Chapter 42: Excited Irene

Chapter 42: Excited Irene

Inside a rented house deep along Wutong Road in the old district, a burly man nearly two meters tall was curled up on a single-person sofa that seemed a little cramped for someone his size, carefully maintaining his equipment with his head lowered.

It was a beam dagger. Small teardrop-shaped crystals were embedded in its dark red handle. The crystals formed a line that ran through the entire body of the weapon. The handle had clearly been custom-made according to its user’s specifications, fitting perfectly within the giant man’s broad palm.

The burly man flipped his wrist, spinning the dagger through his hand several times before casually activating it.

Accompanied by a faint humming sound, a bright pale blue blade suddenly ignited, carving a scorching arc through the air.

“Take it easy. Don’t cut up the coffee table. I’ll have to file paperwork and pay compensation to the Bureau afterward,” Li Lin said as he fiddled with a pocket watch and glanced up at Xu Jiali across from him. “...That thing’s pretty cool.”

“Cool, right? I earned it with my life.” The giant grinned proudly. “I rescued an Algrayed astral noble from Windmill Mill, a Depth L-3 zone. All by myself. Afterward, he gave it to me. Fully custom-made. Best craftsmen, best radiance-gold crystals. In Algrayed territory, it can even be used as a knightly decoration.”

Li Lin became curious.

“What does it do?”

“...You don’t have to queue when buying transportation tickets within the atmosphere, you get priority medical access, and free admission to zoos.”

He paused.

“On holidays only.”

Li Lin stared blankly.

“That’s surprisingly... practical. I thought those mystical Algrayed people were obsessed with ceremonies and symbolism in everything they did.”

“They are usually obsessed with that stuff, but even mystical weirdos have to live their lives, don’t they?” Xu Jiali shrugged, then added somewhat resentfully, “Operating in the Boundary Zone is still a pain. There are so many pieces of equipment they won’t let us bring in. I’ve even got a chainsword, but before coming here it got classified as a potential hazard. It’s still locked in a customs storage locker.”

Li Lin thought for a moment and was just about to speak when he suddenly sensed something.

Almost simultaneously, Xu Jiali felt it too.

Both men turned toward the window of the rental house.

Against the gradually darkening evening sky, a figure had appeared on the windowsill without either of them noticing.

It was a petite girl in a dark red coat.

She leaned casually against the window frame in a rather dangerous posture, one leg dangling outside the sill.

She glanced curiously at the two men inside.

“So you two are the specialists responsible for this district during this period?”

“You are...” Li Lin frowned, vaguely guessing her identity.

“Just call me Little Red Riding Hood,” the girl sitting on the windowsill said with a dismissive wave. “I’m from Fairy Tale. Your Bureau hired me. I’ll be helping out in this area for a while.”

“Oh, I know about you.” Li Lin inwardly thought, As expected. A polite smile appeared on his face. “My captain’s been mentioning you a lot these past few days, along with your investigation results around this district. I’m Li Lin, field operative of the Second Operations Team, Council Special Operations Bureau.”

Meanwhile, Xu Jiali sized up the girl on the windowsill and spoke in a deep voice.

“There may be something big hidden around here. I thought you’d send Snow White or the King. Of course, I’m not questioning your wolf pack.”

Unlike Li Lin, who was still relatively new, Xu Jiali was clearly not meeting Little Red Riding Hood for the first time.

“Snow White’s destructive power would be excessive for this situation. We aren’t even certain we’ll encounter a high-risk entity,” Little Red Riding Hood said casually. “I’ve been active in this district all along, and I’ve also been investigating the abnormalities on Wutong Road recently, so I’m more familiar with the area. It’s fine. Snow White can get here quickly anyway. If we really encounter something big, she’ll be here the moment we call.”

As she spoke, the girl stood up from the windowsill and waved at the two men inside.

“I just came over to say hello. You should already have my contact information. If anything happens, give me a call. Bye.”

The next second, her figure abruptly melted into a shadow.

The shadow vaguely resembled a wolf.

It leapt from the windowsill and dissolved into the night in the blink of an eye.

Leaving Li Lin and Xu Jiali staring at each other in bewilderment inside the rental house.

After dinner, Yu Sheng sat on the sofa resting with his eyes closed.

He listened to the sound of pat pat pat running all over the place between the living room and dining room. One moment it was on his right. The next moment it was on his left. Then it circled around the sofa over and over again.

He opened his eyes.

Irene was running back and forth through the living room and dining room.

The 66.6-centimeter-tall doll carried a painting frame nearly as tall as she was, darting around the floor like a miniature rocket.

After Irene completed her fourth lap around the sofa, Yu Sheng finally could not take it anymore.

