Am I going to be controlled by the players too?

"what?"

Both the demon and Sylvia were stunned.

what sound?

System? Bug? Cleanup?

Immediately afterwards, a calm voice, both familiar and unfamiliar to Sylvia, responded to the prompt:

"Clean up".

The next moment, the consciousness of the puppet demon that had seeped into Sylvia's body shattered instantly, turning into countless transparent threads, as if erased by an eraser, disappearing silently—

It has dissipated.

It's as if it never existed.

Only a faint glimmer of light remained at the center of the dissipation, then, as if drawn by an invisible force, it suddenly disappeared into Sylvia's chest.

At the same time, Cheng Cheng looked at the game panel in front of him, where a bunch of inexplicable prompts popped up:

"System bugs have been detected and fixed..."

"Analyzing..."

"Character Sylvia has obtained the Fire Seed: Puppet".

"Spark Puppet: It can sense and slightly interfere with the 'spiritual threads' of nearby life forms, causing the target to become slow-witted, stiff-bodied, and sluggish in movement. If the interference is maintained for more than 40 seconds without external interruption, the target can be transformed into a puppet!"

Cheng Cheng: "...???"

What, a Master of Puppetry? Did the system send out a big gift pack?

I thought this stingy game only gave out a free 10-pull for beginners!

Chapter 13, The Young Lady is Too Terrifying

Inside the Starr Silver Shadow car.

Like someone who had been suffocating for a long time suddenly surfacing, Sylvia coughed violently, breathing in the fresh air inside the car in large gulps.

What just happened?

Before I could even think, my body went out of control again.

This time, she cautiously and tentatively called out in her heart, "Mr. Mambo?"

A few seconds later, she saw her lips move: "Yes, it's me... What model is your car? It's quite spacious. By the way, the technology tree in this world is pretty advanced. Before, there were motorcycles, and now there are luxury cars..."

This feeling... it really is him! He saved me!

Overwhelmed with gratitude and a sense of security, Sylvia was instantly overwhelmed.

Thinking about it carefully, although Mr. Mambo controlled his sworn brotherhood and killed people, which were things I didn't like... so far, he has saved me every time.

If it weren't for his dealings with Cicero, he would probably have been sacrificed long ago and wouldn't have been able to wait for the Church's tribunal to save him; if it weren't for his betrayal of Finn, he would certainly have been taken to the Church for trial.

If he hadn't returned at this crucial moment, he would have already been replaced by the puppet demon!

Although I don't like Mr. Mambo's way of doing things, he also said that he was sent by the gods to help me. It seems that it was my problem to think of him as a demon before!

All the temptations of the devil, all the resentment towards being controlled by the devil, were replaced by gratitude at this moment:

"Thank you so much!" Her voice trembled, "Thank you for saving my life, I..."

"Small things."

Cheng Cheng was completely bewildered, but answered casually, asking as if nothing had happened, "What just happened?"

Sylvia told the whole story.

"A puppet demon?" Cheng Cheng paused, as if he had thought of something, then muttered, "No wonder it dropped this..."

It seems this spark is a special material dropped exclusively by demons, just like the previous fire-casting demon. However, it's unclear why the puppet demon was instantly killed by the system...

Is it because she's controlling Sylvia and trying to steal the character's control from me?

In her mind, Sylvia took a deep breath and asked the question that had lingered until today: "Mr. Mambo... are you a demon?" After asking, she immediately added: "Also, didn't you say you would be back soon when you left?"

“I told you, I’m a god.” Cheng Cheng was getting a little impatient. “I had some things to take care of a few days ago, and I just finished them.”

My main task was to assist Mu Yuan with experiments and fight Yuan Shen... If it weren't for the alarm clock, I would have forgotten to log in to "Fate: Immortal Crown" to check if the server was under maintenance.

Something?

Sylvia was taken aback. Even a god... has things to do? Controlling other victims? Or performing some kind of evil ritual?

For some reason, this answer made her feel a little down, and she couldn't help but say in a soft, almost self-talking voice, "Oh, I see... I thought the reason you left was because you weren't interested in my body anymore."

Cheng Cheng: "???"

Cheng Cheng, who was studying the newly acquired "Fire Seed Puppet", almost choked on his own saliva.

"No!" he blurted out, then realized something was off. "No... I mean, I'm quite satisfied with your body, uh, but I just like your face!"

Sylvia seemed comforted and relaxed a bit, then asked with a hint of curiosity, "Isn't that right? Then, Mr. God, can you... possess other people's bodies?"

Cheng Cheng thought about the game mechanics and said, "I guess so."

If I can draw other characters.

"So, you had something going on a few days ago..." Sylvia's voice softened even more, "...did you go and sleep with someone else?"

"No!" Cheng Cheng sighed, feeling the conversation was getting increasingly strange. "Besides you, I've never been in anyone else's body."

Why would a gamer like him need to explain his innocence to a character here?

