The night breeze rustled through the courtyard as Flint held out a piece of cloth marked with the word 'Thief'. In the moonlight, the crude characters seemed to mock their situation.

"I'm giving you a chance to help me," she said, her voice soft but determined. "The puppets identify people by these markers. I need you to take over my cleaning duties for a few days while I prepare something before the Mystic Enigma Pavilion returns."

Spark's response wasn't the reluctant acceptance she'd expected. Instead, his lips curved into a wry smile, golden eyes glinting with amusement. "It would be my honor," he said with an exaggerated bow that somehow managed to be both playful and sincere.

Flint blinked, caught off guard by his ready agreement. "You accepted that surprisingly quickly," she observed, studying his face. "It's not like you."

The smile on Spark's face shifted, taking on a bittersweet quality that made her chest tighten. "Well," he said, his voice carrying an unusual weight, "we don't know when we'll see each other again after you leave."

The words hung in the air between them, heavy with unspoken meanings. The night seemed to grow quieter, as if holding its breath, while the moon cast long shadows across their faces.

"When I'm strong enough to kill that wooden man, I'll come find you," Spark broke the silence with a playful smirk, speaking horrifying words with an almost cheerful tone.

"Let's not do that," Flint said softly, knowing a single word wouldn't be enough to dissuade him from such a dangerous notion. She could only sigh quietly.

After bidding Spark farewell, Flint returned to her private quarters. Along with her, she brought several CPMs she'd harvested from the puppets she'd damaged in the warehouse. When did stealing from the Celestial Sword Sect become so mundane? she thought with bitter amusement.

Though she couldn't gain direct control of the CPMs, a new idea sparked in her mind - while she couldn't access their control systems, she could format them completely blank. Then, by uploading her own programs, she could intercept the passwords used by Iris or other maintenance staffs during their connections.

———

The jade tablet chimed incessantly at Spark's waist. His brows furrowed slightly - he already knew who was sending the messages. With obvious reluctance, he picked it up and glanced at the screen:

"Where are you, handsome wolf prince? "

"Are you at the training ground?"

He set the tablet down with barely concealed disgust. Having never discovered how to mute notifications, he was forced to endure its constant chiming. Behind him, the puppet's mechanical voice droned: "Please do not stop."

How irritating, Spark thought, equally annoyed by both sources of noise.

Lately, Flint had also been asking for his help, having him insert her modified crystal spheres - "central process modules," she called them - into seemingly intact puppets. She theorized that heavily damaged puppets might simply be discarded rather than repaired.

They'd spent considerable time figuring out how to access the puppets' heads. Eventually, they discovered that inserting a thin branch into an inconspicuous circular hole would pop open the access panel. The discovery had felt like a small victory in their covert operation.

"Why not ask Seedling for help?" Spark asked as he carefully pried open another puppet's access panel. The metallic scraping seemed unnaturally loud in the quiet courtyard.

"Better not involve her in something this dangerous," Flint replied without looking up from her work, fingers deftly manipulating the delicate crystal components. "The sect would show no mercy if we're caught."

A soft chuckle escaped Spark's lips. "Oh? But you don't mind involving me in your little heist?" His tone was light, teasing, despite the serious nature of their activities.

"You volunteered yourself," Flint pointed out with a small smile, finally glancing up to meet his golden gaze. "Already joined the thieves' den - don't tell me you're having second thoughts?"

The memory was interrupted by a voice that made Spark's stomach turn. "Hey, Spark! What brings you here?" It was Nightbane.

Then Spark realized there were two nauseating voices. "Handsome wolf boy!" Ring-adorned hands wrapped around him as Raven launched herself forward, catching him in a tight embrace. He noticed a small new ruby on one of the two rings on her right index finger - perhaps a recent purchase.

Raven nuzzled against Spark's chest. "Handsome wolf prince, I've missed you so much!"

Damn it. "Get off," Spark growled, pushing against Raven's shoulders, trying to pry her away. Why won't this woman leave me alone?

