What malicious intent could NPCs possibly have? C27.1

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Chp27. part1

There really was a “Little Husky.”

Everyone dropped what they were holding and gathered around to examine it.

The notebook explained that Little Husky was the first puppet Viscountess Nona had created when she was learning to make puppets.

Because the Viscountess hadn’t yet mastered her control over spiritual power, Little Husky was extremely disobedient and mischievous, running wild through the Royal Palace and causing trouble everywhere.

Yet, being her first creation, she couldn’t bear to dismantle it, just as one wouldn’t dismantle their own child, no matter how naughty.

After a long period of Little Husky’s mischievous antics, one day, for some unknown reason, it fell from the upper floors of the Royal Palace, shattering on the ground.

Reassembling it would have been a laborious task, and the Viscountess was busy with other matters and had no time.

Every part of Little Husky had been connected with Thought Silk and infused with spiritual power. Even after being shattered, the fragments remained mischievous, even more so than before.

Unable to stand it any longer, the Viscountess simply locked it in a box and stored it in the Queen’s underground warehouse for puppet parts.

Little Husky existed, and it was located in the Royal Palace’s underground warehouse.

Ning Ge said, “The mission description says ‘assemble a Wooden Puppet Servant — Little Husky,’ not ‘build it from scratch.'”

All they had to do was find Little Husky’s parts in the warehouse and reassemble him.

“The problem is, that’s a warehouse for puppet parts. There must be a lot of them. How will you know which ones belong to Little Husky?” Owen’s concern was valid.

“Look at this,” Pei Han said, showing them the notebook.

The notebook contained diagrams of the parts, not just their dimensions, but other details as well.

To avoid mixing up the parts during assembly, the Viscountess had labeled each piece with Little Husky’s name. The notebook included sketches of his arms, legs, and torso, with the names circled in the appropriate places.

That made things much simpler.

The only problem was, the head wasn’t drawn. They didn’t know where its name was written.

Still, the head was small. They could probably find it when the time came.

They had a clue.

“I…”

Ning Ge had barely spoken when Iris entered, “Does My Lady need something?”

“Yes,” Ning Ge said. “Take us to the warehouse where the Queen stores the puppet parts.”

The component storage warehouse was located at the very bottom of the Royal Palace, several levels below Pei Han’s sewing workshop.

Iris stopped in front of a heavy wooden door.

Ning Ge looked at Iris, and Iris looked back at her.

“The small golden key to the warehouse is on you, My Lady,” Iris reminded her.

Ning Ge rummaged frantically through her skirt, finally pulling out a tiny golden key from a hidden inner pocket.

With a click, the lock opened.

Ning Ge thoughtfully said to Iris, “You don’t need to come in with us.”

It was filled with puppet parts again, which wouldn’t be appropriate for him.

“Yes, My Lady,” Iris replied. “Have you forgotten? Puppets are not allowed in the component warehouse in the first place.”

So that was it. Perhaps they were afraid of frightening them, or perhaps they might upgrade themselves if they were left alone.

Iris continued, “Apart from the Queen and the Viscountess, no one else is allowed to enter the Royal Palace’s storage areas.”

Did that mean Ning Ge had to go in alone?

Iris gasped for a second then continued. “…However, since these people are with you my Lady, that’s no problem.”

Iris opened the large door and said, “It’s very dangerous inside, my Lady. Please be careful. However, as an excellent Puppet Master, you should be fine.”

Ning Ge: “……”

The problem was, she wasn’t.

It seemed there would be trouble inside. But since the mission required them to come here, trouble was to be expected.

“Please wait a moment, my Lady.” Iris remembered something, pulled open a small door beside him, and retrieved a wooden stick over a foot long.

He twisted one end of the stick, and the tip emitted a bright light.

It was a torch, but not one with an open flame—truly remarkable.

“It can get chaotic inside, and open flames are forbidden. Please don’t forget to take this.”

“What is this?” Pei Han asked.

Iris patiently explained, “It’s a torch controlled by spiritual power. Just connect your Thought Silk and channel spiritual power into it to light it up, just like a Wooden Puppet.”

Iris offered the torch to Ning Ge.

“Last time, you generously injected extra spiritual power into me, saying it was for my use. But I had no real use for it. So, I used that spiritual power to light the torch for you.”

