Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Collaboration Proposal (2)
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Beep—beep—beep—click!
Oliver turned off the alarm clock, slipped his gloves back on, and tied his apron around his waist.
Then he used a hook with a handle to pull out the corpses.
There were three bodies in total.
They were the corpses of a doctor and a black mage he'd bought from the Black Market, plus the Martel affiliate who'd been killed trying to break into his basement by the security black magic.
Thanks to over six hours of processing, all the bodies were in good condition.
The Martel affiliate's corpse had some rotten parts that needed to be cut away extensively, but even so, it was still pretty decent.
"Not like I'm planning to use it for long anyway."
With that judgment, Oliver grunted as he lifted the corpses onto the workbench one by one.
"Guess I need to work out a bit..."
Oliver muttered amid the familiar yet unfamiliar physical labor, then glanced at the book mounted on a stand at one end of the table.
He first grabbed a scalpel and, following the instructions in the book, made incisions at key points before prying them open to inspect the bones inside.
Fortunately, there were no damaged bones.
Oliver fetched some chemicals and sprayed a bone-strengthening coating solution from a sprayer, then stitched the split sections with needle and thread. Next, he finished up by applying a special adhesive made by mixing human flesh and chemicals with black magic.
Surprisingly, the split flesh adhered perfectly, as if nothing had happened.
He repeated this process several times.
Eventually, Oliver finished all three corpses.
His back was already aching, and his shoulders and arms throbbed, but he pressed on without stopping.
Part of it was the tight deadline, but he also keenly felt the need for an assistant cadaver puppet the more exhausted he got.
It seemed better to tough it out now and secure reliable help for sure.
With his resolve firm, Oliver began disassembling the bodies according to his pre-planned design.
He first placed the black mage's corpse—which would serve as the central axis—on the workbench, sliced the flesh around the shoulder with a scalpel, and used a joint extractor to cleanly detach the arm from the shoulder.
Crack!
Oliver examined the neatly removed arm segment, then checked the notes in the book.
This looked good enough.
He removed the other arm the same way, then picked up his modified surgical saw and started cutting vertically from the outer side of the collarbone down to the waist.
Slice-slice... swish-swish.
Though it was his first time, it went better than expected, so Oliver figured it was practice and positioned the saw on the opposite side to cut again.
Slice-slice... swish-swish.
After finishing, he did the same to the other two bodies.
He detached both arms from the remaining two corpses as well, calculated the joining points, and sawed off the necks and shoulders between them with the surgical saw.
Oliver put the unnecessary parts into a special bag, then surveyed the six severed arms and the three truncated torsos.
"Hm..."
While checking the book for the next step, Oliver decided to start by attaching the torsos together.
With the black mage's torso as the center, he butted the doctor's to the left and the Martel affiliate's to the right, stitched the joints with heavy suture, drove special bolts into the protruding root bones of the shoulders from both sides and tightened them, bound the ribs strongly with copper wire to prevent shaking, applied chemicals to add elasticity and prevent fractures, and finally sealed the flesh cleanly with the special adhesive.
He shook the body to check the fixings, then fetched the iron chains hanging from the ceiling pulley and bound them around the body to force it upright.
Clank! Clank! Thud!
The heavy corpse, secured by the chains, stood up swaying like a drunkard.
Oliver brought several copper wires from the Black Market and, as per the book's instructions, inserted them into each torso's spine, then connected them to the others.
Black mage to doctor.
Black mage to Martel affiliate.
Martel affiliate to doctor.
That way, the cadaver puppet could move without confusion.
After fully wiring and connecting them, Oliver pulled the ends of the Martel and doctor torsos together for the final join, nearly letting it roll off since it was now cylindrical. Then he prepared to attach the arms.
He planned the arm mounting points based on the black mage's torso, positioning them where needed for the work.
Two at each shoulder, two below the chest, and so on.
Oliver first brought over a drill-like machine.
A metallic tool gleaming like silver, just like the surgical saw. He pressed it to the spots designated for the arms and hand-cranked it to gouge out the flesh and bone.
Grind-grind-grind-grind-grind-grind—
The metallic scraping of flesh and bone echoed chillingly through the basement.
After drilling all six holes, Oliver wiped his sweat with a towel and took out six metal joint fixtures used for cadaver puppets.
He picked up a joint fixture and jammed the rear peg into the prepared hole with all his might.
Poke!
He'd made the holes deliberately small for a tight fit, but just to be safe, he added more adhesive and bolts to secure it firmly.
Oliver inserted the joint fixtures into the remaining five holes the same way, then fitted the pre-removed arms into them, added more bolts, and aligned them securely.
With that, the basic form was taking shape.
"Phew..."
Oliver wiped his forehead with the hand holding the hammer, then inspected the cadaver puppet—Helper 1—made from the three bodies.
It wasn't exactly as he'd envisioned, but it was satisfying enough.
Oliver immediately fetched equipment and parts to add detailed functions to Helper 1.
Storage cases for surgical tools and chemicals, tanks for mana, emotions, and life force, metal pipes to draw and use them.
He also added firearms, blades, acid sprayers, and the like for any unexpected situations.
Better safe than sorry.
This part went surprisingly smoothly, as he'd gotten the knack from repairing cadaver puppets along the way.
"Haa..."
