Chapter 388: Puppet Assault
Chapter 388: Puppet Assault
A loud thud echoed through the room as a cup of coffee was placed on the table, its rich aroma filling the air.
"Apton, your coffee."
"Thanks."
Glassesman hurriedly took the coffee and sipped it before continuing to tap away at the keyboard.
"Here, Zack."
The red-clad woman, Veronica, handed another cup of coffee to Tailman.
Tailman Zack frowned as he took the coffee, "Still no sign of that woman?"
Veronica shook her head, "No. We've searched the forest five times. The sensors on the beach and in the shallow waters haven't been triggered, and we've checked all the possible hiding spots in the factory have been checked."
"What about the sausage production workshop?"
"We've searched there too."
"What about the prison cells?"
"We checked those as well."
"Are there any places left on the island that we don't have under control? Secret passages? Caves? Dungeons?"
The man's voice grew louder, and no one in the room dared to speak for a moment.
The layout of this island was more familiar to no one than to Tailman Zack.
Their surveillance covered the entire island—except for the dormitories and bathrooms, which barely maintained a semblance of privacy. Every other accessible area is under our watch," Zack said, his voice turning cold as he scanned the room.
And yet, a seemingly unintelligent adult female had vanished from the island, leaving no trace of her existence, just as her sudden appearance had been unbelievable.
Zack's gaze swept the room, his voice carrying a hint of ice. "Could someone be secretly helping her? Hmm?"
He turned his gaze on each person in the room, one by one.
Veronica, also a woman, sometimes showed sympathy for the island's children, secretly slipping them a few candies.
Glassesman Apton, short and stout, was of a timid nature... and that blonde woman, though foolish, was indeed quite attractive.
What about the others on the island? Were they undercover wizards or under the control of a wizard's magic? I've heard of a love potion that can make one love even their own family.
As Zack's suspicious gaze fell upon each person, they couldn't help but feel uneasy, fearing they might be the next target of his scrutiny.
On this island, there were many things that could make one's life a living hell.
Veronica quickly spoke up, "Actually, I've always suspected that the woman might not even be on the island anymore."
Facing Zack's cold gaze, she continued, her voice trembling slightly, "Maybe she's already escaped... After all, wizards can fly, turn invisible, or even transform into mermaids and leave from the sea..."
Zack's intense stare fixed on Veronica, and a cold sweat began to form on her forehead.
Glassesman Apton suddenly noticed a brief distortion in the footage from several surveillance cameras. He leaned in, studying the screens, but the footage quickly returned to normal.
Perhaps a bird had flown by and momentarily obscured the cameras' view.
Apton checked the sensor readings and noticed that some signals seemed slightly higher than usual, by about ten percent...
He opened his mouth to speak, but sensing the tense atmosphere, he wisely closed his mouth again.
If Zack were to check and find everything normal, then he'd be the one punished for a false report.
Zack didn't notice Apton's observation and instead frowned, "Then how do you explain the message on the Companion Ledger?"
Upon hearing this, Veronica realized he shared her suspicions. She breathed a sigh of relief and picked up a blank piece of paper from the desk.
"The Companion Ledger—while it's a wizard's creation, the alchemists' replicated products controlled by it are remarkably similar to the real thing."
"What if the alterations on it have been discovered? Then the messages she sent are completely meant to deceive us, making us think she's still on the island, thus concentrating our search efforts and giving her the chance to escape..."
Veronica's voice was gentle, and her smile was alluring. Apton couldn't help but admire her curves reflected on the screen.
As he watched, he suddenly felt something in his peripheral vision. Apton glanced—
It was a lynx cat playing with the surveillance cameras.
A cat, after all!
Apton relaxed, but his heart skipped a beat after a few seconds, as if he'd suddenly stepped into an empty void.
There was only one lynx cat on the island, besides the one kept as a pet by Veronica.
He quickly turned, and on the screen, he located the lynx cat again. Apton promptly pulled up the footage from the nearby cameras.
The cat actually stood in front of the power box, somehow opening the lid and raising its soft paws towards the cables.
The kitten, as small as a ball of yarn, stood inside the tall power box, baring its tiny teeth and waving its paws at the cables thicker than its tail. The scene should have been adorable, but Apton was filled with a sense of foreboding.
He couldn't help but call out, "Stop—"
Everyone in the room turned to look at him, not understanding what he was shouting about.
Zack hadn't made a move against Veronica, and the two had finally started drinking their coffee.
But the lynx cat in the screen naturally heard nothing. It calmly waved its paw, and a flash of cold light sliced through the thick cable, leaving a smooth cut.
The screen suddenly went black.
Apton sat dumbfounded in his chair, unable to comprehend what he had just seen.
On the surrounding large screens, dozens of surveillance feeds turned black one after another, like a mosaic of black patches.
"What happened?"
Zack and the others were taken aback.
Their questions were answered by more screens suddenly turning pitch black, leaving only a few still operational.
On the island, large areas lost power, and the machines that had been humming ceased to operate. The conveyor belts that had been running throughout the area also stopped.
A boy with a sullen look suddenly had a glint of hope in his eyes. He made a low, muffled sound and struggled fiercely, but he was firmly restrained to the bed by the restraints.
A few people in surgical gowns looked at each other in confusion.
"What's going on?"
"Power outage?"
"Wait a moment, it might be a maintenance issue."
They spoke with flat voices, as if they hadn't seen the boy on the bed crying and struggling.
A few minutes later, the backup generator started, and the room was filled with the sound of metal instruments clashing again.
In another room, Haley looked up at the light that had come back on, her pupils constricting as if stung. She quickly raised her small hand to shield her eyes.
