Chapter 17: The Rogue Construct

  One hundred thousand Phosphorus Crystals were prepared overnight. Lan Chi opened the chat again and contacted Gil Hammerforge: "These three puppets you mentioned—what are their functions?"

  The gnome Gil was also surprised. He hadn't expected this anonymous buyer to contact him the very next day. He had assumed the other party had given up. After all, this was the early stage of the trial. Although he would have liked to raise the price, everyone was busy building their bases—who had spare money to buy such things? "The Tier 1 is an Elf Archer, the Tier 2 is a Barbarian Warrior, and the Tier 3 is an Alchemist."

  An Alchemist? This kind of puppet was only selling for 100,000? Lan Chi felt uncertain. This type of profession was considered high-level talent, yet they had been made into a puppet. It seemed the outside world wasn't peaceful either.

  "What's the story with this Alchemist?" Lan Chi asked suspiciously.

  After hearing the question, Gil Hammerforge slapped himself twice. He had gotten a bit carried away and aroused suspicion. He should have introduced a different profession. "This... this is a good item. An Alchemist, you know what that means."

  "Trouble?" Lan Chi detected the implication. "I don't want to invite trouble."

  "No, no trouble. The original was an orphan," Gil quickly explained. The item was indeed good—he had originally wanted to keep it for self-defense himself. It was just a bit disobedient and hard to control. "The reason it was made into a puppet was that it offended the higher-ups in the Alchemist organization and was abandoned. Waste not, want not, you understand."

  He had tried to sell it to others, but unfortunately, there weren't many fools. He had brought the puppet into the trial ground hoping someone would want it. After all, there were restrictions in the trial ground—only Tier 2 and below were allowed entry. Many factions secretly suppressed Tier 3 guards down to Tier 2 to bring them in, but not everyone had that capability. Bringing in a puppet bypassed many restrictions.

  "Oh, I understand." Lan Chi nodded. If that was the case, he wasn't too afraid. After all, he had his talent—he could mutate puppets. "Can this Alchemist still practice alchemy? Like brewing potions, enchanting, or crafting things?"

  Seeing the message, Gil's mouth twitched. The person was dead—what was this guy thinking? Brewing potions? What dead person could brew potions? He quickly replied: "Of course it can, definitely. Otherwise, I wouldn't have kept it with me."

  Seeing the reply, Lan Chi said, "Alright, I'll take this Alchemist. Throw in a Merchant Pass and a Universal Language Scroll as well."

  Gil was happy when he saw Lan Chi wanted to buy, but the following words immediately darkened his expression. "No way. The pass and language scroll are expensive. I'm already selling you the puppet at a loss. Don't push your luck. You'll have to pay extra!"

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  "Oh? No deal? Then I won't buy. I doubt you're the only one who brought puppets in to sell," Lan Chi replied calmly.

  Damn you! Gil cursed inwardly. But thinking about that uncontrollable puppet, his heart ached with frustration. If he didn't sell it now, it would be even harder to sell later. "Fine! Selling to you. Trade quickly."

  The transaction was quickly completed. Lan Chi received the package containing the puppet. He untied the runic cloth strips wrapping it, revealing a person with a bluish-gray complexion. The skin was tight, its waxy yellow color making it look like a statue in a museum. It emitted a cold aura when touched. A pair of crimson eyes were moving, seemingly observing its surroundings.

  "Holy crap! Aren't puppets supposed to be dead? Why is this one alive?" Lan Chi felt his scalp tingle from the puppet's gaze. He stopped unwrapping, a bad feeling rising within him.

  He opened the information panel and sent a message to Gil: "What's with your puppet? It's alive?"

  "Goods sold, no returns." The reply came quickly.

  Lan Chi tried to inquire further, but the other party directly deleted him. "Damn it, I knew that guy was unreliable."

  He quickly thought about what to do next. According to the merchant's information, dripping blood into the formation on the puppet's forehead would allow him to control it.

  Lan Chi looked at the puppet's forehead. There was indeed a black formation the size of a copper coin there. He met the puppet's eyes and immediately felt something was wrong. Fortunately, he hadn't completely undone the bindings yet. He strongly suspected that once the bindings were completely removed, the puppet would attack him immediately.

  "Little Hut, help me tie it down. Don't let it move." As he spoke, he took a dagger from the shelf and cut his left index finger.

  Just as Lan Chi's finger was about to touch the puppet's forehead, the puppet suddenly moved. It opened its mouth wide and bit down on Lan Chi's index finger.

  "Aaaaaah—!" Lan Chi screamed in pain.

  A crisp "crack" sounded, and his index finger was bitten off.

  The puppet chewed a few times and swallowed the finger. Suddenly, a powerful force erupted from the puppet's body, creating a surge of air current in the room. The air current struck the seal strips wrapped around it and the hut's vines, which showed signs of tearing.

  "Lan Chi, use your talent! I can't hold on much longer!" the hut shouted.

  "Damn it, hold on! I'm going to deal with it!" Lan Chi endured the pain and placed his hand on the puppet. His vast mental energy instantly erupted, rushing into the puppet's body.

  The transformation was not going smoothly. Lan Chi could clearly feel a force resisting his mental energy. He felt as if he had been pulled into a space filled with obsessions, permeated with unwillingness, anger, and even a trace of pleading.

  He gritted his teeth, gathered all his mental energy into a sharp spear of light, and fiercely stabbed through the barrier of this space.

  A soft "pop" sounded within the space. The barrier shattered.

  The puppet's body suddenly stiffened, then fell completely still. The originally tight, waxen skin seemed to relax slightly. Those crimson eyes gradually dimmed and finally closed.

  Lan Chi released the puppet and collapsed into a chair. He felt dizzy, his whole body weak, and his hand still hurt terribly. "Little Hut, I need a finger. It hurts like hell."

  "Okay." The hut spit out an index finger. Lan Chi skillfully inserted it into the wound. Soon, the pain disappeared, and the finger had feeling again.

  "Did it work?" the hut asked, looking at the now still puppet.

  "Maybe? I don't know." Lan Chi tried to mentally connect with the puppet, but there was no response.

  In the silence, the puppet's eyelashes twitched almost imperceptibly.