"Hello, everyone. Nice to meet you. I'm Puppeteer."
This was the first sentence the strangely dressed man said when he walked up to the stage.
The man who called himself Puppeteer was standing on a container that was pushed down by the Berets. Just now, he was respectfully welcomed by a group of mannequins and mannequins. He did not use a microphone, but his voice was clearly heard by all 219 people.
The people who walked out of the two containers were forced to line up neatly by the plastic models and surrounded. There were originally more than 219 people, but when the legs of a dozen people who resisted were separated from their bodies, the rest of the people obediently stopped moving.
The mannequins carried these people on their shoulders and walked down the stage one by one. It seemed like they were showing them to Puppeteer. After the man touched each person's forehead once, he shook his head lightly. The mannequins swung their arms and threw all the people into the dry sea. They did not care about their lives anymore.
At this moment, a person's thigh was lying not far away from Lin Sanjiu.
"For the sake of your safety, I suggest that you cooperate with me. My request to everyone is very simple. There is no need for you to get hurt because of this. "Puppeteer's voice had a hint of a smile. He was very polite and considerate.
There was a faint stir in the crowd, but it died away, like the last north wind in spring, before the eyes of the thousands of freaks who stood about them.
Puppeteer was a man whose age was indiscernible. Even though he looked like a teenager, he exuded an aura of an old man. It was not an exaggeration to say that he was very old. However, his attire was too strange. His upper body was wrapped in strips of black leather. The parts that were not wrapped revealed his pale and frail skin. It looked as if he had torn up a leather coat and put it on.
There was a large ornament stuck to the back of his coat. It looked like a rooster's comb. It was bright red in color, and it swayed as it walked. On his lower body, he wore a pair of boots that reached his thighs.
"I have a question."
His voice was very calm. His next words. He immediately caught Lin Sanjiu's full attention.
"Which of the 219 of you is a consular officer?"
The crowd fell silent. Those who had a confused look on their faces, as if they were trying to get an answer from someone else, were probably the locals. The Hyperthermal Hell was the first new world they had experienced, so they didn't know about the consular officers yet. Those who had their heads lowered and didn't say a word, or they looked like they were in a daze. He should be from another world.
After waiting for a quarter of an hour, no one made a sound.
"Oh — as expected, 219 people is still too small." Puppeteer heaved a sigh of dissatisfaction and settled for the next best thing. "Alright, so who has any information about consular officers?"
Lin Sanjiu's heart skipped a beat as she thought of Fang Dan. She exchanged glances with Hu Changzai, who was beside her. Even though she knew that Hu Changzai wouldn't be able to see her facial expression from the crowd of over two hundred people, she couldn't help but lower her head.
When she lowered her head, she suddenly realized that the legs of the short man standing in front of her were trembling violently.
She looked at the man curiously. Even though the situation was quite unsettling, everyone here had experienced some kind of crisis before. Now, it was just a man in a strange outfit talking. Did he have to be so scared?
The short man seemed to be unable to stand properly and looked like he would fall at any moment. However, he mustered his courage and spoke with a trembling voice, "Lord … Lord Puppeteer …"
Even though his voice was not loud, Puppeteer could still hear him from the stage.
"Lord … Puppeteer?"
'Isn't this man too much of a bootlicker? '
The man who called himself Puppeteer flashed a mysterious smile, "Go ahead."
"Yes, yes … I spent four to five months looking for a consular officer in this area, but there are rumors that he went north … You might not be able to find him here," the short man replied in fear and trepidation.
Lin Sanjiu noticed that he mentioned "this area". "Could it be that..." Could it be that there was more than one consular officer?
But when she thought about it, it made sense. Earth was so big, if there was only one consular officer... In that case, the chances of encountering a Consular Officer were too low.
Puppeteer's smile faded. "Oh." He turned his head and asked, "Is there anyone else who has any news about consular officers?"
More than two hundred people remained silent.
"Sigh, alright. It's not that I don't trust you, but I have to check every single one of you to make sure that there is no consular officer hiding. "Puppeteer's voice was still as polite as ever. As he spoke, he jumped off the stage. A group of plastic mannequins immediately followed behind him like bodyguards.
He walked to the person in the first row. The young man was a little wary, "What do you want?"
"Don't be nervous," Puppeteer's tone was gentle, as if he was coaxing a child, but everyone heard him loud and clear. "I just want to see if you are a consular officer. It won't hurt if I check."
As he spoke, he had already reached out and touched the young man's forehead with lightning speed.
The young man looked like he wanted to resist, but he didn't expect that before he could take out his weapon, the other party had already finished. Indeed, it didn't hurt or itch. He stood there awkwardly and didn't know what to do. Puppeteer ignored him disappointedly. When he reached the second person, the young man shouted, "I'm not a consular officer. Can I go now?"
Puppeteer did not turn his head, "Of course, but you have to wait."
As soon as he finished speaking, a plastic mannequin took a step forward and blocked the young man's way. The young man hesitated and stopped moving.
At that moment, the short man in front of Lin Sanjiu cleared his throat as if he was afraid. He cursed under his breath, "Idiot, what an idiot …" He clutched his pants anxiously. It seemed that he was really nervous. Lin Sanjiu's heart skipped a beat.
Lin Sanjiu's heart skipped a beat. She lowered her voice and asked, "Hey, which world are you from?"
