Little Fox Doll

Hu Liena fished a Gold Soul Coin out of the pouch at her waist.

The coin flipped over her fingertips; she glanced at the imperial emblem on its face before pressing her hand against the crystal ball.

The coin was pulled in by a suction force, vanishing into the interior of the crystal ball without leaving even a shadow.

Immediately after, three copper-colored game coins rolled out with a clatter from a small circular hole at the base of the crystal ball.

Hu Liena picked up the three copper coins and weighed them in her hand. They were heavy, with a texture different from ordinary copper coins, and a smiley face pattern engraved on the surface.

"Only three tries?"

"That's right, one Gold Soul Coin for three tries," Qin Chuan said, leaning against the back of the counter. "Though if you're lucky, you can catch it in one."

Hu Liena snorted, ignoring him, and walked with the game coins to the first machine in the Ordinary Zone.

She leaned over to look at the dolls inside. A few plush rabbits, kittens, and puppies were piled together; the craftsmanship was decent, but nothing special. Her gaze swept to the right and stopped on the orange-red Little Fox.

The Little Fox was lying on the very top of the doll pile, in a good position, with its paws tucked underneath and its tail curled behind it. Its two black-bean eyes were round, making it look a bit silly.

Hu Liena inserted the first game coin.

With a ding, the machine lit up. The joystick popped out from the panel, topped with a red spherical handle.

Hu Liena gripped the joystick with both hands and tried pushing it. The mechanical claw overhead moved accordingly, its iron fingers splayed as it hovered over the dolls.

The handling felt a bit stiff; the joystick had significant resistance, requiring a bit of force to push.

Hu Liena moved the claw directly over the Little Fox, adjusted the position twice, and pressed the red button.

The mechanical claw descended slowly.

The three iron fingers opened, then closed, catching on either side of the Little Fox's head.

It had a grip.

The mechanical claw began to rise, lifting the Little Fox off the pile and swaying it in mid-air.

Hu Liena's eyes followed the Little Fox.

It swayed, reached the middle, wobbled once, then steadied. It continued to move toward the exit.

It reached the two-thirds mark.

The iron fingers loosened slightly.

The Little Fox's head slipped out from the gap, and with a plop, it fell back into the pile of dolls.

"Tch." Hu Liena frowned.

She inserted the second game coin.

This time she had learned her lesson; instead of going straight for the head, she moved the claw to the lower part of the Little Fox's waist. This area was wider, allowing the iron fingers to lock on more securely.

She pressed the button. The mechanical claw descended, and the three iron fingers clamped perfectly onto the Little Fox's belly, tightening.

The Little Fox was lifted steadily.

Hu Liena stared at the orange-red plush, holding her breath.

The claw traveled all the way toward the exit, moving steadily this time with almost no swaying.

Reaching the spot directly above the exit, the claw released.

The Little Fox fell straight down.

Thump. A ring of colorful lights lit up at the bottom retrieval slot, followed by a crisp ding-dong.

"Got it." Hu Liena crouched down and fished the Little Fox out of the retrieval slot.

The palm-sized plush was soft to the touch with its orange-red velvet, and its tail was fluffy; it really did feel nice.

Qin Chuan clapped his hands twice from behind the counter. "Yo, caught it on the second try, not bad luck."

Hu Liena ignored him, still having one game coin left. She walked to another machine, inserted it, aimed at a small white rabbit, and pressed the button.

The claw descended and missed. It didn't even touch the target.

The third attempt was a failure, but Hu Liena no longer cared.

Just as she held the Little Fox in the palm of her hand, a telepathic message flooded her mind.

[Congratulations to player Hu Liena, you have obtained one Little Fox Accessory!]

[Bonus Prize: Soul Power Level +3! Subject to Ordinary Member restrictions, the gifted level cannot exceed Level 81!]

Hu Liena's hand tightened fiercely around the Little Fox, her entire body freezing in place.

A scorching, warm current surged from her lower abdomen, as if someone had poured a bucket of hot water into her dantian. The heat rushed toward her limbs along her meridians at an incredible speed—so fast she had no time to react.

Hu Liena's knees went weak, and she braced her right hand against the glass of the claw machine. The icy touch of the glass contrasted sharply with the surging heat inside her body.

As the warm current rushed into her arms, she felt all ten fingers go numb, as if they were covered in ants. When it reached her legs, a tingling sensation traveled from the tops of her thighs all the way to the soles of her feet, and her knees nearly buckled.

Her meridians were expanding.

She could clearly feel that the soul power channels within her body, which were already quite robust, were being stretched wider by an external force. The flow of her soul power accelerated; it was as if a dirt road that could only accommodate a carriage had instantly transformed into a wide imperial highway capable of hosting soul-guided trains.

The soul power pool in her dantian was churning violently, bubbles rising from the bottom one after another; each time a bubble burst, it released a small cluster of dense soul power.

The level 79 bottleneck—that barrier she had meditated on for countless days and nights, used every kind of spiritual herb to assist with, and even begged Poseidon to personally clear her meridians for three times, all to no avail...

It shattered, just like that!

Like a thin layer of window paper, poked through with a hole, then torn apart entirely.

Hu Liena stood there, her hand braced against the Claw Machine, her mouth slightly agape, her gaze fixed and vacant.

Level 81, Soul Douluo!

Behind the counter, Qin Chuan watched this woman remain motionless for a long time, her expression shifting from surprise to dullness, and then from dullness to an indescribable sense of bewilderment.

He couldn't understand it. It was just catching a doll, wasn't it? Was there any need to be this worked up?

"Hey, miss?" Qin Chuan called out tentatively.

No response.

"Hey?"

Still no response.

Qin Chuan walked over to Hu Liena's side and reached out to gently pat her shoulder.

Hu Liena snapped back to reality with a jolt.

"Ah!" She instinctively hid the Little Fox behind her back.

Qin Chuan was startled by her reaction: "Are you alright? Does catching a doll really get you this excited?"

Only then did Hu Liena remember the Confidentiality Agreement. She could not let this man in front of her know anything.

She took a deep breath, then another, forcing her heartbeat to slow down.

"No, I'm fine." Hu Liena pulled the Little Fox from behind her back, clutched it in her palm, and forced a smile. "I just thought this doll was crafted quite exquisitely, and I got a bit lost in thought."

Qin Chuan looked at her, feeling that something wasn't quite right, but he didn't think too much of it.

"Haha, look at you getting all worked up. How about it? The quality of this doll is pretty good, right?"

"Yes, yes, thank you, boss." Hu Liena stuffed the Little Fox into her cloth bag, placing it alongside the lingerie and hair accessories she had bought.

Qin Chuan smiled: "My name is Qin Chuan, you can call me Brother Chuan. If you had a good time, I hope you'll frequent my little shop more often."

Hu Liena nodded, her mind currently filled with the content of the transmission she had just received.

Soul power level +3, restricted by Ordinary Member status, gifted levels cannot exceed level 81.

In other words, she had only gained 2 levels this time. It should have been 3, but it had been capped by her membership level.

If not for this restriction, she would be level 82 right now.

"Alright, Brother Chuan, my name is Hu Liena. I will definitely come back to play tomorrow."

Qin Chuan's eyes lit up. Another returning customer; business was getting better and better.

"Take care, miss!"

"Alright, goodbye." Hu Liena turned and walked out.