Chapter 451: Puppetry Technique
Chapter 451: Chapter 451: Puppetry Technique
Nina Jacobs was a little surprised.
’The First Madam?’
However, she still accepted the food Diana Tate handed her.
All the food inside appeared to be in its original, unopened packaging.
’She knows I’m wary of the food here, so she had someone send these instead.’
’Looks like she’s been paying close attention.’
"Please thank the First Madam for me."
Nina Jacobs said.
"Neither of you are from Whittaker Town, and we aren’t either. You can ask me if you have any questions."
Diana Tate didn’t seem ready to leave just yet, instead taking a seat on the wooden steps in front of the cabin.
Nina Jacobs wasn’t about to miss such a good opportunity, so she asked:
"How many people here are from outside of Whittaker Town?"
Her Little Zombie Rat had detected something around Whittaker Town last night, but with so many wooden puppets patrolling, she had recalled it early.
"About 300 or so. They’re all very powerful Superpower Users who take turns going out on training expeditions with Flynn White.
The rest..."
Diana Tate said, gesturing in a circle. "They’re all guarding the perimeter of Whittaker Town. Outsiders, zombies, anyone trying to escape... they shoot to kill."
She turned her head and smiled as she spoke, but the smile was rather unsettling.
"But don’t worry. The ones who get to stay here are the cream of the crop, not like that scum outside."
Diana Tate said.
’300 Superpower Users stationed here?’
"Are those puppets some kind of automaton? They seem pretty interesting."
"Interesting?"
Diana Tate seemed surprised that Nina Jacobs would say that.
"Mhm. They move without needing a power source. Isn’t that interesting?"
Nina Jacobs said, pointing to a nearby puppet.
"That’s the ’Puppetry Technique.’ It’s a powerful ancient art that only the Whites can learn. However, I’ve heard that making them requires a specific component.
Without it, they can’t move."
Diana Tate said.
’So this Puppetry Technique can be learned?’
Nina Jacobs could tell Diana Tate probably didn’t know anything else about the Puppetry Technique, so she didn’t press the issue.
She decided to use an Invisibility Potion to investigate Whittaker Town for herself tonight.
"The First Madam also said that if you run into any trouble, Miss Jacobs, you can go to her for help. Don’t be a stranger."
Diana Tate emphasized before she left.
"Okay."
Nina Jacobs nodded. ’On the surface, there’s no sign of conflict between the three branches, but has it really reached this point already?’
’They’re even trying to win over an outsider like me who’s only been here a day.’
Han Lewis, locked in his room, made no further sound all afternoon. Nina Jacobs couldn’t help but think that keeping a disturbed person around was far more peaceful than dealing with the malicious Julia Hughes.
’Then again, it might have been the effect of the Healing Potion she had mixed into his water.’
’After all, Han Lewis looked like he hadn’t rested in a long time, and wounds need rest to heal.’
At dusk, one of Arcadia White’s people brought some food for her and Wayne Warner. It was an older woman, and she made a point of looking in on Han Lewis.
"It seems you and he are getting along, Miss Jacobs. I heard Han Lewis hasn’t slept a wink in three days.
Who would have thought he’d fall right asleep as soon as he came to you."
Laura Quincy was grinning from ear to ear.
"He’s just a madman. I had Wayne Warner knock him out."
Nina Jacobs replied dismissively.
"How could you treat him like that?"
Laura Quincy demanded, her brow furrowed.
"A problem? Why don’t you take him back and look after him yourself?"
Nina Jacobs asked in earnest.
She didn’t know if Han Lewis was innocent, but if these people genuinely wanted to help him, they wouldn’t have dumped him on an outsider.
Sure enough, Laura Quincy just waved her hands dismissively and left.
As night fell, Nina Jacobs drank a bottle of Invisibility Potion.
She had already tested it in front of the puppets. They couldn’t detect her while she was invisible.
Aided by her Speed Element Superpower, she reached a section of the perimeter wall at the edge of Whittaker Town in just one minute.
The wall wasn’t particularly high. Behind it stood a small, two-story building.
The strange thing was, even though lights were on inside—including the flickering glow of a television—she couldn’t hear anyone speaking.
’Are they all just watching TV in silence?’
She vaulted over the wall and approached the door. The scene inside was so bizarre it unsettled her, even though she was invisible.
The television was playing an incredibly gory fight scene, which the people inside watched expressionlessly.
The footage was a recording from the fighting arena inside a ’correction chamber’—gory, yet exciting.
On a catwalk above the second floor, a person stood every two meters or so. They scanned the surroundings, their movements perfectly synchronized.
’Have they all been turned into puppets?’
A chill ran down Nina Jacobs’s spine.
’A wall like this encircles all of Whittaker Town. At this rate, there must be more than 300 people.’
Just then, a voice crackled from a loudspeaker at the end of the corridor:
"The time is now 8:00 PM. All personnel, please gather in the first-floor hall for dinner.
After dinner, the third shift change will commence. Team 1 personnel must sleep. Team 3 personnel are on duty. Team 2 personnel..."
The same message repeated endlessly as the people, both inside the rooms and out on the catwalks, began to move.
Nina Jacobs watched in silence. ’So the first floor is the mess hall.’
Soon, the clatter of bowls and spoons filled the air.
The so-called dinner was nothing more than a bowl of thin gruel with no side dishes.
’The Puppetry Technique can control this many people?’
Nina Jacobs couldn’t help but wonder.
’It seemed the belief she and Harlan held—that one person could only control a single puppet—was incorrect.’
’Or perhaps, someone in Whittaker Town was capable of it.’
After using her Speed Element Superpower to circle the entire perimeter wall, Nina Jacobs found nothing else out of the ordinary.
’The supplies aren’t stored here, either. I’ll have to look elsewhere.’
With about 30 minutes of invisibility left, Nina Jacobs decided to pay a visit to the White Manor.
The White Manor was always bustling during the day, as it seemed to be where everyone in the White Clan congregated.
But once night fell and the commotion died down, everyone returned to their own quarters.
At this moment, the First Madam, Chuck Willow, was listening to a report on all the day’s events, big and small, within Whittaker Town.
Nina Jacobs spotted a small, familiar figure.
It was Julia Hughes, crouching outside and eavesdropping.
"...First Madam, I delivered the items you asked me to, but it doesn’t seem like Nina Jacobs has any intention of joining our side."
Diana Tate said.
"Don’t be impatient. It’s only been one day.
I’d be more suspicious if she agreed too quickly."
Chuck Willow said with a laugh.
"First Madam, if you’re worried she’ll be an asset to the Hughes faction, why not just kill her and be done with it?"
A middle-aged man whom Nina Jacobs didn’t recognize spoke up.
"Arcadia White would definitely try to obstruct us. Even if she has no proof, the Head of the White Family would hold it against our First Branch if he heard about it.
Besides, do you really think a Dual Element Superpower User is that easy to kill? She has a Strength Element bodyguard with her, too."
Chuck Willow shook her head.
"First Madam, you only need to wait and watch. It will be far more effective to make your move when Arcadia White has pushed her into a corner."
That was clearly Thane Trevor’s voice.
’So Thane Trevor and his group are all with the First Madam?’
"Wendell, was Brock frightened at all today?
That Julia girl has a bad heart. You should keep Brock away from her."
Chuck Willow added.
Nina Jacobs raised an eyebrow. ’So Wendell Lynch from the Third Branch really *is* one of the First Branch’s people.’
’Looks like Arcadia White is in a tight spot now.’