The short man was stunned. He turned his head around as if he did not expect that someone would talk to him at this time. Even though he was not good-looking, he had a pair of sharp eyes. His gaze lingered on Lin Sanjiu's face for a second before he answered, "Snowstorm. You are also from …? "
Lin Sanjiu nodded. "Black Death City," she said as if in code. That was the name she had seen on Ren Nan's visa.
The short man replied with an "Oh". "I've been there before. The Black Death City has gradually stabilized … Sigh, it's inconvenient to be sent to a rural place like the Hyperthermal Hell. I didn't expect … "
Before he could finish his sentence, he shuddered and swallowed the rest of his words.
Lin Sanjiu's companions looked at her strangely. Lin Sanjiu did not seem to notice their stares. She just followed the short man's words and sighed, "That's right. I didn't expect that I would be so unlucky to meet Puppeteer … "
The short man's eyes lit up. "Have you heard of Puppeteer?" he asked hurriedly.
Lin Sanjiu did not let the confusion in her heart show on her face. She simply replied, "Yes."
"That's rare. So, you have been to the Twelve Worlds Centrum … Sigh, judging from your expression, you probably haven't heard the latest news about Puppeteer, right?" The short man sighed. Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he continued, "Oh, right. My name is Shen Lianqi. Let's be friends. We might meet again in the Twelve Worlds Centrum … "
Lin Sanjiu resisted the urge to ask what the Twelve Worlds Centrum were. She told him her name and asked eagerly, "What's the latest news?"
Her question reminded Shen Lianqi. His face turned pale again. "I heard that Puppeteer's ability has leveled up. I heard that it's quite strange … Now that he has leveled up, the situation is very tricky. After all, it is very difficult to level up once you reach the level of those big shots. Am I right? No one knows what will happen in the future. Everyone is watching the situation closely. Even those who are always at odds with Puppeteer are avoiding his limelight. He has been sent to another new world. Ahem, what does such a big thing have to do with small fries like us? I just didn't expect that he would come to this remote and desolate place … "
Even though there were many things that she didn't understand, she quickly memorized everything he said. After thinking for a while, she chose a question that was most likely to make Shen Lianqi speak, "Do you have any idea about Puppeteer's actions today?"
"Sigh. That's just my guess. " Shen Lianqi's gaze followed Puppeteer's figure closely. Every time Puppeteer touched a person's forehead, a plastic mannequin would appear next to that person. He fidgeted uneasily and said, "I heard that Puppeteer's followers went missing for a period of time. When they reappeared, they were no different from those mannequins. They couldn't even smile on their own, but they still retained their abilities …"
"You know that Puppeteer's followers don't have any abilities now. If it wasn't for the 'Munitions Factory', how could he achieve his current power? Rumor has it that he can now turn living people into puppets. That's why he wants to gather more living people to get rid of the Munitions Factory. However, it's not easy to do so in the Twelve Worlds Centrum … "
When Shen Lianqi started talking about the big events and gossip that he was passionate about, he started talking non-stop. He didn't notice that Lin Sanjiu and her companions, who were listening to him with bated breath, suddenly turned pale.
"You mean, he wants to turn all 219 people into his puppets?"
Shen Lianqi didn't say anything. After a while, he mumbled, "Sigh, let's see how it goes … If it doesn't work, we can escape with our own abilities …"
Lin Sanjiu looked at Puppeteer doubtfully and exchanged glances with her companions. Shen Lianqi seemed to have experienced many worlds, so he must have a few trump cards. But how were they going to escape?
Puppeteer was very fast. In just a short while, he had already examined nearly a hundred people. He was not far from Lin Sanjiu and her companions. As he got closer, Lin Sanjiu could see the bright red cockscomb. She could also hear the creaking of Puppeteer's leather as he walked.
"Lil Jiu, I just remembered something," B.Rabbit's voice suddenly rang in Lin Sanjiu's ears. "Isn't he going to touch everyone's forehead?"
Lin Sanjiu was stunned for a moment before she understood.
"Your Usu poison can kill him in a few seconds. What do we have to be afraid of?"
B.Rabbit's voice rang in the ears of all three of them at the same time. Their expressions immediately relaxed. Lin Sanjiu was so preoccupied with the words' Puppeteer 'and' Twelve Worlds Centrum 'that she almost forgot about the Usu poison in their bodies. Since the plastic models were Puppeteer's ability, as long as he was dead, they would no longer be a threat.
With this confidence, when Puppeteer removed his finger from Shen Lianqi's forehead, Lin Sanjiu even hoped that he would quickly extend his hand to her.
Puppeteer took a step forward and stood in front of Lin Sanjiu. He narrowed his eyes and sized her up.
At such a close distance, Puppeteer looked even weirder. There was a ring of golden powder around his eyes that glistened under the rays of the setting sun. He was very tall, about 180 centimeters, but due to his pale skin and skinny frame, he did not look intimidating at all.
Puppeteer smiled warmly and raised a finger. Lin Sanjiu held her breath.
His finger went all the way to her forehead and stopped just a few millimeters away from her skin.
"Aiya, you have Wusu poison in your body." (To be continued.)
PS:
I'm sorry, everyone. Two days ago, I went to look at houses and other chores. I only managed to finish this chapter today. Recently, I have to take on some projects. The things that happened before the New Year are all mixed together. Sigh … It's really suicidal to start a book without a draft. I'm sorry, everyone. Since February is almost here, I've decided to work hard to mend my relationship with Mr. Quan Qin and try to write one chapter every day ~ ~ ~
"Thank you for another wineskin, thank you for the big baddie's peace talisman, thank you for the safety talisman... Sorry, haha, this person is not the male protagonist..."
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