Suffocation Puppet

Life remained surprisingly peaceful for quite some time.

Xiao Xiao went out early and came home late every day, training his body through the grueling work at the docks while earning the several hundred yuan a day that he genuinely needed. For a long while, he no longer felt that sudden sense of panic. Every day after work, when he returned home and faced "Mother's" concerned gaze, he could force a smile. Sometimes, he was even willing to say a few more words to reassure her.

After spending four years cooped up in his bedroom, suffering through torment accompanied by panic every moment, this was practically like a beautiful dream.

There were even moments when he was willing to treat the life around him as real, to treat all of this as real, and willingly lose himself in it.

Unfortunately, whenever the horrifying gaze that accompanied that malice began attacking him again from his memories, he had no choice but to realize that this beautiful dream was built upon enormous absurdity.

He was living in a world of gigantic monsters. The faint stability and peace before his eyes could be snatched away at any time.

Whenever that happened, the smile on his face would unconsciously stiffen, and a vague bleakness would creep over his features.

People really weren't very clever sometimes. Clearly, they would be happier if they didn't remember certain things, yet they couldn't help thinking of them.

Fortunately, this life did not last long before Xiao Xiao received a call from Designer Miss.

"I found a task suitable for you..."

"That fast?"

"..."

At first, it had actually been Xiao Xiao who was eager to find a new task to carry out.

On a whim, he had spent thirty points to buy three hunting dogs that only knew how to tear apart the house, leaving him with only ten points.

In other words, he had to find a new task and earn new points.

However, Ruan Ruan had said that there weren't many tasks suitable for him. She had told him not to rush, to first adapt to the changes brought about by the Violence Factor, and that she would notify him when suitable work came up.

After several days passed like that, Xiao Xiao had almost forgotten about it.

Sigh, when all was said and done, after enduring those four years of torment, I'm simply too desperate to experience living in a normal world again...

Even if that normality was only a facade.

After a brief silence, he quickly adjusted his state of mind and asked in a low voice, "What's the task this time?"

Ruan Ruan laughed. "Don't panic. It's just a small task."

"I'll tell you the details on the way. I'll come pick you up first. You're at home, right? Jiajia-jie gave me your address earlier."

"No..."

Xiao Xiao hurriedly denied it. "I'm at Blackwater Bay Docks."

"Oh?"

"Um, I'm working here..."

"..."

Ruan Ruan was clearly surprised, but she did not ask further. After confirming the address, she simply said, "See you in twenty minutes."

After hanging up, Xiao Xiao found Foreman and told him he needed to take leave and leave several hours early.

After all, even though there were monsters everywhere in this world and Foreman might be one of them, he still had to follow their rules on the surface. If he got fired, finding another job would not be easy.

"Leaving early? Sure!"

The Foreman immediately agreed without hesitation.

After working as a foreman for so many years, this was the first time he had been frightened by one of his workers' diligence...

Seeing that Xiao Xiao was still young, he had always worried about working him to exhaustion. Taking leave? That was a good thing!

Xiao Xiao had not expected the Foreman to be so easygoing, and he turned around to change clothes.

Huang Mao, who had been resting nearby, immediately grinned and said, "Foreman, then I want to take leave too. My girlfriend's waiting for me..."

"Damn your mother..."

The Foreman immediately started cursing. "With your sorry-ass looks, what kind of red-buttocked monkey could you possibly find as a girlfriend? Get your ass back to work..."

Huang Mao was indignant. "Foreman, that's not fair! How come he can take leave?"

"Damn your mother..."

The Foreman cursed even more fiercely. "Call your mother here. If she works in your place, I'll give you leave..."

Huang Mao chuckled. "My mother isn't home..."

"Damn your mother. Why is she home whenever your Uncle Wang next door goes over, but not home whenever I want to find her..."

"Is she looking down on me? Huh?"

"..."

Amid the Foreman's fluctuating stream of curses, Xiao Xiao suddenly found himself in an excellent mood. After changing clothes and greeting several coworkers he ran into, he went to wait beside the docks.

Behind him were the busy docks, while before him lay the city as night began to descend. Xiao Xiao felt as if he were traveling between two worlds.

About ten minutes later, a heavy motorcycle slowly drove up to the factory entrance. It stopped outside the barrier, pointed its front toward the warehouse, flashed its lights several times, and honked.

Xiao Xiao immediately knew that Ruan Ruan had arrived and hurriedly got up to greet her.

"What are you doing here?"

Ruan Ruan lifted her helmet. Her delicate little face was filled with surprise. It seemed that after only a few days apart, Xiao Xiao's physique had become much sturdier.

"Working..."

Xiao Xiao reached out and pressed down, then sat on the back seat of her motorcycle, immediately becoming a head taller than her.

"You, a city contract-holder who roamed the city at night alongside mystery and danger, came all the way to the docks to carry boxes for work?"

