Puppeteer

It was getting late.

Li Wei sank into the sofa, enjoying its soft, comfortable cushions. Music drifted into his ears, mingling with the aroma of milk tea to make him feel utterly at ease.

"Whew..."

He took a sip of milk tea and narrowed his eyes, feeling the exhaustion drain from his entire body. Only then did Li Wei raise his head, open the system panel before him, and begin reviewing his rewards.

[Mission "Shadow of the Haunted House" completed]

[Time spent: S]

[Investigation efficiency: S]

[Impact: S]

[Overall rating: SSS]

[Lifespan +80, bonus lifespan +40]

Good. Steady growth.

Watching the number of days remaining in his lifespan increase, Li Wei nodded in satisfaction. By his reckoning, he now had more than half a year left to live.

Still, Li Wei was curious about whether this lifespan had an upper limit. He had arrived in this world less than a month ago, yet completing three missions in succession had already added nearly two hundred days to his life. If he kept going at this rate, living as long as an ordinary person-or even reaching a hundred-would be nothing. He might even... live forever?

And that wasn't all...

Li Wei stared at his remaining lifespan and frowned slightly. After returning, he had calculated his lifespan out of curiosity. He and the others had felt as though they had spent most of a day inside the Haunted House, but the soldiers outside told them they had only been in there for a short while. That had made Li Wei wonder whether his lifespan was calculated according to his subjective perception or the passage of time in the outside world.

The results had led him to an unexpected discovery.

First, his lifespan followed objective time. In other words, no matter how much time Li Wei felt had passed, his lifespan countdown still followed real-world time.

Second, Li Wei discovered that, at one point during the incident, his lifespan had dropped sharply, losing nearly five days. After checking the timing, he realized that was precisely when Katie had sent him flying with a punch.

That gave Li Wei another idea.

Could it be... that this lifespan doubles as a health bar?

When I take damage, I lose lifespan instead of health?

And conversely, as long as my lifespan doesn't run out, I won't die?

In that case, did that puff of a cigarette take two hours off my life because it damaged me? Does my body consider smoking a form of injury?

Li Wei recalled how, after returning to Military Intelligence Section Seven, he had wanted to have his left hand treated. However, the doctor had told him there was nothing wrong with his arm, and Li Wei's [Diagnosis] also showed that his previous [Bone fracture] had disappeared.

Does that mean I could survive having my head blown off or being shot through the heart, as long as I have lifespan remaining? Say I have two hundred days left, and a bullet to the head costs me a hundred. Would my wound heal, letting me get back up and come back to life?

"Why does this feel like being a vampire...?"

Li Wei frowned and gave a wry laugh. Still, his condition was clearly much better than a vampire's. Vampires feared sunlight, after all, whereas Li Wei had practically no weaknesses. At the very least, standing in the sun was no problem for him.

Come to think of it... one punch from Katie cost me five days of life. Just how much damage was that...?

If this system displayed damage statistics, Li Wei would have loved to see Katie's DPS.

Next came the most important part.

Li Wei reached out and swiped through the information before him until he reached the final entry-random reward.

[Special equipment Crimson Temptation detected. Special reward unlocked]

[Special reward: class skill-Puppeteer]

[Specializations: flesh manipulation/soul manipulation/creation manipulation]

Puppeteer, huh... Li Wei wasn't surprised by the reward. The case itself had revolved around puppets, and the final boss had relied on them as well, so receiving this reward was only natural. All three specializations used threads called "soul thread" to control their targets and manipulate them.

Li Wei carefully read the descriptions of the three specializations. Flesh manipulation was what they had encountered earlier: transforming human bodies into puppets and directing their actions. Those soldiers had been turned into puppets through flesh modification. As for its power, he could hardly call it weak. A group of soldiers with no fear of death was genuinely terrifying.

Of course, Li Wei would never choose it, for the same reason he had rejected Sonic Attack before. Those things had chased them all over the place. If Li Wei started using them now, who knew what the others would think of him?

