After an Infinite Flow Player Retires

Ye Jia had met Puppet Master twice.

The first time they met, he had not yet been given the name Ace. At that time, he and his teammates had entered an instance created by Puppet Master and of the fifteen players, six had died and eight were turned into puppets. Only Ye Jia managed to escape.

The second time they met, he was ranked 23rd on the leaderboard and had entered a dual boss instance.

In order the escape the death trap set by the other boss, Ye Jia had made use of Puppet Master's strange hobby of collecting puppets. Faced with the opportunity to once again obtain the player who had managed to escape last time and make him a part of his puppet collection, Puppet Master took the bait but in the end…..Ye Jia had flipped his collection room upside down, destroying several of his favourite puppets in the process, and managed to escape.

And so, the enmity between them formed.

Since then, Ye Jia would often see his name appear on the hatred leaderboard and Puppet Master would always be the one offering the highest reward.

Looking at the hideous puppets before him, Ye Jia raised a brow thoughtfully, "Looks like your collection has increased considerably since last time."

"Heeheehee…..Do you like it?" Puppet Master's voice carried strange gentleness and obsession, "You will become one of them too."

Ye Jia chuckled lightly and looked up at the manipulating hand floating in the dark sky above him, "Why? You still haven't learnt your lesson?"

Although his tone was relaxed, his eyes were sharp and alert.

—– Even in the game, Puppet Master wasn't a particularly easy character to get along with. Not to mention, the other party had also come with preparations.

Sure enough, the moment he finished speaking, those puppets that were under the control of invisible threads began to charge towards the young man standing in the middle of the darkness.

A bright light gleamed in the darkness as a scythe silently cut through those fierce ghosts. It was fast and swift.

At that moment, the sound of threads snapping could be heard. All the puppets that had lost its threads instantly fell limply to the ground, as if it had their bones removed.

For a moment, Ye Jia wasn't able to process this.

Wait a minute…..that was it?

It can't be?

Before he could figure out what was happening, the puppet threads on the ground squirmed and swiftly entered the bodies of those puppets.

The sound of skin and flesh being pierced through sounded. It was as if something was being sewed up.

Those countless twisted and awkwardly angled limbs all moved in the same direction, as if they were pulled by some invisible force. The countless pale and grotesque bodies slowly stitched together, forming a horrifically large monster.

Ye Jia had to raise his head up to barely be able to see the monster in its entirety.

"Heeheehee….." Puppet Master's voice travelled over from afar. His pride was evident in his voice, "This is my latest masterpiece. Isn't it wonderful?"

Ye Jia, "……….."

He took in that enormous monster with difficulty, took in a deep breath and slowly asked, "F-fusion?"

Puppet Master: "……."

His voice suddenly turned shrill. He seemed to be extremely angered, "Let's see if you can still be this arrogant after seeing this!"

The thin fingers above Ye Jia suddenly moved.

Immediately afterwards, that huge and grotesque monster moved. With every step taken, the ground would tremble violently, causing the surroundings shelves to topple over one after another and the entire place to shake along with it.

Ye Jia tightened his grip around his scythe and cautiously took a few steps back to increase the distance between himself and that monster.

Ridiculing may be ridiculing, but this monster was indeed much stronger than all those puppets earlier. What was worse was that this one didn't have any obvious puppet threads that he could see as they were all deeply concealed inside that grotesque monster. This made it harder for him to locate its weak point.

Ye Jia tried a few things on it.

But he soon discovered that all the limbs he cut off would always reattach back onto that monster in another location. He was completely unable to inflict any damage to it.

— In that case, in order to capture the bandit, one must first capture the ringleader.

Ye Jia's thoughts moved very quickly. He immediately stepped onto the shelf beside him, his figure agile and light. He quickly dodged the monster's giant and pale hand that was thrown his way and jumped up into the air!

The scythe in his hand drew a beautiful arc, but it only sank into the darkness above him.

He couldn't feel it coming into contact with anything.

Puppet Master's hand however was indeed right in front of him.

Ye Jia was stunned.

—–What was going on?

.

Ji Xuan's steps subconsciously came to a stop.

Ahead, the young man stood at the junction between light and dark, his figure tall and straight. His amber eyes reflected the scarlet waves not far in front of him.

He stretched out a hand towards Ji Xuan. His fingers were extremely pale and slender, almost becoming a blur with the bright light behind him, as if it was about to melt into it like snow.

"A'Xuan……"

The young man's voice was calm and sorrowful. It carried a strange sense of vulnerability.

Ji Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly, those scarlet eyes filled with indecipherable emotions.

In that instant, several puppet threads that were as tough as steel attacked from behind him. With that angle, it was impossible to avoid!

The sea of blood silently rose, swallowing up those puppet threads.

