"No... Something’s wrong..."
He struggled to remain clear-headed, but the puppet’s influence had seeped into his bones:
"Why... Why do I rely on this thing so much..."
Just then, a black market merchant appeared nearby.
She was a thin middle-aged woman named Lucia, specializing in acquiring various abyssal treasures of uncertain origin.
"It looks like you’re in trouble, friend."
Lucia’s voice carried the shrewdness unique to merchants:
"Need healing? I have excellent recovery potions here, though they require a little... exchange."
Tavish looked at her weakly, a strange impulse surging in his heart.
He wanted to break free from the puppet’s control but couldn’t bear to lose such powerful protection.
"Do you want this puppet?"
He tremblingly took out the stand-in puppet:
"It can save lives, but... but it has some side effects..."
Lucia’s keen business sense immediately detected the puppet’s value.
When she used spiritual power to investigate, she immediately sensed the complex energy structure contained within.
"Interesting... Very interesting..."
She meticulously examined every detail of the puppet:
"This level of craftsmanship is absolutely a masterful work. Deal."
After the transaction, Tavish obtained enough potions to heal his injuries.
But after losing the puppet’s protection, he habitually descended to the deeper layers of the Abyss a week later and never returned.
Meanwhile, Lucia returned to the black market with the puppet and began researching the true value of this peculiar item.
"Able to mimic anyone it has come into contact with..."
Through various tests, she gradually discovered the puppet’s astonishing capabilities:
"This camouflage ability is simply priceless in black market transactions..."
Lucia started using the puppet for various fraudulent activities.
She had it come into contact with different clients, then mimic their appearance and even personality patterns, conducting high-level scams.
This perfect disguise allowed her to amass a huge fortune in a short time.
But greed also made her overlook the puppet’s latent dangers.
Six months later, in a particularly complex scam plan, Lucia encountered retribution from enemies.
The puppet activated its sacrifice ability and saved her life, but the price was the beginning of her personality distortion.
"Who... Who am I?"
Lucia looked at herself in the mirror, deeply confused:
"Am I Lucia? Or those people I have mimicked?"
The numerous personality patterns absorbed by the puppet began chaotically intertwining in her consciousness, causing her to gradually lose self-awareness.
Ultimately, during an outbreak of personality disorder, she was killed by her own subordinates.
And once again, the stand-in puppet transferred to a new owner...
Historical fragments continued to flow, and Ron saw the countless transfers of the puppet.
Every holder had different identities and backgrounds:
Mercenaries, Wizards, Adventurers...
But they all shared a common trait—a hunger and reliance on abyssal power.
What sent chills through his heart was that each transfer was accompanied by bloodshed and betrayal.
The puppet brought doom like a curse, and no holder could end well.
Ron realized this was no coincidence.
The stand-in puppet seemed to have specific preferences when choosing its owners.
It deliberately chose those obsessed with abyssal power, those willing to do anything for power.
Because only such people would frequently use the sacrifice ability, allowing the puppet to keep devouring soul fragments.
And at the time, Deputy Director Hayek, who had given him this item, was the only exception.
Thinking about how Hayek was also once a student of Professor Yutel, perhaps there was a secret he didn’t know.
"And I’m the only holder who’s used it for so long without activating the sacrifice ability..."
Ron concluded these discoveries in his heart while feeling a profound sense of caution:
"This might be why I’m able to maintain my rationality and not be inversely controlled by the puppet."
As the sensing deepened, he finally touched the crucial information from Victor’s last experiment.
Sealed in the puppet’s core rune array was a segment of "source code."
This code contained Victor’s understanding of artificial life and his unfinished conception of a perfect life form.
"Deciphering this code should be key to unlocking all the secrets of the puppet..."
Ron’s heartbeat began to accelerate, realizing the significance of this discovery.
But to decipher the source code requires infiltrating historical events, directly observing the complete process of Victor’s final experiment.
This level of historical exploration is extremely dangerous; once contaminated by Victor’s insane consciousness, the consequences are unimaginable.
[Historical Research (Proficient) Experience Points + 1]
[Current Progress: Historical Research (Proficient 56/100)]
[Detected Important Historical Clue: Victor’s "Source Code"]
As the historical sensing concluded, Ron slowly opened his eyes.
Nari immediately sensed his change in status, and asked with concern:
"Child, you look very tired..."
Several tentacles gently massaged him:
"Did the research yield any discoveries? Do you need mom to prepare some recovery potions?"
"Harvest was great, mom."
Ron caressed the puppet in his hand.
He briefly explained his findings to Nari, including Victor’s mad experiments, the puppet’s horrifying traits, and the plan to infiltrate historical events.
After all, since he needed Nari’s help, there wasn’t much to hide.
"It sounds extremely dangerous..."