What malicious intent could NPCs possibly have? C31.2

Hey, first of all, thanks for reading my lousy Machine Translation. To be honest, I’d really like it if you guys corrected the mistakes I made. But please speak nicely and politely. My heart is not strong enough to read your too-harsh comments. Have a nice day. 🙂

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Chp31. part2

The Iron Puppet Granny continued to roam the room, stopping beside several armchairs. She scrutinized them intently, as if trying to figure out if any rats were hidden inside.

Ning Ge was closer to the Iron Puppet Granny than Pei Han, making it easier for her to approach.

Pei Han stared at her for a moment, then relented and turned toward the door himself.

Everyone looked at Ning Ge in bewilderment.

While the Granny wasn’t looking, Owen mouthed to Ning Ge, “Are you crazy?”

Ning Ge wasn’t crazy.

She slowly and cautiously approached the Iron Puppet Granny, step by step.

Pei Han had already reached the door. He gripped the handle and gently opened it, inch by inch, without making a sound.

The others had also gathered. Owen looked at Pei Han questioningly. Pei Han nodded toward the door with his chin, signaling them to leave.

Iris refused to move, his eyes fixed on Ning Ge. After she sent him a command through Thought Silk, he finally turned and left, looking back over his shoulder repeatedly.

One by one, they tiptoed out the door and vanished into the thick fog outside.

Only Pei Han remained. He held the door wide open and stood quietly, waiting for Ning Ge.

Ning Ge had moved behind the Iron Puppet Granny, but unfortunately, the old woman had taken a few steps forward.

Like a poltergeist, Ning Ge silently trailed behind her.

The Iron Puppet Granny suddenly whirled around, as if sensing something.

Ning Ge froze.

The old woman glanced at the motionless Ning Ge standing right behind her, as if she had already grown accustomed to this “new piece of furniture.” She turned her head back, puzzled.

If the Iron Puppet Granny were human, she would have found this situation rather unsettling:

The feeling of being followed, but seeing no one when she stopped to look back.

An unseen presence clinging to her back, following her like a shadow.

The “poltergeist” quietly extended her hand.

This time, she was bolder, reaching for the large pocket on the front of the Iron Puppet Granny’s apron, the one with the sun pattern.

Even Pei Han held his breath for her.

To press so close to the Iron Puppet Granny, who was wielding a massive hammer, to touch her apron without being detected, and to remain completely still—

Ning Ge slowly extended her hand, her movements light and deliberate.

The old woman was still scanning the room, searching for rats. Ning Ge, in a posture that was almost like an embrace, quietly slipped her hand into the apron.

The floor of the house was spotlessly clean, gleaming like a mirror. Iron Puppet Granny had a severe case of germophobia and wouldn’t tolerate a single speck of clutter, not even a tiny pebble.

She had just put the pebbles she’d picked up into the large pocket on her apron, so any other items she’d collected should be there too.

The bright yellow, sun-shaped pocket was impossible to miss, and everyone could see it. Yet few would dare to search it, making it the ideal place to hide the Silver Medal.

Fortunately, Granny remained motionless for the moment.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Pei Han watched as Ning Ge’s hand reached up to her head and then slowly withdrew, her fingers seeming to grasp something inside the pocket.

Pei Han didn’t need to remind himself to hold his breath and remain still; he instinctively held his breath along with her as her hand slowly emerged.

Yet Ning Ge appeared perfectly calm, her face impassive. Her neat bangs lay across her dark eyes, which were as deep and still as water, utterly unruffled.

With the most composed expression, she was doing the most reckless thing.

The hand gripping the door handle tightened in Pei Han’s palm.

Just as Ning Ge’s hand was about to fully emerge, Iron Puppet Granny suddenly moved.

She turned, as if preparing to wander off in a different direction.

The moment she moved, Ning Ge’s hand, which was reaching out, brushed against her belly.

Iron Puppet Granny lowered her head, her eyes snapping to Ning Ge’s moving hand. With her free hand, the one not holding the hammer, she grabbed Ning Ge’s wrist.

*CRASH!*

Pei Han slammed the door against the wall with tremendous force.

Startled, Iron Puppet Granny looked up and saw Pei Han standing in the doorway.

His face wore a half-smirk. He raised the hand not holding the door handle and beckoned her over, as if enthusiastically inviting her to go beat someone up.

Never had she seen such an arrogant big rat.

Iron Puppet Granny’s fury reached its peak. Gripping her massive hammer, she charged toward the big rat at the door.

Pei Han waited at the threshold until she was close, then released the door handle and bolted outside.

