Finding the white-haired puppet wasn't actually difficult. After all, last night Duanmu Huai had already ordered the Reconnaissance Servoskull to lock onto her approximate location. Now all they had to do was march in and drag her out.
That said, when they arrived in the area under Melodie's guidance, they couldn't help but be a bit surprised.
"This is the Puppet District."
Melodie, carrying a sniper rifle on her back, introduced the place in her usual calm tone.
"The Puppet District?"
Duanmu Huai looked at the area before him in confusion. The streets were teeming with puppets of all kinds, walking to and fro. Their materials, appearances, and builds were wildly diverse.
"Come take a look! Here's our latest mechanical model—currently 10% off! Miss out now and you'll regret it!"
A wooden puppet dressed in shop attendant attire was loudly hawking its wares, trying to draw in customers. Overhead, a tiny flying drone with a distinctly futuristic design and two glowing bulbs on its rear buzzed past, zooming toward the end of the street.
"Woof woof woof! Woof woof!"
On the ground, a metal dog barked while darting through the streets, something clenched in its jaws. They even saw a woman gliding by on a four-wheeled self-balancing scooter… Combined with the medieval architecture surrounding them, the whole scene was bizarrely surreal. It felt like a fusion of high-tech sci-fi and old-world civilization. One had to wonder how this place developed into what it was now.
If all the puppets here were considered robots, then this area had essentially skipped straight into a futuristic, mechanized AI civilization.
"What… what is this place?"
Even Duanmu Huai was taken aback, and Lorena was visibly shaken, her eyes wide in disbelief at the scene before them. Melodie, however, calmly continued walking as she explained.
"Many puppeteers and mechanists took an interest in our doctrine, so they came to settle here. We allow them to live here and explore the mysteries of machinery. However, these technologies must only be used for peaceful purposes. If someone has indeed violated this rule and created a murder puppet like you said, we won't let them off."
"But with so many puppets… how long would it even take to find the right one…"
Lorena's scalp tingled. Duanmu Huai also frowned. They had initially assumed finding the white-haired puppet would be simple, but this unexpected development threw a wrench in their plans. From the looks of it, there were likely over a thousand puppets in this district. To find the murderous one among them… No wonder that bastard ran here. He actually understood the concept of hiding among the trees of a forest!
"Come with me. I have an idea."
Melodie spoke as she moved ahead. The others followed closely behind her until they arrived at a shop with a signboard reading "One Shot Kill." Melodie pushed the door open and went inside, and Duanmu Huai and the rest followed.
The shop appeared to be a gun store, with various firearms of different sizes hanging on the walls. For some reason, despite the lethal equipment, the store still gave off a strangely cute vibe, thanks to its decorations.
Just as they entered, a cheerful voice rang out.
"Welcome to One Shot Kill! How can I help y—oh, it's Melodie!"
As the voice spoke, a girl with a low ponytail and dressed in white popped her head out from behind the counter. Her eyes lit up when she saw Melodie. She practically bounced out from behind the counter and grabbed Melodie's hands.
"Long time no see! How have you been? Oh right, how's your gun? Does it need maintenance? But I remember you just had it tuned up recently… wait, did it break? Actually, I just came up with a new modification plan. Want to try it? I bet it'll boost your weapon's firepower even more…"
She chirped like a lark, words pouring out in rapid-fire succession like a machine gun, leaving the rest of the group completely bewildered. Fortunately, Melodie seemed well-accustomed to her behavior and promptly cut her off.
"Kukuru, I'm not here to get my gun serviced. He is…"
Melodie gestured toward Duanmu Huai, and the girl named Kukuru finally noticed him—then jumped in fright.
"Whoa! He's huge! Melodie, where'd you get a mech puppet this big? Planning to equip it with weapons? A mech puppet of that size would be super hard to arm properly…"
"I'm not a puppet."
Duanmu Huai interrupted her, sounding exasperated. Kukuru blinked in confusion, then leaned closer to Melodie.
