Chapter 1002: Abandoned Pawn
Lin Sanjiu held onto Bohemia's arm as they walked a few steps, feeling that something was increasingly wrong. She scrutinized the other woman several times, a suspicion arising in her mind and gradually taking shape. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly stopped in her tracks, staring at Bohemia intently and realizing, "He... Did he absorb your energy?"
Bohemia's face turned pale, and her eyes shifted a few times in Puppeteer's direction, too afraid to make a sound. On the other hand, the black figure in front, without turning his head, let out a cold sneer in response, "And what of it?"
It was indeed his doing!
No wonder Bohemia, despite not being injured, now seemed weak and unable to even stand steady. Before Lin Sanjiu arrived on this floor, Puppeteer had been fighting against the Night Wanderers for quite a while with his serious injuries. Now, looking back, she realized that half of his stamina probably came from various human battery sources.
"Are you alright?" she whispered to Bohemia.
This question seemed to unleash all of Bohemia's grievances. She bit her lip, looking as if she wanted to cry but dared not, and her nails dug deeply into Lin Sanjiu's skin as she vigorously shook her head.
It seemed that Puppeteer had not released his grip on her yet.
Now that the petite woman had been subdued, she became a readily available human battery. However, the challenge lay in how to make Puppeteer willingly change targets according to her suggestion. Lin Sanjiu was certain that if she were to speak directly, Bohemia would likely be drained until she passed out.
"Hey, um," she called out to Puppeteer's retreating figure. "I want to discuss something with you."
Although he didn't turn around, the feeling of irritation and anger emanating from Puppeteer suddenly intensified, like a flame fueled by oil. He probably wasn't used to being addressed like a dog.
"I don't trust this woman, Ari... Arianne, right?" Lin Sanjiu raised her voice. "Even if she really leads us out, she will definitely find an opportunity to resist and escape—"
"Nonsense."
She choked for a moment and continued with determination, "If we don't turn her into a puppet, can we find another way to control her? For example, not allowing her any remaining energy for movement..."
Puppeteer tilted his head slightly, and a glimmer of red powder shimmered beneath his black hair. "We?"
"Fine, fine," Lin Sanjiu sighed. "...You. Do you have any way?"
When the petite woman was called out, she already wore an alarmed expression. However, with several puppets firmly surrounding her and no opportunity to retaliate or even take a few steps back, she seemed to have just realized what had happened when Puppeteer's arm suddenly grabbed her, like a snake lunging out of the grass. She appeared to be in shock.
Before Arianne could mount any resistance, she immediately wilted like a deflated balloon. Her body went limp, swaying, and she couldn't help but gasp for breath, looking visibly weakened.
It went surprisingly smoothly!
Just as Lin Sanjiu was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Puppeteer shot her an icy glare that pierced through her.
"The exit...is here."
After walking for a while longer, Arianne stopped and pointed to a ventilation opening about half a meter square above their heads. "This is the exit that was left in the sealing layer, disguised as a ventilation opening... for us to use as an escape route afterward."
As she spoke, her expression darkened, as if she had remembered that all her companions were dead, and she was the last one left.
Puppeteer seemed to find pleasure in her desolation, and a half-sinister smile emerged on his face. "Open it."
Arianne was short, unable to reach the ventilation opening even if she jumped. Just as she was about to speak, her expression suddenly froze. She saw a puppet approaching her with its head lowered, half-kneeling in front of her. Lin Sanjiu also recognized this puppet. It seemed to have been following Arianne closely during their battle, like her assistant.
"Step on it and go up, don't be polite," Puppeteer raised his chin.
Arianne tightly pursed her lips but eventually stepped on the puppet's knee and climbed onto its shoulder. Puppeteer didn't seem worried that she would take the opportunity to escape. He remained motionless in his spot. After her former assistant stood upright, Arianne stretched out her arm and pushed against the ventilation opening.
A steady stream of airflow rushed out from the opening, but after several seconds, nothing happened.
Arianne looked puzzled and quickly glanced at the people beneath her. This time, she took out what seemed to be a plastic toy magic wand, resembling something a primary school student would play with, and forcefully poked the ventilation opening several times. However, the metallic frame only made a "clink" sound, and the echo reverberated through the ventilation duct.
No matter how you looked at it, it didn't seem like a disguised exit.
"I swear it's really an exit," Arianne hurriedly explained, fearing Puppeteer's anger. "Maybe it's another one. Let me find it..."
She sat atop the puppet's neck, tapping each of the four ventilation openings in the corridor, but none of them suddenly opened to reveal an escape route. Under Puppeteer's gaze, her complexion worsened, and she suddenly held up the plastic wand in front of her eyes, examining it carefully.
"They give this to me," murmured Arianne, her lips trembling slightly. "I didn't look closely, but they said it's a device for remote message transmission. In theory, as long as you tap it, they will know that we are ready to leave..."
"Give it to me, let me see," Lin Sanjiu reached out her hand towards her.
[Red Forest Stationery Store's Miscellaneous Goods]
Located across the street from Red Forest Elementary School, it sells inexpensive stationery, toys, and snacks. This is one of their products, priced at 3.50 yuan, and its only purpose is to be waved around by elementary school students.
With a "snap," Arianne threw the plastic magic wand on the ground and almost rolled off the puppet's body. She sat on the ground, staring at the pool of blood and corpses in the distance, remaining silent for a while. Until Puppeteer's cool, almost gloating voice startled her.
"So, you're all just pawns," he said, half of his face seemingly frozen, while the other half carried a mocking expression mixed with disgust and anger. "What an unoriginal group of insects."
"That's impossible," Arianne lowered her head, her voice trembling. "I'm one of the fastest-rising members of the Night Wanderers. They all said I had a bright future! How could I end up as an abandoned pawn?"
"They were prepared long ago, and they don't want so many people?" Lin Sanjiu frowned, speaking softly to Puppeteer and Bohemia. "It doesn't make sense... These people had high combat power and practical abilities. They were all elites. Besides, if they won, does that mean the Night Wanderers would leave them trapped here to die?"
"If they won, they'd definitely lift the lockdown!" Bohemia regained some strength and began answering rapidly.
"But that plastic wand can't transmit any messages," Lin Sanjiu reminded her. "How would people outside the lockdown zone know if they've won or not?"
"Could it be through surveillance..." Bohemia's sentence trailed off, but Arianne suddenly looked up.
"No, surveillance is less common," she said, her pupils shrinking in fear. "But... it's highly likely that they placed a monitoring device on someone. It's not difficult to do..."
Lin Sanjiu glanced at her and then at Puppeteer, sensing that Arianne's attitude was off.
Arianne was clearly in fear, but if she was afraid of being useless and getting killed by Puppeteer, she shouldn't have said what she just did. Saying it would be admitting that she no longer had any value.
"So, someone has been monitoring the battle situation from outside?" Bohemia muttered. "If they won, the exit would be opened. If they lost, they'd be treated as abandoned pawns..."
Lin Sanjiu looked at Puppeteer. His face was dark, but there wasn't much emotion visible. She cleared her throat and approached Arianne, crouching down.
"What are you afraid of?" she asked softly. "You're not just afraid of being turned into a puppet, are you?"
Arianne swallowed hard and lifted her head.
"I've heard people discuss this possibility, but I never thought it... could become a reality," she said dryly. "If Puppeteer could no longer be suppressed, or if the risks became too great, there would... be another abandoned pawn."
"Who?"
"Not who... It's the Ocean Voyager,"
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