After working hard the whole night, the big mirror was also tired, psychologically tired. He turned around for a while before clearing out a space beside Xing Ye and leaning on him.
It was pretty good, having somebody⊠having a mirror to accompany him in this dark world.
With somebody accompanying him, the night no longer seemed as frightening. The two puppets, one big, one small, waited together for daylight.
Now, Xing Ye could finally see the room clearly. This was a very simple and crude wooden room, with junk piled everywhere. Shabby looking wooden heads, metal parts, tools, hammers, and wrenches cluttered the room.
It was like a discarded warehouse.
Now, Xing Ye could finally see what the big mirror looked like.
The big mirror was a puppet with two copper mirrors, one big, one small. The small mirror made up his head, with a big copper mirror welded on for his body. The copper strip that was his neck was very difficult to move, but it made it feel as if his head was always crooked. The big copper mirror also had four moveable frames, which should function as limbs. The little mirror also had two pieces of crystal on it, which looked like eyes. A piece of copper protruded under his eyes- it seemed to be his mouth and could move. Although he didnât have any ears, there was a small wind-up coil behind his head.
He thought back to when he saw Lu Mingze earlier and the way he looked like an angel as he slept in the wheelchair. Then, Xing Ye looked at the mirror man in front of him and silently wrote a big, fat âuglyâ in his heart.
However, he considerately chose not to say anything. If he did, the mirror might cry.
âHahahaha, Xing Ye youâre so ugly!â Beside him, the big mirror issued a large, bellowing laugh, which sounded similar to a gong.
Although the bronze mirror was a little fuzzy, it was still enough for Xing Ye to see his own appearance.
He was a very simply made wooden puppet. His right hand had broken off, and a wind-up spring was placed on the right side of his body. His neck, eyes, nose, and mouth were all there, except he didnât have hair. He was completely bald.
Yep, he was also bald down there.
But the mirror were the same. The two looked at each otherâs baldness and both bursted into laughter.
Xing Ye stood up, his body issuing a series of creaking sounds as he did, like a machine that needed to be oiled.
After inspecting his reflection in the mirrorâs body, Xing Ye said, âItâs too old, this body of mine needs to go in for maintenance.â
The big mirror was the same. His head was green, which should be from rust. Copper, when rusted, turned green.
He also didnât know how Master Benedict managed to make these mirrors and wooden puppets move. Well, this was a fairy tale world after all. Who in the real world would be able to give puppets human nature, then put his heart in a wooden puppet before they died, making them continue their life.
âLetâs go look outside.â The big mirror proposed, âThereâs nothing in the room.â
Xing Ye wanted to find some tools to reattach his right hand, but he still didnât have a clear idea of how his body worked and didnât know how Master Benedict made the puppets move.
âAlright then, letâs go outside and pretend to be puppets.â Xing Ye agreed with his idea.
He was very curious about the little city Benedict created and wanted to know what it was like.
He pushed open the moldy wooden door. Sunshine streamed onto the mirrorâs body, reflecting light everywhere.
Hm⊠the big mirror needs to be polished, Xing Ye thought. The dust all over him was especially prominent under the bright sunlight.
The world outside stunned Xing Ye and the big mirror. It was actually a very busy little city.
âEngine oil, engine oil, come top up on your engine oil! We have a sale right now, buy one get one free! Top up one puppet and another puppet gets topped up free!â Not far away, a wooden puppet shouted.
There was also a coil spring shop next to the engine oil shop. The banner advertisement read: Master Benedictâs specially made coil spring puppets will personally help you set up your coil and winder. Enjoy the treatment of a master- guaranteed to be tighter than if you did it yourself!
The words werenât in chinese, but Xing Ye and the little mirror could still understand it. The system probably already gave players knowledge about the language.
A bit further away was a clothing shop. The banner outside read: Are you still running around naked? You still donât even have a scrap of clothing? In our puppet clothing shop, we make tailor-made clothing for your best fit. Wear civilized clothing, be a civilized puppet.
Xing Ye: â...â
The big mirror: â...â
They looked at their bare selves and suddenly felt very ashamed of their nakedness.
The big mirror quickly fled back into the house, but his body was too big and he forgot to turn sideways to get through the door, nearly getting stuck in the doorway. In the end, Xing Ye had to help him turn until he could finally squeeze through the door.
âWhat do we do? We donât have clothesâŠâ The big mirror told Xing Ye lowly, âWeâre uncivilized puppets!â
Xing Ye: â... Wait a moment, Iâll go search through this junk and see if I can find something to cover us.â
He released a deep sigh⊠oh, wooden puppets couldnât sigh, so it was just a mental sigh.
Xing Ye had previously thought that time after his parents died was the toughest period of his life, but then he had to crossdress. After becoming Claire, he didnât think it could possibly get any worse. But now, he was a disabled, one-meter tall puppet, living in a house full of dust and heaps of junk, and so poor that he couldnât even afford clothes.
