Rocot: Reborn

The black hoverbike drew a streak of light in the night sky. Rocot stopped roughly in front of a dilapidated metal warehouse. The warning light on the warehouse door flashed a faint red light, like a dying eye.

"This damn place is still the same, gloomy and eerie, just like its owner." Rocot cursed under his breath and stopped the motorcycle.

He walked to the door of the warehouse and banged on the rusty iron door with great force, making a deafening sound. "Hey! Old ghost! I know you are in there, get out of here!"

After a moment, the warehouse door slowly opened, and a hunched figure appeared behind the door. His face could not be seen in the dim light, only a pair of sharp eyes flickered in the darkness.

"Lockold, you are still so impatient. Can't you greet me in a different way?"

"Stop talking nonsense, old ghost. I'm here to ask you a favor." Rocot interrupted him impatiently.

"Oh? Beg me?" The old ghost sneered, "The King of Darkness also needs to beg for help?"

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'm leaving now."

The old ghost looked at him, as if trying to read something from his face. After a moment, he stepped aside and said, "Come in, let me see what can make you lower yourself to beg me."

The warehouse was dark and damp, filled with the smell of machine oil and metal. All kinds of strange-shaped mechanical parts filled the room. The flashing lights and jumping electric arcs made it look more like a mad scientist's laboratory.

Rocot looked around and frowned in disgust. "Can't you clean up this place? Someone would think I was in a garbage dump."

The old ghost ignored his complaints, walked to a workbench piled with blueprints, picked up a metal box and threw it to him, "What you want."

Roccod grabbed the box and opened it. Inside was a chip that was glowing with a faint blue light. He recognized it immediately. It was the masterpiece of "Night Owl" - "Puppet Heart".

"Where did you get it?" Rocot suddenly raised his head, with a cold light in his eyes.

The old ghost poured himself a cup of unknown liquid and drank it all. "I'm not so old that I can't even deal with those rats of Night Owl."

"Don't play dumb with me. Tell me, what do you want to do?"

"Don't be nervous. I just want to know who can make the famous King of Darkness so embarrassed?" The old ghost walked up to Roccod, stared into his eyes, with a hint of amusement in his tone.

Locot remained silent. He certainly would not tell the old ghost that he was tricked by a woman.

"What? You don't want to tell me?" The old ghost sneered, "Well, everyone has their own secrets, and I won't force you, but..."

He deliberately prolonged his voice, "I heard that once the 'Puppet Heart' is implanted, it can never be removed, unless..."

"Unless what?" Rocot grabbed the old ghost by the collar, his tone filled with anxiety.

The old ghost let him grab him, still with an unfathomable smile on his face, "Unless we find the designer of the 'Puppet Heart', only he can unlock this shackle."

"Found the designer of 'Puppet Heart'? Ha, are you kidding me, old ghost?" Roccod slammed the "Puppet Heart" on the workbench. The metal shell collided with the table, making a harsh sound, as if it was a mockery of the old ghost.

"That madman 'Night Owl' has disappeared for decades. Where do you want me to find him?" Rocot scratched his hair irritably, his originally handsome face now filled with gloom.

The old ghost slowly poured himself another glass of unknown liquid. The scarlet liquid looked particularly strange under the dim light. He took a sip gently, as if he was tasting some rare wine.

"I didn't ask you to go find Night Owl." The old ghost put down the cup, stared at Roccod with his sharp eyes, and said word by word, "I asked you to find his daughter."

"Daughter?" Roccod was stunned for a moment, then he suddenly raised his head as if he remembered something, "You mean, Elvira?"

"Yes, it's that little girl." The old ghost's mouth curled up in a playful arc, and he seemed to enjoy seeing Rocot's surprised expression.

"Impossible, she is just a little girl, how could she possibly..."

Before Locot could finish his words, he was rudely interrupted by the old ghost, "Don't forget who picked you up from the garbage dump, kid, when did you miss my news?"

"Avira inherited her father's talent, and even surpassed it. 'Puppet Heart' is her improved version." The old ghost walked up to Lokod, patted his shoulder, with a hint of warning in his tone.

"Stop trying to be clever, Rocot. You can't outsmart her."

Roccod was silent. The old ghost's words undoubtedly dropped a bombshell on him. Elvira, the little girl he had met several times, turned out to be the daughter of "Night Owl" and was also proficient in the forbidden technology of "Puppet Heart"?

He suddenly felt a headache, and things seemed to be getting more and more complicated.

"I know what you're thinking, kid." The old ghost seemed to see through his thoughts, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone, "You're afraid."

"Afraid?" Rocot sneered, "Would I be afraid of a yellow-haired girl?"

"No, you are not afraid of her, you are afraid to face the past." The old ghost walked up to Roccod, looked straight into his eyes, and said word by word.

"You are afraid to face yourself who was betrayed by a woman, sold out by your subordinates, and ultimately ended up in complete failure."

Locot's pupils suddenly contracted. The old ghost's words were like a sharp blade, piercing into his heart and tearing open the scar he had deliberately hidden.

"Shut up! You don't understand anything!" Rocot grabbed the old ghost by the collar and roared.

"I know more than you think." The old ghost let him grab him, still with an unpredictable smile on his face, "Don't run away anymore, Rocco, go find Elvira, solve the secret of the 'Puppet Heart', and also solve your own knot."

The old ghost's words echoed in Locke's ears. He let go of his hand and sat down on the chair dejectedly, his eyes full of struggle.

After a long while, he raised his head and looked at the old ghost, with a hint of determination in his tone, "Tell me, where is she?"

The old ghost smiled, he knew that Rocot had made his choice.

"Black market auction. In three days, she will show up with a 'masterpiece'." The old ghost walked to the workbench, picked up a photo and threw it to Roccod.

In the photo, a hot woman wearing a black tights stood under the light, with a silver mask on her face, revealing only a pair of wild eyes. It was Elvira.

"Remember, kid, be careful not to play with fire and get burned." The old ghost's voice sounded in Locke's ears, with a hint of warning and a hint of...expectation?

Roccod didn't say anything, but just tightly grasped the photo in his hand, with a complicated look in his eyes.

He knew that this time, he would face not only a powerful enemy, but also... himself.