Chapter 2

Qi Chao carefully thought back and confirmed that the original owner had not exposed his thoughts. Only then did he loosen his tightly clenched fists.

Luckily, the little puppet did not know about the original owner's filthy thoughts. Otherwise, how disgusting would that have been?

Immersed in his relief, Qi Chao did not notice that after hearing his answer, the system had fallen silent.

The aircraft landed in the villa's parking area. Qi Chao stood before the villa door, took a deep breath, and opened it.

The lights came on instantly. Qi Chao closed his eyes to ease the discomfort caused by the harsh brightness, then looked toward the cage in the living room.

Inside the three-meter-tall silver cage, an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy lay with his eyes shut. Dressed in a small white suit, he was curled into a ball like a kitten. Under the lights, every strand of his hair seemed to glow softly.

Hearing the movement, the boy's eyelashes trembled. His blue eyes slowly opened and looked toward the doorway. He tilted his head, seemingly unafraid of the person who had beaten him countless times.

The boy sat up and gripped the cage's silver bars with both hands. Facing the person at the door, he revealed a soft, kitten-like smile, as though he was delighted by the man's arrival.

"Master."

His voice was soft and sweet, small yet filled with unmistakable joy.

Pure, untainted puppets always found it easy to forget pain.

The blond puppet loved his master so much. Even though that scumbag beat him and restricted his freedom, he still loved his master.

Qi Chao burst into tears.

On a freezing winter night, a twenty-eight-year-old grown man stood in the doorway and cried like a dog.

What he did not know was that from the moment he saw the puppet, the cowardly system had curled into a ball and activated its silence protocol, terrified of revealing any confidential information.

Chapter 2

Qi Chao had only cried a few times in his life.

A twenty-eight-year-old grown man had been through every kind of shitty thing. Back when he had been tricked into a pyramid scheme den, he had not been afraid either, but this time was different.

The blond puppet had been locked in a cramped cage, yet he still smiled sweetly at his abuser, as if he had no idea what disgusting things that abuser had done to him.

Anyone who saw that scene would feel heartbroken.

Qi Chao was no exception.

He was a puppet maker. In thirteen years of work, he had made thirty puppets, and every single one of them was his child.

Just imagining his own precious child, whom he held in the palm of his hand, being treated this way made Qi Chao's eyes sting. He wanted nothing more than to kill someone.

Even as he cried, he did not forget that the little puppet was still locked in the cage. Qi Chao found the key on the coffee table, but his hands were trembling so badly that he could not get it into the keyhole.

Throughout this, the blond puppet kept staring at Qi Chao's face, as though puzzled by why his master was crying.

He tilted his head. His slightly curly golden hair bounced in the air with the motion. After the cage was opened, he slowly crawled out through its door. When he rose to his feet, he seemed unable to stand steadily and toppled to the left.

Just as Qi Chao wanted to reach out and catch him, the little puppet had already fallen to the floor.

He sat on the ground in a daze, looking left and right as though the fall had confused him. But when he looked up and saw Qi Chao, a delighted smile appeared on his face. The blond puppet clumsily got to his feet, wrapped his arms around Qi Chao's waist, and rubbed his fluffy head against Qi Chao's abdomen. In a soft, healing voice, he said, "Master, don't be sad."

From Qi Chao's angle, all he could see was the little puppet's fluffy golden hair, and his tears instantly flowed even harder.

He crouched down and hugged the puppet. His voice hoarse, he said, "Kiddo, Dad isn't sad."

Qi Chao's old fatherly heart completely gave out.

The little puppet had clearly been beaten, scolded, and hurt, yet when his master was sad, not only did he not hold a grudge, he even thought to comfort his sad master after falling down.

What kind of angel was this?!

Because of his position, Qi Chao did not see the blond puppet's expression turn incomparably cold when he heard the word "Dad."

He wrapped his arms around the man's neck, his fingers discreetly measuring the man's throat, as though considering from which angle to snap his neck. There was none of that previous healing, adorable demeanor left.

Ahhh! The host is done for!

How had he stepped on the demon's landmine within just a few minutes?!

At the same time, the system screamed soundlessly in the host's sea of consciousness. It knew all too well how dangerous this world was.

If I'd known, I shouldn't have worried about so much. I should have stopped the host from meeting the puppet while we were still on the aircraft!

Was the host going to kick the bucket before even finishing the process? Was it about to break the General Bureau's record for the shortest failure time?! No, no, no!!!

Thinking this, the system hurriedly canceled the silence protocol and spoke up: [Host, according to data analysis, the little puppet's hunger is increasing. You can go to the kitchen and prepare Energy Stones.]

No matter what, it needed to separate the host from the demon puppet first.

Puppets needed energy replenishment.

The last time the little puppet had eaten was a week ago.

A week ago! Fuck!

Qi Chao froze for a moment, then immediately stood up.

His movement was too sudden, startling the little blond puppet. His azure eyes widened slightly.

"Little One, sorry, sorry. A little pat on the head won't scare you."

Qi Chao immediately felt a little guilty. He hurriedly stroked the little puppet's hair to comfort him. Watching the little puppet narrow his eyes in contentment like a cat, Qi Chao felt his heart melt.

Too cute. Too well-behaved.

Waaah, he really was an angel.

He picked up the puppet and set him on the sofa. Before leaving, he gave the little puppet's fluffy head another rub. "Little One, wait on the sofa. Dad will make you something tasty."

After saying that, Qi Chao deliberately turned on the projector and played Blue Star's most popular cartoon.

After seeing the little puppet give him a soft, sweet smile, Qi Chao left in satisfaction.

In the enormous living room, only the cartoon's cheerful laughter could be heard. As Qi Chao walked toward the kitchen, he had no idea that the obedient little puppet in his eyes was staring intently at his back.

The gaze was cold and sticky, coiling around him like a hungry python hunting prey as it considered where to take the first bite.