Soul manipulation, meanwhile, was the technique the boss had used to control Katie and Henry. However, it seemed capable of controlling only their bodies, not their wills. Based on Li Wei's personal experience, it wasn't invincible either. After all, he had managed to resist it, hadn't he?

Thus, Li Wei quickly made his decision. He chose-creation manipulation!

This skill was actually more "traditional." Put simply, Li Wei could create something, then control its movements, just as a puppeteer made a puppet and then operated it.

His reason for choosing this specialization was simple. This case had made Li Wei realize that he was essentially a glass cannon. His damage output was tremendous, but his defenses were practically nonexistent. He didn't know any close-combat techniques either, so once someone got within striking distance, all he could do was surrender.

Katie couldn't always be his tank, and Li Wei couldn't keep asking her to take hits for him.

That made finding a suitable shield extremely important.

But relying on people wouldn't work. Li Wei wasn't cold-blooded enough to make someone else his human shield. Artificial creations were different, though. He wouldn't feel bad if they were damaged or destroyed, and they could act according to his wishes... Yes, when he thought about it that way, they were practically the perfect shields.

With that in mind, Li Wei made his choice.

[Creation Specialization]

The instant Li Wei selected [Creation Specialization], a thunderous roar seemed to erupt inside his head, followed by a flood of information and knowledge. It encompassed techniques for making, repairing, and controlling creations. A short while later, when Li Wei opened his eyes again, he could feel that his mind had fully absorbed all that knowledge. All he needed to do now was reinforce it through continued practice...

This is so convenient. If only the college entrance exam had been this easy. Just pour the knowledge straight into my head, and there's nothing to worry about.

After that inward sigh, Li Wei raised his hand and studied the ring on his right index finger. The ruby set into it wasn't large, but beneath the light, it seemed to ripple ceaselessly like flowing blood.

It reminded Li Wei of the flash of red that had appeared inside the puppet's shattered head.

There had to be some connection between it and this ring. Unfortunately, Li Wei still knew nothing about the ring's origins. Perhaps he should continue investigating the Lancaster Family afterward. According to Sister Elizabeth, Stephen's wife had followed that mysterious person's instructions and found the ring in a secret room in the old Lancaster residence.

That meant the ring had previously been in the Lancaster Family's possession all along.

Then where exactly had it come from?

And if someone had already taken it away, why had it appeared in a jewelry shop on the street? He had asked the shop assistant, who said someone had left it there to be sold a long time ago.

Had that person gone to such lengths, killing and stealing, just to sell the ring in the end?

Or had something unexpected happened, forcing that person to abandon it?

Forget it. There's no way to answer those questions right now. One bite at a time, one step at a time. I'll make myself a tank first, then consider the next stage of the investigation.

Li Wei pulled his thoughts back, yawned, then picked up the bell on the table and shook it. Soon, Erin entered through the side door in her maid's uniform.

"What can I do for you, sir?"

"Do you know where there's a hardware store nearby?"

"Hardware...?"

Erin tilted her head in confusion, apparently not understanding what Li Wei meant.

"A place that sells machine parts and equipment."

"Oh, do you mean a steam parts shop? Yes, I know! I'm very familiar with those!"

Erin sounded rather excited, which surprised Li Wei.

"Very familiar?"

"Yes."

Erin nodded.

"My parents used to run that sort of shop. I grew up there, so..."

"Oh, right. That does ring a bell."

Her words reminded Li Wei that the background check provided when she had first been recommended to him had mentioned her parents owning a shop.

"All right, then. Come out with me tomorrow. I need to buy some things."

"Yes, sir!"

Having someone knowledgeable along was naturally a good thing as far as Li Wei was concerned. Early the next morning, he set off with Erin for the market on Anvil Road.