While he was rummaging through the junk piles, Xing Ye suddenly had a philosophical awakening: He would never think his situation was miserable again, because the next second, it could get even worse. Humans would never be able to see through fateâs limits.
The poor, crippled one-meter tall puppet had just thought of that when an even worse situation befell him- after rummaging for a bit, he suddenly tumbled off the huge pile of junk, causing a landslide and trapping the crippled, one-meter tall puppet underneath.
Xing Ye: â...â
This was the first time he realized how difficult life was as a wooden puppet.
âXing Ye!â The big mirror was leaning against the wall and jumped up when he saw what happened. Because he was too flat, he was like a wall mirror and didnât get hit by anything.
âCreak!â Crushed under everything, Xing Ye could only make a sad, creaking sound. His coil spring was jammed, leaving him unable to speak.
The big mirror waved his two rusted green copper arms and arduously dug Xing Ye out of the junk pile before helping him clear out the little metal bits jamming his coil spring.
âI was too careless.â The one meter tall wooden puppetâs face was solemn as it stared at the pile of junk, âMy house had never been this messy before. Iâve always had a nanny to tidy things up.â
âSame hereâŠâ The big mirror looked worriedly at the heap of trash that was almost like a mountain, âItâs depressing staying in a house like this.â
âLetâs go at it bit by bit, pop-â Even as a wooden puppet, Xing Ye was so calm that when his chin broke off while he was talking, he just cooly pushed his chin back with a pop.
The two puppets rummaged through the pile of junk for a long time before finally finding two sacks of cloth and happily threw it over their bodies. Even if they were poor, they were at least civilized puppets.
Now that they finally had clothes (a hemp sack), Xing Ye felt much better. As calm as he was, even he couldnât bear other wooden puppets looking at him like he was a pervert.
Puppet Xing Ye sat on the floor and spoke, âEarlier, I heard the little puppet at the engine oil store shout that the engine oil cost one piece of primary ore, which should be the puppet cityâs currency. Right now, we need to get rid of this rust, upgrade our coil springs, buy a normal set of clothes, and replace our engine oil⊠we need to make money.â
âWe also need to find Cao Qian, your teammate. Sheâs also an opposing fate player and we donât know where she is right now. We need to meet up as soon as possible.â The big mirror reminded him.
âYeah,â Xing Ye agreed, âIt sounds like primary ore needs to be mined. Sheâs very strong, so she can help us make money.â
Although they had different reasons, they truly did need to find Cao Qian.
The two puppets walked out of the wooden house again. When they saw the other wooden puppets wearing clothes like the ones seen in western fairy tales, they couldnât help but lower their heads in shame.
The other wooden puppets were normal civilians, while they were beggars.
The one-meter tall disabled puppet stood by the engine oil shop, watching the customers go and fro. Puppets didnât need sleep, so they just laid in bed and rose with the sun. Although it was still early morning, the puppet city was bustling with activity.
The 1.7 meter tall male wooden puppet walked in with his⊠his wife, probably? The two puppets entered the engine oil shop and took out a piece of primary ore, âThis is one piece of primary ore. My wife and I want to top up our engine oil.â
Xing Ye and the big mirror pricked their ear like thieves- oh, the big mirror didnât have ears, so only Xing Yeâs ears stood up.
âAlright, please come inside.â
Sounds of dismantling machinery sounded from the shop. After about half an hour, the adult male puppet and his wife walked out of the engine oil shop. He stretched his body comfortably, âMmn, an engine oil change sure is nice. My whole body feels comfortable, and my joints slide much smoother where it kept making creaking sounds before.â
Xing Ye: â...â
Every time he moved, the creaking sounds were very loud.
âIâm glad youâre satisfied. Your bill comes to four primary ore pieces.â The wooden shopkeeper puppet said.
âWhat!â The adult male puppet almost shouted his voice box outside of his throat, âYou clearly said one primary ore piece can buy one get one free, where did four come from?â
âSire, you canât just listen to rumors, you have to look at the prices on our shopâs signboard!â The shopkeeper puppet said, annoyed. âOne piece of primary oreâs only enough to cover the price of the engine oil, what about the service fee for switching it for you? Two pieces of primary ore for one puppet is buy one get one free. Itâs normally three primary ores for one puppet, but we're only taking five ores- it's a great deal!"
âLiar! Scammer! I wonât pay!â The customer puppet said angrily.
âHuh? You want to just walk away without paying?â The shopkeeper puppet suddenly opened his stomach, where a black rock laid inside, âIf you want to take my engine oil for free, I wonât have any business so Iâd might as well take you down with me!â
âYou, youâre actually carrying coal? Thatâs illegal! Iâm going to report you!â The customer puppet said furiously.
