Chapter 1098: Let the Light of the Transition Chapter Shine Upon the Earth
Lin Sanjiu was a bit straightforward in character, but she was not stupid.
Even though she was often tossed and turned, it had been more than a year since the events from Heaven Underworld to Esculent Alethia had occurred; on countless sleepless nights, she had replayed and pondered the facts over and over again in her mind.
The conclusion she had reached was only one.
It was precisely because she had faintly realized this that she never took out the communicator again—unless she uncarded the communicator, it would not be able to function for communication.
"Who is the person you're talking about? When are they coming to find you?" Bohemia asked with her head tilted, a wavy strand of hair falling over her shoulder.
After bidding farewell to the receptionist, the two of them, along with Meowie Hu, had nowhere to go, and they didn't dare to wander far. So, they sat cross-legged on the street like vagabonds, waiting for Puppeteer to return. Especially Bohemia—these past few days, she had been fighting and fleeing for her life, and she was quite busy. Her loose robe and wide sleeves were already dirty, making her look like a disheveled gypsy. With an injured head wrapped in a bandage and a cat that looked equally homeless, this combination clearly evoked a great deal of sympathy from the passersby.
"Is there anything you need help with?"
Before Lin Sanjiu could respond, a person riding a bicycle came to a sudden stop in front of them. They had only been sitting on the roadside for less than five minutes, and this was already the fourth person to stop. It was easy to imagine how disheveled their appearance was.
"Are you hungry, with nothing to eat?" The well-intentioned person asked.
Obviously, Bohemia had just muttered a "no," but she swallowed her words again when she heard the second sentence. She changed it to, "Do you have anything to eat?"
"I'll look..."
Seeing the good-hearted person searching through their backpack, Lin Sanjiu quickly interrupted and thanked them for their kindness. Then, she took a pack of animal crackers from her card inventory to finally seal Bohemia's mouth shut.
"How come you eat anything you come across?" She watched Bohemia pick up small animals one by one, inspect their shapes, and then put them in her mouth. She couldn't help but scold her, "Weren't you cautious before?"
"Anyway, I'm planning to stay here, and I'll be eating the food here in the future. What's there to be afraid of?" Bohemia mumbled and sprayed some crumbs from the giraffe-shaped crackers she was munching.
Dr. Hu's face didn't look good at all. Although it couldn't frown, its displeasure was evident. After the third person asked them if they needed a place to stay, it began grooming itself as if it wanted to shine like a shimmering jewel. It wanted to distance itself entirely from Lin Sanjiu and Bohemia in terms of appearance.
Amid the sounds of grooming and the crunching of the crackers, Lin Sanjiu found it challenging to be serious—it was clearly a serious topic. She sighed, looked around, and picked up Bohemia's question again, "I don't know when he's coming... I just know he's coming soon."
"Does he know you're here?"
"He should know."
"What do you mean by 'should know'?"
Lin Sanjiu hesitated, "Well, he knows, just eat your crackers."
"What's that thing in your hand? Eating doesn't stop you from talking," Bohemia asked as she continued eating.
Lin Sanjiu looked at it. A square metal box rolled a few times in her palm, with its edges glinting in the light. She put it into a leather pouch and fastened the pouch to her belt with a metal clasp. This way, no matter where she went or what she did, she wouldn't miss the sound it made.
"This is... a communicator. I guess he might try to contact me before he arrives."
"What if he arrives?"
"Then maybe he can help you." —If he's willing.
Seeing that Bohemia seemed to have many questions, Lin Sanjiu felt overwhelmed and quickly changed the subject, "Where has Puppeteer gone? Why hasn't he come back yet?"
"I hope you won't misunderstand when he returns," this sentence triggered Bohemia's concern and shifted her attention, "While he's not here, don't mess with his stuff. It's just you on your own."
The two human puppets were still nearby, indicating that their owner should be returning. However, standing there like that with the futon on their shoulders was too conspicuous. Lin Sanjiu decided to turn the futon into a card and then hid the puppets in a thicket by the roadside. Looking back, she could see their blank faces peeking out from the shadows of the branches, staring motionless at their location like two weirdos.
Puppeteer's injuries seemed to have stabilized thanks to Dr. Hu's excellent skills and well-equipped devices. It was said that the small backpack contained equipment from many posthumans who had volunteered to gather supplies. However, even though they didn't need to worry about him passing out on the way, it was still concerning that he hadn't returned for such a long time. The main concern was not for Puppeteer but for those who might inadvertently encounter him.
With everything considered, it was quite a coincidence that they had encountered Dr. Hu just as he was on the verge of death.
Lin Sanjiu realized something as she thought about this and suddenly felt shocked. She immediately reached out and grabbed Dr. Hu's neck. In the soft whining sound he made, she brought him closer and quickly felt the thick and smooth fur with her hand—indeed, near the tail, she touched a small, fingernail-sized piece of cold, hard skin. Rather than skin, it felt closer to plastic.
"You are still partly puppetized?" She was both shocked and angry. "Is this guy obsessed? He can't feel secure unless he turns everyone around him into puppets?"
Dr. Hu accepted the curveball fate threw at him with no complaints, "Well, it doesn't really cause any inconvenience... Whether it's for research and treatment, eating, sleeping, it's all the same as usual. Except when he calls me."
"He calls you?"
"Yeah." Dr. Hu swished his tail and casually said, "Normally, I'm just like any other cat, but when he calls me, I feel a bit tingly along my spine. I used to be too lazy to move, after all, it's usually a dog that comes when called, no dignity... but it's quite fun over there, lots of good food, lots of people who respect me, so this time, I came too."
In the end, he came when called too.
Perhaps he didn't know why he had come, so Meowie Hu didn't worry about finding Puppeteer after he arrived, who had just lost consciousness at the time. Fortunately, he encountered Bohemia while he was wandering. Otherwise, who knows when they would have met again.
So it seemed that Puppeteer had some remaining desire to survive deep down.
While that was a good thing, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help but ask, "This partial puppetization, won't it spread?" She lifted Meowie Hu's fur with some suspicion and examined it closely. With the naked eye, it was nearly impossible to see any difference.
Dr. Hu opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but then hesitated. Instead, he scratched his neck with a hind paw and said, "Well, I'm still fine for now."
Lin Sanjiu smoothed his fur, half believing and half doubting.
"Hey," Bohemia suddenly called to her. During the few sentences of their conversation, half the bag of animal crackers had already been devoured. "Look over there, there's a paper crane."
As Lin Sanjiu turned around, the shadow of the paper crane had already pounced from the sunlight and flew over them, flapping its wings, and then landed on their heads. When she extended her hand, the paper crane fluttered its wings and descended.
Who in this world would be sending them paper cranes? The answer was already quite clear. When that eerie and cold voice sounded, nobody was surprised, "Follow my puppets, come here."
With a flash of red, the message was abruptly cut off, without a single word of explanation.
Follow the puppets? Go where?
Lin Sanjiu was confused but turned back to see the two human puppets emerge from the thicket. They walked in the direction indicated by the red dot, without casting a glance at Lin Sanjiu and Bohemia. They stepped away without looking back as if they had spotted a target.
"Hey, wait," Lin Sanjiu immediately got up, and her head started spinning as she tried to process the situation. "Hurry, let's follow them!"