Chapter 70: Puppet Play
Fights in the game world normally wouldn’t kill anyone. Even if they killed Randy, it’d only make him lose the game and deduct some of his points.
Xing Ye never thought about killing Randy in the real world. He didn’t have the right to punish other people. The reason why he wanted to kill Randy was to eliminate a risk factor.
A player that fishes in troubled waters and takes advantage of another’s crisis wasn’t someone Xing Ye wanted to allow running around in his game.
But they needed to take their time discussing this. Xing Ye tested out the QR codes they all found before making a plan. They had to take advantage of the time Randy’s group was gone to move about.
The illegal mine was very far from the city. It would need at least two days for them to go and come back. They set out early this morning, so they probably won't be back by tomorrow. Before then, they needed to collect as much information as possible.
Guan Ling was Old Nect’s son and Old Nect treated all the puppets in Puppet City. Whether they were ordinary puppets or rich and wealthy puppets, Old Nect treated them all equally in his shop.
With his identity protecting him, it was clearly much easier for Guan Ling to gather information.
In one day’s time, he ran around the city and told Xing Ye about what the city lord, the richest puppet in the city, the public security chief, and Old Nect had been doing for the past few days.
Guan Ling reported, “The public security chief visited Coco and talked with her for a while. Coco didn’t tell him about our visit. The city lord went to find the public security chief. The two of them talked for a very long time before parting on bad terms. After the owner of the mines went to find the city lord, a large quantity of primary ore was brought into the city today. The public security chief came to my house to get his worn out arm mended. He chatted with Old Nect for a long time and in the end, the two of them seemed to have reached a consensus. However, after he left, the city lord also came to my house. Old Nect didn’t see him, but he told me to give a box to the city lord. The city lord opened the box and seemed very satisfied before leaving.”
Xing Ye was very satisfied with his performance, “You’ve gathered a lot of information today. Good job.”
“Hehe,” Guan Ling smiled, embarrassed, “I just found out that Little Nect’s actually the adonis of the city. I was even more welcomed by the girls than the other players. They actually think my status is better than the sons of the city lord and the richest puppet in the city.”
Xing Ye nodded, “That makes sense. Puppet City is different from our world. Puppets actually aren’t very snobbish, money and power aren’t extremely important to them. Compared to primary ore or administrating the city, a healthy body is much more important for them. After all, Old Nect can even help weaker puppets become stronger.”
“So I’m actually like an ol’ reliable winning ticket.” Guan Ling said happily, “Boss, was the information I found useful?”
Xing Ye pondered, “They’re very useful. It looks like it’s not just us preparing for the final battle. The conflict between Benedict and the city lord’s faction has already intensified. A fight’s on the eve of breaking out.
“The public security chief and Old Nect should disapprove of a battle between the city lord and Benedict, but they also fear Benedict. The public security chief probably leans towards the city lord’s side while Benedict wants to keep neutral. However, he still gave the city lord that box. I suspect that inside the box is the remote that can stop Benedict’s mechanical puppets. He really is a contradictory puppet. On one side, he says he’ll support Benedict unconditionally, but on the other side, he gives the city lord something that can control the mechanical puppets… he probably thinks the remote isn’t enough to kill Benedict, but it’ll be enough to protect the puppet soldiers the city lord sends.
“The city lord and owner of the mines are determined to go against Benedict and have already started preparing resources for the battle. The only thing I don’t quite understand is why they amassed so much primary ore. Isn’t primary ore just a puppet’s life source? They’re not weapons, so why would they gather so much?”
Cao Qian asked, “It doesn’t look like we have much time left. When do you think the city lord will strike?”
“It should be in the next few days. The troops the city lord sent earlier were to test Benedict’s strength. After he found out Benedict was stronger than he had expected, he decided to partner with the owner of the mines and ask Benedict for the remote.” Xing Ye said.
Guan Ling asked, “We’ve already gathered enough information and memorized our plan to kill Randy. What should we do next?”
“Wait.” Xing Ye said, “Wait until those two following fate players come to us for the little puppet.”
Xing Ye’s words rang true. The following night, Guan Ling and Cao Qian were staying in Xing Ye’s little warehouse, discussing strategies to fight Randy. They had to prepare for all kinds of emergencies and how they would respond if it happened. Xing Ye created a table of possible scenarios for the two to memorize and practice.
Just as the two were sparring, Guan Ling suddenly screamed and froze, causing Cao Qian’s punch to hit his body and send him flying across the shack.
Cao Qian immediately reined in her strength, but it was difficult to control her matchstick puppet body, so half of the force still hit Guan Ling.
A large dent suddenly appeared on Guan Ling’s chest. Fortunately, he was a newer model puppet with a tough body, so the attack didn’t reach his nucleus.
“Why did you suddenly stop?” Cao Qian asked.
Guan Ling ignored his wounds and jumped up excitedly, “I just heard the system notification tell me I just got 5000 points!”
Cao Qian didn’t look surprised, “Oh, that’s normal. You gave a QR code to an important NPC and saved his life, of course he’ll repay you.”
Guan Ling nodded quickly, “But isn’t this too much?! The narrator said: Player Guan Ling successfully protected the little puppet and completed a side quest, winning 5000 points and a special QR code, “Puppet Play”. There was also a friendly reminder, saying the game sometimes needs a little compassion and that I did good! Puppet Play’s actually a rare QR code and the system even gave me details about it!”
Guan Ling told Xing Ye about what Puppet Play did and Xing Ye nodded, already starting to plan with it. “This QR code will be essential for the climax later. Don’t use it until we’re at the critical juncture.”
“The system provided the QR code on the wristband, so I can’t show it to you but it’s a really useful QR code. If only you could redraw it.” Guan Ling said, finding it a pity, “If we use it in this world, you won’t be able to see it even if we get our phones back in the next world. This is my first rare QR code. It’s unfortunate, having to use it just like that later.”
Xing Ye was actually very calm. “If you hadn’t met me, QR codes would’ve just been one time consumable items for you. It’s just going back to before, there’s nothing unfortunate there. You have to remember this: QR codes won from the side quest are always essential for getting the true ending. In the last world, if it weren’t for Peaceful Spirit’s Tune, then even if Liu Muqing regained her clarity, we still wouldn’t have been able to defeat Bai Xu. Before the final battle, no matter what dangers you meet, you absolutely mustn’t waste Puppet Play- especially when we deal with Randy.”
It was rare for Xing Ye to be so serious. Guan Ling patted his chest and swore he wouldn’t use it.
Cao Qian was a little worried. Guan Ling’s temperament…
Xing Ye understood Cao Qian’s worries, but the most important QR code was currently on Guan Ling’s phone. Whether he uses it and when he uses it is completely reliant on him. If Guan Ling becomes impulsive, Xing Ye couldn’t do anything but try to counter what comes next.
“Since Condensed Thread activated, it means the two following fate players already went to Coco’s place and heard we took the real little puppet. They should be coming here to negotiate with us very soon. At that time, I’ll take charge in negotiating with them. You two assist by the side. We need to try our best to make them cooperate with us. Randy cannot be naively trusted.” Xing Ye ordered.
Not long after he finished speaking, the two following fate players knocked on the little shack’s door.