Chapter 169 The Truth of the Fog City People

Chapter 169 The Truth About Fog City Dwellers

"What exactly are Fog City dwellers?"

Su Bai didn't beat around the bush with Mayor Bai, directly posing the most crucial question.

Mayor Bai, standing before Su Bai, looked somewhat surprised, as if he hadn't anticipated such a question. However, he quickly composed himself, smiling elegantly as he said, "Has Boss Bai forgotten? I am also a Fog City dweller."

Only then did Su Bai recall that this man, despite holding the title of "Mayor," was likely perceived by outsiders—the players—as just another Fog City dweller, no different from anyone else. After all, NPCs (non-player characters) in a game, regardless of their status, were ultimately still just NPCs. How could they possibly know such fundamental secrets concerning Fog City?

"Boss Bai's tone just now was rather peculiar, almost as if you were certain I could answer that question," Mayor Bai probed, all the while observing Su Bai, who stood firmly on his own two feet.

"And... is Boss Bai not a Fog City dweller, but an outsider?" Mayor Bai's expression remained unreadable, betraying no genuine emotion.

Throughout the questioning, Mayor Bai's gaze lingered on Su Bai. After a prolonged scrutiny, he even murmured with a tone of profound admiration, "Just as perfect as I imagined. With such flawless material, perhaps one could truly create..."

"Create what?"

Though Mayor Bai left his sentence unfinished, Su Bai's ears caught some unsettling implications.

Whether it was Mayor Bai's earlier remarks while standing behind him, the series of questions he posed, or his recent muttering, all seemed deliberate. Mayor Bai had no intention of concealing anything from Su Bai; in fact, he might even be actively trying to reveal more.

After all, Fog City itself was merely a terrifying and bizarre game for amusement, and Su Bai was just a pawn on the board who had piqued the other's interest.

However, judging by Mayor Bai's arrogant and self-satisfied demeanor, his understanding of Su Bai likely extended no further than "an interesting outsider."

Thus, facing this powerful and eerie entity, Su Bai was not entirely without his own advantages.

Still, engaging in verbal sparring with Mayor Bai was far safer than a direct confrontation, especially when dealing with a formidable entity capable of creating and destroying cities, and even commanding that increasingly ominous thick fog.

Regardless, the objective of this game was simply to escape Fog City. There was no need to provoke an entity of unknown strength.

"Indeed, Boss Bai is very curious about what Fog City dwellers are, aren't you? Do you believe that as the Mayor, I must harbor some secrets?" Just as Su Bai had suspected, Mayor Bai had no intention of hiding anything; from the beginning, he had merely been toying with him.

"Does Boss Bai know what a Puppeteer is?"

As Mayor Bai spoke, Su Bai first heard renewed shouts and sounds of combat from the direction of the thick fog, as if the eerie red mist had caused further trouble. Only then did Su Bai register Mayor Bai's mention of the term "Puppeteer."

Su Bai's understanding of "Puppeteer" was limited to his previous life, where he had encountered a player capable of controlling weak wandering spirits and ghosts, who was consequently dubbed a Puppeteer by others. But if Su Bai remembered correctly, according to the timeline of this life, that Puppeteer player should still be living a mundane nine-to-five existence in the real world.

Moreover, such a weak Puppeteer ability would hardly warrant Mayor Bai's attention. The "Puppeteer" Mayor Bai spoke of must be entirely different from the image Su Bai had in mind—likely an entity completely unknown to Su Bai.

"A Puppeteer?" Su Bai didn't even understand why the other would bring it up at this moment.

"The Puppeteer is the codename of that great being, one of the few standing at the pinnacle, and an existence I have always admired and looked up to," Mayor Bai took a few steps forward, positioning himself where he could see the thick fog ahead. "Although I have never met that great being in person, I've heard they are exceptionally skilled in crafting puppets, with appearances and joints so exquisite they are indistinguishable from perfect humans."

"Most astonishingly, even puppets made of wood, metal, or even mere strings and white paper can be imbued with life by the Puppeteer, transforming them into new creations with souls and self-awareness."

"It's a pity. While I admire that great being, my ability to craft puppets falls far short of theirs," Mayor Bai said, casting an appraising gaze at the panicked crowd near the thick fog, who were desperately trying to avoid the red mist.

"Could it be that Fog City dwellers are actually..." Su Bai realized why Mayor Bai had brought up the Puppeteer.

"Boss Bai must have seen those clay figures earlier, right? Although I tried my best to shape them into human forms, they are still far from 'exquisite.' Even so, this represents the absolute limit of my puppet-making skills," Mayor Bai sighed, feigning a headache.

"Is that so?" Su Bai also glanced at the panicked crowd not far away. Even from a distance, he could see that the red mist among the people had not only turned a vivid crimson but had also transformed from a thin wisp clinging to individuals into a visible, toxic gas permeating throughout the crowd.

The ground was littered with scattered clothes and fragments of clay. From the incomplete clay figures, it was evident that Mayor Bai’s puppet-making skills were as crude as the heavily made-up paper figures on the Route 444 Last Bus, barely surpassing the level of a child playing with modeling clay.

However, even that initial small wisp of white mist had caused terrifying chaos in the crowd. Su Bai could hardly imagine what the interior of the thick fog area looked like now.

"I know it's terrible," Mayor Bai had no illusions about his own creations. "But the hardest part of puppet-making isn't about making them look better; it's about imbuing them with vitality, a soul, and self-awareness. Without the latter, no matter how stunning a puppet’s appearance may be, it's essentially no different from a child’s rag doll."

"Since I lack the ability of the great Puppeteer, to create the puppets I desire, I had to find an alternative approach, such as..."

"Such as stuffing supernatural entities directly into the puppets you make?" Su Bai thought of this answer, a chill running through him. "To create a city’s residents, you allowed unknown supernatural entities to lurk inside clay puppets? And this is how you created the so-called humans in this city?"

"The results are quite effective, aren't they? You outsiders have been having a lot of fun, haven't you?" Mayor Bai’s gaze returned to Su Bai. "But those creations are still too crude. Perhaps I should try a different method to create more perfect puppets. For example... stuffing something else into the clay puppets?"