Three hundred thousand meters was not very far for Yu Xian; he could cover the distance in a little over ten minutes.
As he drew close, he grew vigilant and sent an eyeball bubble flying ahead to scout out the situation. Up ahead lay a meteor belt filled with countless meteorites of varying sizes.
The eyeball bubble navigated past numerous meteorites before catching sight of a puppet.
The puppet clung desperately to a massive meteorite with both hands, its body fluttering in space like a banner, as though the colossal egg exerted an even stronger gravitational pull on it.
When it spotted the eyeball bubble, it cried out in immense joy, "Help! Save me, please! I can give you huge benefits! Please, save me!"
Meanwhile, the visuals were relayed directly into everyone's minds.
Yu Xian stopped in his tracks and initiated a discussion. "What do you all think of this puppet?"
"There's something bizarre about it. It's neither a living being nor an inanimate object. Furthermore, have you noticed that its body has no scratches or cracks whatsoever? Not to mention it can transmit sound in space without producing any energy fluctuations," Niman said cautiously.
Indeed.
The puppet lacked the slightest trace of a living organism's aura, yet it also lacked the cold lifelessness of an inanimate object.
Moreover, despite possessing a body made of puppet-like material, it was unnaturally intact—without a single scuff or bump. This suggested its body might be even sturdier than expected.
Unless one used an ability of the Rule Branch, transmitting sound across the vacuum of space required a medium. Yet this puppet spoke without using any energy as a medium, and its voice carried normally nonetheless.
Yu Xian also found the puppet eerie and felt inclined to retreat.
Above all, they had no need to take unnecessary risks. Since they couldn't fathom the puppet's background, they might as well back off and avoid contact altogether. Judging by its predicament, it almost certainly couldn't chase after them anyway.
"What do you say? Should we make contact with it?"
Although Yu Xian himself wanted to pull back, he still wanted to hear what the others thought.
After all, everyone perceived the world and everything in it differently; Nora and the others might sense something he missed or offer a fresh perspective.
What was more, their intuition might be more accurate than his own.
Niman said prudently, "I suggest probing it with a clone. Normally, if a treasure-hunting band from Crescent Bay encountered an unknown target like this, they would use a clone-type ability to establish contact. Even a clone isn't entirely safe, though. If the other party possesses an origin-type ability, they could still trace the clone right back to us."
Not entirely safe either?
Hearing this, Yu Xian frowned slightly and asked, "In that case, should we withdraw?"
"Big Brother, I think this puppet looks really fun! It probably isn't dangerous," Little Nora voiced a differing opinion.
After hearing Niman's assessment, Yu Xian had essentially made up his mind to pull out, but Little Nora's remark gave him pause. He pondered for a moment, then asked, "Nora, what do you think?"
"I can't tell either, but you could try flipping a coin. I think the Law of Luck Niman mentioned suits you quite well," Nora replied.
Yu Xian nodded. "The Law of Luck it is, then."
With that, he pulled out the Star Coin from before and gave it a casual toss. Once the coin landed on the bottom of the bubble, he looked down to check the result.
The old rule: heads, they go; tails, they don't.
"Heads! Then let's go meet it!"
Yu Xian picked up the Star Coin from the bottom of the bubble and spoke decisively.
He promptly steered the bubble over to the meteorite where the puppet was clinging. Seeing Yu Xian appear, the puppet cried out delightedly, "Help! Help! I can give you huge benefits, please save me!"
"Tell me where you come from first, and then I'll decide whether to save you or not," Yu Xian said, eyeing the puppet without immediately extending a hand.
The more he looked at the puppet, the stranger it seemed. It looked like an entity lifted straight out of a cartoon—its facial expressions were impossible for any living creature to make. Seeing it appear in the real world felt utterly bizarre.
"My origins? My name is Xiao Sensen! I am Miraculous Item Crafter Number Ninety-Nine under the command of the Great Lord of the Forest! For love and peace, I tread upon the path of justice! You may call me an ally of justice!" The puppet muttered to itself for a moment, then looked up at Yu Xian and proclaimed loudly and proudly.
Hearing Xiao Sensen's words, Yu Xian fell dead silent. Love and peace... treading upon the path of justice...
He asked the others in a quiet telepathic murmur, "What do you guys make of this?"
"No idea. I've never heard of this Lord of the Forest or Miraculous Item Crafter before. It probably isn't anything major—most likely concepts specific to a particular world," Niman pondered.
Little Nora, though not quite understanding, found it impressive nonetheless. "Xiao Sensen is so cool! I want to be an ally of justice too!"
"I suspect it might be some kind of toy. But for a toy to be this bizarre, could it be something a Mighty One crafted for their child?" Nora guessed.
Hearing that, Little Huangquan grew tempted. "Big Brother, let's save it. I want to play with it!"
In truth, Yu Xian didn't entirely buy Xiao Sensen's claims, but precisely because the explanation was so preposterous, it actually felt like the truth.
After hearing everyone's thoughts, he had already decided to rescue Xiao Sensen, but there were still key questions that needed clearing up.
He looked at Xiao Sensen and asked, "Who is the Lord of the Forest?"
"Not Lord of the Forest, it's the Great Lord of the Forest! As for who the Great Lord of the Forest is... the Great Lord of the Forest is the Great Lord of the Forest," Xiao Sensen replied with utmost solemnity.
Fine, talking in circles and saying nothing at all.
Yu Xian stared at Xiao Sensen, somewhat speechless, before asking again, "Then what is a Miraculous Item Crafter?"
"A Miraculous Item Crafter is a Miraculous Item Crafter, of course!" Xiao Sensen looked at Yu Xian in utter bewilderment, seemingly baffled as to why Yu Xian would ask such a foolish question.
To it, Yu Xian's question was like asking "What is water?"—and naturally, "water is water."
"..."
This completely rendered Yu Xian speechless.
He could clearly sense a trace of skepticism in Xiao Sensen's gaze. This guy was actually doubting his intelligence!
"Last question. Why are you here, and what does that egg have to do with you?" Taking a deep breath, he asked Xiao Sensen.
Xiao Sensen gave Yu Xian an awkward, helpless look and answered, "Because I was treading upon the path of justice, that is why I appeared here. It was just that I never expected there to be an Origin Tiger egg here."
"Origin Tiger?" Yu Xian completely ignored the first half of the sentence.
Xiao Sensen nodded vigorously. "Yes, an Origin Tiger! One of the Four Tigers—a terrifying entity!"
Forget it.
I'll just save it first.
Yu Xian sighed. Evidently, Xiao Sensen possessed a wealth of knowledge he knew nothing about.
He understood the literal meaning of the words, but had no idea what they actually signified.
For example, the Origin Tiger.
He knew it was certainly some powerful creature, but just how powerful, he had no idea.
One of the Four Tigers.
Which Four Tigers? What tier were they?
He had no clue.
Meanwhile, Xiao Sensen seemed to treat all of this as common knowledge.
There was simply no carrying on this conversation.
If they kept talking, Yu Xian would start feeling like a little kid sitting at the adults' table, unable to comprehend a word being said.
He really belonged at the kids' table.
Chapter 279