Chapter 042

Chapter 42: Excited Irene

In the old city, deep along Wutong Road, a rented apartment held a bulky man nearly two meters tall. He was curled into a single sofa that looked too small for him, head down, carefully tending his gear.

It was a Beam Dagger. Tiny teardrop crystals were set into the dark red hilt, linked into lines that ran through the whole mechanism. The handle was clearly custom made and fit his wide palm perfectly.

He flipped the dagger in his hand a few times, then switched it on. With a faint hum, a bright pale blue blade flashed out and carved a hot arc through the air.

Li Lin fiddled with a pocket watch, looked up at the man across from him, and said, “Easy there, try not to slice the coffee table. I’ll have to file a report and pay for damages later. Still, this thing looks cool.”

“Cool, right? I paid for it with my life,” the big man chuckled, proud and happy. “I rescued a noble from the Alglade Youth Form Region, all by myself, down in Deep L-3 at a place called Windmill. He gave it to me afterward. It’s private custom work, best artisans, best Brightgold Crystal. In Algladian territory it can even serve as a Knight’s Insignia.”

Li Lin was curious and asked, “What’s it actually good for?”

“Skipping lines for air travel inside the atmosphere, a fast lane at the hospital, and free entry to the zoo on holidays,” the man said.

Li Lin stared, a little stunned: “That’s pretty practical. I thought those mystical Algladians needed a bunch of rituals and symbols for everything.”

“They usually are pretty mystical, but even mystical folks have to live,” Xu Jiali said with a shrug, then grumbled, “Working in the Borderland is a hassle. Lots of gear can’t come through. I even have a Chainsaw Sword. They flagged it as a hazard before I came, so it’s still locked in a customs cabinet.”

Li Lin was about to speak when he felt something. At the same time, Xu Jiali looked toward the apartment window too.

Under the darkening night, a figure had appeared on the sill. A petite girl in a dark red coat leaned against the frame in a risky pose, one leg dangling outside.

She glanced at the two men inside and asked, “So, you two are the ‘specialists’ in charge of this block right now?”

“You are…” Li Lin frowned as he guessed who she was.

“Just call me Little Red Riding Hood,” the girl on the windowsill waved. “I’m from Fairy Tale. Your Bureau hired me. I’m here to help in this area for a while.”

“Oh, then I do know you,” Li Lin thought: [As expected], then gave a polite smile. “These two days our captain has mentioned you and your findings about this neighborhood. I’m Li Lin, Council Special Affairs Bureau, Second Unit, field operative.”

Xu Jiali looked her up and down and said, “There might be a ‘big one’ hiding around here. I thought you’d send Snow White, or the ‘King’. I’m not doubting your Wolf Pack, of course.”

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

“Snow White’s destructive power is too much for this spot. We may not run into a high-risk Entity,” Little Red Riding Hood said easily. “I’ve been active in this city and digging into the strange cases on Wutong Road, so I know it better. Anyway, if a ‘big one’ shows up, Snow White can get here fast. Call and she’ll come.”

She stood from the sill and waved to the two inside: “I’m just saying hi. You should have my contact info. Call if anything, bye~”

In the next second, her body melted into a shadow. The shadow looked faintly like a wolf, leaped from the sill, and vanished into the night.

Li Lin and Xu Jiali stared at each other in the apartment.

…

After dinner, Yu Sheng lay back on the sofa with his eyes closed. He listened to the patter of little feet racing around the living room and dining room. The sound darted right, then left, then circled the sofa again and again.

He opened his eyes. Irene was running everywhere, a Doll 66.6 centimeters tall with an Oil Painting Frame on her back that was almost the same height, zipping around like a tiny rocket.

When she started circling the sofa for the fourth time, Yu Sheng couldn’t take it: “Can you take a break? Your shoes need a break too.”

Irene rushed up to him, face shining with excitement, and said, “No way! I can’t stop! I can run everywhere now, everywhere! Look, I can climb onto the coffee table, then jump off the coffee table!”

Before she finished, the Doll sprinted off again. She ran half a lap around the sofa, scrambled up onto the coffee table, took a few running steps, and jumped onto Yu Sheng’s legs. He reached to grab the little whirlwind, but Irene sprang forward again and hopped from the sofa to the floor.

She dashed to the TV stand, squeezed underneath, then csheepered up and stretched on tiptoes. With effort, she reached the power button and pressed it. Miss Doll cheered, turned to Yu Sheng with bright eyes, and said, “I can reach the TV switch! If you’re not home, I can power cycle the TV by myself!”

Yu Sheng rolled his eyes and leaned back. “Fine, fine. Congrats. You’re amazing.”

A flicker at the edge of his vision made him look over. Irene was already sprinting back. She grabbed the sofa cover with one hand and his pant leg with the other, scrambled up in a few moves, and sat beside him.

The little Doll cross-legged on the sofa wasn’t even as big as a throw pillow.

The Painting stood behind her like a wall.

But Irene had adapted with shocking speed. Whether she ran with it, climbed with it, or sat with it on the sofa, the frame didn’t slow her down. Sometimes there were little bumps and knocks, but she didn’t mind at all.

This amazed Yu Sheng.

“Doesn’t it feel inconvenient to carry it?” he asked, curious. “Honestly, if I had to carry The Door panel around all day, I wouldn’t adjust as fast as you did.”

“It’s fine,” Irene swayed with happiness, attention nowhere near the TV even though it was on. “At first it felt a tiny bit weird, but after a few laps I got used to the weight and size. And, how should I say this…”

The Doll paused, searching for words, then said, a little unsure, “It gives me a kind of… steady feeling. When it’s on my back I feel safe, like my back is protected. Have you ever felt that? Like how you have to sleep with your back to a wall, or pressed up against a pile of blankets.”

“I know what you mean, but it still feels unbelievable,” Yu Sheng said, eyeing the small Doll beside him. “I thought you’d hate this Painting. It sealed you for so many years, and now you still have to carry it.”

“A little, yeah,” Irene nodded, then grinned again. “There’s a saying, since it’s here, be at peace. As long as today is better than yesterday, there’s nothing to complain about.”

“It’s ‘since it’s here, accept it,’” Yu Sheng corrected.

“Close enough,” Irene waved it off. She finally calmed down from all the running and remembered their business. “Alright, I’m mostly used to this new body. Let’s talk about that Fox.”

Yu Sheng nodded, then frowned at the Doll who only reached his knee. “You still plan to come with me?”

“Of course, we already agreed,” she said like it was obvious.

“In this state?” Yu Sheng tried to be gentle, but there was no gentle way to say it. “Can you still fight? To kick my knee, you’d have to jump.”

“I’ll shatter your knee with one kick! What’s wrong with being small!” Irene bristled. “Who told you I can’t fight like this!”

Yu Sheng rushed to calm her down.

Luckily, Irene’s temper came and went fast. She soon relaxed, leaned back, and crossed her arms. “But you have a point. Head-on fighting is a bit affected. You can’t expect a 60-something-centimeter Doll to take a bullet for you.”

She shook her head, then changed tone: “But don’t worry. A Doll’s not just about frontal fighting. I’ve got plenty of tricks. Even with this level of ‘freedom,’ I can still do a lot.”

She lifted her hand to show him.

Black threads unspooled from her fingertips like eerie Spider Silk. They writhed in the air as if alive and wove into a net.

“A Doll’s skills are no joke!”

Irene looked very pleased with herself.