âWe have a certificate to sell coal, itâs legal coal! New coal-powered wooden puppets are given a set provisioned amount, you uneducated hick!â The shopkeeper puppet took out a piece of paper, âAre you paying or not? Or else, Iâll burn the coal!â
âI, Iâll just payâŠâ The customer puppet was terrified and took out four pieces of primary ore from his stomach before running away.
Xing Ye: â...â
The big mirror: â...â
The big mirror was two meters tall and couldnât stoop down, making it impossible for him to whisper quietly to Xing Ye. He could only press the one meter tall disabled wooden puppet Xing Ye up against the wall and lean his body diagonally to speak quietly, âThis place is so uncivilized. Now I know why Master Benedict wanted the city restored back to how it was before.â
âShhâŠâ Xing Ye gestured at the mirror to not talk about that outside.
He waved his hand at the mirror before pretending to nonchalantly walk by the customer puppet.
The customer puppet was venting angrily, âHow infuriating, all the ore I spent the past few days working for all got swindled away!â
The female wooden puppet in a dress consoled him, âHusband, donât be angry. Iâll just buy a little less clothes. Just remember to go mine some primary ore outside the city today so we can replace our coil springs tomorrow.â
âAlright! For my wife, Iâll work hard!â The customer puppet kissed his wife as they walked further into the distance.
So you could actually go outside the city to mine primary ore for money.
After the customer puppet walked away, the engine oil shopkeeper puppet suddenly shouted furiously, âThat cheat! He actually gave me fake primary ore! Out of these five pieces, only one of them is real! Iâm going to report that swindler!â
The neighboring coil spring shopkeeper advised him, âDonât be angry. If he denies it, you canât do anything. The public security bureau knows that we all lie, so they wonât be able to tell whoâs actually lying. It also costs two primary ores to report someone, so itâd just put you at a loss.â
âHeâd better not let me see him again!â The engine oil shopkeeper was so angry that steam was coming out of his ears.
The coil spring shopkeeper looked at him enviously, âSigh, the new steam type puppets sure are nice. You have internal metal protection and can heat coal to collect kinetic energy generated by the steam. Plus, your strength and speed are all much better than us old puppets. If we forget to wind up our springs for even a day, we wonât be able to move, but you steam puppets are 2x more efficient. How envious.â
âAi, who let me be born later? Youâre my big brother.â The engine oil puppetâs eyes were even letting out steam from all the coil spring shopkeeperâs praise as he returned to the store happily.
The moment he went in, the coil spring shopkeeper let out a âpooh!â sound. âEvery day, he swindles away so much money, yet he still refuses to go and get himself fixed. Sooner or later, that blockhead will get burned to death by the coal. Us old puppets are still better, coil springs are much safer.â
Xing Ye: â...â
Big mirror: â...â
It really was a chaotic city where everyone lied. They didnât know how they would be able to find the one puppet who didnât, or find their teammates and the other players.
âLetâs go mining outside the city.â Xing Ye said, âI need to replace the corroded oil, or thereâs no way Iâll be able to use Redrawing Pen. My fingers wonât be effective.â
Nevermind ineffective, right now he could barely even bend his fingers.
Xing Yeâs body was made of wood, but all his joints were out of metal. Metal was easier to move and oil.
The big mirror, covered by his sack cloth, looked at the clothing shop enviously. He just saw a female puppet, who said she wouldnât buy any clothes, pick out a set of clothes.
âToo dishonest,â The big mirror shook his head, âShe clearly canât afford it, sigh.â
âWe also canât afford it,â Xing Ye said, âBut if we follow people outside the city, we should be able to find some kind of mine. Thereâs probably some rules to mine. I have a feeling Cao Qianâs also very poor, so maybe we can run into her there. Guan Ling probably isnât. Heâs a following fate player, so thereâs no way heâd be in such miserable straits like us.â
They talked as they walked to the city gates. There, there were all sorts of different puppets waiting for the gates to open so they could leave the city.
There were very large, five-meter tall wooden puppets and 30 centimeter tall nimble little iron puppets. Everybody was human shaped, but there were all sorts of statures and sizes, with varying levels of quality and material as Master Benedictâs skill progressed.
The newer models of puppets which ran on dual kinetic energy sources were very proud. They raised their heads, looking high and mighty.
Suddenly, a skinny and shriveled wooden puppet got kicked out of the group by the other wooden puppets. Somebody shouted loudly, âTut, a matchstick like you that combusts so easily shouldnât go outside and bring everyone disaster!â
The matchstick puppet was just like its name, with a body made out of a huge matchstick. He⊠or maybe it was a she, had a very weak body. Just a kick was enough to snap off their arm.
They crawled up from the ground, looking pitiful as they covered their broken arm. They looked around and saw Xing Ye holding their broken arm in his left hand.
All it took was a glance to confirm that they were both puppets with ridiculously bad luck.
The matchstick puppet drew a symbol in the air, and Xing Ye immediately drew it back.
It was their secret signal- the matchstick puppet was Cao Qian!
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