Chapter 2696: Castle Lights Up
"Don't think too much about it." Xu Huo listened to the sounds nearby. It seemed that because of the firecracker noise, doors around them had opened and closed several times in succession. Who knew how many more living props had appeared.
The Box Carrier was bloodthirsty. Just from looking at the puppets and bones in Clown City, it was clear there was no shortage of various props here, not to mention that he would even rob the Game Government Base. Xu Huo just hadn't expected him to gather so many living props. The number of living props here seemed even greater than at the Fish Feast!
"Run!" A burst of footsteps rapidly approached them. Xu Huo grabbed Qi Cong and immediately activated the Spiritual Gate to escape. However, the living prop that appeared this time was far too fast. Almost the moment they passed through the gate, the living prop had already caught up behind them. A pale arm thrust directly through the gate, grabbing Qi Cong by the back of the neck!
"Steady!" Yan Jiayu immediately turned sideways and punched at that arm. At the same time, Xu Huo pulled Qi Cong into the Mirror Space, using his spiritual power to make his body easily pass through.
Under this combined attack, Qi Cong managed to break free. But because the Spiritual Gate's teleportation distance wasn't very far, the moment the gate closed, the living prop flashed right before their eyes!
It was a headless puppet. Calling it a puppet, it was actually more like a corpse, just with its body modified. Although it had no head, its slender limbs with visible muscle contours proved it had originally been a living human.
"It's a Xenomorph!" Yan Jiayu shouted. "It's too fast—we can't outrun it. Let's fight!"
Xu Huo threw a Jammer at it, but the puppet merely dodged swiftly, its movements unimpeded or slowed.
Looks like the Jammer was useless!
"Bang!" Xu Huo's vision blurred as the headless puppet pounced right in front of him. Its hands and feet all landed on the Black Blade's edge at once. Its long, sharp nails, driven by the combined force of its limbs, gouged past his eyes, even sending the Black Blade spinning out of his hand.
Xu Huo was forced back several steps. When he looked up, his left eye had already turned blood-red. At that moment, the headless puppet hurled the Black Blade straight at Yan Jiayu!
"Slap!" The Black Blade embedded itself in the wall and quickly sank inward.
Xu Huo glanced at that spot, then manipulated the Time Power to infinitely slow the wall's writhing movement. He lunged forward to catch Yan Jiayu, who had been knocked back, then smoothly pulled out the Black Blade. Spinning around, he slashed at the headless puppet!
The headless puppet pounced down from above. This strike hit its chest and abdomen, but after a metallic clang, it was only pushed back, leaving a superficial wound. The exposed part of the wound clearly showed metal inside!
"Bang, bang, bang!" Yan Jiayu leaped past him to engage the puppet in close combat. After a few exchanges of fists and feet, she quickly retreated. "No good! That thing is too hard. Even with a prop layer in between, the vibrations are rattling my bones!"
The signs of living props moving around them grew more frequent. Xu Huo didn't hesitate. He rapidly activated the Time Power rays in the corridor. As the nearby time rays resonated, the headless puppet suddenly froze in place!
Yan Jiayu turned around, grabbed Qi Cong, and ran.
But just as the three of them rounded the corridor, they ran straight into the Stilt Man. Still no body visible—just a wooden pole thrust right in front of them!
Xu Huo didn't hesitate to reverse direction while simultaneously pulling a strand of Time Power to freeze it in place.
Without using Time Power, the living props in the castle would eventually drain their energy. But once they used Time Power, it was hard to predict what would happen next.
So while fleeing, he opened the Communicator and played the music he had recorded earlier in Zone 001.
As the cheerful music sounded, the dark, eerie atmosphere of the villa from before was swept away. Although the living props were still active, breaking through that pressure made those trapped inside feel bolder.
"Ding-ding-dang, ding-ding-dang!" A rhythmic tapping sound came from not far away.
"It's Jiji Bird!" Yan Jiayu said. "That's our agreed signal!"
The Crocodile was already dead. When Xu Huo was grabbed by the Stilt Man earlier, Jiji Bird, Peacock, and Dai He had been left behind. It seemed they were fine.
Just as they were about to go meet up, the lights in the corridor suddenly turned on.
Not just near them—all the lights in the entire castle lit up one after another in an instant. Reflective decorations dazzlingly filled their entire field of vision. By the time their eyes adjusted, the sounds that had been coming from the props had completely vanished!
With a series of "bang bang bang" door-closing sounds, regular, stiff footsteps echoed from downstairs... it was those puppets!
The puppets that had been motionless had all come to life!
The puppets began moving according to their preset programs. Some were cleaning, some were patrolling various areas, others entered the kitchen to cook. On the lawn outside, automatic lawnmowers appeared, and around the flower bushes and woods, tall specialized puppets for trimming emerged.
Several cleaning puppets worked their way from the stairs all the way to the second-floor corridor. Xu Huo and the others had left plenty of footprints, not to mention that the props had been surfing around—water stains and broken props were still scattered in the hallway.
"They're coming up," Yan Jiayu said quietly.
After the lights came on, the suppression on the spiritual realm wasn't as strong as before, but it had only eased slightly. The area Xu Huo could precisely control still wasn't large enough. After a brief hesitation, he said, "Go upstairs first."
Going down would definitely mean running straight into the puppets. If they triggered an alarm, the consequences would be disastrous.
The three of them turned and went upstairs. They originally planned to find a room to hide in, but they hadn't expected to see Si Qi's corpse as soon as they reached the fourth floor. Zhu Bu and Hong Xi, who had been with him, were nowhere to be seen.
Si Qi's death was rather ugly. His body had withered like it had been dehydrated. If not for his unchanged clothes and accessories, he would have been hard to recognize at a glance.
Xu Huo exchanged a look with Yan Jiayu. They decided to try moving forward anyway. After all, if the fourth floor was more dangerous than the third, the fifth floor wouldn't be any better.
The three didn't approach the corpse. They carefully skirted around it. Just as they thought nothing would happen, the dried-up corpse suddenly sat bolt upright. This startled Qi Cong, who had just walked beside it. He instinctively jumped back, somehow slipped, and crashed directly into the wall!
Behind him was a painting. The moment he touched it, he was sucked right in. Xu Huo didn't even have time to stop him. By the time he reached the spot, he only saw a wave-like ripple on the painting's surface. Looking more closely, he found Qi Cong already standing in the lower right corner of the painting, and the two people beside him were the missing Zhu Bu and Hong Xi.
"A group photo?" Yan Jiayu stared for two seconds. "The people are already distorted. If it takes too long, they'll die inside."
As she spoke, she directly pulled the painting off the wall.
Xu Huo was slightly startled. After confirming she was unharmed, he calmed down and said, "Let's find Li Chun and Da Mao first."