Zina woke up.
She had thought she was the victor, the MVP, and Shirley was the loser!
But unexpectedly, she ended up being the clown.
Zina felt like she had put on a red nose!
Zina cried and fussed, pitiful to the extreme!
……
On the table, Zina lay on her back, dazedly watching those well-defined fingers deftly threading the needle.
Ye Kui’s fingers were long and incredibly nimble.
Zina watched hungrily, thinking she wouldn’t mind lying on them and being roughly played with by her master.
Ye Kui was patching up beast hide.
To comfort Zina, Ye Kui said he would give her a gift.
The folded shirt sleeves revealed a fair forearm, though it carried the stench of a puppet, which made Zina very displeased.
Zina wanted to rub her own scent onto it.
But her master looked so handsome when working seriously that she couldn’t bear to interrupt.
……Yeah, right!
Zina shook her head, tossing away that terrifying thought.
She wasn’t some charitable octopus who would let a puppet sit on her face and still tolerate it!
So, Zina quietly crawled toward Ye Kui.
Her tentacles hooked onto the hem of his clothes and climbed up, reaching his shoulder in a few swift movements.
Ye Kui didn’t stop her.
His gaze seemed glued to the handiwork, and the beast hide was being sewn into a half-finished hat.
But his movements slowed, and he didn’t move on to the next step for a long time, not until Zina settled down.
Then, he finally spoke unhurriedly.
“Be careful, don’t fall off.”
Ye Kui continued his work.
Zina drooped her head, watching him sew the hat.
Soon, the hat was finished and was placed on the little octopus’s head with a flip of the hand.
Zina rubbed her head against his neck in silent response, showing her delight.
Then, Zina looked toward the corner, at the puppet girl curled up once more, and waved her tentacle in a taunt.
If she turned into human form, she would definitely have her hands on her hips, head held high, chest out, full of pride.
Look, Master gave me a hat, and you didn’t get one~
You didn’t~~
Kekekekeke!
Shirley: ……
The little octopus wobbled and jumped into the fish tank that Ye Kui had specially prepared for her, wanting to swim around joyfully.
Gift from Master +1!
Perhaps she was too happy, as Zina’s swimming slowed, her head drooped, and she closed her eyes, looking as if she were dreaming a sweet dream.
Because of Zina’s color, her pink shade turned gradually purple.
Ye Kui: ?
“Asleep?”
Ye Kui thought, perhaps the few bites of evolved beast meat were too nutritious, causing her to enter dormancy to aid digestion.
Ye Kui stood up and walked to the corner, approaching the puppet girl.
Shirley tilted her little head, slightly askew.
Ye Kui smiled at her and pulled a beautiful beast hide neck guard from his pocket, handing it to her.
In Ye Kui’s mind, this puppet girl would definitely be tricked—cough, picked up and brought home by him.
So, rounding up, she already belonged to him.
Ye Kui naturally couldn’t favor one over the other.
He had to keep things fair.
He also considered Zina’s jealousy; if he gave the neck guard in front of her, the little octopus would cause a scene.
Ye Kui originally planned to sneak it to Shirley after going outside.
Unexpectedly, Zina fell asleep?
Perfect timing.
Shirley’s eyes flickered, and she pulled out the little wooden plaque from under her skirt, displaying elegant writing.
[Master, is this for me?]
Ye Kui nodded.
[Then, can I be a little greedy and ask Master to put it on me?]
“Of course you can.”
She’s my puppet.
Why not?
Ye Kui carefully put the neck guard on Shirley and adjusted it.
Shirley felt the sensation on her neck—the lingering warmth and scent of him—and a faint blush crept over her delicate face.
[Master, I like it very much.]
Zina had fallen asleep due to Shirley’s trickery.
She disliked Zina, and even after receiving a gift from Master, Zina kept showing off in front of her?!
But Shirley hadn’t expected that Ye Kui would secretly prepare one for her too.
Shirley was very happy, truly happy.
She wanted to wake Zina and show off, but after thinking about it, she decided against it.
Keeping the joy to herself was enough.
Zina being asleep was good.
Now, she looked like the “sleeping husband” from certain stories.
