Published at 19th of July 2026 7:40 am

Chapter 228: Calling In Favors

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Chapter 228: Calling In Favors

The sound of heavy breathing and skin slapping against skin awkwardly filled the space between Min and the puppet master. Between ragged breaths and heavy, satisfied smiles, the old man's grin quickly froze as the concrete beneath his knees began to tremble.

Min was about to explode.

"Let me explain!"

Raising a sweaty hand as if to calm her, he waved the puppet Min aside. As it backed away, the strap-on she wore slipped free and hung between her legs, nearly reaching her knees.

Staring at herself wearing something so vulgar, Min finally lost what little control she had left.

"You're dead!"

Concrete cracked beneath her boots as she lunged forward. She crossed the room in an instant, wrapped a hand around the fat old bastard's throat, and lifted him off the ground.

"M-nnn! D-dn't!"

"Shut up! I warned!"

A hand reached out from behind and closed around the arm holding the puppet master aloft.

Looking over her shoulder, Min found herself staring back at... herself. The puppet had stepped in to protect its master.

"I can see why you're upset, but I can't allow"

A solid punch slammed into the puppet's face, snapping its head to the side with a sharp crack, yet its body barely shifted.

By now the old man's face had turned cherry red, foam dribbling from the corner of his mouth, yet both eyes remained locked on Min while his free hand worked furiously at himself.

Feeling the movement, Min turned back to see what the old man was doing

"Vile little!"

Almost on instinct, she hurled the disgusting pervert to the floor hard enough to rattle the room.

Another hand settled firmly on her shoulder.

"If you continue to pursue this, I will be forced to restrain you."

At the end of her patience, Min abandoned any thought of restraint.

Reaching up, she clamped onto the hand gripping her shoulder and rolled her own. The puppet lifted clean off its feet, and with a hard yank she slammed it into the concrete.

"That's enough."

A new voice reached her ears, and at the same time she felt several new presences close in from every direction.

She was surrounded by puppets. They all looked like ordinary humans, and each radiated an aura as strong as Min's. The one who had spoken was stronger still. She recognized him immediately as the puppet she'd slept with last. Looking him up and down, the tightness in her jaw only grew, along with her urge to fight.

"He finally gave you some upgrades, huh? Think it's enough?"

System light flared between them as Min summoned her gauntlets. The familiar weight settled over her forearms while her system screamed through her mind, urging her to calm down, but she'd already given herself over to her rage. Too much had happened lately. The pressure had been building for days, and she'd been aching for a proper release.

"Don't you dare touch her!"

The puppet master rushed over, now wearing a hastily thrown-on robe, his face still flushed as he struggled to catch his breath. He was a ugly thing even at the best of times. One eye bigger than the other, more folds and fat than anything, he was short and always smelled of grease and metal. She hated looking at the man almost as much as being around him.

"Too late, Borvavich. I'm gonna fuckin' kill you."

Aura gathered around Min, stirring the air between them as she planted her feet. She had no intention of stopping. Someone needed to pay.

With a quiet sigh, the male puppet with the strongest aura began gathering his own.

"Even if you manage to beat me, Min, you know there are others who will take my place. Any threat to the master cannot be tolerated."

"Threat?! Look at that!"

She jabbed a finger toward the doppelganger that still stood there wearing that disgusting strap-on.

"That'sthat's rape! He fuckin' raped me!"

"I did not!"

Borvavich hitched his robe up a little higher as he blushed.

"How can you even compare that thing to yourself? My muscle mommy is perfection. That is just a cheap imitation. Forgive me, Min. You know how I feel about you. You'd been gone for so long. After hearing what happened to the Dead Hands, I had no idea if you were even alive."

At the mention of the Dead Hands, a huge chunk of Min's fire snuffed out. An image of Gregor, beaten and broken, flashed through her mind.