“Can’t you rest for a bit? Let your shoes rest too.”

Irene ran straight in front of him, her face full of excitement.

“No way! I can’t stop! I can run around now, run around everywhere! Look, I can even climb onto the coffee table! And jump off it too!”

Before she even finished speaking, the doll had already sprinted away again.

First she ran halfway around the sofa. Then she climbed onto the coffee table in front of Yu Sheng using both hands and feet. After a short running start, she jumped from the tabletop onto Yu Sheng’s lap.

Just as Yu Sheng raised a hand to grab the little menace running wild through the house, Irene nimbly darted forward and jumped from the sofa back onto the floor.

Then she shot over to the television cabinet in the living room. After considerable effort, she climbed onto it, stood on tiptoe, and stretched upward with all her might.

Success.

She reached the television’s power button.

Miss Doll cheered and turned toward Yu Sheng excitedly.

“I can even reach the TV power button! From now on, when you’re not home, I can power-cycle the television all by myself!”

Yu Sheng rolled his eyes and leaned back helplessly.

“Sure, sure. Congratulations. You’re amazing.”

The next second, something flashed through the corner of his eye.

Irene had already raced back from the television cabinet.

Grabbing the sofa cover with one hand and Yu Sheng’s trouser leg with the other, she climbed onto the sofa in a few quick motions and sat down beside him.

The tiny doll, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, was actually smaller than one of the cushions.

The painting behind her looked practically like a wall when compared to her size.

Yet Irene had adapted to carrying the frame with astonishing speed.

Whether running with it, climbing with it, or sitting on the sofa with it strapped to her back, it hardly affected her movements at all.

Occasionally it bumped into things, of course, but the doll seemed completely unconcerned.

Yu Sheng found it fascinating.

“Doesn’t it feel inconvenient carrying that thing around?” he finally asked. “Honestly, if you made me run around all day with a door panel strapped to my back, I don’t think I’d adapt as quickly as you.”

“I think it’s fine,” Irene said cheerfully, swinging her legs on the sofa. Although the television was on, her attention was clearly nowhere near it. “It felt a little awkward at first, but after running around a couple times, I got completely used to its weight and size. Besides...”

The doll suddenly stopped.

She seemed to be searching for the right words.

Several seconds later, she spoke hesitantly.

“It gives me a sense of... security. When I’m carrying it, my back feels protected. Safe. Do you know that feeling? Like when you sleep, you have to have your back against a wall, or pressed against a pile of blankets or something.”

“I know exactly what you mean, but it still feels... incredible.” Yu Sheng looked at the little doll beside him. “I thought you’d resent the painting. It imprisoned you for so many years, and now you have to carry it everywhere.”

“Well, there’s a little of that too.” Irene thought for a moment and nodded lightly.

But a bright smile quickly reappeared on her face.

“Still, what’s that saying again? Since you’re already here, you might as well relax. As long as today is better than yesterday, there’s nothing worth complaining about.”

“It’s ‘since you’re already here, make peace with it,’” Yu Sheng corrected.

“Close enough.” Irene waved dismissively.

She finally seemed to have calmed down from her nonstop excitement.

Only then did she remember the important matter.

“All right. I’m mostly used to my new body now. We should discuss that fox.”

Yu Sheng nodded.

Then he frowned slightly as he looked at the doll, who only reached about knee height on him now.

“You’re still planning to come with me?”

Irene looked as though the answer was obvious.

“Of course. We already agreed.”

“In that condition?” Yu Sheng tried to phrase it tactfully but failed. In the end he had no choice but to speak plainly. “Can you still fight? If you want to kick my knee now, you’d have to jump first.”

“I’ll kick your leg into pieces! What’s wrong with being small?!” Irene immediately bristled. “Who told you I can’t fight like this?!”

Seeing her reaction, Yu Sheng hurriedly spent quite some time soothing her.

Fortunately, Irene’s temper had always flared quickly and disappeared just as quickly.

Soon she calmed down, leaned back on the sofa, and folded her arms.

“Though you do have a point. In my current state... direct combat is definitely affected somewhat. You can’t exactly expect a doll that’s sixty-something centimeters tall to shield you from bullets.”

At this point she shook her head.

Then her tone suddenly changed.

“But don’t worry. Dolls are more than just frontline fighters. I’ve got plenty of other tricks. Even with only this much freedom, there are still a lot of things I can do.”

She raised a hand as though preparing to demonstrate something.

Thin strands of black thread spread from her fingertips.

Like eerie spider threads, they seemed almost alive.

They twisted and grew through the air, weaving themselves into a net.

“The abilities of a doll are far greater than you think!”

Irene looked extremely pleased with herself.