[HEQrC]

62

Furthermore, Xing Ye didn't know how Xing Shuo died in the game world. What's done was done and Xing Ye couldn't turn back time. He was utterly helpless. But at the very least, the mirror was still alive.

Even under such difficult and painful circumstances, the mirror was still able to keep his sense of self and continue living on, strong and hopeful.

Lu Mingze hadn't given up, so Xing Ye wouldn't give up on him either.

At least he could save one person.

Xing Ye felt like something was clutching his head, throbbing painfully. It was a blunt pain, dull to where if he didn't think about it, he wouldn't have noticed it.

He put his hand on his chest and didn't feel it pulse; he put his hand by his eyes and didn't feel any cold tears. 

Puppets didn't have tears. They had no water in their bodies, so even if he felt even worse, he still wouldn't be able to cry.

In a world like this, Xing Ye could be as weak as he wanted. In any case, his expression wouldn't change and others wouldn't discover his feelings.

It was only the mirror with his Truth Eye ability, who, despite having his own hardships, could see through it and still hug him tightly in the darkness.

The sky slowly brightened. Xing Ye stood up and spoke to the mirror, "Let's get repaired today. After paying back all our debts, I'll get you fixed up and you can become the prettiest mirror in Puppet City."

"Yes!" The mirror acted like nothing happened last night and gripped Xing Ye's hand tightly.

Two puppets, one tall, one short, dressed in sacks with a bag of scraps over their backs, walked out under the sun towards Old Nect's repair shop.

Xing Ye glanced at the mirror. Under the sun's glow, rays of light were reflected back into Xing Ye's eyes, leaving him momentarily blinded.

The mirror was truly too bright, Xing Ye secretly thought.

The repair shop hadn't opened yet. Guan Ling led Xing Ye and the mirror in through the back door, to where Old Nect was waiting for them.

Old Nect immediately started questioning them when he saw Xing Ye arrive, "What did you see in the mines? This stupid son of mine said he was too afraid to go in and just told you to come back with a sack of ore. Did you... see anything special inside?"

Guan Ling was afraid he wouldn't be able to figure out Old Nect's true aim, so he didn't dare to say anything and waited for Xing Ye to settle it.

Xing Ye calmly opened the sack on the table and counted out five big chunks of primary ore before speaking to Old Nect, "This should be enough to cover what the matchstick puppet and I owe you."

"That's not important, the important thing is what you saw in the mines!" Old Nect was so angry that steam started rising out of his nose, blowing his beard up.

Xing Ye suddenly sat on the chair and turned to Guan Ling, "Help your dad wind up his springs, his energy consumption's too high."

Guan Ling choked back a smile and went behind Old Nect to wind up his springs.

Old Nect angrily pushed him away before taking a gun and cocking it at Xing Ye, "Are you playing with me?"

Old Nect thought that was enough to threaten Xing Ye, but didn't expect a short little figure to flash in front of him. The next moment, the gun had disappeared from his hands, now in the iron plated matchstick puppet's hands.

"How did a matchstick puppet like you steal the gun from me? When I checked your body yesterday, it wasn't this strong. You also shouldn't be that fast. Did somebody remodel you yesterday?" Old Nect's focus suddenly shifted to Cao Qian, fixing his stare on her. "Who did you meet in the mines?"

Cao Qian didn't speak, and neither did Xing Ye. They were waiting to observe Old Nect's attitude.

"Who else but Master Benedict could help a matchstick puppet break free from their natural limits?" Old Nect excitedly hugged Cao Qian's skinny arms, "Tell me, did you see Master or not? Did Master help you remodel your body?"

He didn't seem to be hostile to Benedict.

Old Nect's name was taken from Benedict. He had always serviced everybody in the city following the identity his master set for him, even after so many years.

Xing Ye pondered before saying, "We saw a group with an insignia like this on them."

He gestured at Old Nect for a pen before drawing the insignia of the puppet corpses.

They were the puppets the city lord sent.