Chapter 35: The Puppet Master’s Stage
Wherever Night Star’s gaze landed, all the passersby froze as if someone had slammed the pause button on their lives.
Countless transparent threads descended from above, connecting to everyone like strings on marionettes.
The joints of the pedestrians moved unnaturally, as if their bodies had been taken over by some mysterious force.
A certain silver-haired loli was utterly dumbfounded.
“What… is happening?”
Night Star instinctively took a step back, panic creeping in as she surveyed the bizarre scene, desperately wanting to bolt.
In the next moment, the crowd began to move again.
Those walking continued to stroll, those driving remained at the wheel—everything seemed unchanged.
But strangely, their movements were anything but normal.
Every action was stiff, as if the joints had been lubricated with something akin to mechanical grease—clunky and jarring, it was downright eerie.
And to top it off, everyone wore unsettling smiles, with lifeless eyes that looked like they were being puppeteered.
Seeing this, Night Star recalled past information.
Night Lan had once skimmed through some data about Doll City, which mentioned that the Star Eclipses had engulfed the entire place.
Nearly everyone was ensnared by the Star Eclipses, forced into a puppet-like existence controlled by some entity.
In that moment of the Star Eclipse explosion, ordinary people had unknowingly transformed into mindless puppets, still executing their daily tasks without a second thought.
To the Night Watchers, they were like controlled puppets playing out a drama called life.
This drama, seemingly beautiful, painted a picture of:
No arguments, no fights, no discord.
A world of equality, mutual help, and joy.
The whole of Shanghe City operated under a “utopia” template, losing its usual rhythm.
Yet this illusion of beauty suffocated the city in a pall of lifelessness.
This puppetry, dubbed “Happy Utopia,” was the Star Eclipse at that moment.
“So, this is Lianhua’s Star Eclipse…?” Night Star was utterly shocked.
Transforming the vast city into a stage, the city’s residents became puppets performing for a storyline that wasn’t their own.
Lianhua was the sole Puppet Master behind it all.
“No! I need to find her fast!”
This couldn’t go on; the longer it dragged, the greater the harm it would cause to everyone.
Night Star could not allow Lianhua to bear such a heavy sin!
Just as she readied herself to seek help, all the passersby turned their attention to her.
Every gaze focused on Night Star, that oddly different individual, with flashes of ferocity.
“Eh?”
Night Star froze up, a wave of fear washing over her.
“You… what do you want…?”
Just then, the crowd closed in, seemingly intent on bringing her to justice.
Seeing this, Night Star took off! Thanks to the “God Speed B” bestowed by the stars, she burst through the encirclement with ease.
“Waaa! What’s happening! Get away from me!” Night Star was in full-on panic mode.
…
At the highest point in the city.
This spot was perfect for the Puppet Master to showcase her talents.
Or perhaps to prepare for behind-the-scenes activities.
The entire city had morphed into her stage.
But oddities were afoot on the stage, things that needed to be cleared out and assimilated.
“Right, the stage should only have the Puppet Master and her puppets—no one else can mess it up…”
Thus, every Star Holder resistant to the Star Eclipse fell victim.
Especially the wandering Night Watchers, who became prime targets.
“It seems evil has polluted this land, turning everyone into puppets—this is the truth behind this Star Eclipse, isn’t it?”
Mo Yu had a cold expression, dodging one individual after another as they lunged at him, almost getting trapped by the mob.
Fortunately, his combat skills were top tier among Night Watchers, easily able to handle a bunch of mind-controlled ordinary folks.
However, dealing with these puppets was a minor concern. The main issue was the impact of the Supernova Star Eclipse.
Even though the Star Holders boasted high resistance to the Star Eclipse, they wouldn’t hold out forever.
Mo Yu could feel something attempting to seize control of his body.
Threads descending from above attempted to latch onto him, but he broke free in a flash.
Juggling his attention between the threads and the crowd would surely wear him down sooner or later.
So, with a sudden leap, Mo Yu soared to a height of five meters, standing where the ordinary folks couldn’t reach him.
“Ugh, what a hassle! Working overtime and having to deal with this nonsense—I’m so over it.”
Mo Yu sighed, a headache brewing.
He just wanted to clock out, but the way things were looking, it wasn’t gonna happen anytime soon.
Just then, he spotted a small figure sprinting, chased by a few cars, resembling a police chase after a criminal.
For puppets to deftly handle technological gadgets was already absurd.
Driving was merely a basic skill for them.
But that little one, outpacing the cars, was quite the sight.
“Help, help—”
“What the—?” Mo Yu blinked in surprise, suddenly bursting into laughter. “Looks like we have a poor little lost sheep.”
Mo Yu leapt into action, accelerating towards the helpless shout as he landed.
The explosive power granted by the stars allowed him to perform extreme physical feats with ease, scaling walls and throwing punches like a boss.
“Hey! Kid, come over here!”
“Huh?”
Night Star quickly spotted Mo Yu, his gray-white short hair standing out like a beacon.
“Ah, it’s that Night Watcher in the eye patch…”
Upon recognizing him, Night Star dashed over.
As they met, Mo Yu grabbed her by the shoulders, his other hand lifting the eye patch from his left eye, revealing his piercing crimson gaze.
“Genjutsu.”
In the next instant, both their forms faded from view in the midst of all those puppets, as if they had never existed.
…
Confused, Night Star found herself brought to a blind spot by Mo Yu.
“Let’s stop here.”
Mo Yu replaced his eye patch, shielding his red eyes once more.
Then he began examining the girl he had just saved, and one glance made him freeze.
“Why do you look so familiar?”
“Um… hi.” Night Star scratched her head, unsure how to respond.
After all, Mo Yu had only seen Night Lan, not Night Star.
Mo Yu squinted, finally recognizing her face.
“You’re… Night Lan? When did you dye your hair? And your eye color changed too. Wait… you shouldn’t be out of the base. How did you suddenly come out here?”
Night Star blinked.
It seemed Mo Yu had mistaken her for a dyed Night Lan.
Though that description wasn’t far off.
“Um… it’s a bit complicated.” Night Star fidgeted with her fingers awkwardly; it was indeed a complicated situation, hard to explain.
“Forget it, I’ll just take you back to the base. I can’t believe a newbie like you dared to wander out during a Supernova Star Eclipse outbreak.”
Mo Yu didn’t think twice, never suspecting for a second that this silver-haired loli wasn’t Night Lan.
Night Watchers had sharp instincts and intuition.
After all, the aura emanating from this silver-haired loli was just like Night Lan’s.
In this situation, Night Star had no choice but to roll with it and find a safe house.
“Um… okay, thanks for that.”
