Chapter 480 This is the whole thing

At the edge of the border area, beyond the barrier maintained by a series of "boundary markers", is the physical border of this place where time and space converge - beyond the hazy light curtain and the vast expanse of desolate and dim land, the last outpost set up by the Secret Service can see, at the extreme distance, large areas of fragmented floating island-like land floating in the chaotic air.

Aurora-like streams of light flow between countless broken floating islands, small space stabilization devices can be seen everywhere, and starlight from the outside universe occasionally penetrates the random cracks that appear between the floating islands, reflecting on the sky above those islands that are either barren, lush, or like phantoms.

On one of the islands, whose material structure and existence are relatively stable, an old house shrouded in mystery stands quietly, surrounded by lush gardens.

Some faceless puppet craftsmen with bodies made of wood and ceramic are busy in the garden. Two clockwork guards in red and blue smocks are guarding the door of the villa. Another clockwork puppet in a maid's uniform, whose entire body is made of alloy, ceramic and bionic skin, stands at the door, motionless, as if waiting for someone to come back.

Suddenly, a "ding" sound came from the body of the clockwork doll that was silently waiting, and the mechanical device started to operate quietly. She took out a pocket watch from the pocket of her skirt and saw that the pointer on the dial was turning briskly, pointing to the grid marked "Doll Printing Room".

The clockwork maid tilted her head, turned back to the villa, walked briskly through the long front hall and dim corridor, and came to a secret room deep in the villa.

The lights in the secret room had automatically turned on. A silver-grey liquid was surging in the sink in the center of the room, and a group of nanomachines were rapidly printing a new puppet body in it. After a moment, a body stiffly sat up from the silver-grey liquid, and its surface quickly became stained with a layer of skin like a living person - then after another half a minute, the sitting puppet slowly stood up and walked out of the sink.

She moved every joint in her body, as if performing a self-examination, turning them to a degree that would be enough for an ordinary person to break, and then quickly resetting the joints. After doing all this, she reached out to take the clothes handed to her by the clockwork maid.

But her movements suddenly stopped, and she lowered her head and looked at her empty right wrist with a somewhat dull look.

The doll's expression gradually became vivid and lively. She frowned, bent down and put her right arm into the printing slot. The silver-gray nanomachine group immediately surged and formed a new palm on her wrist.

But as soon as she took her arm out of the printing tank, her palm instantly dissolved into a pool of silver-gray liquid and fell back into the sink uncontrollably.

The doll lady frowned, slowly stood up, and glanced at the clockwork maid who was still holding the clothes and waiting beside her.

"Maryse, help me get dressed—I'm missing my right hand."

"Yes, Miss Marlene."

The clockwork maid stepped forward and skillfully began to dress her mistress. As she did so, she curiously asked, "Why did you come back from the printing room? Did you miss the inter-realm train?"

"...I accidentally glanced at something I shouldn't have, triggering an emergency evacuation," Marlene said, a little muffled. "But I have to admit, it's probably because I set the trigger threshold a little too sensitive..."

"Caution is your strength," the clockwork maid said, her voice devoid of emotion, a strange, mechanically synthesized vibrato. "A higher evacuation rate ensures a higher mission completion rate—which just happens to form a delicate dynamic balance with the extra printing materials you normally consume."

“…Maryse.”

"exist."

"Clear the database of bad jokes."

"Permissions are locked. This is a special feature of this machine. If you insist on disabling it, I recommend you activate the Golden Crown SVIP Diamond Card annual membership. If there is no objection, it will be deemed as consent, and the system will automatically deduct the fee in ten seconds. 3, 2..."

"Okay, I understand. No need, thank you."

"Okay, Miss Marlene."

Marlene sighed, then stubbornly reached into the printing slot.

In the end, the right hand still didn't come back.

"You look a little troubled, Miss Marlene," the clockwork maid looked at her mistress quietly, "it seems that this 'loss' is quite serious."

"...Yes, my 'right hand' was 'taken away,'" Marlene slowly stood up, looking solemnly at the gradually calming printing slot. "Looks like I have to pay him a visit... I hope I can get my hand back without any problems."

"Would you like to talk to Director Baili Qing again? She might be able to provide some advice for your future contact operations."

“…No, it’s embarrassing.”

"Okay, Miss Marlene."

…

Yu Sheng and Hu Li sat on either side of the coffee table, staring at the motionless puppet hand with wide eyes.

Irene sat cross-legged on the coffee table and curiously reached out to touch the fingers of that hand.

The knuckles made a slight clicking sound, and quickly returned to their original state, as if there was still some life force operating within them.