"Little wolf prince, why haven't you been responding to my messages? Did you block me?" Raven looked up at him, her chin resting on his collarbone.

Still frowning, Spark struggled to contain his anger as he attempted to push her away. "What's 'block'?"

Raven put on an exaggerated pout. "Blocking means setting your jade tablet to stop receiving my messages."

I didn't know that was possible. "That sounds useful. How do I block you?" Spark continued trying to dislodge her.

Nightbane's dog ears perked up with interest. "Oh, Spark, I had no idea you two were so close! Is she your girlfriend?"

"NO!" Spark roared. One Raven was irritating enough - he couldn't fathom why Nightbane had to be here too.

"Ah, so you must be in that ambiguous stage!" Nightbane declared with apparent revelation.

Spark nearly rolled his eyes when Raven chimed in: "I knew you hadn't blocked me! You must have feelings for me too!"

The puppet's mechanical voice grated in the background: "Please do not stop! Please do not stop!"

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Spark felt his nerves being crumpled and smoothed out repeatedly, like a piece of paper being tortured.

"Let go. I have no feelings for you." His voice was ice-cold, dripping with disgust.

Finally bothered by the puppet's noise, Raven turned her attention to it. "What's this puppet screeching about?" She walked over and tapped her crystal ear clip. Both the clip and the puppet's eyes flickered with cyan light.

Without her terminal present, she couldn't perform complex operations, so she simply powered down the puppet. At last, the irritating voice fell silent.

Raven turned back and caught sight of the 'Thief' character on Spark's back. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Spark, why do you have that marking? What happened?"

Spark's gaze darkened. "None of your business."

Nightbane eagerly jumped in, ever-ready to share the sect's gossip - after all, reporting to his master was his duty. "It must be because Flint was caught stealing and sentenced to forced labor. You're covering for her now, right Spark? I saw her sweeping here just days ago!"

Spark shot Nightbane a vicious glare. Can't you keep your dog mouth shut? The words were too hostile to voice aloud, so he settled for: "Keep quiet."

Raven stared at Spark with shock and confusion. "Spark, you're actually willing to help Flint with something like this?"

Spark's lip twitched, a humorless smile playing across his face. Before he could speak, Raven cut in:

"Didn't she say she was looking for her lover? Are you willing to share her with another man?"

The words he'd been about to say - "What's wrong with me being willing?" - died in his throat. His gaze grew colder still. As much as these two irritated him, his true hatred was reserved for Lenient - a creeping vine in his heart, slowly entwining his bones, its thorns spreading an icy chill through his entire body.

Seeing Spark's silence, Raven narrowed her eyes, a slight smirk playing on her lips. "Oh, did I hit a nerve?"

Spark remained noncommittal, gradually realizing how difficult it was to force others into silence. When I reach a higher level, these annoyances will decrease.

He adopted a calmer expression, though his eyes still held undisguised hatred - for Lenient. "Why are you here at the Celestial Sword Sect?" he asked Raven.

Raven widened her eyes innocently. "Didn't I tell you? You suddenly damaged a lot of puppets, so we're coming to replace them with new ones, set some parameters, repair the ones that might break..."

"But I came early," Raven's smile took on a seductive edge. "Because I missed you so much. I hitched a ride on someone's ethereal canoe - the other three in our group are still waiting for the new shipment."

Spark nodded with a brief "Mm," unwilling to show any further acknowledgment or welcome that Raven might misinterpret as affection.

Raven gazed at his eyes, golden and brilliant like Seraphic Citrine. Yet despite their sun-like warmth in color, they held all the piercing cold of winter ice, without a trace of joy.

Mocking his love life now would only make him more uncomfortable, Raven decided to try a subtler approach.

"Why do you still love her?" Raven's tone was calm, not questioning but simply curious, like a friend's well-meaning inquiry. This contrasted sharply with her previous over-enthusiasm, making Spark pause.

He glanced up at her, letting out the faintest sigh. "Love needs no reason."

