Trickster Hunter.

Chapter 484 Sympathy Puppet

“A black wax figure… I suddenly thought of something,” Wang Xiyi said.

"What is it?" Yan Yu'an and Sun Hang asked at the same time.

"It's a kind of plastic toy soldier, made by molding. It can only hold one pose and can't be used. It also has a plastic base attached to its feet. They sell it outside the elementary school in Tianfu City for 50 cents a bag. I bought several bags when I passed by there. They have soldiers in all sorts of poses, some shooting guns, some running and charging... I remember there were some poses where the soldiers were lying on the ground struggling in pain, but those poses seem quite rare. After all, the kids who buy these toys don't want their plastic soldier army to have many 'dying' soldiers like that," Wang Xiyi said.

“Now that you mention it… it really does look like it.” Yan Yu’an nodded slightly. Clearly, she had also played with or seen the toy soldiers that Wang Xiyi described.

“I want to give it a try,” Sun Hang suddenly said.

"Try what?" Wang Xiyi asked.

"Try it and see what it feels like after touching this liquid."

“No!” Yan Yu’an said immediately. “I know you are very capable and have many incredible abilities, but doing this is too risky. I can’t guarantee anything… If you insist on trying, I will use every means to stop you.”

"Can you stop me?" Sun Hang asked, glancing at her sideways.

“I will do my best,” Yan Yu’an said. “You can kill me, but as long as I live, I will not let you come into contact with this liquid.”

“You can hold a knife and keep an eye on things. Once the body starts to be assimilated, you can just cut off the assimilated parts,” Sun Hang said with a shrug.

“The assimilation speed is uncontrollable… Among those soldiers who were assimilated, the slowest one struggled for more than ten minutes, while the fastest one was assimilated in just a few seconds,” Yan Yu’an said. “What if you were assimilated the moment you came into contact with the black liquid?”

"That's why I said... you're really inflexible," Sun Hang sighed. "Don't you really know how to be flexible at all?"

Yan Yu'an didn't say anything, but took two steps closer to Sun Hang.

Judging from her posture, if Sun Hang dared to move any part of his body toward the direction where the black liquid was spreading, she would immediately pounce on him and use brute force to drag him away—of course, whether she could actually drag him away was another matter.

“You said it yourself, I have many incredible abilities… so why should I use my physical body to come into contact with this liquid?” As he spoke, a figure emerged from behind Sun Hang as if a cicada had shed its shell.

This was a snow-white humanoid mycelium puppet—Sun Hang didn't even bother to mold it into his own shape. The mycelium puppet stood there, looking like a mannequin in a clothing store.

“Oh no… being too frugal won’t work either; we still need to have the necessary things.” Sun Hang looked the mycelium puppet up and down. The next second, human features suddenly appeared on the puppet’s previously empty face, and hair and pores appeared on its previously smooth skin. The blood vessels and muscles under the skin were also perfectly simulated.

Wang Xiyi glanced at the lower half of the mannequin and said with a smile, "You even have to sculpt this thing?"

“Yes, to ensure the puppet’s reactions are realistic enough, I replicated it according to a one-to-one human body structure.” Sun Hang nodded. “Now, apart from lacking self-awareness, it is no different from a normal human in every other way.”

"So you've essentially created a person out of thin air?" Wang Xiyi asked, slightly surprised. "Is this still considered a puppet?" "Yes. Those human organs and various life activities were all simulated by me using Tai Sui mycelium," Sun Hang said. "As long as the connection between me and it is broken, this puppet will collapse on its own in no time."

"Are you planning to use a puppet for testing?" Yan Yu'an's tone softened slightly.

"Otherwise what?" Sun Hang said irritably. "Do you really think I'm stupid?"

Yan Yu'an: "..."

“This puppet’s senses are directly connected to my consciousness. All the sensations it feels will be shared with me immediately, including the various physiological reactions of the body…” Sun Hang said as he manipulated the puppet to walk towards the bar.

However, before the puppet could even reach the bar, its feet were "stuck" to the floor by the overflowing black liquid.

"How does it feel?" Wang Xiyi asked quickly.

"It feels like there are a lot of needles pricking the soles of my feet. This stinging sensation... how should I put it, it's both painful and itchy, it's absolutely maddening." Sun Hang rubbed his cheek. "To be honest, it's fucking uncomfortable."

"It's assimilated to the ankles," Yan Yu'an said in a deep voice. The mycelium puppet's feet had turned completely black, and a black tinge was rapidly spreading upwards.

"Can you still feel your feet?" Wang Xiyi asked again.

“I can’t feel anything anymore. My feet don’t belong to me anymore.” Sun Hang shook his head. “That unbearable stinging pain is spreading upwards along my legs. With each inch it spreads upwards, I lose sensation in my limbs… It’s like my body is being swallowed up bit by bit.”

Finally, when the assimilation effect spread to the mycelial puppet's chest, Sun Hang severed the empathic connection between himself and the puppet—the feeling of his lungs being assimilated bit by bit was truly maddening…

"It's like chugging a whole bottle of paraquat and having your entire lungs become fibrotic," Sun Hang commented.

"Good heavens, you've actually drunk paraquat?" Wang Xiyi exclaimed in surprise. "How come I didn't know? Did your past memories awaken? But that doesn't make sense. If you really had drunk it, you wouldn't be in this mess now, would you?"

“No, I’ve only seen people drink it on TV,” Sun Hang said. “But I think it’s pretty much the same feeling.”

It must be said that Sun Hang did indeed have firsthand experience after drinking paraquat.

This memory comes from a cult member who was devoured by a Tai Sui (a type of rare fungus). After arguing with his family, he drank half a bottle of paraquat in a fit of anger. After seeking medical treatment for many days, the doctor gently advised him to "go home and wait to die"... In despair, his family found the cult that worshipped Tai Sui...

It must be said that Tai Sui's reconstructive ability is indeed useful. Nearly 80% of that person's lung tissue was fibrotic, but Tai Sui still managed to pull the person back from the brink of death and even let him live for another four years before "sacrificing" him as nourishment.

No wonder those believers are so devoted to Tai Sui.

(End of this chapter)