.

"I don’t want to die."

She heard her own voice, so hoarse it was unrecognizable.

"I don’t want to be a puppet either."

Seraphina Sinclair watched her in silence.

Her eyes remained empty.

"This world," Seraphina Sinclair said, "isn’t a place where you get to pick and choose what you want."

She nudged the knife forward again.

"Either die, or become my puppet. Right now, you can only choose one."

Artemis looked at her, and tears finally streamed down her face.

She had told countless lies, deceived countless people, and done countless unscrupulous things in her life, but she had never cried in front of anyone.

This was the first time.

She raised her hand, intending to take the knife.

But the instant her fingers touched the hilt, they recoiled as if from an electric shock.

She couldn’t do it.

She really couldn’t do it.

She wanted to live.

She desperately wanted to live.

Artemis slowly sank to the ground, burying her face in her knees as her shoulders began to hitch.

No sound came out.

But Seraphina Sinclair knew she was crying.

She simply watched Artemis, watched the woman who had been so glib just moments before, now curled up like an abandoned kitten at the edge of the arena.