Chapter 42: Excited Irene

In the old town, within a rented house deep in Wutong Road, a massive man nearly two meters tall sat hunched in a single sofa that seemed cramped for his size, his head bowed as he meticulously maintained his equipment.

It was a beam dagger. Tiny, teardrop-shaped crystals were embedded in the dark red hilt, connected in a line that ran through the entire body of the weapon. The hilt was clearly custom-made to suit the user, fitting exceptionally well in the man's broad palm.

The man flipped his hand, spinning the dagger a few times in his palm before activating it with a casual motion. Accompanied by a faint hum, a bright, pale blue blade of light suddenly ignited, carving a searing arc through the air.

"Take it easy, don't scratch the coffee table—I'll have to file a report with the Bureau to pay for it later," Li Lin said, fiddling with a pocket watch. He looked up at Xu Jiali sitting opposite him. "...This thing is pretty cool."

"Cool, right? Traded my life for it," the man chuckled, a look of pride on his face. "I rescued an Algrade Astral Noble from the 'Windmill' in Deep L-3—solo. He gave it to me after that. It's a private commission, made by the best master smiths with the finest Aurum crystals. In Algrade territory, you could even use it as a knight's medal."

Li Lin asked curiously, "What's the use of it?"

"...No need to queue for transit tickets within the atmosphere, a green channel at the hospital, free entry to the zoo—holidays only."

Li Lin stared blankly. "That's... quite practical. I thought those eccentric Algrades insisted on a bunch of rituals and symbolism for everything they did."

"They are indeed quite eccentric normally, but no matter how eccentric, they still have to live their lives, right?" Xu Jiali shrugged, then added with a hint of complaint, "Sigh, operating in the Boundary is still a bit of a hassle. A lot of gear isn't allowed to be brought over. I even have a chainsaw sword, but it was flagged as a hazard before I arrived, and now it's locked in a customs locker..."

Li Lin thought for a moment, about to speak, when he suddenly sensed something. He and Xu Jiali, who felt it as well, both turned to look at the window of the rental house.

Under the gradually darkening night sky, a figure had appeared on the windowsill at some unknown moment—a petite girl wearing a dark red coat, leaning against the window frame in a rather precarious pose, with one leg dangling outside.

She looked curiously at the two men in the room. "So, are you two the 'commissioners' in charge of this neighborhood for the time being?"

"You are..." Li Lin frowned, vaguely guessing her identity.

"Just call me Little Red Riding Hood," the girl on the windowsill waved a hand. "I'm from 'Fairy Tale.' Your Bureau hired me to help you out in this area for a while."

"Oh, I know you now," Li Lin thought *as expected*, and a polite smile appeared on his face. "I've heard our captain mention you frequently over the last two days, along with your investigations in this area. I'm Li Lin, an operative from the Second Task Force of the Council's Special Service Bureau."

On the other side, Xu Jiali sized up the girl on the windowsill and spoke in a low voice, "This place might be hiding a 'Big One.' I thought they'd send Snow White or 'The King.' Of course, I'm not questioning your Wolf Pack."

Unlike the relatively new Li Lin, Xu Jiali had clearly met Little Red Riding Hood before.

"Snow White's destructive power is a bit overkill for this—we might not even run into a high-risk entity," Little Red Riding Hood said casually. "I've been active in this urban area for a long time and have been investigating the anomalies on Wutong Road recently, so I'm more familiar with it. It's fine; Snow White can get here pretty quickly anyway. If we really encounter a 'Big One,' she's on call."

As she spoke, the girl rose from the windowsill and waved to the two in the room. "I just came by to say hello. You should both have my contact info. Call if anything happens. Bye~"

In the next second, her figure suddenly transformed into a melting shadow. The shadow vaguely took the form of a wolf; it leaped from the windowsill and vanished into the night in the blink of an eye.

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

...

After dinner, Yu Sheng sat on the sofa with his eyes closed, resting, listening to the *patter-patter* sounds scurrying between the living room and the dining room—sometimes on the right, sometimes on the left, then circling the sofa round and round.

He opened his eyes to see Irene running back and forth between the living room and the dining room. The 66.6 cm tall doll was carrying an oil painting frame nearly as tall as herself, scurrying across the floor as fast as a small rocket.

After Irene began her fourth lap around the sofa, Yu Sheng finally couldn't take it anymore. "Can't you take a break? Give those shoes of yours a rest too."

