Excited Eileen

Inside a rented house deep in Wutong Road in the old district, a burly man nearly two meters tall was curled up on a one-person sofa that looked somewhat cramped for him, carefully maintaining his equipment with his head lowered.

It was a beam dagger. Tiny, teardrop-shaped crystals were embedded in its dark-red hilt, linked together in a line that ran through the entire weapon. The hilt had clearly been custom-made to suit its user, and it fit exceptionally well in the burly man's broad palm.

The burly man flipped his palm, spun the dagger around in it a few times, then casually activated it. Accompanied by a faint buzzing, a bright, pale-blue blade of light suddenly lit up, slicing a searing arc through the air.

"Take it easy. Don't scratch the coffee table—I still have to file a report with the bureau and pay for it later." Li Lin took out a pocket watch and fiddled with it, then looked up at Xu Jiali across from him. "...This thing's pretty cool."

"Cool, huh? I traded my life for it." The burly man chuckled smugly. "I rescued an Argraidean Astral Noble from the 'Windmill Mill' in Depth L-3—single-handedly. He gave me this afterward. It's custom-made, crafted by the finest smiths with the finest radiant-gold crystals. On Argraidean territory, it can even serve as a Knight's Medal."

Li Lin was a little curious. "What does it do?"

"...You don't have to queue when buying transportation tickets within the atmosphere, you get the fast track at hospitals, and admission to zoos is free—on holidays only."

Li Lin looked somewhat dazed. "That's pretty... practical. I thought those mystic Argraideans had to make everything about a whole bunch of rituals and symbolism."

"They are pretty mystic in their daily lives, but no matter how mystic they are, they still have to get by, right?" Xu Jiali shrugged, then complained a little, "Still, operating in The Crossroads is kind of troublesome. They won't let us bring a lot of equipment over. I even have a chainsaw sword, but they classified it as a safety hazard before we came, so it's still locked in a customs cabinet..."

Li Lin thought for a moment and was just about to speak when he suddenly sensed something. At once, he and Xu Jiali, who had sensed it as well, turned toward the window of the rental house.

Beneath the gradually darkening night sky, a figure had appeared on the windowsill at some point. It was a petite girl in a dark-red coat, leaning against the window frame in a rather dangerous pose, with one leg still dangling outside the window.

She looked curiously at the two men inside. "So, you two have been the 'specialists' responsible for this neighborhood lately?"

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

"Just call me Little Red Riding Hood." The girl sitting on the windowsill waved her hand. "I'm from 'Fairy Tales.' Your bureau hired me. I'm here to help you in this area for the time being."

"Oh, then I know who you are." Li Lin thought, As expected. A polite smile appeared on his face. "I've often heard our captain mention you these past few days, as well as your investigation into this area. My name is Li Lin, an operations agent of the Second Team, Special Operations Bureau of the Council."

On the other side, Xu Jiali sized up the girl on the windowsill and spoke in a muffled voice. "There may be a 'big one' hiding here. I thought you'd send Snow White over, or King. Of course, I'm not questioning your wolf pack."

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

"Snow White's destructive power would be a little excessive here—we might not even run into 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 anomalies 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 run into a 'big one,' she'll come whenever she's called."

As she spoke, the girl rose from the windowsill and waved at the two people inside. "I just came to say hello. You should have my contact information. Call me if anything happens. Bye~"

The next second, the girl's figure abruptly turned into a streak of melting shadow. The shadow vaguely took the shape of a wolf as it leaped down from the windowsill and dissolved into the night in the blink of an eye.

Li Lin and Xu Jiali were left staring at each other inside the rental house.

After dinner, Yu Sheng sat on the sofa with his eyes closed, listening to the pattering sound darting all over the place between the living room and dining room. One moment it was on the right, the next on the left, and then it circled around the sofa again and again.

He opened his eyes and saw Eileen running back and forth between the living room and dining room. The 66.6-centimeter-tall doll was carrying an oil-painting frame almost as tall as herself, zipping around the floor as fast as a little rocket.

After Eileen began circling the sofa for the fourth time, Yu Sheng finally couldn't take it anymore. "Can't you rest for a while? Give those shoes of yours a break, too."

