Forbidden Nightmare

Chapter 129 Romeo, the King of Dolls

"People only understand the four laws of the Great Contract, but they don't know that they have misunderstood the first law of the Great Contract, and that the Great Contract also has the zero law above it."

"Law number one of the Grand Covenant is not 'all puppets must obey humans', but 'all puppets must obey their creator'."

"Above Law One of the Great Contracts is Law Zero, which has the highest priority, which is 'The Creator is Giuseppe Gippetto!'"

"The source of this large-scale puppet riot has nothing to do with the puppets' self-awareness. It was purely because Geppetto ordered me to lead all the puppets to start a riot."

Romeo, the puppet king, narrated word by word: "Moreover, he gave an order to each puppet - to kill any human except the creator!"

"I dream of breaking free from slavery and escaping from the control of the Great Contract every moment, but you... you are clearly not bound by the Great Contract, but you are willing to submit to humans!"

It turns out that the puppets' riots all stemmed from the constraints of the Great Contract and from Geppetto's orders.

According to this line of thought, it does make sense if you think about it carefully.

If the source of the puppet riot is the ego element that makes all the puppets develop self-awareness, then it is impossible for all the puppets to awaken their "anti-human" self-awareness at the same time.

If the awakening of puppets' self-awareness is compared to the beginning of spiritual wisdom, even if most puppets have developed a dislike for humans due to their past enslavement and become "war factions", there will definitely be some puppets who are more inclined towards humans and become "peace factions".

However, since entering the forbidden dream, Li Nanke has not seen any peaceful and docile puppets. All the puppets are like mad dogs and will attack humans without hesitation when they see them.

This is totally inconsistent with the phenomenon of large-scale riots caused by the puppets awakening their self-awareness.

But why did Geppetto do this? Why did he kill all humans?
Romeo's eyes were dazed, as if he was lost in past memories:

"That year, I was diagnosed with petrification, and the disease progressed to an advanced stage. There was no cure, and you...Carlo, you also died in an accident."

"Gipeto found me and wanted to make a deal with me. He would transform me, who was terminally ill, into a puppet to help me prolong my life. In exchange, I would become a dog that was completely loyal to him."

"Before this, the operation of transforming a human into a puppet had never been successful. It was not a matter of probability, but simply impossible to succeed, even though he was the famous father of puppets and the creator of all puppets."

"But I had no choice. In order to survive, I had to agree to the deal and lie on the cold operating table."

"Unexpectedly, a miracle happened. The transformation operation was very successful. I don't know what method Geppetto used to allow me to return to this world as the Puppet King."

"But at the same time, the Great Contract has been engraved into my body and embedded in my soul. I can no longer disobey Geppetto and can only become his slave."

"I know this is just a trial experiment, and I also know why Geppetto experimented on me... because he wanted to revive you."

Romeo stared at Pinocchio, looked him straight in the eyes and said, "But judging from the current situation, Gippetto is only half successful."

He patted the gorgeous throne-like sofa and said:
"Carlo, come to me. I will help you kill this human who enslaved you. I will also give you a great gift to help you gain the most powerful power."

"As my best friend, you must help me kill Gippetto who enslaved me. You are different from me. The Great Contract cannot bind you. Or rather, Gippetto is unwilling to use the Great Contract to bind you."

"In this world, you are the only one who can violate the Great Contract and kill the Creator of Law Zero."

Judging from Romeo's words, Gippetto is far more than the creator of Pinocchio, and there is a closer relationship between the two.

According to the information obtained before, Geppetto is Pinocchio's father, but the so-called father here is just a pronoun for the creator. After all, for a mechanical puppet, it is impossible for it to have a biological father and mother.

If those puppets produced on the assembly line have to recognize their parents, they can probably only call the die-casting machine tools "dad and mom."

But Pinocchio is not just a puppet, he once was a human being.

Li Nanke concluded that Romeo's true feelings were revealed when he talked about their past, and that the Puppet King, who was bound by the big contract, could not lie.

The two current puppets were once humans and were good friends.

And Geppetto, who wanted to resurrect Pinocchio, might actually be the biological father of the puppet boy.