Despite her bulky frame and the heavy hammer she carried, the granny moved with surprising agility, her feet flying as she chased Pei Han into the thick fog.

After they left, no one stopped Ning Ge, so she followed them out.

The two figures vanished quickly into the mist.

The fog enshrouded the house in a blanket of white, reducing visibility to near zero.

“Ning Ge?” someone whispered her name softly.

Ning Ge turned around and saw several heads peeking out from behind the stable next to the house.

It was Owen and the others.

They were all there, including Engineer Zheng and Social Bro, who had been searching the stable for the medal earlier. Now they were all hiding behind the stable, waiting for her and Pei Han.

“They ran that way,” the Cross-dressing guy said, pointing toward the lake. “Should we go after them?”

Ning Ge considered for a moment. “No, the fog is too thick. We can’t see clearly, and we might get separated and lose each other. We should wait here for Pei Han.”

After a long while, the sound of iron-shod feet came through the dense fog. It wasn’t as loud as walking on wooden floors, but it was still clear.

Click, click.

Iron Puppet Granny returned alone.

As her bulky figure emerged from the fog, the others shrank back behind the wall.

Only Ning Ge remained still. As long as she didn’t move, the old woman wouldn’t notice her.

Ning Ge stayed outside, hoping to see more clearly through the mist.

Iron Puppet Granny drew closer. Her apron was spotless, and she still carried her large hammer, which was also clean, without a drop of blood on it.

The half-puppet nailed to the door was still dazed. Iron Puppet Granny turned the doorknob and stepped back into the room.

There was no one else in the thick fog.

Everyone waited quietly, but even after Iron Puppet Granny had returned a long time ago, there was still no sign of Pei Han.

Where on earth did he lead those monsters?

These puppets were too strong and moved too quickly. Iron Puppet Granny seemed to be the most formidable of them all, far beyond the capabilities of ordinary men.

Ning Ge grew anxious.

Could Pei Han have gotten hurt under her watch?

Though it seemed unlikely, what if?

Ning Ge clenched her fist around the object in her hand—the Silver Medal she’d pilfered from Iron Puppet Granny’s pocket.

She glanced down at her bracelet. The mission countdown was still ticking down.

Unlike when Pei Han had been searching for the Bronze Medal, this time the System had not only reduced the mission time from three hours to two, but even after finding the Silver Medal, the countdown refused to stop.

The difficulty had increased.

Little Husky, who claimed to be afraid of ghosts, hadn’t followed them in. To find him and deliver the Silver Medal, Ning Ge and the others would have to navigate the maze again.

Time was running out.

Ning Ge said, “Owen, you know how to navigate the maze, right? You guys go ahead and complete the mission. I’ll check by the lake for…”

Before she could finish, someone placed a hand on her shoulder from behind and asked, “Looking for someone?”

Ning Ge turned around.

Pei Han had finally returned, likely having circled back from another direction.

His gaze swept over her face, scrutinizing her subtle expressions. “That Iron Puppet Granny was a bit of a handful. I had to run a bit further around the lake. Impatient?”

Ning Ge replied calmly, “Not at all. I was waiting for you. I wanted to show you something interesting.”

She opened her palm, displaying what she had pilfered from the Iron Puppet Granny’s pocket:

A Silver Medal, identical in design to the Bronze Medal she had received earlier—a marionette and a line of curving text forming the shape of an anchor. This one, however, was cast in silver.

In addition, there was a button.

The golden button, slightly smaller than the silver Medal, was intricately engraved with a blooming lily.

Owen nudged Pei Han. “This button is very similar to the one on your suit from the Sacrificial Ball.”

Teacher Su said, “It’s not his. His buttons are cast with roses. I’ve seen these lily-shaped gold buttons before—they belong to that tall, handsome man who’s always with the Queen. What’s his name again…?”

“Mosh,” Ning Ge replied.

That’s right, the button belonged to Mosh.

Owen pondered, “Why would Mosh’s button end up in the vacation cabin of the exiled Minister of Internal Affairs?”

Engineer Zheng added, “He’s the Queen’s companion, yet he’s involved with the Minister of Internal Affairs, who doesn’t support the Queen. This guy doesn’t seem very trustworthy.”

Ning Ge agreed.

During the Sacrificial Ball, when everyone was cheering, Ning Ge had noticed Mosh’s peculiar expression.

The button and the Silver Medal were placed together, clearly clues provided by the dungeon related to the Anchor Point.

“Should we scan the button?” the Delivery Man asked.

“It’s just a clue,” Pei Han said. “I think scanning the button is less useful than scanning Mosh himself.”