Cracked (Physically Speaking)
Roland crawled to the side of the bed and began to vomit.
Hearing the noise, Net and Ayou gradually woke up.
The two of them looked at Roland's state, unsure of what had happened.
After Roland recovered, he wiped his mouth and said to Net,
"Net, this stuff of yours is too potent. It even made me have a nightmare."
"Ah, indeed. Just now, I think I saw her."
At this moment, Roland recalled the scene from his dream and asked Ayou, who was nearby,
"Ayou, do you know about The Ring?"
"Oh, I think I do. Back when I was chatting with Rat and the others, Rat mentioned wanting to become a Finger and told me about the five Fingers. The Ring seems to be a bunch of crazy artists. What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
Roland looked at Ayou's innocent expression before him and ultimately decided not to suspect him.
"Hmm, it's nothing. I just had a nightmare that you turned into a lunatic."
At this moment, Ayou was speechless.
"You're awake."
Angela walked in and then said,
The three of them looked at Angela, then at the bed that had appeared out of thin air, and simultaneously at the beer bottles scattered all over the floor.
Recalling this scene, all they wanted to do was slip away immediately.
"Since you're awake, hurry up and get to work. Go collect the books."
Ayou immediately teleported away, while Roland was still scrambling on the floor.
Net thought to himself,
"Wait, where am I supposed to run to? This is my floor, damn it!"
Finally, Net awkwardly scratched his head and said,
"Um, Angela, when did you get here?"
Angela said with a helpless expression,
"Or perhaps, I've actually been here the whole time."
Net's expression looked a bit dead.
"Th-then, what about that?"
"Thanks for the compliment."
At this moment, Net had petrified and shattered.
In reality, while they were sleeping, Marcus had been found by Angela, who gave him some needle and thread.
Marcus looked at the needle and thread in his hand, then at the bear Angela was holding, and asked,
"What is it this time?"
Angela handed over the book.
"Ah, I remember this. Wait a second, Angela, that thing in your hand..."
"Hmm, it's nothing, just an ordinary teddy bear."
"Oh, I didn't expect you to like this too."
Angela said somewhat shyly,
"Um, you... you go suppress it first. I'm leaving."
Angela vanished in a flash. Afterward, Marcus looked at the book of Happy Teddy in his hand.
He called Finn and Mars over. After some discussion, they all entered the Book World together.
As soon as the three of them entered the Book World, the teddy bear walked over. Seeing people had arrived, it wanted to get close to Marcus.
By the time Marcus realized someone was approaching, it was already too late. He turned around to see the giant toy bear's claws wrapping around him.
"Wait, hold on."
Then, he felt a tremendous squeezing sensation.
"So tight..."
He began trying to break free, but it was to no avail.
Seeing this situation, Mars and Finn immediately drew their weapons and slashed at the teddy bear's arm.
They successfully reduced the teddy bear's strength, and Marcus was able to break free.
After Marcus recovered and took two deep breaths, he said,
"Thank you both. Focus on the fight, but don't be too brutal; we have to clean up afterwards."
The blades struck the teddy bear's body, but didn't cause any real damage, only making its fabric more tattered.
However, as the wounds multiplied, the cotton inside began to spill out until it couldn't be contained anymore.
Its attacks also became soft and harmless.
With the final blow, Finn's sword struck the teddy bear's leg, making it unable to stand, and then its entire massive body collapsed to the ground.
Finally, accompanied by the massive impact of hitting the ground, one of its arms was torn off.
Marcus stopped the two beside him.
"It can't move anymore. Stop."
At this moment, Finn asked,
"So, what are we supposed to do now?"
"It's obvious. We need to sew it back together."
Mars wore a confused expression.
Marcus took out the needle and thread Angela had given him, divided them into three parts, and handed them to Finn and Mars.
"In a sense, we don't need to suppress them. With the spread of the Light, their Qliphoth energy tends to become unstable. So, we just need to soothe their emotions. Letting them calm down is enough."
The three of them gathered around the teddy bear and began to stitch it up.
The teddy bear's black eyes seemed to move, but then again, perhaps they didn't.
Its body was lying on the ground, unable to turn. Mars looked at the needle and thread in his hand, at a loss.
Marcus spoke to Mars,
"Why don't you go pick up that arm first?"
Mars thought about it and agreed; it seemed he didn't know how to sew.
Finn was on the side, sewing with ease.
"In the past, my sister often helped me sew my clothes. Even though I'm a newly promoted Grade 9 Fixer, I've learned a bit because I'd just sew up my clothes whenever they got damaged."
Mars was clumsy and not very good at it.
Marcus was sewing earnestly.
"Expressing love doesn't require a tight embrace. Even if the master might leave, we must also protect ourselves."
Mars, on the side, decided not to sew anymore because his stitching looked a bit ugly.
One of the teddy bear's two eyes had fallen off and couldn't be found. Marcus then used the needle and thread to sew up the torn hole.
"Even if there's no one to keep you company, we must treat others well. We can also be your new friends. Don't break yourself again next time."
As the cotton was stuffed back in, the needle and thread stitched it up without a single gap.
It stood up again. Marcus looked at it.
It seemed to have everything, but something still felt missing.
After thinking for a while, he thought of something and produced a pen, reaching out to touch the teddy bear's head, but because of his height, he couldn't quite reach.
He stood on tiptoe, but he was still a bit short, and the teddy bear, seeing the scene before it, lowered its head in cooperation.
Marcus used the pen to draw a new eye where the old one was missing. Although it looked a bit out of place, the teddy bear seemed very happy. It touched its eye with its hand, then looked at Marcus.
The teddy bear opened its arms, seemingly wanting a hug again.
"Wait a second, um... only a gentle hug, okay?"
Then, the giant claws pulled all three of them into its embrace.
Marcus said from within the embrace,
"Uh, it still seems a bit too tight."
After a while, the teddy bear voluntarily loosened its arms.
Then, the teddy bear's body began to turn into light.
Pages drifted from its body. The three of them were moved out of the Book World again.
After the three of them left the Book World, Marcus immediately saw a small bear placed on the table.
It was somewhat damaged. One of its two eyes was a sparkling black gemstone, while the other was merely painted on.
Marcus walked up, picked up the teddy bear, and stroked it, his thoughts unknown.
Afterward, Roland came over to deliver books.
"Hey, Finn, come give me a hand. I seem to have brought a bit too many books."
Marcus turned to look.
"Mr. Roland, I'll help too."