Published at 8th of October 2024 3:06 am

Chapter 1099: Rest After a Good Meal

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

While they were waiting by the roadside, Lin Sanjiu had complained about Puppeteer taking so long to return. However, once she started following the puppets, she realized that Puppeteer’s delay was understandable.

The reason was simple: the journey was incredibly long.

Following the two puppets, the two humans and a cat traversed the city, left it behind, and journeyed along the intercity highway. They gradually entered a region with forests and wilderness. When the sun was almost setting on the horizon, the two puppets ahead were still walking tirelessly.

Where on earth was that man heading?

Dr. Hu had long since draped himself softly over Bohemia’s shoulders, resembling a furry scarf with four legs. Cats didn’t have the endurance, and he had become exhausted after walking for a while. It would take him a long time to recover.

“I’ve thought about it,” Bohemia finally couldn’t hold back as stars began to twinkle in the purplish-blue night sky. She dropped to the ground as if her limbs had turned into a pair of Lego figurines, collapsing where she stood. Her little face was pale from exhaustion, “I’m going to live here from now on. You go on, goodbye.”

“In that case, I’ll live here with you,” Dr. Hu immediately concurred.

Honestly, it wasn’t surprising that she couldn’t go any further. Since entering this peaceful and tranquil world, they hadn’t had a single peaceful and tranquil day. It had been so long since they’d gotten a good night’s sleep that they couldn’t even remember, let alone enjoy a good meal or wash their faces.

Let alone Bohemia, Lin Sanjiu herself was also finding it hard to endure. The injuries made her feel dizzy and weak at times, and her calf muscles were constantly cramping. Regardless of the situation, both of them urgently needed some rest right now.

However…

Looking ahead, the two puppets showed no sign of slowing down, completely indifferent to who had fallen behind. They continued to walk step by step into the night, even though they had been walking for nearly half a day without any change in their pace.

Living people following in the footsteps of inanimate objects was bound to be exhausting. Lin Sanjiu bit her lip, “We’ll take a break here, rest for the night, and continue tomorrow.”

“In any case, Puppeteer is fine, and he doesn’t need any help. It doesn’t matter if we find him sooner or later.”

Bohemia was taken aback and hesitated, “But, what about the puppets?”

“Just wait,” Lin Sanjiu replied.

As soon as Lin Sanjiu finished speaking, she turned and chased after the puppets. In just a short while, their figures disappeared into the trees. She used up the last of her strength to catch up with them, and a gust of wind blew their hair and clothes as she reached the puppets. Before their clothes fell back into place, she kicked one of the puppet’s knee joints.

The puppet probably didn’t receive the command to watch out behind, as it immediately fell forward with a muffled sound that was disturbingly reminiscent of a bone breaking. Lin Sanjiu wasn’t sure if she could cardify them, and she didn’t want Puppeteer to notice. She stepped on the fallen puppet’s back and, with a swing of her arm, flipped the other puppet onto the ground.

Even without an order to consider her an enemy, the two puppets instinctively tried to defend themselves. The one she had kicked couldn’t move its body but agilely flipped its limbs backward like a large sea anemone, reaching out toward Lin Sanjiu’s legs and back.

“Why can’t you just behave!” Lin Sanjiu gasped, avoiding the snake-like limbs. She whipped the back of one puppet’s head with a lash, and instructions immediately appeared in the air – perhaps because puppets were easier to read, this time even the suggested attack measures were written clearly. Lin Sanjiu only had a moment to glance at them before the other puppet got up again and seemed determined to continue moving forward. She quickly used a bit of Higher Consciousness and yanked on his ankle, pulling him back.

Normally, subduing two puppets would be an easy task, but Lin Sanjiu’s current condition was poor. When she finally managed to tie up the puppets and secure them like grasshoppers on a string, her vision was blurred from exhaustion. Her head throbbed with each breath, and she felt like she could pass out at any moment.

As she struggled to drag the two puppets back, the night had fallen, and the open field with sparse grass had become pitch black. Only the campfire Bohemia had lit seemed to burn with life in the dark, and Dr. Hu was lazily lying next to the fire, his fur turned orange.

