"I refuse to make that thing! It's an insult to me as a puppeteer!"
*Crack!*
A whip lashed out, striking Xu Hai. The one wielding it was a black-haired beauty puppet in a sailor uniform. Xu Hai used to whip this female puppet for fun, but now the situation had reversed.
Xu Hai was suspended in the prison cell, enduring a beating he didn't deserve.
Wen Wen stood to the side, his dead fish eyes directing the female puppet. He was determined to make Xu Hai compromise.
"If you don't agree, I'll use all your cherished props on you!" Wen Wen said fiercely while fiddling with the small props.
Xu Hai's collection of props was no small matter. If they were all used on him, he would likely be ruined.
"I may be a monster, but I am also an artist. Making that thing would be an insult to art!" Xu Hai remained defiant.
"If you don't agree, I'll find someone else to make it. And once it's made, you'll be the first one to try it!" Wen Wen threatened again.
Hearing Wen Wen's words, Xu Hai felt like crying. This guy was truly a devil.
"Or, I could send you to Hu Youling's room and turn you into medicinal dregs!" Wen Wen added.
Xu Hai glanced over. Hu Youling, who was posing nearby, shivered. He even felt a little anticipation.
But the thought of the aftermath after all the pleasure made him shrink back.
In short, Xu Hai's resolve was not firm. After Wen Wen's repeated threats, he finally compromised. He asked Wen Wen for a large batch of materials and began the制作.
Wen Wen wasn't worried about Xu Hai pulling any tricks. As long as he was still within the containment facility, he couldn't cause any major trouble.
To create this puppet, Wen Wen bought Xu Hai two sows, some silicone, and common items used in beauty salons, spending quite a bit of money. If Xu Hai didn't do a good job, Wen Wen would make him sell dolls to repay the debt.
It would take Xu Hai at least three days to create this puppet, so Wen Wen planned to use this opportunity to hunt some ghosts.
The ghosts left behind by Yan Xiu seemed difficult to deal with, so Wen Wen could only select those that appeared easier to handle.
However, difficult ghosts meant powerful strength, which would bring Wen Wen greater rewards.
Wen Wen's first target tonight was a steamed bun shop in the eastern suburbs. The shop was called "Zheng Hao Chi Breakfast Shop."
According to the Hunter Association's information, this steamed bun shop was run by a family of five, with three generations supporting the business. They were originally legitimate catering professionals.
Old Master Zhou, who had made buns his whole life, and his wife Zhao Yan, along with their son and daughter-in-law, Zhou Kaile and Mao Lingling, who took over the business, and finally their granddaughter Zhou Xun, who often helped out at the shop during her free time.
They made buns with integrity, always carefully selecting ingredients, striving for perfection, and constantly improving their flavors, hence their popularity.
The family was harmonious, and their future was bright.
But everything changed with a piece of news.
At one point, the Huafu District launched an action to maintain food safety. Many shops that did not meet hygiene standards or used illegal food additives were rectified, and underground factories producing gutter oil were shut down.
Everyone was paying attention to food safety, and all sorts of exposés emerged, dealing a significant blow to the entire catering industry.
This was, of course, a good thing; at least people could eat out with more peace of mind.
Until one day, a sensational piece of news by a self-media outlet about a black-hearted steamed bun shop adding shredded cardboard to its filling to save on raw materials, inexplicably became popular, garnering hundreds of thousands, even millions, of views.
And the background image used in that news report was of the Zheng Hao Chi Breakfast Shop...
Although the news did not explicitly state that the shop using shredded cardboard was the Zheng Hao Chi Breakfast Shop, it did push the Zheng Hao Chi Breakfast Shop into the spotlight.
The uncensored image made it easy for people to identify the Zheng Hao Chi Breakfast Shop. Their once booming business plummeted, and health departments frequently inspected them. The family endured the scorn of their neighbors.
Despite their repeated explanations and clarifications, no one believed them.
When tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of people believed there was something wrong with your shop, then there was something wrong with your shop.
A simple family, no matter what they said, could not change the situation.
Were the public's eyes discerning? But what the public could see was not always decided by them.
When the matter escalated and the truth finally surfaced, the authorities came forward to clarify for the Zheng Hao Chi Breakfast Shop, and a few rational netizens also spoke up in their defense.
Thus, the matter subsided, but the harm they suffered could never be undone.
Their former neighbors distanced themselves from them. The netizens who had verbally attacked them no longer mentioned the news, as if they had never hurt anyone. The self-media website that published the false news simply deleted the report and considered the matter closed.
Later, as the fervor gradually subsided, the small shop's business did not improve, and the once happy family was on the verge of breaking apart.
Suddenly, one day, the taste of the steamed buns from Zheng Hao Chi Breakfast Shop changed. They were incredibly delicious. Just smelling the aroma as one passed by would stir one's appetite.
The shop's business also picked up, and everything seemed to be moving towards harmony and happiness.
This good fortune lasted for about a month. Then, one morning, when people came to buy buns, they found the entire family of five hanging themselves in the shop!
The police later investigated and confirmed it was suicide. In the shop's freezer, two bodies were found, nothing but bones, a man and a woman.
And a month prior, the reporter and photographer who had filmed that news report mysteriously disappeared...
...
"Hmm, this case is quite interesting, but there are still doubts. Why would the family commit suicide? How did five ordinary people manage to abduct two living individuals and keep them undiscovered for a month?"
Due to the advancement of the detective industry and the efficiency of the police, Huafu District had an extremely high case-solving rate. Cases of two people disappearing mysteriously like this rarely went without leads for over a month.
"Could supernatural forces be involved?"
"It's hard to say, after all, these five ghosts are not easy to deal with."
According to the information, after the police sealed the steamed bun shop, every morning, the empty shop would be filled with the hawking sounds of selling steamed buns.
Once someone entered, when they came out, they would have unknown substances in their stomachs. Feces or insects were better than some who directly swallowed iron nails and wood chips. Those with good luck could be saved with surgery, but those with bad luck died directly in the shop.
Such obvious supernatural incidents naturally attracted the attention of the Hunter Association. After attempts at simple expulsion were ineffective, they sealed the place.