Chapter 70 Conquering Tianjing City

Nightmare Doll is coming? But aren’t I right here?

Feng Tianlin was truly bewildered, unable to grasp what was happening.

“Could it be that there’s another doll, and he’s the one ruling Tianjing City, and I’ve just been mistaken for him?”

At this point, that was the only explanation he could think of. After all, other than wiping out the Bureau of Investigation for Anomalous Creatures in Tianjing City, he hadn’t actually done much.

“Aren’t you the Nightmare Doll? Why is there another one?” Qi Xuan didn’t bother with pleasantries, asking directly.

“I have no idea, maybe it’s just a coincidence in names?” Feng Tianlin replied.

“In that case, just get rid of him. He seems to be the ruler of this city—take him down and the city is yours,” Qi Xuan suggested without hesitation.

Feng Tianlin nodded, saying nothing more.

Every anomalous creature present was staring in one direction, seemingly waiting for something. If Feng Tianlin guessed correctly, the so-called doll was about to appear from there.

Sure enough, before long, a C-rank puppet arrived, flanked by two B-rank anomalous beings.

This puppet was about one and a half meters tall, entirely made of solid wood, with a bizarre expression and stilted, mechanical movements.

As soon as he appeared, all the anomalous creatures wore respectful expressions—clearly, he was their leader.

“Hey, the Nightmare Doll you mentioned isn’t this wooden blockhead, is it?” Feng Tianlin prodded the dog-headed half-human beside him.

“How could you say that? If it weren’t for the Nightmare Doll, we anomalous beings would still be hunted by humans,” the half-human dog, who had been loyally panting, was so startled by Feng Tianlin’s words that his tongue rolled back into his mouth.

Now Feng Tianlin was certain—the puppet was an impostor.

The puppet strode straight toward the ghostly train, reaching out to touch it, as if wanting to board.

Feng Tianlin promptly recalled the train, glaring coldly at the puppet.

Noticing Feng Tianlin, the puppet raised its head arrogantly. “So, you’re the owner of this train?”

“That’s right.”

“I like this train. If you give it to me, I’ll allow you priority to absorb fear in this city, help you grow stronger,” the puppet boasted, patting its own chest.

Feng Tianlin’s face twitched in exasperation. Qi Xuan was stunned, and Bai Langen asked kindly from the side, “Master, do you want me to kill him for you?”

“No need,” Feng Tianlin waved her off, then yanked the puppet’s leg, sending it sprawling to the ground. He stared straight into its eyes. “What’s your name, kid?”

This action enraged the two B-rank anomalous beings at the puppet’s side. They were about to step forward and teach Feng Tianlin a lesson, but Qi Xuan and Bai Langen unleashed their auras, suffocating terror enveloping the entire space.

No anomalous being dared make a sound now.

“M-my name... Nightmare Doll,” the puppet, cowed by the oppressive atmosphere, immediately gave up resisting.

“Nightmare Doll? You’re not even a real doll, and you call yourself Nightmare Doll?” Feng Tianlin pressed, eyes wide.

“I really am called Nightmare Doll—when I first became self-aware, these two called me Doll. They said I was the city lord,” the puppet stammered, pointing at the two B-rank beings.

Feng Tianlin turned to them. “And you two, who are you?”

“We serve the Venom Queen and the Evil King! And you, who are you?” Even now, the two anomalous beings remained defiant.

“I am the Nightmare Doll—the true Nightmare Doll,” Feng Tianlin replied coldly.

The Venom Queen’s subordinates... He didn’t mind erasing them in the blink of an eye.

At his words, the two B-ranks nearly collapsed, memories of the true doll overlapping with the figure before them—this was the real Nightmare Doll!

Their attitude changed instantly.

“So it’s the Nightmare Doll! Our boss is the Black Crimson Fiend. He sent us to Tianjing City to find you, but back then we weren’t sentient. We mistakenly thought this puppet was you and made him the ruler. We meant no harm!” they pleaded.

Feng Tianlin sneered, freezing them both into popsicles and kicking them away.

Who would believe such an excuse?

After this, he used the Mimicker to magnify his body until it towered over the crowd, calling down to those below.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Nightmare Doll—the true master of this city.”

The anomalous beings below looked on in disbelief, then glanced at the puppet sprawled on the ground, silent and motionless. Half of them were convinced already.

Knowing words alone wouldn’t win them over, Feng Tianlin unleashed his domain, pulling all the anomalous beings into his eerie realm.

A blood-red glow filled the sky. The anomalous beings felt their own powers intensify, delight spreading across their faces.

Looking up at Feng Tianlin, they sensed an instinctive urge to submit.

Only now did they realize—Feng Tianlin was their true leader.

No one knew who started it, but soon all the anomalous beings knelt down, a gesture of total submission.

Seeing this, Feng Tianlin nodded in satisfaction, then nudged the puppet pretending to be dead. “From now on, you’re the Demon Puppet. Now, take us to see the city.”

The Demon Puppet, thinking his life was over, was ecstatic at this reprieve.

“Yes, yes, I’ll show you around!”

And so, Feng Tianlin and his group began their tour.

Before long, they arrived at a massive building. The Demon Puppet introduced it: “This is the Terror Factory we built. Inside are humans who continuously generate fear for us to absorb.”

Feng Tianlin nodded—he could sense the fear emanating from within the structure.

As soon as they stepped inside, the air was filled with harrowing screams.

A long corridor stretched before them, flanked by rooms from which the screams issued.

Countless vengeful spirits drifted about, their wails echoing through the halls.

“All these spirits are steeped in murderous intent. We also have an anomalous being that produces hallucinogenic agents, so these humans are kept in a constant state of terror,” the Demon Puppet explained eagerly.

Feng Tianlin nodded. This was indeed an effective way to harvest fear, but it was still barely sufficient to sustain all the anomalous beings in a city.

“Is this all?”

“There are several such factories throughout the city—but this isn’t even the most interesting part. The real intrigue is below,” the Demon Puppet said excitedly.

“Below?” Feng Tianlin was puzzled, but followed the puppet downstairs, with Long Mengting and the others trailing behind.

They entered the basement, which was an arena. Down in the ring, a group of children were made to fight each other, while the spectator seats were filled with humans and anomalous beings.

The anomalous beings were visibly excited, while the humans wore only bitter resignation.

“Weren’t they just fighting humans? Why didn’t these high-ranking anomalous beings join the battle earlier?” Feng Tianlin asked coldly.

“These are all anomalous beings with special abilities. In Tianjing City, they’re the elite—I don’t even dare to order them around, let alone send them to fight...” the Demon Puppet replied, aggrieved.