章節 23: Chapter 23: New Routine

A few hours had passed since the end of the battle, and Cassian could be seen following Diana back to the palace, tethered by the same bracelet.

Some people found the neck collars unsightly and ruining the luxurious atmosphere, so they were replaced with bracelets as soon as the puppets left the facility.

Not many knew of its effects, but it was the only thing preventing the puppets from rebelling against their masters.

Diana zoned out, staring at the ceiling of her room for a long time when she returned, remembering the crowd of people who approached to congratulate her.

She wasn't used to receiving such attention from people, and she felt an inexplicable joy.

She was accustomed to receiving attention only from her mother and some of her siblings, so the previous experience could only be described as a rare event.

No... the word "rare" didn't quite capture the feeling.

She didn't really understand why people hadn't approached her much lately, but it wasn't always like this. She used to be favored until she was fifteen.

Unconsciously, she missed that feeling a lot... and wanted to experience it again.

Without realizing it, she looked at the wall beside her, the wall that separated her from the room of the puppet responsible for that feeling.

Without hesitation, she decided to send more resources to him. She would make him fight again in a few days against a slightly stronger enemy. She wouldn't stop now that she had tasted this feeling.

She would repeat today's scenario until she got bored of it, and perhaps she never would.

In this society, only three things could make a person favored and somewhat popular.

The first thing was beauty, and there was no shortage of people more beautiful than Diana.

The second thing was having some influence in the Puppet Facility or the places responsible for them in general.

Although she had her grandfather Adam, he refused to use his authority just to impress some teenagers. She tried to work there herself, but she gave up after just a few days; the atmosphere there was unbearable for someone not mentally mature.

The third and final thing was winning most of the puppet competitions, as owning one of the best entertainment sources in this place would make her popular.

This place depended on entertainment to stay alive, after all…

Cassian swallowed another sacred fruit, increasing the fog in his mind more and more, making his chances of recovery slimmer and slimmer.

After training for hours and consuming all the rare resources he had received from the other puppet, he took out his phone and began reviewing physics.

This would be his daily routine for the coming months…

In the lower Island, another person was about to discover his daily routine as well.

Jin looked at all the people around him, or rather, the puppets.

They were all around his strength or a bit stronger, but he still maintained the same confident and calm expression.

He looked to the front of the room where Gilbert was explaining a certain plan, and it seemed everyone around had heard it several times already, so they didn't pay much attention.

However, he hadn't heard it before, so he focused.

What he learned was somewhat interesting. It seemed that even if he destroyed the barrier and somehow escaped, he still wouldn't survive.

It wasn't about the oil; it was the mechanical arm that everyone here wore.

It was the reason for most things, like needing oil to live and being a bomb that could explode with a command from someone.

He felt a bit terrified and thought of cutting it off immediately, But Gilbert told him a story about a certain puppet, one that was once in their ranks.

She tried to cut off the mechanical arm after a long time without much progress in their plan.

The result was simply horrifying; her body began to contract and compress with itself until it became a small cube the size of a coin, but made of flesh instead.

They also knew the pain was extreme since her screams didn't stop for several hours. They tried to save her to no avail.

Horrifying... it seemed that the bomb explosion was a better outcome.

Whoever created this system was certainly sadistic...

Jin took a long breath and thought silently.

So, how could they escape if what bound them was with them, without the possibility of removing it?

In the midst of despair, a small hope came, but it was slight.

"The Black Oil Hotel is our target, where the core of the device causing all this lies."

Hmm? This seemed illogical.

Why keep such a device here and not place it on another island where the puppets couldn't reach it?

This was a question Gilbert didn't know the answer to, but Jin felt that such a fundamental element shouldn't be unknown.

What would they do if the device was just a replica? Or if it was fake? Then the years this group had spent would be in vain, and everyone would die.

Also, he heard from Gilbert about the person responsible for protecting the device…

Three powerful individuals took turns guarding it, with each rotation lasting four months.

And with Jin here filling the missing assassin's position, the resistance squad was finally complete.

Yes, their name was the resistance squad; Jin didn't have a suitable comment on the name.

In four months, when the current guard's shift ended - Sebastian representing Arovan family, they would start their moves.

That was for one reason: not allowing the guardian to fully integrate with the device.

Yes… that was correct.

The device they sought to destroy was a puppet, a very powerful one.

When the roles were switched every four months, the guardian spent the first few hours asserting control over the puppet's mind or merging with it, using it as a powerful reinforcement.

Each guardians has an S- rank strength, and the puppet had an S rank.

This task seemed dangerous, but was there another solution?

Jin sighed and looked at his mechanical arm.

"I will use this time to learn all its features unless this hand has a way of monitoring at least?"

Gilbert nodded in understanding, replying with some hesitation.

"If it had something like that, we would have been caught years ago… they couldn't leave the threat of so many puppets like us."

Jin nodded his head and couldn't help but sigh.

He will probably die.