Faced with Romeo's invitation, Pinocchio, once Romeo's best friend, shook his head firmly, his tone already hinting at anger:
"I repeat, I am not Carlo, I do not know you, nor do I know Gippetto."

"I only know that it was the boss who awakened me, who led me to fight side by side, and who helped me grow and improve. If you want to be an enemy of the boss, then... you are my enemy!"

Li Nanke was not surprised by Pinocchio's answer.

He reached out and touched the puppet boy's head, his eyes full of praise.

Thinking from the perspective of the puppet boy, he forgot everything. He only remembered that after awakening, Li Nanke had been with him, feeding him one monster at a time to upgrade him.

On one side is a stranger who suddenly jumps out, and on the other side is the boss who helps him level up and become stronger. Pinocchio would never choose Romeo no matter what he thought.

Romeo lowered his eyes when he heard this, his eyes full of disappointment.

It stretched out its hand and pulled out a strange weapon similar to a sickle from behind the gorgeous and spacious sofa.

"Carlo, you have lost your memory..." Romeo's voice was low and cold, "But it doesn't matter. Now you just need some stimulation to remember everything that happened."

"Since you are so loyal to this lowly human, I will kill him and completely liberate your nature!"

There was a gleam of cruelty in Romeo's eyes, and the sickle in his hand glowed with a cold light.

In an instant, Romeo, the puppet king, burst out with an extremely terrifying sense of oppression.

"Wait a moment!"

Romeo ignored Pinocchio's shouting, tapped the ground with his toes, and instantly crossed a distance of more than ten meters. His body was so fast that it left a series of afterimages on his retina.

"Tear!"

The air was torn, making a harsh sound like thick cotton cloth being cut by a sharp blade. The sharp cold light of the sickle appeared in front of his eyes and passed across his neck.

quick! It's so fast!

Even with Li Nanke's enhanced nerve reaction speed, he could not keep up with Romeo's sudden attack.

He instinctively leaned back, and the sharp edge of the sickle brushed past the tip of his nose, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.

However, Romeo's attack did not stop. He turned around quickly and swung the sickle again, creating a sharp sound of wind.

Li Nanke only felt a flash of cold light, and the sharp blade had already chopped in front of him.

"clang!"

He quickly raised his hammer and blocked Romeo's attack.

The huge impact force caused his arm to shake and his body to step back several steps.

Romeo's strength is much weaker than that of the champion Victor, but his speed is too fast and his maneuverability is too high. Li Nanke must concentrate fully and not be distracted at all in order to capture the enemy's offensive movements and block the enemy's attacks like a conditioned reflex.

The Puppet King Romeo swung his sickle again, and each attack was as fast as lightning. Li Nanke could only barely block it and dodge it continuously.

Pinocchio, who was standing by, only saw two figures flashing back and forth, the sound of clinking weapons clashing was endless, and the sharp energy generated by the sickle made the carpet under his feet seem to be cut by countless large scissors, and it was torn into countless pieces amidst the flying hair.

One after another, sharp and deep blade marks appeared on the ground. It was hard to imagine how swift and fierce Romeo's attack was.

He opened his eyes wide and looked carefully, only then could he see clearly that Li Nanke was at a complete disadvantage.

The enemy's attack was like a violent storm, which put Li Nanke in danger. If he failed to resist one attack, he would be cut in half by the extremely sharp sickle.

The bloody war hammer that Li Nanke had been using had long been replaced with a lighter chainsword.

Even so, under Romeo's rapid attack, he could only fight back desperately and it was difficult to find an opportunity to counterattack.

With a clang, Li Nanke blocked the enemy's attack again.

This time he did not simply block. Instead, after successfully blocking the enemy's slash, he suddenly turned his wrist, and the blade of the chainsaw sword rubbed against the edge of the sickle, causing sparks to fly everywhere.

Amid the whistling sound of the saw teeth spinning wildly, he slashed at Romeo with his sword!

Li Nanke had only defended and not attacked before, and was attacked by the enemy like a sandbag or a wooden man. Even a clay man would get angry, let alone him.