"Melodie, is the mech puppet's logic module malfunctioning? I've heard that some puppets develop logic errors and stop recognizing themselves as puppets. Want me to refer you to a puppeteer for repairs?"
"...…"
At that, Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes and sighed. He took off his helmet and leaned down to meet Kukuru's gaze directly.
"Now do you see? I'm not a puppet."
"EEEEEEK—!!!"
The moment she saw his human face, Kukuru let out a shriek and dove back behind the counter. Then she cautiously peeked over the edge, warily staring at Duanmu Huai.
"Eh? Eh? You're… human?"
"Of course I am."
Duanmu Huai said as he put his helmet back on. Seeing this, Kukuru let out a breath of relief.
"Ah, I see, a customer. Sorry about that—I was rude. Are you here to custom-order a weapon? Sorry, I don't have any experience designing guns for someone your size…"
"Kukuru, he's not here to order weapons."
Thankfully, Melodie brought the topic back on track.
"We're here to ask for some intel."
As she spoke, Melodie turned to Duanmu Huai and the others.
"This is Kukuru—as you probably guessed, she's a firearms designer. She mainly helps customers with weapon design, production, and maintenance. She knows this area well, so we might be able to get some leads from her."
"Of course, I know this place like the back of my hand. What would you like to ask?"
"It's nothing major."
Duanmu Huai spoke as he gently pushed Augis to the front.
"We're looking for a puppet that looks a lot like her. Have you seen one?"
"A puppet that looks like her?"
Kukuru stood up and carefully examined Augis from head to toe.
"Hmmm… No, I haven't. Puppets made this exquisitely are rare even around here. If I'd seen one like that, I'd definitely remember it."
Indeed, as Kukuru said, Duanmu Huai and his group had passed plenty of puppets on the way here, but their appearances varied wildly. Especially their joints—each one had a completely different approach to design. Some even had limbs made like humans', but their torsos were just wooden rods draped in cloth.
They weren't even trying to hide it.
"I see…"
With no leads, the group couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. But just then, something clicked in Duanmu Huai's mind. He snapped his fingers, and a puppet appeared beside him.
"What about this one? Have you seen a puppet like this before?"
"Eh?"
Kukuru blinked at the sudden appearance of the puppet, but quickly leaned in to examine it.
"Ah! I've seen a similar one at Mr. Liam's place."
"Liam?"
"Yeah, he's a puppeteer too, but he mostly stays holed up in his workshop. He rarely shows his face…"
"Where does this Liam live?"
"Umm… In the backstreets…"
"Take us there!"
Having locked onto a target, Duanmu Huai immediately turned to leave. The puppet he had just summoned was one of the models made by the puppeteer they were tracking. If, as Kukuru said, each puppeteer's creations bore unique traits, then someone making similar ones was very likely involved!
Seeing Duanmu Huai's intense expression, Kukuru seemed a bit anxious, but under Melodie's reassurance, she agreed to lead the way. Soon, she brought them to a warehouse located in the backstreets of the Puppet District.
"This is the place. I remember him using similar puppets to help move his luggage when he relocated here. But I don't know if he's still around."
"We'll find out soon enough."
Duanmu Huai removed his helmet and stepped forward, knocking firmly on the warehouse door. Before long, a feeble voice came from within.
"Who is it? Get lost! Don't bother me—I'm busy!"
"Food delivery, Mr. Liam. Your takeout has arrived."
"Takeout? What takeout??"
The man inside seemed confused. A moment later, the warehouse door creaked open, revealing a man with slicked-back hair, glasses, and a white lab coat—he looked like a researcher.
"I didn't order any takeout, you—"
But before he could finish, his eyes landed on Augis beside Duanmu Huai, and his expression changed drastically.
"Javvy?!"
In that instant, the man panicked and tried to slam the door shut. But Duanmu Huai was faster—he grabbed the door and yanked it open, then reached out and clamped his massive hand around the man's head, lifting him clean off the ground.
(End of Chapter)