Eileen raced in front of Yu Sheng, her face filled with 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 down from it!"

Before her voice had even faded, the doll had run off again. She first circled halfway around the sofa, then crawled on all fours onto the coffee table in front of Yu Sheng. After a few running steps, she leaped from the tabletop onto Yu Sheng's legs. He had just raised a hand to catch the creature racing all over the place when Eileen nimbly sprang forward again and jumped from the sofa to the floor...

Immediately afterward, she dashed beneath the TV cabinet in the living room, laboriously climbed onto it, and stretched on tiptoe as hard as she could. She successfully pressed the television's power button.

Miss Doll let out a cheer and turned to Yu Sheng with a face full of excitement. "I can reach the TV's power button, too! From now on, even when you're not home, I can power-cycle the TV myself!"

Yu Sheng rolled his eyes and helplessly tilted his head back. "All right, all right. Congratulations. You're amazing."

The next second, he caught something flashing from the corner of his eye. Eileen had already rushed back from the TV cabinet. She grabbed the sofa cover with one hand and Yu Sheng's trouser leg with the other, climbed onto the sofa in just a few moves, and sat beside Yu Sheng.

Once the petite doll sat cross-legged on the sofa, she still wasn't even as large as a throw pillow.

The oil painting stood behind her, and in proportion, it looked practically like a wall.

But Eileen had already adapted to the frame's presence with astonishing ease. Whether she was running while carrying it, climbing up and down with it, or even sitting on the sofa while carrying it, it did not hinder her movements at all. She occasionally bumped into things, as was unavoidable, but the doll did not seem to care in the slightest.

This amazed Yu Sheng.

"Don't you find it inconvenient to carry that?" he asked curiously. "Honestly, if you made me carry a door panel around all day, I don't think I could adapt as quickly as you..."

"I think it's fine." Eileen happily rocked her body on the sofa. Although the TV was on, she clearly couldn't focus her attention on it at all. "It was a little uncomfortable at first, but after running around a couple of times, I completely got used 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 said hesitantly, "It's a kind of... solid feeling. When I'm carrying it, my back feels safe and secure. Have you ever felt that way? Like when you sleep, you have to press your back against a wall or against a pile of blankets or something."

"I understand what you mean, but it still feels... incredible." Yu Sheng looked at the little doll beside him. "I thought you'd resent this painting. After all, it sealed you for so many years, and now you still have to carry it around all the time."

"I do feel a little that way." Eileen thought about it and nodded lightly, but soon broke into another smile. "But how does that saying go? Since you've come, make yourself comfortable. As long as today is better than yesterday, there's nothing to complain about."

"It's 'Since you've come, make yourself at home...'" Yu Sheng corrected her.

"Close enough." Eileen waved her hand with great unconcern. She seemed to have finally calmed down from the excitement of running nonstop, and now remembered the important matter. "All right, I've mostly gotten used to my new body. We should discuss that fox..."

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

Eileen looked at him as though it were obvious. "Of course. We already agreed."

"In this condition?" Yu Sheng tried hard to phrase it tactfully, but couldn't find any way to soften it, so he spoke plainly. "Can you still fight? If you kick my knee now, you'd have to jump to do it..."

"I could kick you into pieces! So what if I'm small?" Eileen instantly bristled. "Who told you I can't fight like this?"

Yu Sheng hurriedly gave her a long round of reassurance.

Fortunately, Eileen's temper always came and went quickly. She soon quieted down, leaned back against the sofa, and folded her arms over her chest. "But you're right. In my current state... a head-on fight is still somewhat affected. You can't expect a doll that's only a little over 60 centimeters tall to take a bullet for you, right..."

At that, she shook her head, then suddenly changed her tone. "But don't worry. Dolls aren't limited to frontal combat. I have plenty of other abilities— even with only this level of 'freedom,' there are still plenty of things I can do."

She raised a hand and held it in front of Yu Sheng as though she were about to demonstrate something.

Strands of pitch-black thread spread from her fingertips. They resembled eerie spider silk, seemingly possessing a life of their own as they meandered and grew through the air, weaving themselves into a net.

"A doll's abilities are vast!"

Eileen wore a triumphant expression.