After finishing the final touches and removing his apron to wipe himself down, Oliver let out a breath.
It had been longer and more grueling than expected, but somehow he'd pulled it off.
Oliver checked the clock. Fortunately, there was still time.
"Good thing it didn't slack off."
With those words, Oliver went to his desk and took out a test tube.
It contained Child-First.
"First. Mind giving me a hand?"
As Oliver whispered and uncapped the tube, First let out a squeak and entered the head of the cadaver puppet Helper 1.
The puppet twitched.
Moments later, having taken control, Helper 1 slowly raised its head with difficulty.
The other two heads moved awkwardly as well.
'Hm, seems like multiple heads aren't a big issue as long as the bodies are connected. Wonder if multiple Children could possess it without problems?'
Oliver pondered while observing the moving Child.
Soon, having fully seized the cadaver puppet, First looked at Oliver with its three heads and rasped metallically.
"Kyaaah... Kahaah. Keuhe... Kyahaha."
It was more like an incomprehensible wail, but Oliver roughly grasped the meaning.
"You want the chains off?"
"Kah...! Kya...!!"
First nodded its three heads.
As requested, Oliver unbound the chains holding the body.
Clank.
First stood awkwardly like someone with prosthetic legs, took a few steps, and began complaining about improvements.
"Kyahaha... Kyaruk... Gakyarr."
Three of its six hands pointed to the leg areas.
Oliver got the gist.
The legs weren't aligned properly with the fused torso, making walking uncomfortable. Indeed, the six legs moved disjointedly and unnaturally.
"Hm... I'll improve that later. Anything else wrong?"
First flexed its arms this way and that, then shook its heads as if it wasn't sure yet.
"Good. If any problems come up later, let me know. I'll fix them."
First nodded with clack-clack sounds. It seemed pleased with the new cadaver puppet.
"Hm... First. If it's not too much trouble, could you help me out? Sorry to put you to work right after recovery, but time's short. Pretty please?"
Oliver pointed at the clock.
First eagerly nodded all three heads.
"Kyahruk...!"
Making the helper cadaver puppet wasn't a bad idea.
Though it took considerable time, cost, and effort to create Helper 1, once it was done, his work speed skyrocketed.
To the point where he repaired the black mage, sniper, and ragtag cadaver puppets damaged by Duncan before the appointed time—and even upgraded them to boot.
Thanks to being made from three bodies, Helper 1 was strong enough to move the cadaver puppets like pillows, and its surgical and crafting skills surpassed Oliver's, so honestly, just giving orders would have sufficed.
Even so, Oliver didn't hand everything off; he worked alongside Helper 1 to hone his own skills.
Delegating completely might be easier, but it wouldn't improve his abilities. For better creations, Oliver's growth was essential.
Vrooom.
The taxi slowed with a small sound and pulled over to the roadside.
The weasel-like driver cautiously turned to the back seat and spoke.
"Sir... H-heh. Heh. We've arrived at the destination you mentioned."
Perhaps anxious just from being near the rough X District, he spoke with unease in his eyes.
Oliver nodded and pulled out his wallet to pay the agreed amount.
"Double as promised. Sorry for pushing you. Time was tight, but thanks to you, I made it. Appreciate it."
"Haha... No problem..."
The driver nodded awkwardly, took the money, and as soon as Oliver got out, whipped the car around and sped off.
Apparently, taxi drivers had different personalities too.
After the taxi left, Oliver headed toward the entrance of X District.
'How many times has it been now? Doesn't feel that long ago.'
Oliver thought back.
Once with Joseph at first, once more when he left the Family to meet him, plus Murphy's request, meeting Jo, and now. Total of five visits.
He'd come quite often, yet the wary, hostile gazes lurking from buildings and alleys hadn't diminished.
They weren't particularly bothersome, but it was intriguing.
The remnants of the Kell Free Independence Army that Oliver was targeting were hiding in X District, a place that viewed outsiders with extreme suspicion. He couldn't fathom how they'd blended in.
If they had some special method, it might be hard for him to find them.
"Lucky Jo offered to help, then."
Three days ago at the Black Market, Jo had guessed the situation from Oliver's vague mention of "having business" and even offered assistance.
'Well, technically, he asked to join in.'
These kinds of jobs paid well, but opportunities rarely came their way due to trust issues, so he wanted in on Oliver's.
In exchange, he'd handle the search, which Oliver struggled with.
'What was it... "You seem weak at that stuff."'
Jo had said it carefully, not as an insult, and Oliver accepted immediately.
Searching was unfamiliar territory for him, just as Jo said.
With permission granted, Jo added two more participants and proposed splitting total profits half to Oliver, half between him and his friends.
Oliver agreed right away.
He couldn't imagine combing X District alone.
"This the place?"
Oliver looked around and said.
It was a residential area with cramped red buildings packed suffocatingly close compared to other districts.
Even a third were unfinished, just bare walls like fences. He wondered what that was about.
"Right here."
As he wandered looking around uncertainly, someone called out to him.
Turning, he saw Jo standing in front of a dusty red house.
Behind Jo were Sam with the dual pistols from the contaminated zone, and a large, fat black-skinned teenager.
Oliver greeted them warmly.
"Ah, good to see you."
"...Me too. Shall we talk inside?"
Jo opened the door and suggested.