"I see..." Sylvia's voice sounded a little lighter. "Well, if you ever lose interest in my body and want to sleep with someone else... remember to let me know in advance, okay?"

She paused, a hint of frustration in her voice: "So that I won't be filled with fear and anxiety, not knowing when I'll be able to get through this."

Cheng Cheng: "...Let's end this topic quickly."

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about that," Sylvia said softly. "What are you going to do today..."

"Hmm... let me think..."

The first level is clearly over. As an open-world adventure game, after the initial storyline, the rest should involve taking on quests and leveling up until the next main quest is triggered.

This game served as his cheat code, leading Cheng Cheng to suspect that he hadn't simply entered the game, but rather descended into another world—a common setting in online novels, and as everyone knows, he had already confirmed that online novels were correct.

But the operating logic of this world was still within the realm of games, which left him somewhat bewildered.

For example, there are rollback mechanisms, experience books, upgrade materials, and mechanisms that allow you to level up by killing other players.

This is clearly not something that can happen in a normal world.

Thinking of this, Cheng Cheng said, "Tell me, where around here can I buy or sell magical beasts or powerful creatures?"

Since the goal now is to level up, based on his extensive experience playing the game twice, the fastest way to level up in the early stages when it's impossible to farm experience books is to fight monsters.

Now that we're not in the middle of nowhere, and there are no cultists around, and the surrounding area is full of residents, we should theoretically be a neutral unit and can no longer gain experience points by killing people.

But Cheng Cheng remembered that the Vatican's Finn something, who was a beast tamer who could control monsters, proving that monsters existed in this world—whether they were wild monsters or "magical pets" tamed by humans for combat or viewing, as long as they were living creatures that the system could identify as "enemy units," killing them would grant experience points!

Sylvia's first innate talent, "The Collector," was created specifically for killing and stealing kills!

Sylvia was still processing his abrupt change of topic when the driver, who had been silent in the front seat, assumed he was speaking to her. Upon hearing the vague phrases "trading monsters" and "powerful creatures," he respectfully began to speak:

"Young Miss, are you asking about the pet market? The 'Strange Cage' in the East District is the largest."

"Then let's go." Cheng Cheng gave the order.

"Oh? Now? Miss, the master's plan for today is to first take you to the academy to complete your morning etiquette class, and then to his office in the courtroom to learn about case filing."

"Just go when I tell you to! Stop with all this nonsense!" Cheng Cheng said impatiently.

"But sir..."

"You'd better not make me repeat myself a second time."

The voice came from Sylvia's throat. The girl's voice was still clear and crisp, but the coldness in her tone made the driver shudder and almost lose his grip on the steering wheel.

He glanced quickly in the rearview mirror.

The young lady in the back seat sat upright, her eyes... He dared not look closely, but he felt that there seemed to be a lion hiding in her pale red eyes.

Isn't the young lady usually gentle, quiet, and even a little timid?

"Yes, yes! I'm sorry, Miss! I'll go to the East District right away!"

The driver broke out in a cold sweat and dared not ask another question. He immediately turned on his turn signal and changed his route.

Starr Silvers smoothly turned onto another avenue, and silence returned to the carriage.

However, the driver was inwardly turmoil as he drove, his palms sweating profusely as he gripped the steering wheel.

Miss...that's terrifying!

Aside from how fierce and domineering the young lady was when she got angry, the lines she said on the phone earlier were also incredibly provocative—like "I've never been in anyone else's body except you," and "I'm quite satisfied with your body," and so on...

She usually seems so well-behaved and pure, like an angel, but in private... does she really play this wild?

Wait... is this something I can hear, something I should hear?

Thinking back to how the previous driver died inexplicably, the master only transferred his own gold-ranked retainer to be the young lady's bodyguard and driver... Could it be that the previous driver was buried in the back garden by the young lady because he heard something he shouldn't have heard?

Damn it! If I hear another peep of that nonsense from the young lady, I'll go deaf!

Deafness is a sign of a warrior ready to die for his cause!

The master will surely protect me, right?

The driver swore frantically in his mind, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel.

In the silence, Starr Silvershadow drove towards the pet market in the East District. In the back seat, Cheng Cheng looked out the window at the street scene with boredom, while Sylvia, in a corner of her mind, was reflecting on her conversation with Cheng Cheng with complicated feelings.

Until the car stopped at the market entrance.

Before the driver could get out, walk around the car, and open the door, Cheng Cheng kicked the door open and got out himself. Looking up, all sorts of neon-lit advertisements crowded into his field of vision, and inside the glass windows were all kinds of strange and fantastical animals, somewhat like a pet market on Earth.

"Don't get too close to me."

Cheng Cheng gave the driver an instruction, then turned and walked towards the market. After walking a dozen steps, estimating that the driver couldn't hear him anymore, he whispered:

"Hey, Sylvia."

“Yes, yes…” Sylvia’s voice echoed in his mind.