Gritting her teeth hard enough to make her jaw ache, her body trembling with leftover adrenaline, she slowly eased into a more relaxed stance and pointed at her clone.

"That thing's mine now."

Disappointment flickered across the puppet master's face, but he recovered almost immediately.

"Of course! Anything to make you happy."

"I wasn't asking. And you!"

She jabbed a finger back at the upgraded puppet.

"You know you're fucked next time, right?"

The puppet nodded once and bowed without hesitation.

"I will accept my punishment."

Clapping his hands together, the old man broke into a broad smile.

"Excellent! All is well again, even if I didn't finish."

Her anger threatened to boil over again, and Borvavich caught it immediately. Before she could speak, he hurriedly changed the subject.

"Please, come sit. Tell me what brings you here. From the look of it, it's not pleasure."

Seeing the look in Min's eyes, sharp enough to make him flinch, he let out a nervous laugh and clapped once.

"Business it is! Bring some refreshments!"

At the sound of the clap, the puppets surrounding them dispersed, leaving only the fake Min behind. Looking away from it in disgust, she took a slow breath and worked very hard not to kick something.

"Where's its case? I want that thing out of sight now. And get that fucking hose off it."

With a wave of his hand, a female puppet hurried over and removed the sex toy from around fake Min's waist. Whatever smell clung to it made even the puppet grimace as she held it out at arm's length.

From another part of the room, a young boy puppet grabbed a small black box from a workstation and hurried over, holding it out to Min.

"Here ya go."

Snatching the device from his hand, Min stomped over and pressed the box against fake Min's chest. It immediately flattened with a quiet mechanical click, its sides unfolding to wrap around the puppet before folding everything inward until only the small black box remained. She picked it up and slipped it into her inventory with a flash of system light.

Turning back to the puppet master, Min found him seated at a table that had somehow been brought out, calmly sipping tea.

"Come, come. Sit and tell me everything."

"One last thing, Borvavich. If you build another one of those, I'll scar my face and cut my tits off. Don't think I won't."

More emotion crossed the old man's face than she'd seen from him up to that point. System light flared in his hands as a rolled scroll appeared. Without a moment's hesitation, he tore it into shreds.

"I swear on my very life that I will never build another one so long as I live!"

Seeing the desperation in the pervert's eyes, Min knew he wasn't bluffing. She'd known threatening to disfigure herself would work. The old man saw her as the pinnacle of beauty. He'd cut off his own arm before he'd let that happen.

&qot;When are you going to accept my feelings for you? If you stayed with me, you wouldn't have to worry about a thing. No one in Shatterbay would dare touch you if you became my bride."

Dropping into the chair with a heavy thud, Min slapped the teacup off the table. It shattered across the floor.

"Beer."

"Of course."

Another clap echoed through the room, and the same young boy hurried over carrying a clear glass filled with brown liquid.

Picking it up, Min stared at the chunks floating inside and suddenly wished she were back at the farm. The smell alone nearly made her reconsider, but she tipped the glass back and downed it in one go.

Setting the empty glass down with a hard slam, she had no intention of staying any longer than she had to.

"I've come to collect."

Taking another sip of his own drink, Borvavich tilted his head.

"Collect?"

"You owe me a favor."

His brows lifted, and the old man nodded repeatedly as he swallowed.

"Yes, yes. How could I forget? What is it that your heart desires, my goddess?"

Holding back the urge to wrap her hand around his throat again, Min got straight to the point.

"I want to borrow your puppets."

"Of course! How many, and what gender would"

"All of them."

Borvavich froze. The color drained from his face as an awkward expression crept across it, one hand drifting to rub at his belly.

"All of them? I hate to say this, but that is asking too much. Maybe if you showed me the rest"

Min slammed her hand onto the table.

"Finish that sentence and I'll rip your dick off."

The old man shuddered, his smile faltering, but he wisely didn't finish.