Almost at the same time, a large scythe appeared in that young man's hand and a cold and dangerous light flashed across the depths of his amber eyes. In an extremely fierce manner, he cut down. Accompanying it was the sound of a blade cutting through the air.

Ji Xuan quickly backed away, dodging this attack. A strange colour flashed in the depths of his eyes.

He had known from the very beginning that this definitely wasn't Ye Jia.

With Ye Jia's current attitude towards him, not immediately charging over to cut him down was already very unlikely, let alone calling him A'Xuan.

But……

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Ji Xuan once again avoided the other party's attack. Brushing past the blade and stopping next to the young man, he lowered his head and gently sniffed the other party's scent.

It was cold, with a hint of blood.

Although the smell was very faint, it indeed belonged to the other party.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the Ye Jia who continued to attack him.

The young man's eyes were cold and fierce, and he moved as if he had undergoing thousands of battles, extremely skilled and dexterous. His entire being was like an unsheathed blade, shining a dangerous cold light.

But unexpectedly, that young man suddenly stopped attacking and suddenly leapt up into the air and slashed at the darkness above him, before landing back onto the ground.

Ji Xuan was slightly startled.

What was going on?

On the other end.

Ye Jia furrowed his brows.

The monster's attacks were becoming more and more fierce, but he couldn't inflict any real damage to it. It was like a huge quagmire, swallowing every attack he threw at it.

And even more strangely….

Using the time he had in between avoiding the attacks, Ye Jia glanced up at the sky above him.

As long as it was an existence from inside the game, his weapon could cut through it, but he had attacked Puppet Master's hands just now and it just went through as if he was cutting through nothing. There were only two explanations for this—- Either Puppet Master's hand wasn't actually there, or….he wasn't where he thought he was.

Ye Jia pieced together his thoughts while continuing to avoid the giant monster's attacks, his mind working fast.

He went through every detail from the moment he entered this shop in his mind —– Nothing seemed to be off except for when he and Ji Xuan was suddenly separated.

Why were they separated?

Logically speaking, it would be in order to deal with them individually….

Ye Jia seemed to have realised something. He looked up at the sky.

Please read this from kk translates

The two hands were still floating above him. The thin fingers flew about as if they were dancing.

If it was to deal with them individually, why was Puppet Master only staying on his end? In any case, Ji Xuan was the Ghost King. Ye Jia didn't think Puppet Master would overlook his existence and just deal with himself, leaving Ji Xuan alone.

—-Perhaps….the two of them weren't actually separated in the first place.

.

Ji Xuan dodged.

The surrounding waves of blood piled on top of each other, surging into the air wave after wave, blocking the young man's attacks.

He cautiously stepped back, distancing himself from the other party and began to ponder over the identity of the young man before him.

A puppet?

Didn't seem to be the case……

If Puppet Master wanted to create a puppet, he would need to put the other party's soul into a container he created so that he could control it anytime and anywhere —- The entire process was like an intricate operation and it must be done when the victim's mentality is at its weakest so the stronger one's mind was, the longer the process.

Ji Xuan didn't think that Puppet Master would be able to subdue Ye Jia and complete this operation in such a short period of time.

But he could definitely smell Ye Jia's scent coming from the other party. Although it was faint, it was something that couldn't be faked.

Looks like this has something to do with that gift Mother gave.

Ji Xuan narrowed his eyes.

The bloody waves around him moved at his will, condensing into a sharp blade. It cut through the air and charged straight towards the young man.

It was aimed directly at his heart.

.

Ye Jia furrowed his brows as he watched the huge monster in front of him change its attack. It's sturdy pale limbs turned into a almost blade-like shape and immediately began to aim at his heart. Every attack was deadly, he almost couldn't find the time to think about the current situation. He could only use his own fighting abilities to resist and counterattack again and again, but. again, he couldn't inflict any damage to it.

Above him, Puppet Master snickered silently in the dark—–

He had never been so happy.

Not only did he have here the Ace that had managed to escape from him several times, but he also had the so-called Ghost King playing in the palms of his hands. How wonderful, how refreshing, how exhilarating this was!

Mother knew these two really well —- They both fought the same way and were used to killing without mercy.

With just a little trick, without even needing to do anything, they had become puppets manipulated by him on his stage.

Heeheehee……..

.

Ji Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

When he saw the other party block his attack, he was able to confirm one thing.

—- The other party was able to respond to his attacks.

If that was the case, if his guesses were right, the enemy Ye Jia was fighting against on his end had probably thrown out a similar attack.

The young man's sudden jump just now was a sign that Puppet Master couldn't directly control Ye Jia's actions.

So, he could only control that enemy.

And in order to ensure that every one of Ye Jia's attack would land, Puppet Master had to ensure that the enemy's position would always correspond to his position when attacking Ye Jia. In that case, the enemy must be large enough to avoid missing Ji Xuan's position.

