In the old district, deep within Wutong Road, a robust man nearly two meters tall squeezed himself into a somewhat cramped single sofa in a rented apartment.
With his head bowed, he meticulously maintained his gear.
Before him lay a beam dagger, its dark red handle embedded with tiny teardrop-shaped crystals.
These crystals formed a line, running throughout the entire body of the weapon.
The handle was evidently customized for the user, fitting perfectly in the man's large hand.
As he rotated the dagger in his palm, he casually activated it.
With a soft buzzing sound, a pale blue light blade suddenly ignited, slicing through the air in a searing arc.
"Be careful, don’t scratch the coffee table—I’ll have to report it back to the bureau and pay for damages," Li Lin said, taking out a pocket watch while glancing at the woman across from him, Xu Jiali. "… This thing looks quite cool."
"Cool, right? I traded my life for it," the robust man chuckled, pride etched on his face.
"I saved a noble from the Alglade star realm at the Windmill in depth L-3—single-handedly. After that, he gifted me this. It’s a private custom job, crafted by the best blacksmiths, using the finest glow-gold crystals. In Alglade territory, it could even pass as a knight's medal."
Li Lin was a bit curious, "What’s it good for?"
"… No need to queue for tickets in atmospheric transportation, green channel in hospitals, and free admission to the zoo—only during holidays."
Li Lin looked somewhat stupefied, "That’s quite… practical. I thought those mystical Alglade folks were all about rituals and symbols."
"They do have their quirky side, but they still need to live, right?" Xu Jiali shrugged and then added with a hint of complaint, "Sigh, it’s still a bit troublesome doing things in the Border Zone; a lot of gear isn’t allowed over. I even had a chainsaw sword, but it was deemed hazardous, so it’s locked in customs…"
Li Lin thought for a moment and was about to speak when he suddenly felt something.
He and Xu Jiali, sensing it at the same time, turned towards the window of their rented room.
Under the gradually darkening sky, a figure appeared on the windowsill— a petite girl in a dark red coat leaned against the window frame in a rather precarious manner, one leg dangled outside.
She curiously glanced at the two men in the room, "So, you two are the ‘commissioners’ of this street area, huh?"
"Who are you…" Li Lin frowned, vaguely guessing her identity.
"Just call me Little Red Riding Hood," the girl on the windowsill waved her hand.
"I’m from ‘Fairy Tale.’ You hired me to help out in this area for a while."
"Oh, now I recognize you," Li Lin thought to himself, then smiled politely.
"I’ve heard our captain mention you lately, along with your investigations in this area. I’m Li Lin, an operative in the Special Operations Division of the Council."
Xu Jiali looked up and down at the girl on the windowsill, speaking in a low voice, "This place might hide some ‘big guy.’ I expected you to send Snow White over, or the 'King.' Of course, I’m not questioning your wolf pack."
Unlike Li Lin, who was relatively new, Xu Jiali seemingly knew Little Red Riding Hood from previous encounters.
"Snow White’s destructive power would be a bit overkill here—we might not even encounter a high-risk entity," Little Red Riding Hood casually remarked.
"I’ve been working in this area, recently investigating the abnormalities on Wutong Road, so I’m a bit more familiar. No worries, if Snow White had to rush over, she’d be here in no time. If we really encounter a ‘big guy,’ she’ll be at our call."
As she spoke, the girl stood up from the windowsill, waved her hand to the two inside, "I just came to say hello. You should have my contact, call me if there’s something. Bye~"
In the next instant, the girl's figure suddenly transformed into a melting shadow, vaguely resembling a wolf, which jumped off the windowsill and vanished into the night.
Li Lin and Xu Jiali exchanged glances inside the apartment.
…
After dinner, Yu Sheng sat on the sofa with his eyes closed, listening to the sound of rapid footsteps darting back and forth between the living room and the dining area.
Sometimes on the right, other times on the left, then circling around the sofa in loops.
He opened his eyes to see Aileen darting around the room, a doll standing at 66.6 centimeters tall, struggling to carry an oil painting almost as tall as herself, moving like a little rocket.
After Aileen circled the sofa for the fourth time, Yu Sheng finally couldn’t hold back, "Can’t you take a break? Give those shoes a rest too."
