Chapter 12

Seeing the dollmaker's two messages, Qi Chao felt a little warmth in his heart. He could not help but say to the system, which had yet to leave, "Lan Luo's biological father really is just like him—kind and considerate."

System: ...

The prompt it had prepared rotted away in its stomach just like that.

Chapter 12

Qi Chao explained the whole matter on the Light Brain, then added: [The matter has been resolved. Little Fatty apologized to Little One. Lan Luo wasn't hurt, and his mood wasn't affected either. He's been very good, so you don't need to worry.]

After sending the message, there was no reply from the other side. The chat interface only continued to show that the other party was typing.

Qi Chao had not paid it much attention at first, but when the status lasted for over ten minutes, his curiosity was piqued. He patiently waited a few more minutes before a message finally popped up in the chat.

Doctor: [You've worked hard.]

Nearly twenty minutes to squeeze out four words. Qi Chao wanted to laugh. He could practically see the scene: a young man who was not good with words sitting in a chair, staring at the chat interface, writing one sentence and deleting another, until he finally typed out those four words with great hesitation.

He was rather cute.

Qi Chao tapped the chat interface, a smile flickering through his dark brown eyes.

After hearing the host's description, the system: ...??

Let's just say, could there possibly be another explanation? Maybe what you said was so funny that the villain found it funny too, which was why he took so long?

Doctor was a very mysterious dollmaker. All information about him online was confidential, but the various extravagant praise from his brainless fans had never stopped.

Rumor had it that he was only in his early twenties and had already created five S-Rank dolls. No one knew whether that was true or not, but Doctor was definitely young. To have achieved so much at such an age, he was undoubtedly outstanding.

As Qi Chao thought about it, he typed: [Do I need to prepare anything in advance for the doll repair?]

Doctor: [No.]

This time, he replied quickly.

[About when will you come? I can pick you up.]

Qi Chao considered it. There were plenty of rooms in the villa, so Doctor could stay for a few more days after arriving. It would be a good chance for Lan Luo to grow closer to his biological father.

[I'm sorry, but you may need to wait a while longer. Something has delayed me, so I might not be able to go to your home until next month. Once the time is confirmed, I'll send my assistant over a day in advance to examine Lan Luo's condition.]

The dollmaker seemed to have etiquette carved into his bones. Every word revealed good breeding and gentlemanly manners.

Next month?

Qi Chao had no objections to that. In fact, he welcomed it.

He currently had more than seven hundred thousand Star Coins. It was not a small amount, but Doctor had not yet personally examined Lan Luo's injuries or drawn up a specific repair plan. Qi Chao was not sure how much he would need to pay. If it was next month, he could save up a little more.

[Okay.]

Qi Chao smiled as he typed those two words, ending their conversation. He had barely leaned back in his chair and let out a breath before frowning and continuing to calculate various proportions.

The system in his consciousness watched its busy host and swallowed the reminder that had reached its mouth.

There was no need anymore. The host would be in a coffin in another month. No matter how much it hinted at things or pulled strings, it would be too late.

The only thing that could still be done was this: the coffin it had ordered earlier was not finished yet. It could have the coffin shop coat it with a layer of gold powder. It would pay for it, and that could count as fulfilling the bond between it and its host!

Qi Chao had no idea that the system had once again sentenced him to a "suspended death sentence." Near dawn, he was still working at his desk.

Making a doll was a time-consuming and labor-intensive task. From design to sculpting, then polishing and molding, every step consumed a dollmaker's physical strength and energy.

The Little One on the drawing paper was a doll Qi Chao had been planning since his previous life. Originally, Little One had only been around forty-three centimeters tall, but since Lan Luo was one meter twenty, it would be somewhat unsuitable if the new Little One was too short.

To refine the measurements, Qi Chao stayed up all night.

The next day, when the sky had only begun to brighten, the rustling pencil finally stopped. The trash bin beside the desk was filled with crumpled balls of discarded paper.

The design draft was finally complete.

Qi Chao had just let out a sigh of relief when the familiar electronic voice suddenly sounded in his ears.

[Detecting—

Item: Doll Blueprint (Obtained)

Creator: Qi Chao

Level: Unknown (Pending Verification)

Difficulty: Unknown (Pending Confirmation)

Ding—

Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the achievement: Fresh Out of the Gate

Account Points: 200]

[Ding—

Detected that the host's speed surpasses 60% of the artisans in the General Bureau. Side quest unlocked early.

Collect essential tools for dollmakers (0/30)

Artisan Points Reward: 100 (Pending Acquisition)]

After staying awake all night, Qi Chao's nerves were somewhat fragile. The electronic voice left his ears slightly numb. As someone burdened with the responsibility of supporting a family, his first reaction was not to think about completing the task, but to immediately calculate the points.

Two hundred points were equivalent to sixty thousand Star Coins. With so much money coming in at once, Qi Chao was very satisfied.

[Congratulations, Host, for unlocking a side quest early. Side quests refresh weekly. It is recommended that you complete the task within one week.] The system had stayed up with its host all night, and its wait had finally not been in vain.

The system had never held any expectations for this soon-to-be-dead host when it came to tasks. But the host's achievements were tied to its performance, and the host was truly diligent. Now, whenever it looked at Qi Chao, it was like looking at a dead man who could occasionally spit out gold coins, leaving it deeply conflicted.

"Okay." Qi Chao nodded. He felt that this side quest was not difficult; he only needed to spend money. After thinking about it, he took out his Light Brain and began buying things.

The process of making dolls on Blue Star was vastly different from that of his previous life. Dollmakers used Mental Power to create dolls, and the tools they used were all specially made.

The association monopolized information about dollmaking, but there was no way for it to monopolize these tools.

Special gloves, carving knives, scrapers, gas masks, and all sorts of other items quickly added up to more than thirty pieces. Qi Chao placed the order on the Light Brain, and ten thousand Star Coins immediately left his bank account.