Very clever.

But how to clear through this?

Because whether or not Ji Xuan attacked, the enemy on the opposite side wouldn't stop attacking.

So in order to protect himself, Ye Jia also couldn't stop.

Ji Xuan silently curled up the corners of his lips and glanced at the darkness ahead with a smile that wasn't quite like a smile.

The next second, a large bloody wave swelled up to a terrible size, charging straight towards the young man. All the surrounding bloody waves also condensed into sharp blades. There were so many of them around him, the young man's figure was almost completely swallowed up.

Puppet Master became excited.

Was Ghost King finally getting serious?

Was he finally done with testing the other party out and ready to end this fight?

He stared at the two overlapping spaces before him, his entire body trembling with excitement.

In order to ensure that the two would be in battle at the same time, he had only copied Ye Jia's appearance, but Ji Xuan's stand-in was different.

The only link that was made with Ji Xuan was his location, but as for how and when the attacks were launched, it was all manually manipulated by Puppet Master.

This would prevent them from stopping at the same time and noticing that something wasn't right.

However, because the two were too powerful, even with Mother's help, Puppet Master couldn't maintain control of both ends at the same time, so this kind of manual manipulation could only be maintained for a short period of time. Once they have become fully immersed in the fight, he was finally able to loosen his control and let his puppets move on its own.

And now, Ji Xuan had finally stopped avoiding the attacks and began launch out attacks himself.

— He could finally achieve both his and his mother's objectives.

Only like this could Ji Xuan be the one in full control of that last fatal blow—–Only like this could he destroy that fierce ghosts' arrogance and pride and, at the same time, render that human he had long coveted after into a truly weak state.

Thinking this, Puppet Master connected another thread onto Ji Xuan.

He smiled in the darkness, happily waiting for what was to come after this.

.

Ye Jia stared coldly at the giant puppet before him.

For some reason, it seemed to have suddenly changed its way of attacking. Countless severed limbs floated in the air, condensing into sharp tips. Every joint on its body let out a harsh rubbing sound and roar before it began to charge towards him.

Ye Jia however had already started to form some doubts over his current situation.

And so, he didn't face those attacks head-on and just dexterously drew back.

Surrounded by waves of blood, a faint smile flickered across Ji Xuan's lips. A touch of irrational obsession and madness flashed in the depths of his scarlet eyes. Just as the attacks were about to make contact, he suddenly stopped and hit the edge of the other party's blade with his neck—-

Ye Jia was startled.

The puppet before him had suddenly stopped attacking and instead charged towards him, only to press its weakest point against his blade.

—-This position was very familiar…..

It almost reminded him of…….

He suddenly realised something.

In an instant, everything made sense.

Ye Jia's pupils instantly constricted. He almost didn't even need to think and acted purely on instinct.

The sharp scythe in his hand suddenly turned and cut towards the top of his head—–

"Snap——"

The sound of a puppet thread snapping seemed particularly loud in the dark and silent space.

"No!" Puppet Master's shout sounded above his head, almost causing the entire space to tremble.

Several shimmering threads fell from above his head.

Unlike the earlier puppet threads, these ones were thinner and softer, and it glistened a blood-red colour under the dark background.

.

The bloody waves slowly receded, and the black and white boundaries slowly began to blend with each other, gradually revealing the doll shop's earlier appearance.

The young man before him was gone. Ji Xuan who stood alone in a blank space spread open his hand.

After the thread was cut, a small doll had fallen from the air, landing in his palm.

Light-coloured hair, amber eyes, small arms carrying a scythe that was completely different from its original size and a sad expression on its small face.

So cute……

Ji Xuan pinched the small doll in his hand and then poked the scythe it was holding, the corners of his lips hooking up slightly.

While he was indulging himself with playing with the little Ye Jia, the real Ye Jia's voice sounded from behind him "Hey……"

Ji Xuan quickly stuffed the doll in his pocket and then turned to look back, "Hmm….?"

As soon as he turned around, the young man behind him punched him in the face with great force.

Please read this from kk translates

Ji Xuan: "?"

Did he see him playing with the doll just now?

But before he could react, Ye Jia sneered, "You really like to hit you neck against my scythe?"

He held Ji Xuan's shoulders and fiercely kneed him in the stomach.

Ji Xuan, "Cough, cough, cough!"

Ye Jia coldly watched the man bend over and cough, "Are you fucking stupid?"

His scythe appeared again in his hand, and he pointed the blade at Ji Xuan. The cold light coming from the blade was rather bright in the dark space, "Are you addicted to it? Come, why don't you give it another go?"

Ji Xuan lowered his head. His couldn't stop the corners of his lips from rising.