He looked a little shy.

“It’ll only last a little while, and it’s not very bright. Once it goes out, you can light a brighter one yourself, my Lady.”

Owen chuckled. “I hope she can.”

Ning Ge asked Iris, “How long do you think this torch will last?”

Iris thought for a moment. “About thirty minutes, I’d say.”

Thirty minutes seemed too short, not nearly enough. Ning Ge asked the group, “Should we grab a lamp first before coming back?”

Iris immediately turned serious. “Only these torches are allowed in the storeroom. No open flames, not even for the Viscountess. A single flame would immediately trigger the Royal Palace’s alarm.”

This Dungeon world had no electricity, Ning Ge realized. All the lighting in the Royal Palace relied on open flames.

“Alright then, let’s go in and take a look,” Ning Ge said. “Keep an eye on the time.”

They left Iris at the door and entered the warehouse.

Iris had been too modest. The torch he provided was surprisingly bright, instantly illuminating the entire warehouse.

The warehouse wasn’t large, but it was packed with items. Rows of iron shelves lined the walls, each stacked high with countless boxes of various sizes and materials—wood, leather, and iron.

Along one wall stood a row of large wooden crates, each marked with black paint: Guard Components.

These must be for the Royal Palace’s Wooden Puppet Guards.

The problem was that the lids of all the large wooden crates were open, and they were completely empty inside.

Yet Ning Ge immediately knew where the missing guard components had gone.

Before they had taken a few steps, a strong gust of wind struck the back of Ning Ge’s head.

Pei Han reacted swiftly, swatting it away with a single slap.

It was a leg from a Wooden Puppet Guard, which had kicked off the shelf and launched itself into the air in a surprise attack.

Ning Ge understood.

The puppet components here differed from those in the workshop upstairs. They had been stored separately, as if they had all been connected to Thought Silk and infused with spiritual power, making them fully alive.

Especially the Royal Palace guard components, they were extremely aggressive and utterly untamed.

If someone skilled in puppet control, like the Queen or the Viscountess, had been present, they could have controlled these components, forcing them to obey.

Unfortunately, neither Ning Ge nor Pei Han possessed such skills.

While Ning Ge was still processing this, Pei Han had already swatted away two arms and another leg.

Fortunately, these were only scattered components. Though they possessed considerable strength, they were still manageable.

The guard components, though blind, seemed to sense the intruders’ presence in the warehouse, their movements growing increasingly agitated.

Some acted individually, while others banded together on the fly, forming bizarre shapes. They twisted, flew, and bounced in waves, cooperating to throw and kick each other as they charged toward the group.

It was a chaotic free-for-all between humans and Wooden Puppet parts.

Ning Ge now understood why open flames were forbidden in the warehouse. With the parts’ frenzied state, a single spark could reduce the entire place to ashes in minutes.

Pei Han, bare-handed, knocked over the attacking parts one by one. The others joined the fray, fighting the rampaging wooden components.

Owen’s eyes fell on a wooden arm resting on a nearby iron shelf, seemingly observing the chaos. He grabbed it and swung it like a baseball bat, sending an incoming head flying with a crack.

“This is using their own weapons against them,” he declared.

The wooden arm in his grip seemed to understand. It obligingly scratched his palm with its fingers.

Owen flinched and threw it away with a yelp.

Teacher Su chuckled. “Pick it back up. Don’t waste its affection. It seems to really like you.”

Pei Han, seeing this, likely thought it was a good idea. He grabbed a sturdy wooden leg and went to strike the rear end of a flying Wooden Puppet Guard.

But the leg had a treacherous twist.

Just as it was about to connect with the wooden buttocks, the joint suddenly bent, narrowly avoiding the collision.

The wooden butt flew out, bounced off the wall, and shot straight back at Pei Han.

Fortunately, Pei Han dodged with lightning speed, narrowly avoiding the impact. However, the newly replaced rose on his wrist was brushed by the projectile, scattering petals across the floor.

Pei Han’s beautiful eyes narrowed.

Even in the midst of the chaos, Owen chimed in, “Ha! You’re done for! You damaged the peerless beauty’s flower, and now he’s going to kill you.”