Sister Ruan clicked her tongue repeatedly. "Impressive."

Xiao Xiao also felt embarrassed and could not help asking, "Then what do you do for work?"

Sister Ruan proudly replied, "I'm a nanny..."

"Oh..."

Xiao Xiao answered, then suddenly felt that something was off. "Huh?"

Before he could ask further, the motorcycle roared and shot forward.

Behind them, the Foreman who had just passed by watched Xiao Xiao's departing figure. Only after a long while did he withdraw his envious gaze and mutter curses under his breath. "Damn, handsome people really get away with anything. They can even find a partner while working at the docks..."

"How come I've worked all these years and still can't even get a date with Huang Mao's mother?"

"Damn you, Huang Mao! Work overtime!"

"..."

"..."

"Is this task dangerous?"

Xiao Xiao sat on the back seat of Ruan Ruan's motorcycle. Watching her increase the speed more and more, he could not help asking, "Where are we going?"

Without turning her head, Ruan Ruan said, "Check your email first!"

"My email?"

Xiao Xiao found it strange. He took out his phone to check and, sure enough, saw an unread email quietly sitting in his inbox. The sender's name was: Ye.

Aberrant Creature Sequence No. 031—Suffocation Puppet

Danger Level: Class D

Clue: Two hours ago, excessive radiation was detected at South City Old District Sixth Street Intersection. The final location has been sent. It is recommended that the investigation begin there.

Reward: 100 points

How strange. He did not seem to have told them his email address before.

But Xiao Xiao did not question this matter in detail. After carefully reading through the information, he asked in surprise, "Are the tasks we usually take divided into levels too?"

"They originally weren't."

Ruan Ruan explained with a laugh, "But there have been more and more fellow outsiders who share the same fate, and more and more people have died. Everyone gradually summed up some experience to serve as a reference for newcomers."

"At the very least, this can prevent some newcomers from dying without knowing why..."

"..."

"Does it really make a difference whether you know why you died or not?"

Xiao Xiao thought this to himself and then asked, "So, is this Class D task powerful?"

"Pretty average!"

Ruan Ruan said, "Jiajia-jie helped you deal with a Rat-Man before, didn't she?"

"Those that have completed their aberration and begun affecting the city are Class D tasks."

"As for Class C tasks, they've already assimilated part of the environment and formed a nest... Like the Rat-Man. It was Class D difficulty, but after it formed a rat nest, it became Class C difficulty."

Xiao Xiao felt a stirring of interest and hurriedly asked, "Then what about Class B?"

Ruan Ruan said, "Heh, those are often things that have remained unresolved for a long time, or pirates and other mysterious wills from beyond the city..."

"..."

"There are strange things outside the city too?"

Xiao Xiao thought to himself that he had actually wondered about this long ago. Since the city he lived in was a gigantic monster, what would the world outside the city look like?

But that was all it was—something he had merely wondered about.

Whenever he looked up and saw the vast, boundless city and the layer upon layer of high-rises, his view was blocked, as if he were trapped inside a cage.

Yet when he stood at the docks and looked toward the dark, gloomy sea, he felt as though he were on an isolated island. Ships sailing in from afar drifted eerily, as if they had come from an unreal dream.

So there really were things outside the city. Even this city had things it feared...

He still had many questions he wanted to ask, but Ruan Ruan interrupted him with a laugh. "Don't think about so much for now. Focus your attention on this task."

"Xiao-gege, this task is different from the last one..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao was indeed pulled back to the matter at hand. He looked over the information again and asked, "How is it different?"

"When you dealt with the Rat-Man last time, you hid behind Jiajia-jie, didn't you?"

Ruan Ruan sounded rather smug as she said, "This time, I definitely won't give you the chance to hide behind me."

"This..."

Hearing Ruan Ruan mention his first encounter with the Rat-Man, Xiao Xiao felt a little embarrassed too. "Then what are you going to do this time?"

"I'm only responsible for watching you."

Ruan Ruan said, "You'll handle the entire task yourself. I'll only observe and give you some advice."

"I'll act only if your life is in danger or some other critical situation arises. Of course, you'd better not make me act..."

"..."

Hearing how solemnly she said it, Xiao Xiao hurriedly asked, "What happens if you act?"

"You'll..."

Ruan Ruan froze for a moment before saying, "You'll lose a lot of face."

"..."

Xiao Xiao had no idea how to respond to that. Ruan Ruan laughed again and said, "Also, I'll definitely take the points this time. I'm not as generous as Jiajia-jie, you know. Once they're in my hands, I won't give them back."

"So, let's see how you perform..."

"..."

"All right..."

Xiao Xiao thought to himself that this time, he was mentally prepared. He definitely would not hide behind Ruan Ruan.

More importantly, even if he did hide behind her, she could not block him completely...

During the new-book period, please support me in every way you can. Please cherish me and shower me with affection... A little more passionately would be fine too.