Shirley had grown by absorbing the evil of human nature, so her mind was filled with all sorts of strange things.
In Ye Kui’s eyes, Zina was just an octopus.
As for her, though a puppet, she was humanoid.
So…
First come, first served, and she would be the loser too!
[Master gave Shirley a gift, so Shirley must also give a gift to Master.]
Ye Kui looked at those bright red eyes, unprepared, and burst into laughter.
“What kind of gift?”
As expected of his own puppet, not only nice but even gives gifts in return.
Shirley stood up.
She hooked both arms around Ye Kui’s neck, stood on tiptoe, and quickly kissed his face.
Like a dragonfly skimming water, soft and lingering.
Ye Kui: !!!
The little wooden plaque was raised, hiding her beautifully blushing face.
[Master, this is Shirley’s gift. Do you like it?]
[Shirley has nothing good to offer Master.]
[This is Shirley’s first time, so please accept it.]
[From now on, Shirley will give more first times to Master.]
[Master, Shirley likes you. She likes you so much, so much~]
A direct attack, swift and fierce!
Ye Kui sucked in a breath of cold air!
Ye Kui touched his lips, which were raised high.
It’s over!
He was falling into the puppet’s trap!
—
In the metal corridor, footsteps shattered the silence.
In the prison cells, strange roars echoed, and blood-red eyes lit up.
[Look, look who’s here?]
[Never seen before, a newcomer!]
[Kekeke, interesting, walking alone without any defense…]
There were three-headed demon wolves, massive and terrifying giant dragons, bizarre offspring of evil gods, and more.
They looked at the approaching Ye Kui, mockery and greed in their eyes.
A skinny human male, any of them could eat dozens or hundreds in a single bite.
There was only one, but even a small amount was enough to fill the gaps between their teeth.
To taste blood food after so long was an extraordinary comfort.
[Hey, human, come over!]
Sharp claws struck the unknown metal bars of the cell, emitting a teeth-grinding screech.
Ye Kui approached and realized it was a black-scaled Evil Dragon, tens of meters tall, its hideous face twisted in a human-like sneer.
Ignoring the jealousy and anger of the surrounding “companions,” the Evil Dragon pressed against the cell door, towering over the “tiny” Ye Kui outside.
[Boy, do you crave power?]
[I can grant you supreme power!]
[Don’t worry, no price at all!]
[After all, I’m about to die of old age. I don’t want all this power to go to waste.]
[Come a bit closer…]
Powerful dragons disdained lying to humans.
Because of their strength, as highly evolved beings, their claws could easily cut steel, and a breath of dragon flame could melt stone.
But this one, imprisoned here, was an Evil Dragon.
At the time, the Genesis Organization had ambushed it while it was fighting the Law Enforcement Bureau, catching it off guard and attacking without honor!
A successful operation!
They captured it and locked it here.
They took its Dragon Scales, Dragon Blood… It was endlessly renewable experimental material.
It hadn’t eaten proper blood food for ages and was starving.
For a single bite, it would spout any lie.
Naturally, the “companions” nearby didn’t want to see it succeed so easily.
To see a fellow inmate succeed was worse than being killed!
They all shouted!
[Male human, don’t go over. It’s tricking you!]
[Yes, as an A-grade evolved beast, how could it die so easily?!]
[Its life force is still very strong… Hey, don’t go!]
The Evil Dragon glared fiercely at the “companions,” annoyed at their interference!
It was ready for its plan to fail.
But the outcome… was beyond its expectations.
Ye Kui walked up to it, stopped, and stared at the massive creature through the cell door.
Zina clung to his shoulder, pretending to be scared, taking the opportunity to nuzzle Ye Kui’s neck.
Ye Kui lifted his left hand, and with his index finger, touched its head.
Ye Kui studied the Evil Dragon.
Its scarlet eyes brimmed with malice, each scale like black iron, its mouth parting to emit hot, foul breath.
[Human, come closer…]
[A bit more…]
Humans were always so greedy, always repeating their mistakes, never learning.
The Evil Dragon seemed to taste Ye Kui already.
Ye Kui rubbed his chin.
“Dragon Heart would make a good alchemy material.”
The fantasizing Evil Dragon: ???