"Alright." Raven shrugged. No use arguing with someone blinded by love.

Raven glanced at the deactivated surveillance puppet, then at Spark, and finally at Nightbane who was watching them intently. "I haven't seen Flint anywhere on my way here. Where is she?"

A flash of wariness crossed Spark's eyes. "Why are you looking for her?"

Raven shot him a smug look. "Flint and I are like-minded sisters! We share many views. We're planning to establish a sect together and make lots of money!"

Spark frowned. He'd never heard Flint mention anything about this.

Suddenly Nightbane chimed in: "I know! I saw Flint walk to-" Before he could finish, Spark lunged forward in one swift motion, clamping a hand over his mouth.

Spark stood there breathing heavily, his back damp with cold sweat. He'd acted almost without thinking, and only now, as his mind caught up, did he realize the danger - if Raven discovered what Flint was doing to those puppets, everything would be ruined.

"Keep quiet for now," Spark whispered beside Nightbane, who remained stunned and confused by Spark's sudden action.

"She's probably in her quarters studying that Terminal thing, I'm not sure," Spark deflected, steadying himself. The priority now was diverting Raven's attention. Time to put on a show.

"Speaking of which, is that a new ring you're wearing?" Spark took Raven's right hand with feigned intimacy, as if they were close friends, making a show of examining her rings. "What a beautiful ruby."

Raven had spent 5000 spirit stones from selling the Mystic Terminal on it - such a tiny stone for such a high price, barely noticeable. But Spark's compliment instantly lifted her mood, making her completely forget their previous discussion about Flint.

"So you think it's beautiful too?" Raven's eyes lit up, her tone turning joyful. "It even has storage capabilities. I heard it was crafted in Inferno Wolves territory."

Spark remembered Azure had given him one before he left, but he didn't want to wear, disliking jewelry. Now he couldn't help thinking that if he'd used the storage ring, their money wouldn't have been stolen by that wooden man. Damn him.

"Oh, what an honor - a gem from my homeland?" Spark forced cheer into his voice. From the side, Nightbane watched in confusion. How had these two gone from nearly arguing to such friendly terms?

"Hey, weren't you just going to look for Fl-" Nightbane finally recovered, but Spark cut him off immediately:

"Nightbane, come take a look at this ring."

Though Nightbane didn't understand Spark's intentions, he obediently came over like a well-trained puppy.

"It is beautiful," Nightbane stared at the glittering ruby with his large dog-like eyes. "My master has a ruby ring too! It's as big as a pigeon's egg! Also very beautiful!"

Spark rolled his eyes. Nobody cares about your master, he thought silently. Still, any topic was fine as long as it kept them from discussing Flint.

"What are you all doing?" Flint returned after finishing her installation of password-recording programs in the puppet's CPM, finding the three gathered around admiring a ring.

She was startled when she spotted Raven behind Spark and Nightbane, but quickly remembered - the Mystic Enigma Pavilion's maintenance team was due to arrive. Raven had mentioned this in her messages to Spark.

"Hm? The puppet's not pestering you to work anymore, Spark?" What caught Flint's attention first was the motionless surveillance puppet. Its eyes no longer glowed with their usual blue light - had it been powered down?

Spark quickly released Raven's hand, causing her brow to furrow slightly and her lips to form a small, disappointed pout.

Turning to face Flint, Spark explained, "Ah yes, Raven shut down this puppet."

Flint scratched her head. "I thought another one would come if one broke down?"

Raven chimed in: "That only happens if the puppet broadcasts a request for task reassignment before failing. I powered this one down directly, so it never sent out the broadcast."

Flint's eyes lit up. "So no more work then?"

Raven considered this. "In theory, yes. But if this puppet powers back on, it'll probably still look for you. Plus, tomorrow when the task list refreshes, they might notice this task wasn't completed and assign a new puppet to it."

Flint nodded with a sigh. "Well, at least I'm free for today."