Irene ran quickly to Yu Sheng's front, her face full of excitement. "I don't want to! I can't stop! I can run everywhere now, everywhere! Look, I can even climb onto the coffee table and jump off it!"

Before her words even finished, the doll had already run off again. She first ran half a lap around the sofa, then scrambled onto the coffee table in front of Yu Sheng on all fours, took a few running steps, and jumped from the tabletop onto Yu Sheng's lap. Just as he reached out to catch the little creature running wild, Irene nimbly darted forward, jumping from the sofa back to the floor...

Immediately after, she dashed under the TV cabinet in the living room, struggled her way up, stood on her tiptoes, and successfully pressed the TV power button.

The doll lady cheered, turning to look at Yu Sheng with an excited face. "I can even reach the TV switch! From now on, if you're not home, I can turn the TV off and restart it myself!"

Yu Sheng rolled his eyes and tilted his head back helplessly. "Fine, fine, fine. Congratulations, you're amazing."

In the next second, he felt something flash in the corner of his eye—Irene had once again sprinted back from the TV cabinet. Grabbing the sofa cover with one hand and Yu Sheng's pant leg with the other, she scrambled onto the sofa in a few quick movements and sat down beside him.

The tiny doll, once sitting cross-legged on the sofa, was not even as large as a throw pillow.

The oil painting stood behind her, looking like a wall in terms of proportion.

But Irene had adapted to the existence of the frame with amazing adaptability. Whether she was running with it, climbing up and down with it, or sitting on the sofa with it, it didn't affect her movements at all—there were occasional, unavoidable bumps, but the doll didn't seem to care in the slightest.

This amazed Yu Sheng.

"Don't you find it inconvenient to carry that?" he couldn't help but ask curiously. "To be fair, if you asked me to run around all day carrying a door, I probably wouldn't adapt as quickly as you..."

"I think it's fine," Irene said happily, swaying her body on the sofa. Although she had turned on the TV, her attention was clearly not on it at all. "Though it was a little awkward at first, after a couple of laps, I completely adapted to its weight and size. And, how should I put it..."

The doll suddenly stopped, seemingly searching for the right words. After a few seconds, she spoke hesitantly, "It gives a sense of... stability. When I carry it, my back feels very safe, very secure. Have you ever felt that? Like how you have to sleep with your back against a wall or tucked under a heavy duvet."

"I know what you mean, but it still feels... incredible," Yu Sheng looked at the little doll beside him. "I thought you would be very resistant to this painting, considering it sealed you away for so many years, and now you have to carry it with you constantly."

"That's true to some extent," Irene thought for a moment and nodded gently, but soon a smile bloomed again. "But there's a saying, isn't there? 'Since you're here, make yourself at home.' As long as today is better than yesterday, there's nothing to complain about."

"It's 'Since you're here, make peace with it...'" Yu Sheng corrected.

"Close enough," Irene waved her hand dismissively. She seemed to have finally calmed down from her previous burst of running excitement, and now she remembered the real business. "Alright, my new body is mostly adapted. It's time to discuss that fox..."

Yu Sheng nodded, but soon frowned slightly as he looked at the little doll, who now only reached his knees. "Do you still plan to go with me?"

Irene looked at him as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course, we agreed on it."

"In this state?" Yu Sheng tried hard to be tactful, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't be. He had to be blunt. "Can you even fight? Right now, if you kicked my knee, I'd have to jump..."

"I'll kick you into pieces! So what if I'm small!" Irene immediately bristled. "Who told you I can't fight like this!"

Seeing this, Yu Sheng quickly offered a round of comfort.

Fortunately, Irene's temper was as quick to leave as it was to arrive. She soon quieted down, leaning back against the sofa with her arms crossed. "But you're right. In this state... my direct combat ability is somewhat affected. You can't expect a 60-centimeter-tall doll to take a bullet for you, right..."

At this, she shook her head, and her tone suddenly shifted. "But don't worry. A doll doesn't just have direct combat power. I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve—even with this level of 'freedom,' there's still a lot I can do."

She raised her hand, holding it up in front of Yu Sheng as if to demonstrate something.

Strands of pitch-black silk spread from her fingertips like eerie spiderwebs, appearing as if they had an independent life of their own, winding and growing through the air to weave into a net.

"A doll's skills are vast!"

Irene looked incredibly proud.

(End of Chapter)