Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 8: Heaven Underworld (856-1023) [Complete]

1000: How Many Ordinary Posthumans Equal a Severely Injured Puppeteer?

When Bohemia stumbled out of the wooden box, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help but carefully pinch her skin and hair and count the bracelets and chains on her arms. She wasn't sure how many bracelets Bohemia had, but it seemed like quite a string of them. After the recent incident and knowing that Luther was nearby, Lin Sanjiu was now a bit wary of the authenticity of "Bohemia."

"When did you arrive?" Lin Sanjiu asked as she examined Bohemia. "How did you end up in the box?"

"I've been... What are you doing?" Bohemia pushed away her hand, sounding slightly breathless and weak. She raised her eyes, and her face turned pale. "Wait a minute, there are so many people over there? Why do they seem ready to launch an all-out attack... I think we should have a proper conversation..."

"Shut up."

The cold words immediately silenced her. Lin Sanjiu suspected that Bohemia would have bolted if it weren't for her fear of Puppeteer.

Several people had fallen in the corridor after the short and intense battle. However, a glance revealed that the Night Wanderers still had nearly twenty members remaining. The air was faintly rippling in the corridor between the two sides, occasionally flashing with a watery gleam.

Behind the translucent protective layer, the petite woman spoke coldly.

"I don't know when you all gathered together, and I don't know why you're sabotaging our plan to find the Eternal Homeland. But I can assure you that even Puppeteer made a fatal mistake by provoking the Night Wanderers." She clearly recognized Bohemia but didn't pay much attention to her; she just snorted. "Puppeteer, storing our attacks won't help you. Jess, show them your data."

A man with ginger hair stepped forward before everyone's eyes. He had originally stood in the third row and didn't seem to belong to the group of powerful fighters. He let his hand hang down, and several thin wires slipped out of his sleeve and silently melded into the floor.

The enormous golden digits "136" gradually rose from the trapped airflow created by Puppeteer. At the same time, the number "217" appeared on the shimmering protective layer in the corridor.

The meaning of these two numbers was already clear. The man named Jess nervously smiled and muttered, "You... You can think of it as a power value. Except for those much stronger than me, I can measure the power value of everything else."

He swallowed his saliva and slightly turned his body as if trying to avoid Puppeteer's gaze. "You should also realize that your stored attacks cannot break through our defenses."

"We're waiting for you to release all of your attacks. Before that, we won't even throw a fork at you." Faced with the infamous Mad Dog of the Twelve Worlds, the petite woman remained fearless. "Your [Embrace the Rivers] must have limitations and can't absorb our attacks an unlimited number of times."

Puppeteer let out a sigh, seemingly filled with regret. He didn't look at anyone but stared at the floating golden "217," his voice soft as he said, "No matter how many times you besiege us, what I admire the most is the confidence you all have."

There was a moment of silence from the opposite side.

"Do you see that?" Puppeteer suddenly leaned slightly toward Lin Sanjiu, making her instinctively tense up. He continued as if he hadn't noticed, "There's a man in the second row whose nose seems to have been flattened, and a woman next to him with a potato-shaped head."

The two individuals named were visibly uneasy and disgruntled.

Lin Sanjiu glanced at Puppeteer with some confusion. His black hair obscured his profile, but she could still see the red glimmer in the corner of his eyes. It could be anger or excitement; both possibilities were equally likely with him. She lowered her gaze and noticed that he was holding something purple in his palm that seemed oddly familiar to her.

"Five seconds after I say 'begin,' I will stand between those two," he said.

"What?" When someone shouted in astonishment and anger from the opposite side, Lin Sanjiu almost thought she had shouted that herself.

"Wipe that stupid look off your face." Puppeteer stood straight, looking disgusted, without even looking at the opposite corridor. "During these five seconds, you two better make yourselves useful."

Bohemia immediately nodded obediently, completely different from how she had been before Lin Sanjiu.

"How—" Lin Sanjiu began, then stopped and instead asked, "What do you want us to do?"

Puppeteer couldn't be bothered to answer; he turned his head. He rotated the purple cube in his hand, and suddenly, he twisted his face half sideways, laughing softly. "Begin."

The next five seconds caught everyone off guard.

In the first and second seconds, Puppeteer remained standing in place, seemingly doing nothing but slightly moving his hand. After another second, Lin Sanjiu suddenly realized he was using the eraser effect of the [Photoshop] she had borrowed from him once. He swept the corridor with the eraser, and wherever it passed, the air became plain and ordinary, with nothing left. The number 217 naturally disappeared as well.

By this time, the airflow containing various attacks in the [Embrace the Rivers] raged violently. In the sharp howling wind, the stored power attacks suddenly scattered into countless branches, rushing towards the other end of the corridor from various angles. The golden number 136 vanished, breaking into numbers like 5, 12, and 9 and rushing out together.

"Activate the defense!" someone shouted from the other side.

Lin Sanjiu had just turned her head towards Puppeteer when she found that space empty in the fourth second. Puppeteer, standing beside her just a moment ago, suddenly appeared across the corridor. Like a sharp black knife, he smoothly plunged into the midst of the Night Wanderers. Their hastily organized defense also dispersed along with the scattered attacks. Once their defense was scattered, it meant opening the door wide for Puppeteer. Amidst the chaotic cries and collisions, countless attacks and items were directed at him.

"Higher Consciousness!" Lin Sanjiu shouted at Bohemia. She wasn't sure if the latter understood her meaning, but she didn't have time to explain. She rushed forward and unleashed all of her Higher Consciousness in one breath. However, this time, the surging waves of Higher Consciousness were not meant to knock people down but to protect them. Between the two sides, she couldn't say how many attacks she had taken in place of Puppeteer.

Anyone who touched even a slight edge of that dark figure had their cries cut off, instantly transforming into stiff bodies and flying into the air. The previously organized Night Wanderers quickly fell into disarray, crumbling, scattering, fleeing, and crying out. This brief moment didn't give the petite woman a chance to issue new orders.

In the fifth second, Puppeteer came to a halt.

He extended both hands and caught the man and woman trying to escape beside him. Then, a half-sinister smile appeared on Puppeteer's face, and blood-red glitter appeared in the corner of his eye.

"Welcome, my new puppets."

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Author's (N. Heller) Note: By the way, Puppeteer and the grand prize are the two most difficult characters to write in the doomsday. I want to kill them and then write Bohemian every day. Ya... she's very easy to write. I don't know why...