### Chapter 34: Courage -1
“Right… here.”
Yao Can and company arrived at the city’s garbage dump led by the short and chubby man.
The short and chubby man trembled as he pointed a shaky finger towards a deep pit in front of him, stuttering away.
Yao Can walked over quickly, only to find a chaotic heap of rubbish, forming a disgusting mountain of trash.
Searching for human remains within that mess was no joke.
But luckily, among his Night Watchers were Star Eclipses specializing in just this kind of thing.
A Night Watcher strolled forward, pressing two fingers against their temples, eyes closing instantly.
Their powerful sensing field spread out, covering the entire area as they searched through the trash with pinpoint precision.
But after a minute had passed.
The sensing Night Watcher found nothing but more trash.
“Nothing.”
Upon hearing this, Yao Can shot a glance at the short and chubby man behind him, eyes brimming with terrifying pressure.
“It… It can’t be. I definitely threw [it] there yesterday; maybe it got processed by some machine? Yeah, that must be it!”
“Hmph!”
Yao Can snorted coldly, shifting his gaze as he pondered.
If the body had been processed by a machine, then, in a strange sort of way, that could be seen as both a stroke of luck and a curse for Shanghe City.
Because destroying remains was the simplest way to prevent the remains from turning into Star Eclipses, which, in turn, would lessen the occurrence of such phenomena.
Of course, if only they could truly get rid of it.
—
At the same time.
A little girl was wandering the city’s edge, seemingly lost and dispirited. She had been walking for quite a while.
Her name was Lianhua. But with a new consciousness emerging, she preferred to call herself the Puppet Master now.
“Empty-handed… something feels missing…”
The Puppet Master shifted her gaze to her empty hands, moving her fingers, searching for that missing feeling.
“What should I do?”
The Puppet Master paused to close her eyes, feeling what her body craved.
“A puppet show?”
The Puppet Master opened her eyes, a hint of epiphany gleaming in them.
“So that’s it. As a Puppet Master, I want to perform puppet shows on the stage.”
The Puppet Master’s expression gradually lit up, as though she had finally found her purpose in life.
“But where are my puppets?”
Indeed, without puppets, the Puppet Master couldn’t put on a show.
Since that’s the case, no puppets? Then she will create them! She needed so many puppets!
Enough to stage an incredible puppet show!
And the city would be her stage!
“Let it be known, the performance begins.”
Just then, the Star Eclipses exploded!
An invisible wave like a tidal surge rapidly spread throughout the city, gradually polluting the lives within Shanghe City. No one knew about it.
—
Simultaneously.
Yao Can, set to return, suddenly perked up, staring wide-eyed at the city behind him. A strong aura as a Radiant Level Night Watcher burst forth.
“Supernova… Star Eclipse!”
Not just Yao Can, but every Night Watcher in Shanghe City felt a sense of unease, like some impending disaster tugged at their fragile nerves.
In the next second, in the base, the Celestial Knowledge responded violently.
“Alert! Alert! Supernova Star Eclipse – Doll City breaking out, effects unknown, location unknown, extremely dangerous. All Night Watchers prepare to confront the threat!”
Upon hearing this, Mo Tu lifted his eyes and sighed softly.
“Oh, here we go.”
Unlike others who became anxious, Mo Tu remained calm, already setting down plans for upcoming operations.
The power of the Supernova Star Eclipses already enveloped the city, seemingly changing it to its home turf.
Soon, Shanghe City would experience unprecedented upheaval.
Ordinary people would lose themselves, and even Night Watchers wouldn’t be spared.
To address this, Mo Tu needed to construct a highly stable safe house, improving their error tolerance rate.
—
Meanwhile.
Nighting Lan, who was feeling gloomy in her room, heard the alert. She barely comprehended it.
“Doll City?”
Lanfeng Suyu jumped up, startled and shocked.
“C-Can it be true what you said before, Nighting Lan? The Supernova Star Eclipses really appeared!”
“Mmm…”
Nighting Lan reflected, realizing something had triggered Lianhua’s transformation. Was she the source of the Star Eclipse?
Nighting Lan clenched her dainty fists, biting her lip, feeling a mix of frustration and grief.
She desperately wanted to hug her right now, even if she wasn’t human anymore.
“Hey… can I go out?”
Nighting Lan asked Lanfeng Suyu.
Lanfeng Suyu shook her head and crossed her arms, saying, “No, it’s too dangerous outside since a Supernova Star Eclipse is out there.”
“Mmm…” Nighting Lan felt a bit down.
But thankfully, Nighting Star was already out there.
Though one person isn’t enough, two bodies together would feel more secure, as if they were blessed with some kind of courage buff.
It was too bad they couldn’t go out.
Luckily, there was a Ghost Girl accompanying Nighting Star outside.
Having someone around was better than nothing, they supposed.
But the problem was, while they could move freely, where exactly was Lianhua?
Such a large city, relying on a single person was not going to cut it. They could only take it one step at a time.
—
On a street in the city.
A Silver-haired Loli was walking, with a Ghost Girl following alongside invisibly.
They were none other than Nighting Star and Eypar.
Nighting Star held her puppet, looking quite troubled.
“Where is Lianhua…?”
“How about letting me help?” Eypar offered, “I can fly through the air, pass through walls, and I’ve seen what Lianhua looks like. I can probably find her soon.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I’m great at finding people. Just wait for me to find her and come back to let you know.”
“Alright, I’ll trust you.”
After which, Eypar confidently left.
Leaving Nighting Star alone once again.
Well, this time she even lost her companion Ghost.
Courage -1.
Speaking of…
Although Mo Tu promised to help, he didn’t leave any contact information.
When Nighting Star went to look for Mo Tu just now, he wasn’t there, leaving her feeling particularly frustrated.
Watching the crowd pass by, Nighting Star felt extremely uncomfortable, wanting to go back home.
But she had to endure for the sake of finding Lianhua.
Suddenly, something incredibly weird happened right before her eyes.
A chilling scene began appearing.
“Eh…?”