Self-hatred boiled up inside her. It had been months ago, but the memory still carried enough weight to make Min's stomach knot. She'd been desperate one night, completely out of DP. So she'd cut a deal with the old man: one minute of flashing her tits in exchange for a night with one of his puppets and a favor owed.

Knowing the old fuck had used that moment to make a puppet of her only made the shame settle deeper.

Taking a slow breath, she forced herself to think about the Dead Hands. About Gregor. About Seo-jin. She needed to be a leader right now, not an angry muscle-head.

"You know what happened. You know the church has put a hit on my boss. What you don't know is that I'm not asking for your puppets to deal with those damn birds. I need them to deal with the Woons."

The instant she mentioned the Woons, the old man's demeanor changed. He straightened in his chair, the smile fading from his face as his expression hardened.

"Explain."

And she did. She brought the puppet master up to speed on everything they knewthat everything the Dead Hands had been doing lately was in preparation for this, that the Woon Chairman intended to force his ascension into S Rank, and that somehow the entire city would be involved.

She kept a lot to herself, but revealed enough for the old man to understand the situation. He sat quietly for a moment, fingertips resting against his cup, then clapped twice.

This time an older female puppet hurried over, leaned down, and whispered into Borvavich's ear. Once she finished, she straightened, gave Min a respectful bow, and disappeared the way she'd come.

"That old devil. He really intends to break the balance..."

Min knew she'd landed the hook. In Shatterbay, almost everyone believed the Woon Corporation was the city's only real power. Only those with enough strength knew the truth. There were actually four major powers: Granny Boil and her restaurant, the Church of Light, Puppet Master Borvavich, and finally the Woons.

The Church was a special case. At least in Shatterbay, it wasn't an individual who held power, but the institution itself.

"If you don't want to lend them to me, you'll still have to choose a side. Once the Chairman advances, I doubt he's going to let you keep running your little business in peace. I'm pretty sure he'll have your head on a spike the second he ascends."

His eyes jittered from side to side as he considered her words, fingers drumming softly against the tabletop. He didn't argue. They both knew she was right.

"Fine. I'll lend you my forces. I'll even throw in something special for the grand event."

"What do you mean?"

Smiling again, Borvavich picked up his cup and finished the last of his tea.

"Patience, my goddess. Consider it a surprise. By the way, if your base has been destroyed, would you want to stay here? I have plenty of space"

Min was already on her feet.

"Have them ready. I'll be back to collect them in a few days."

"Leaving already?! But I have food being prepared"

"Lost my appetite. Three days, old man."

[Land the final blow. Come on...do it.]

With her back to him, Min rolled her eyes. Looking back over her shoulder as the veins in her neck swelled, she spoke through gritted teeth.

"Thatsurprise you talked about... make sure it's really special. If you impress me, I-I might reward you."

She almost vomited.

"Don't worry, my muscle mommy! I will make the day one you will never forget!"

"He-he."

Turning away, she practically ran for the exit, yanking the door open and slamming it behind her without a second glance.

'He's dead. Once this is all over, I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna rip his fucking head off and shit down his neck!'

[He'd probably like that.]

"Shut up!"

She stomped up the stairs, nearly ripping the exit door off its hinges as she threw it open. Cool air hit her face as she stepped onto the roof. She slammed the door behind her, then shook herself from head to toe like she was trying to fling something foul off her skin.

"Seo-jin's gonna owe me big time."

[Doubt he'll see it that way. More importantly, what are you intending to do with that puppet?]

Finishing her shake, a slow blush spread across her face.

"Give it a shower first... then..."

[Oh come on, Min. That's disgusting.]

"It's practically masturbating. You've seen me do that a thousand times."

Laughing under her breath, Min left the rooftop and started back toward the Time Capsule.

Her mind drifted between Seo-jin, the coming fight, and Gregor...and of course the thought of fucking herself and finally getting some release.

Her steps felt a little lighter on the walk back. A bit quicker too.

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