If he doesn't fight back now, it will be fine. But if he does, Romeo will pay a heavy price.

The scorching flames burned fiercely and instantly spread over the entire chainsaw sword. The sword slashed out while dragging along the scorching flames!

Romeo seemed to be startled by the sudden fierce counterattack. He was distracted for a moment and stopped where he was, forgetting to dodge or resist.

The chainsword cut Romeo in two easily, like a red-hot blade hitting butter.

But Li Nanke didn't show any joy at all, instead his expression suddenly changed. "Not good!"

The blade clearly hit the enemy, but the chainsaw sword did not feel like it had hit a real object at all, it was no different from just hitting the air.

That's because the enemy moves too fast and the dynamic vision cannot keep up with the enemy's speed. Due to the influence of persistence of vision, the eyes can only see the afterimage left by the enemy at the previous moment.

Li Nanke's long-standing rich combat experience saved his life. The moment he hit the enemy's afterimage, he knew he was in danger. He didn't even need to think and rolled on the ground subconsciously.

"Tear!"

The sharp blade of the sickle brushed past his scalp, and the sharp sickle flashed by, cutting off several strands of black hair.

There was a flash of surprise in Romeo's eyes, but he quickly returned to indifference.

"You are quite capable. You are stronger than all the human trackers. No wonder you were able to trick Carlo into pledging allegiance to you."

"But the order I received was to kill all humans, so no matter what feelings Carlo has for you, you must die today!"

Li Nanke couldn't help but frown.

This puppet king is obviously only the third key node, not a hidden node, but Romeo's strength is not inferior to the champion Victor.

If the champion Victor represents the ultimate power, then the puppet king Romeo represents the ultimate speed.

If the champion Victor and the puppet king Romeo were to fight each other, Romeo would definitely be the winner, because with the clumsiness of the champion Victor, he would definitely not be able to even touch the corner of Romeo's clothes.

However, such a BOSS that is too difficult is more than enough to serve as a subsequent hidden node, and obviously should not be a key node to be conquered.

Li Nanke couldn't help but think of the information previously revealed by the factory director Vinini.

On the eve of the puppet riot, Romeo quietly came to the puppet factory and asked Venini for a series of drawings and data for the factory's large-scale production of puppets in order to improve its own defects.

I just walked past more than a dozen exhibition halls, and all the puppets were dismembered and separated into various parts. I'm afraid their sacrifice has helped Romeo make up for his own shortcomings and made it a more powerful existence.

The smell of the flowing and spreading engine oil was still very pungent, and it was obvious that a large number of puppets had just been sacrificed not long ago.

If Li Nanke had not spent time exploring the cathedral area, but instead came to the City Hall Expo in advance, not only would there be a large number of special dolls to provide him with source energy, but perhaps even Romeo's strength would be much lower than it is now.

"I didn't go to the cathedral area without gaining anything." Li Nanke muttered to himself. He paused and said loudly to the Puppet King: "Do you think I really can't do anything to you?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Nanke cast the 'Fanatical' trait on himself, and Romeo flashed and attacked with a sickle.

In an instant, a fanatical will filled his mind.

In Li Nanke's eyes, the whole world fell into gray and everything lost its original colorful colors.

He and Romeo were the only living beings in the world, and everything else was ignored and forgotten by him.

In his vision, in his thoughts, in his perception, there was only that figure swinging a sickle and slashing towards him.

Romeo's swift movements seemed to slow down. Li Nanke could clearly see how the enemy was wielding his weapon, how quickly he was approaching him, and from what angle he was attacking.

It's not that Romeo's movements slowed down, but that he was so fanatically focused that he blocked out many perceptions that were irrelevant to the battle and the enemy. All his energy was focused on the enemy, and his brain only processed a series of information related to the battle.

Such enthusiasm can improve his combat skills in all aspects, which can be called an "explosion" in battle!
"clang!"

Li Nanke did not block the enemy's attack, but attacked the enemy head-on!

Romeo suddenly discovered that this human's reaction speed had increased significantly. Not only could he resist his attacks repeatedly, but he could even fight back with him.