When both Bohemia and Dr. Hu saw the two puppets tied up, they were shocked. “Is this your solution?” Bohemia looked uncertainly at the two of Puppeteer’s underlings tied up like this, wondering if they should just run away. “If they don’t reach Puppeteer’s location all night, won’t Puppeteer realize something is wrong?”

“Do you have a better solution?” Lin Sanjiu, tired and irritable, shot her a look, and then sat down by the fire. The temperature had dropped significantly at night, and her sweat-soaked body was now chilled to the bone. The warmth from the fire instantly relaxed her.

Dr. Hu hesitated and asked, “Why are their feet…?”

This was a carefully considered plan by Lin Sanjiu. “That’s a good question,” she said, even her composed personality couldn’t help but feel pleased that someone was asking. “You see, Puppeteer gave them the command to keep walking to his location, right? If I tie them up and prevent them from moving, these puppets might resist, struggle, and do whatever it takes to fulfill Puppeteer’s command.”

“Then…”

“I tried several binding methods before finally coming up with this one.” Lin Sanjiu didn’t mind a little praise at this point, but Bohemia and Dr. Hu’s mouths were tightly sealed as if they didn’t want to reveal any hint of approval. “You see, this way, they can obey Puppeteer’s command to keep walking and be kept in place at the same time, isn’t that the best of both worlds? And Puppeteer has been deceived. Of course, I spent quite some time to make them realize that they can walk this way.”

In the flickering firelight, the two puppets lay on their backs, their hands pulled above their heads. Four arms in total converged and intertwined above their heads, firmly bound together by ropes, making it impossible for them to sit up. Their legs were still free, and they were now standing, taking steps in mid-air. Occasionally, in the dim light that flashed when the firelight fell, the combined puppets looked like a huge and grotesque dying insect, struggling with their kicking legs.

Bohemia turned pale and looked away.

Lin Sanjiu, on the other hand, didn’t find the puppets’ appearance ugly – after all, she had put a lot of effort into creating this solution. After she took out a bag of vacuum-sealed sandwich, a pot, some carrots, potatoes, and a bag of bread, both Bohemia and Dr. Hu quickly calmed down. At this point, instead of worrying, they decided to eat everything in the pot.

Bake the bread until it’s piping hot, and the crispy surface turns a honey-like color; when you cut it, it reveals soft and steamy white bread slices. The potatoes and carrots have stewed to a tender consistency, melding in the rich, shiny sandwich broth. When you dip the bread into it, it soaks up the thick broth. Take a quick bite, add a piece of sandwich, and when the broth suddenly bursts in your mouth, it’s like heaven opening its doors on your tongue.

After just one bite, Bohemia closed her eyes and fell to the ground with a thud.

“So delicious,” she mumbled with a mouthful of sandwich, announcing, “I’m done for!”

Cats are generally afraid of getting burned, and Meowie Hu was no exception. It kept circling a bowl of meat soup, its whiskers trembling, but it didn’t dare to take a bite. Lin Sanjiu had to hold the soup close to her mouth, blowing on it to cool it down since cats couldn’t blow – they were such high-maintenance creatures.

By the time Dr. Hu tentatively started licking the soup, Bohemia had already finished two bowls. She didn’t feel like she had eaten too much at all and extended her bowl for more. The flickering red firelight danced on her face, making her look content and radiant.

“In return for making such a delicious dinner,” her mouth full, but not slowing down, she said, “I’ve made up my mind.”

“Made up your mind about what?”

“After a short nap, I’ve decided that we’ll go to the Astral Plane.”

Lin Sanjiu couldn’t help but be surprised. “Tonight?”

“Of course,” Bohemia said nonchalantly, taking another bite of bread. “Think about it, Puppeteer has called us over for something, right? After we see him, it might not be so convenient to go to the Astral Plane. So, it’s best to do it quickly before we see him. In other words, the time we have left is probably just tonight.”

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