The Puppeteer!

Northridge City, Chen Ye's Apartment.

In front of his computer, Chen Ye organized the five sequences currently applied to biological subjects.

No. 001: The Mimic.

No. 002: The Deep One.

No. 003: The Invisible Man.

No. 004: The Queen Bee.

No. 005: The Wall Gazer.

"The blood of No. 004 gave No. 002 the ability to create minions, but it's still transformation, not self-creation."

"Hmm... I should probably consider planarians after all."

Chen Ye updated the information on the second-generation Deep One on his computer, then glanced at two vials of liquid beside him.

Both vials were a bright red, resembling blood.

They were labeled as Vampire Potion No. 1 and Vampire Potion No. 2.

The two potions had slightly different compositions.

The main ingredients of Potion No. 1 were human blood, bat, and salamander.

The main ingredients of Potion No. 2 were leech, bat, and salamander.

Additionally, both potions contained the blood of the second-generation Deep One.

"So, the question is, who should I test them on?"

"Tsk..."

If I let those five go out and capture people, who knows what kind of specimens they'd bring back.

And ultimately, relying on others isn't as good as relying on myself.

"I'll do it myself."

Chen Ye turned to look at a photo on his computer.

The photo showed a man holding strings, standing above a stage where countless people were controlled by those strings.

Potion No.: The Puppeteer.

Main Ingredients: Spider (species undetermined) + Puppet show puppets.

Supplementary Ingredients: Invisible Man Potion + Queen Bee Potion + Wall Gazer Potion.

...

Northridge City.

The fishman walked down the street, still wearing his raincoat.

But since it was a sunny day, many people gave him strange looks.

The fishman didn't care. He occasionally closed his eyes and stood still for a moment.

In the darkness invisible to ordinary people, the outline of the entire city appeared as shadows in his mind.

Waves of sound echoed through the shadowy city, all pointing to one place.

The police station.

Someone was listening to his recording.

The content of the recording was undoubtedly his crying. He could feel it, deeply and clearly.

"One, two, three... nineteen. Nineteen people in total. One is holding a water cup, looking at something. Another is holding a pen, writing on a whiteboard."

Opening his eyes, the fishman walked into a noodle shop.

"Stir-fried noodles."

The owner glanced at him, then lowered his head to continue kneading the dough.

"Sir, have you been coming here often lately?"

"Would you like to try our soup noodles?"

The fishman frowned, "No."

The owner sighed, "People have different tastes. Some like soup noodles, some like stir-fried noodles. It's hard to please everyone."

The fishman picked up a pair of chopsticks, "But sometimes, the choices people make on the surface aren't from their hearts."

"They're compromises born out of necessity."

The owner thought for a moment, "True. Life always forces us to make choices, whether we want to or not."

After a while, the owner brought over a plate of stir-fried noodles.

"By the way, when I was young, I wanted to be a guitarist. Back in school, I was quite popular, haha."

"Do you mind if I indulge myself for a bit?"

"Go ahead."

With the fishman's permission, the owner went into the kitchen and brought out a guitar, then started playing.

The fishman didn't understand music, but he could tell the owner had skill. At least, it wasn't something an amateur could play.

As he listened to the owner's performance, the fishman fell silent for a moment.

He remembered the old man he'd encountered at the school gate that day.

He hadn't wanted to trouble the old man, but the old man kept blocking his way.

He was crazy.

Even though he knew he couldn't win, he kept standing in the fishman's way.

If the fishman had revealed his true form then, would the old man have backed off?

But on the other hand, if the old man had seen his monstrous form, he would've had to die.

So, in the end, the fishman didn't transform in front of him.

He had no grudge against the old man, and the old man wasn't his target. It was an unnecessary conflict.

In the end, the fishman just broke the old man's hand.

After that, the old man was taken away by an ambulance.

Yesterday, the fishman passed by the high school again and saw the old man, his hand in a cast and wrapped in bandages.

He was lucky.

"Li... Yuan?"

Just then, a female college student walked into the noodle shop.

She seemed to recognize the fishman, showing no unfamiliarity with his face.

The fishman ignored her and continued eating his noodles.

Seeing that he wasn't responding, the student sat down across from him.

"I heard you got expelled from school?"

"Why? Did you do something wrong?"

"But you're such a quiet guy. You don't fight, don't smoke, and can't even argue with people. I can't imagine what you could've done."

The fishman still didn't respond.

"Li Yuan, say something. Why are you still so quiet after two years?"

Li Yuan...

Li Yuan looked up. The student wasn't particularly pretty, but her outfit was stylish.

She was Li Yuan's high school classmate.

"The rain stopped."

"Huh?"

"What rain? It's not raining outside." The student was confused.

"Ugh, you're still so vague. I really can't stand this about you." The girl sighed.

"Boss, two sodas."

The owner took two bottles of cola from the fridge and handed them to the student.

"Thanks."

After thanking him, the student handed one bottle to Li Yuan.

"Here, have a soda."

The soda was in a glass bottle, and because it had been in the fridge, it was covered in condensation.

Li Yuan didn't take it.

"I don't drink it."

"Come on, just take it. You're still the same as before!" The girl placed the soda in front of him.

"You're so stubborn."

"When are you going to change this part of your personality?"

Li Yuan finished the last bite of his noodles, then took out a crumpled ten-yuan bill from his pocket.

The student was stunned, "Your... phone?"

"Afraid of getting wet. Didn't bring it." Li Yuan stood up to leave.

"Afraid of getting wet?"

"By the way, ever since I came in, I've smelled a fishy odor. Boss, do you serve fish here?"

The student looked at the owner, who shrugged, "That guy always smells like fish when he comes in."

"He won't say what he does for a living. I'm guessing he's probably a fish cleaner at RT-Mart or something."

...