"Long time no see, Raven, Nightbane." Flint realized she hadn't properly greeted the others, her attention drawn to the glowing ruby on Raven's right index finger. "Oh, Raven, is that a new ring?"

Delighted that Flint noticed her ring immediately, Raven sauntered over and draped her right arm around Flint's shoulders, extending her hand so the ruby, roughly the size of a fingernail, sparkled before Flint's eyes. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"It is," Flint nodded, not particularly skilled at the art of flattery but knowing enough to agree with others' preferences.

"By the way, how's your Soulweaver programming coming along?" Though Flint had claimed Spark's heart, making the handsome wolf prince unattainable, Raven found plenty of other men in the world. Clever and studious workhorses like Flint were rare. Raven's voice took on a seductive tone as she added, "We still have money to make together."

"It's going alright," Flint struggled to quantify her progress. "I fixed some bugs in your game, and wrote myself a rune to control natural aura flow." She touched the cloth at the back of her neck, printed with runes that directed natural aura movement. The plan to hack the puppets, of course, remained unmentioned.

Raven glanced at Flint's hand touching the rune, nodding: "Not bad. Any other thoughts about the game?"

Flint considered for a moment. "The difficulty never changes, which might bore players. We could increase it gradually - like making the raven fly faster as you play."

"Oh!" Raven's eyes lit up with revelation. "I never thought of that. You're so clever, Flint!"

Flint scratched her head, uncomfortable with praise as usual. "It's nothing really..." The glittering debris on her fingers caught Raven's attention.

"Flint, we were just looking for you!" Nightbane's voice carried his usual excessive enthusiasm. "I saw you going behind the dining hall... Spark? What's wrong?" Spark had quickly pinched Nightbane to signal silence, but the damage was done.

Spark and Flint tensed simultaneously, their eyes meeting briefly before darting away. "It's nothing," Spark offered with a resigned smile.

"Um, I was hungry, so I checked the kitchen's back entrance for food... less chance of being caught that way..." Flint improvised, "Yeah, and I asked Spark to cover my duties..."

Wait, isn't there just a warehouse full with puppets behind the Celestial Sword Sect's dining hall? Raven lifted Flint's left hand, examining the glittering debris. "What did you eat? Why are there sparkly fragments on your fingers? Looks like silver powder..."

Spark suddenly interrupted Raven: "Oh? Flint, where's that silver ring I gave you? The one with the Seraphic Citrine?"

Flint hesitated only briefly before catching Spark's cue, joining the improvised performance. She stared at the silver residue on her hands with feigned surprise: "Ah! Yes, I took it off when I was sneaking cake, did I leave it there? I should go look for it!"

Spark continued the act: "No need, I'll find it for you. Aren't you busy researching that Terminal thing? You should head back."

Raven frowned as she listened: "Pure silver rings shouldn't shed powder though..."

Spark slapped his thigh, putting on an angry expression: "I must've been cheated by that Adept-Level disciple! He probably just coated the ring with silver powder!" He added with theatrical rage, "The gem might be fake too! I should've brought one from home..."

Flint quickly played along: "No, no, the gem looked beautiful, like it was real..."

How did Flint and Spark's relationship improve so much while I was gone? Though Flint was planning to find someone else, Spark still gave her such a precious ring - and she actually accepted it? Raven pondered, Are girls who talk less the latest trend?

"Oh, Flint," Spark clasped her hand, "I promise I'll get you a real one next time, made from Inferno Wolves gems."

Then he turned to Raven: "Thank you for helping Flint notice her missing ring. When I return to Inferno Wolves, I'll send you an even larger gem ring with storage capabilities. We're friends after all, and you'll be founding a sect with Flint."

Spark's grand promises instantly lifted Raven's spirits, her attention completely diverted from Flint's hands. "That's wonderful, thank you! You're welcome to join my future sect too!"

Flint turned away with an imperceptible sigh, her back damp with sweat. Next time, if there really was a next time, she would definitely wear gloves.