Aileen rushed over in front of Yu Sheng, her face glowing with excitement, "I don’t want to! I can't stop! I can run everywhere now! Look, I can climb up on the coffee table and jump down!"
Before she even finished speaking, she bolted away again, running halfway around the sofa, then scuttled onto the coffee table, leaping onto Yu Sheng’s lap.
Just as he was about to reach out to grab the spunky doll dashing about, Aileen adeptly zipped forward and jumped back to the floor…
Next, she dashed under the television cabinet, struggled to climb up, then tiptoed to reach the television switch.
With a cheer, she turned to Yu Sheng, full of exhilaration, "I can reach the TV switch! From now on, even if you’re not home, I can turn off and restart the TV myself!"
Yu Sheng rolled his eyes, exasperated as he sighed, "Alright, alright, congratulations. You’re amazing."
In the very next moment, he noticed something flashing in the corner of his eye—Aileen zipped back from the television cabinet, one hand clutching the sofa cover and the other his pants leg, in no time, she scrambled onto the sofa, sitting beside Yu Sheng.
The small doll, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, was scarcely larger than a cushion.
The painting behind her looked like a wall due to size.
But Aileen had adjusted quickly to the presence of the frame, whether running, climbing, or sitting on the sofa with it, it didn’t hinder her movement at all—there were occasional minor bumps, but she seemed utterly unbothered.
This amazed Yu Sheng.
"Don’t you think it’s inconvenient carrying it around?" he asked out of curiosity, "Honestly, if you made me carry a door panel everywhere, I’d probably struggle to adapt as quickly as you…"
"I think it’s fine," Aileen happily wiggled on the sofa, despite the TV being on, her attention was clearly elsewhere.
"Though it was a bit awkward at first, after running a couple of laps, I completely adjusted to its weight and size. And you know what…"
The doll suddenly paused, seeming to search for the right words, and after a few seconds hesitantly spoke, "It gives me a… sense of stability. When I carry it, my back feels secure and at ease. Have you ever felt that way? Like when you sleep, you want your back against a wall, or something to hug tightly."
"I get what you mean, but it still feels very… incredible," Yu Sheng looked at the small doll beside him.
"I thought you'd be bothered by this painting. After all, it sealed you for so many years, and now you have to carry it everywhere."
"That’s somewhat true," Aileen nodded lightly after a moment of contemplation, yet quickly broke into a smile again.
"But what’s that saying? ‘Since I’m here, I should be at ease. As long as today is better than yesterday, there’s nothing to complain about.’"
"It’s ‘Since I’m here, I should find peace…’" Yu Sheng corrected her.
"Close enough," Aileen waved her hand nonchalantly.
It seemed she finally calmed down from her earlier excitement and remembered the main issue, "Alright, I’m almost adjusted to my new body, we need to discuss that fox matter now…"
Yu Sheng nodded but soon furrowed his brow slightly, looking at the small doll that only reached his knee: "Are you still planning to come with me?"
Aileen replied matter-of-factly, "Of course! We agreed on this."
"In this state?" Yu Sheng tried to word it more gently, but he couldn’t find a way to soften it and ended up saying directly, "Can you even fight? You’d need to jump up just to kick my knee…"
"I can crush you with one kick! So what if I'm small!" Aileen huffed, getting a bit riled up, "Who told you that I can’t fight just because I’m like this!"
Yu Sheng hastily comforted her upon seeing her react.
Fortunately, Aileen’s temper was quick to rise and just as fast to dissipate.
She soon calmed down and leaned back on the sofa, arms crossed, "But you’re right; I might be a bit limited in direct combat like this. You can’t expect a doll just over 60 centimeters tall to block bullets, right…"
As she said that, she shook her head, then suddenly shifted her tone, "But you don’t need to worry. Dolls have more than just direct combat capability. I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve— even with this level of ‘freedom’, there’s still a lot I can do."
She lifted her hand, as if wanting to showcase something to Yu Sheng.
Thick strands of black threads spread from her fingertips, resembling eerie spider silk, writhing in the air like they possessed independent life, weaving together into a net.
"Doll’s capabilities are immense!"
Aileen beamed with pride.
(End of Chapter)