Beside her, a plump woman smiled and said, "It might be an unstable connection... don't worry about it. Shall we continue reading?"
Haley asked in a small voice, "Can I go back after we finish?"
The plump woman asked curiously, "Go back to do what? Do you like the prison cell?"
"No," Haley shook her head and added, "But Mabel is waiting for me!"
The plump woman stroked her fine, soft hair and said, "Mabel has her own mission, and you have your own destiny. Be a good girl, Haley."
Haley's body trembled slightly, and she lowered her head without a word.
The plump woman praised, "Good girl."
They sat quietly for a while, the only sound being the turning of pages.
Haley was very thirsty, but she looked up at the woman and didn't dare to ask for water.
She lowered her head again.
The picture book in her hands told the story of Little Red Riding Hood being eaten by the Big Bad Wolf and then rescued by the hunter.
In the corner of the book, someone had written a small, faint name in pencil.
[Sarah]
Haley remembered that strange child, with very dark skin, in the room diagonally opposite theirs.
He sometimes sang songs that no one could understand, and sometimes described various animals of the grassland in broken English, along with stories of fighting with other children for water.
It sounded like it came from another world.
Had he been brought to this place to read a book over a month ago?
Suddenly, the door to the reading room was pushed open, and a woman in green stood at the entrance.
"Bring her in."
She said.
Haley was pulled to her feet by the plump woman. She turned back blankly and saw the hunter leading Little Red Riding Hood to a joyful reunion with her grandmother.
The wind in the corridor flipped the page, and with a rustle, the scene changed to Little Red Riding Hood being swallowed whole by the Big Bad Wolf.
...
At that moment, most of the island was already in chaos.
Countless strange animals suddenly appeared, with adorable appearances but sharp claws and teeth that didn't match their looks.
With a single swipe, they could cut through thick cables and iron frames. The machine guns mounted on the walls didn't get a chance to fire before being shredded.
Some birds, resembling sparrows, dove from the sky, their sharp beaks piercing through the thighs of the guards, who fell to the ground screaming.
Warriors with swords charged forward, and the woman who looked like a maid swung pruning shears to break the arms of the guards. Even arm-length dwarfs and fist-sized puppets shouted and charged, their strength enough to knock adults flying.
(End of Chapter)The most bizarre thing was that the broomsticks and dustpans were also attacking the base together. The long, thin broomsticks were spinning wildly without anyone controlling them, knocking out weapons and people. The dustpans were pounding away like hammers, causing the soldiers to cower in fear.
Someone who hadn't been attacked yet grabbed a gun and started firing back, and the sound of gunfire filled the air. A small cat that had been shot in the leg was still able to jump and pounce with its remaining three legs.
The rest of the attackers, whether they were people or objects, seemed to feel no pain even when they were hit by bullets. They would only pause for a moment before continuing to attack. Only a few of them would suddenly stop moving and fall to the ground, motionless.
"Target their heads! Target the heads of these monsters!" someone shouted.
A soldier who had managed to "kill" a lynx cat shared his experience with the others. "Where's the head of this thing? Tell me where it is!" another soldier cried out, trying to avoid being flung away by a spinning broomstick.
The broomstick's head, with its thin branches, didn't seem to have any vital parts. The next moment, the soldier was sent flying through the air.
However, not everyone was as unlucky as him. Most of the attackers had a "head" that they could target. The soldiers immediately concentrated their fire on the heads, and the first attacker, a maid, had her head almost blown to pieces.
The soldier in front of her grinned, shouting, "Die, monster!" But before he could react, he was hit with a powerful blow and almost embedded into the ground.
The area fell silent. Under everyone's terrified gaze, the headless maid touched her remaining half-head and suddenly went into a frenzy, attacking the surrounding soldiers wildly.
The soldiers were almost scared out of their wits and turned to flee, dropping their guns. The maid chased after them, followed by the other bizarre attackers.
A group of hunting dogs that had just been released saw the headless maid charging towards them and let out a terrified whine, turning tail and running away with pitiful yelps.
The soldiers didn't even have time to counterattack, wishing they had two more legs to run with.
Just then, a humming noise filled the air. Everyone knew that when this sound appeared, it meant the island's strong magnetic field had been activated, and most people would stay indoors. Those who needed to patrol outside would wear protective suits.
As the soldiers ran, they noticed that the shouting and killing behind them had decreased. They stopped and looked back, seeing that the attackers were all lying on the ground, motionless and broken, with only a few still making feeble movements.
The soldiers stared for a moment before cheering, with some even jumping up and down on the attackers' bodies.
They knew the strong magnetic field was harmful to their own bodies, but what choice did they have? It was better than being killed by monsters.
At that moment, Vold and Dumbledore, who had infiltrated the base, also heard the noise. They were leaning against a table and a wall, gritting their teeth and enduring the pain.
The concrete wall and the shielding suits had blocked most of the damage, but even the remaining effects were unbearable, like being stabbed by needles all over their bodies, including their internal organs.
Vold saw that the principal's arm was also trembling and tactfully looked away. It had nothing to do with the strength of one's magic; in fact, the stronger the magic, the more sensitive one was to the pain.
They couldn't even use spells like the Iron Armor Spell or the Obstacle Spell to resist – any magic that left their bodies would be disrupted.
A few seconds later, the humming noise finally stopped. After a while, Vold managed to steady himself, his back drenched in cold sweat.
"It's amazing!" he exclaimed, trying to remove his shielding suit. "The machine must need at least half an hour to cool down."
Dumbledore stopped him from taking off the suit, saying, "They might have other similar weapons."
Vold put the suit back on and then asked, "Professor, do you think... we still need to hold back against these people?"
On the table beside him were photographs covered in blood.
(End)
Chapter end
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