A Wondrous Night Ends, and a Visit to His Secretary's Home

An exquisite Barbie doll.

Classic Woody and Buzz Lightyear toys, a statue of Jesus on the cross, and a grotesque demon statue rumored to have been worshipped by cultists.

Figures of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse wore armor, while tokusatsu figures struck standard fighting poses.

A slime monster specimen glowed faint green inside a glass jar. A three-headed dragon toy as tall as a person crouched in the corner, with a brand-new Optimus Prime model car parked beside it.

Li Dan focused on the tokusatsu figures. He had long wondered whether figures from other dimensions could be revived, but no matter how long he watched, they did not move. Not even a joint twitched.

Just as he was about to record "not awakened," he heard a faint mechanical click.

He turned to see Woody and Buzz Lightyear move first.

Their stiff limbs slowly stirred. Woody straightened his cowboy hat, while Buzz Lightyear pressed a button on his chest. They staggered to their feet, and a hoarse voice echoed through the empty exhibition hall. "Where am I? Wasn't I waiting to be sold in a toy store...?"

Next, the slime specimen began to writhe inside its glass jar. Pale green goo spilled over the rim, landed on the floor, and slowly spread out.

Barbie blinked her plastic eyes, lifted her flared skirt, and took a cautious step.

Most startling of all was Optimus Prime. With a sudden roar, his mechanical parts rapidly rearranged themselves, transforming him into a towering robot. "I am Optimus Prime, here to save Earth!" he declared in a cold, cybernetic voice.

Li Dan could tell at a glance that someone had simply hit the activation switch by accident.

But the two unusual statues, Jesus and the demon, remained perfectly still.

Li Dan studied them closely. He