But when he raised his head again, his expression had returned to his earlier look of innocence, "I knew you must've realised that something wasn't right and just needed a small hint….."

Ye Jia narrowed his eyes dangerously, "Hint?"

In fact, when the scene around him gradually disappeared and the previous appearance of the doll shop reappeared, Ye Jia had realised what Puppet Master had done.

He and Ji Xuan in fact hadn't been separated in the first place but were trapped in two nearly overlapping spaces.

That was why Puppet Master could simultaneously manipulate the two spaces he and Ji Xuan were in.

And Mother's gift was probably that blood-red puppet thread.

It could create a stand-in without affecting the mind of the person it had been implanted into and that stand-in could replicate the other party's position and attacks. This gift and that overlapping ghost domain were almost complementary to each other. They helped each other and cooperated very smoothly.

However, Puppet Master had also retained a certain degree of control of the situation the entire time so that he could guide the everything and ensure that it developed the way he wanted it to develop.

As such, Ji Xuan's behaviour just now was extremely stupid.

As the Ghost King, Ye Jia didn't believe that he didn't have other ways of giving him a 'hint'. For him to choose to take the most dangerous path, it was simply…..

"Psychopath….."

Ye Jia coldly threw that word out and stored the scythe away before turning and walking deeper into the shop.

Puppet Master hadn't been caught yet. He didn't want to waste his time here.

The corners of Ji Xuan's lips couldn't help but raise. He quickly chased after him, "Gege…."

"If you call me gege again, I will cut off your tongue."

The young man warned without looking back.

Ji Xuan: "……."

Looks like he had taken it a bit too far this time.

After the ghost domain was gone, the shop had returned to its normal appearance again.

But that giant puppet from earlier didn't disappear together with the ghost domain. It continued to stand in the depths of the shop with dense ghost energy circling around it. It continued to unconsciously send out attacks.

Behind the giant puppet.

"Why…….why?!" Puppet Master was in disbelief. He found that he couldn't activate his ghost domain anymore.

At some point in time, all the yin energy in his body was gone.

He couldn't even escape now.

Following the sound of something being stabbed, the scythe cut the giant puppet in half. It's broken body immediately collapsed, exposing Puppet Master who was hiding behind it.

The moment he saw the other party, Ye Jia couldn't help but be surprised, "Puppet Master?"

Without his yin energy, even the illusion he had created was gone.

A child stood behind the puppet, glaring at them viciously. His voice had lost the hoarseness and maturity from before, but the childish voice was equally dark and bitter, "You dare look at me?! I'll kill you!"

Ye Jia, "……"

Speaking of which, he had never seen Puppet Master's true appearance.

Every time the other party appeared; it was always two large hands with sharp, needle-like fingers. He had never expected that to have been an illusion.

No wonder he liked to play with dolls.

But although he had now seen the other party's true appearance, Ye Jia still couldn't sympathise with the fierce ghost before him.

He knew very well the difference between a fierce ghost and a human. The child before him may only appear about seven or eight years old, but he may have lived for more than seven or eight hundred years. Furthermore, having interacted with this fierce ghost more than once, he knew very well what a vicious and terrifying existence this one was —— Killing it was the best option.

The scythe in his hand glowed.

Ye Jia stared coldly at the child before him before silently hooking up the corners of his lips. A cruel light flashed across his amber eyes, "I really want to know how you would taste."

The scythe cut through the air and fell down——-

Puppet Master wasn't afraid. He let out a vicious laugh, "HAHAH! Whether you kill me or torture me, you can't stop Mother from sending more fierce ghosts…."

Ye Jia was slightly stunned.

He stopped his attack, "You're right….."

Puppet Master: "…….."

Ye Jia stored the scythe away, "I should torture you a little."

He pointed at the child and then turned and said to Ji Xuan, "I'll leave him to you. Remember to torture out Mother's next plans from him."

Puppet Master: "……….."

At this moment, a faint fluctuation could be felt from a distance.

Ji Xuan, "Your Bureau's people have come."

Sure enough, as soon as he finished saying that, a delicate female voice sounded not far away, "Hello? Is anyone here?"

"If not, I'll be entering!"

Following that was the roar of a chainsaw and the door panel was instantly cut in half.

Ye Jia: "….."

Oh no…….

Because he had come out with Ji Xuan this time…..he had forgotten to wear a hood.

It would also be too late activating his ghost domain now.

After all, the changes made when it is activated may not be noticed by ordinary people from the Bureau, but it was something that couldn't be hidden from players with high rankings.

Ji Xuan raised his hand and gently held Ye Jia's waist, pulling his stiffened body into his arms and pressing him against his cold chest.

He lowered his head and brought his thin lips close to Ye Jia's ears. In a low voice that carried a hint of a smile, he said, "Gege, don't worry. I'm here."