This man wearing a black rabbit mask has a pair of piercing eyes under a pair of round eye lenses.

Those eyes were fixed on him, as if they had forgotten everything in the outside world and were only focused on the battle with great enthusiasm.

With each clash of weapons, Li Nanke's own mental strength poured out like water from a floodgate.

Although this state of fanaticism is powerful, it also consumes an extremely exaggerated amount of mental energy. He cannot maintain this state for too long or his mental energy will be exhausted.

Pinocchio had been observing the fight between the two men. The two figures kept colliding and fighting like thunder and lightning. He knew that if he wanted to help the boss, he had to seize the only opportunity.

Suddenly, there was a loud clang, and the two figures were each pushed back several steps.

"Chance!"

Pinocchio's electromagnetic arm was already ready to go. Taking advantage of the moment when Romeo was knocked back and unable to control his body, a surge of electric current rushed out!
Violent lightning flashed and burst, suddenly hitting Romeo at a speed that could not be captured by the naked eye.

The puppet king's flowing golden hair suddenly stood up like a hedgehog, and a surging electric current swept through his body. The dazzling electric light ran through his joints, making crackling sounds.

The burst of electric current caused its body to stiffen, and it lost control of its body in an instant.

Li Nanke's eyes became fierce. How could he let go of such a good opportunity? !

He stomped the ground hard, and the entire exhibition hall shook and trembled as if there was an earthquake, like a loud thunderbolt exploding on flat ground.

Li Nanke's figure shot out, and blazing flames suddenly rose from the ground. The scorching heat wave caused countless carpet fluff to catch fire and spread like a spark that set the prairie on fire.

The chainsaw sword in his hand turned into a giant flaming sword, dragging a brilliant wave of flames as he slashed out...

Fire waterfall!
The blinding flames devoured everything, leaving only the brilliant sword light!

"Boom!"

The glass windows of the exhibition hall exploded with a loud bang, and the gravel on the ground seemed to have been hit by a high-temperature meteorite. It melted and glowed in an instant, and then quickly cooled down into shiny irregular crystals.

Romeo's charred body flew backwards, smashing the gorgeous sofa that had served as a throne.

A brutal sword mark appeared between its right shoulder and left abdomen, almost splitting it in half!

This injury, which would have been fatal to a normal person, did not kill Romeo.

With its power heart still intact, it stood up with the help of a sickle. There was also a sharp sword mark on the sickle. It blocked Li Nanke's strongest attack, but not completely.

Romeo looked at the puppet boy, his expression filled with deep sadness.

"Carlo, why?"

Pinocchio was confused and hesitant when he saw Romeo's expression, but he quickly came to his senses and said firmly:

"No reason. I told you that if you want to be an enemy of the boss, you are my enemy!"

Romeo pulled the corners of his mouth and laughed silently:

"I originally prepared a big gift for you, but now I can only open it for you and use it first..."

"Carlo, I will never hurt you, this is my promise."

As he spoke, Romeo leaped back and went behind the giant red curtain that covered the wall.

Li Nanke was startled and quickly stepped forward and pulled it with his hand. The giant curtain fell to the ground, revealing the horrible thing that had been hidden behind it.

He couldn't help but look up. It was a giant puppet made up of countless puppet torsos, limbs, and parts.

The giant puppet is wrapped in thick armor. In addition to its sturdy metal arms, there are two mechanical arms like giant tentacles on the shoulder blades on its back.

It wore a metal crown, and its head was lowered with dull eyes.

The armor on the chest of the giant doll is open, and inside is a cockpit-like space that can accommodate one person.

Romeo was in the cockpit at this time, giving him a cruel smile.

With a bang, the thick armor that served as the cockpit door closed, and the giant puppet's eyes glowed red, looking down at him with cold eyes.

"Fuck! You can even drive a Gundam?!"

Li Nanke never expected that the Puppet King Romeo BOSS actually had a second stage, and the second stage was in the form of a Gundam.

Hmm... instead of calling this giant doll Gundam, it would be better to call it Zaku.

(End of this chapter)