The three of them had been staring at the hand for a long time, but couldn't figure it out. At this time, Yu Sheng touched his chin and couldn't help but say, "...What does this mean?"

No one was talking, so he turned to look at the little doll on the coffee table. "Do you doll people have this custom? When you meet someone for the first time, you have to break off some parts from their body and give them as gifts..."

"How could there be such a custom?" Irene stared with scarlet eyes, but then she became a little unsure. "Uh... but who knows? After all, I haven't been back for a long time. Maybe there are some new popular things. After all, it's a general trend for each generation to be more abstract..."

The little doll suddenly stopped talking and looked up at Yu Sheng: "Wait, could it be that you were too strong and someone pulled you off?! You even pulled your gloves off with you..."

Yu Sheng was so angry that he laughed: "I'm not a pervert. Why would I say that a girl is a level 5 disability when I first meet her? Even if it was really me who pulled it off, it must be because her wrist was not strong enough."

Irene thought about it and said nothing. She just turned the puppet's palm over again and pressed her own hand on it to imitate it.

The same spherical joints, the same delicate texture like porcelain yet with the warmth and elasticity of human skin, just a few sizes different.

The little puppet sighed, his tone filled with sadness: "If I had such a big hand, I would definitely not have missed that wave of soldiers last night..."

Hu Li raised his hand and poked Yu Sheng's arm. "My benefactor, that puppet who called herself 'Marin' left you a hand and then left, didn't she? Did you see how she left?"

"I didn't see it clearly. I suspect it was a sophisticated technique of diversion and illusion," Yu Sheng said solemnly. "I was in a trance for a moment—that's why I think this 'Alice doll' is mysterious and strange. She must have a deep meaning behind it."

"What deep meaning could there be? He must be coming to see me!" Irene raised her head with a smug expression on her face.

She was in a very good mood because not only did an Alice doll appear in Jiecheng today, she also got the "gift" she had always longed for.

Another Irene was sitting on the sofa at this time, still fiddling with the phone watch that Yu Sheng gave her with great interest.

Halfway through fiddling with it, the little guy muttered thoughtfully, "I just don't know why she left again. She didn't even leave any contact information... Hey, you could ask that guy with the steely expressionless face! That Alice doll you met might be a new 'messenger' assigned here by my hometown. As long as she entered the country legally, she's definitely registered with the Secret Service."

Yu Sheng thought about it and felt that it made sense, so he got up and went to the kitchen and dialed Baili Qing's phone number.

She shouldn't be asleep yet...right?

The phone rang twice, and a familiar, calm yet magnetic voice came from the other end: "Yu Sheng? What's the matter?"

"Today I met a puppet named Marlene, who claimed to be from Alice's cabin," Yu Sheng said, looking back towards the living room - one Irene was still fiddling with her hand, another was playing with a phone watch, another was pushing the Omen Wandering Star around, and another was watching TV. The little puppets were busy and didn't seem to pay attention to what was going on here. "But I think the situation is a bit strange..."

He briefly told Baili Qing about the strange things he encountered today, especially focusing on the scene where the other party suddenly disappeared mysteriously and left him a strange "gift".

"...I called you just to confirm the origins of this 'Marin', whether she is from Alice's Cottage. After all...you know about Irene's situation." Yu Sheng said finally.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment. Baili Qing's silence was always deafening.

Nearly ten seconds passed before Yu Sheng heard the other party's hesitant voice: "Marin... is indeed the envoy that Alice's cottage recently sent to the border area. She just helped us solve a small problem a few days ago. She is not a suspicious person.

“But the situation you described…seems different from what I expected.

"I'll go check it out, wait a moment."

Baili Qing hung up the phone, and Yu Sheng waited patiently.

He didn't have to wait long, and the other party called again in about ten minutes.

But for some reason, the usually cool and calm female director's voice was a little strained at this time.

"I've made contact. It seems like there's something... wrong with her."

"What's going on?" Yu Sheng raised his eyebrows. "Is she okay?"

“…Nothing serious.”

"Oh... you're talking about this incident. He was fine when he met me. No wonder he ran away in such a hurry without even leaving any contact information." Yu Sheng curled his lips, "Well, later..."

"Now that the border of Jiecheng has been closed, she will pay you a visit tomorrow," Baili Qing said calmly. "Is the 'thing' she left for you still there?"

Yu Sheng glanced back and saw Irene running around on the coffee table, waving the puppet's hand - the puppet's action pattern was the same as always, with unclear and abstract motives.

"It's still there," Yu Sheng turned around, "Does she want more?"

“…Yeah, more.”

(End of this chapter)