According to Erin, Anvil Road had always been Fog City's central district for manufacturing parts. It had all kinds of components and shops: some sold standardized parts wholesale and retail, while others specialized in making custom products for their clients. Some inventors also opened their own shops here, building strange machines in the hope of attracting someone's interest-or, better yet, securing a substantial investment.

When Li Wei and Erin stepped out of the carriage, the first things they heard were the clanging of metal and the hissing of steam from every direction. Clouds of condensed white steam rose all around them, making it feel as though they had entered a sauna. They weren't quite drenched in sweat, but it wasn't much better.

Looking around, hardly any of the buildings resembled proper houses. Some had enormous chimneys sticking out of their windows; others had been remodeled to look like insects with eight metal legs. The overall impression was one of sheer madness and utter chaos.

It was an urban planner's nightmare.

"Please follow me, sir!"

Clad in a cloak, Erin spoke to Li Wei, then led him deeper into Anvil Road. To him, the place was practically a maze, but Erin navigated it effortlessly, as comfortable as if she had returned home... Oh, right. This actually was her home.

Li Wei followed Erin while surveying the shops with curiosity. Even fleeting glances revealed plenty of interesting things.

For instance, an elevated train was being welded inside a towering factory beside them. On a street corner, a bearded young man in greasy work clothes excitedly waved a wrench, introducing a customer to his latest invention-a six-wheeled steam car.

"Look, this car has the largest boiler currently available. Its six wheels provide excellent balance and let it reach speeds far beyond those of four-wheeled cars. It's guaranteed to help you win..."

Li Wei turned his gaze from the six-wheeled race car to a nearby shop window. Behind the glass, humanoid machines slightly taller than a person danced gracefully. However, Li Wei didn't think they were robots in the sense people of his era understood. They seemed more like life-sized versions of the mechanical dolls that turned inside music boxes.

He also spotted bipedal mechs a full two stories tall. They walked along the streets, moving their thick, forklift-like arms up and down to load crates and machinery onto the tracks or unload them.

How could he put it...? This style of "technology" certainly left an impression on Li Wei. In his era, development had followed the path of electronics and machinery. This rivet-heavy approach of steam and steel was truly a rare sight.

Yet Li Wei had to admit that these enormous steel creations, venting steam and roaring like beasts, possessed a raw, weighty sense of power that machines from the electronic age could never match.

And the vitality bursting forth from this steam age's wild, unrestrained development was truly... captivating.

"Here we are."

While Li Wei was admiring these creations of steam technology, Erin had already led him to a shop. It looked more like a large factory or warehouse, with a sign reading "Kellida Steam Mechanics" hanging by the entrance. Erin stepped forward and knocked hard on the door-not because she was ill-mannered, but because anyone inside probably wouldn't hear her unless she used some force.

After a short while, the closed door was pulled open, and a heavily bearded man in oil-stained work clothes appeared before Erin with a pipe clenched between his teeth.

His eyes widened at the sight of her.

"Oh, Erin! My little princess! You're finally back! I've missed you so much!"

"Uncle Hank!"

Erin smiled at the bearded man before her.

"Come in, come in! Where have you been all this time? I've been so worried about you. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine."

Erin shook her head, then introduced Li Wei to Hank.

"This is Mr. Li Wei. I'm working at his house now."

"I see..."

At Erin's words, Hank looked Li Wei up and down, his pipe still between his teeth, then nodded.

"Not bad. A fine young man. What brings you two here?"

"Mr. Li Wei wants to buy some things for crafting. I thought you'd have a better selection here, Uncle Hank, so I brought him."

"Good girl. You still remembered to send some business your Uncle Hank's way."

Hank laughed heartily, then turned to Li Wei.

"Come in, young man. Let me see what you need. Whatever else we might lack, if it's machinery-related, we've got just about everything! For Erin's sake, I'll give you twenty percent off!"

"Sorry for the trouble."

Li Wei didn't hesitate at Hank's invitation. He removed his hat, nodded to Hank, and stepped into the shop, which rang with clanging and rumbling machinery.