Chapter 2

Qi Chao carefully thought it over and confirmed that the original owner had not exposed his true thoughts. Only then did he loosen his tightly clenched fists.

Fortunately, the little doll did not know about the original owner's filthy thoughts. Otherwise, how disgusting would that have been?

Immersed in his relief, Qi Chao did not notice that after hearing his answer, the system had fallen silent.

The aircraft landed in the villa's parking area. Qi Chao stood before the villa door, took a deep breath, and opened it.

The lights came on instantly. Qi Chao closed his eyes to ease the discomfort caused by the harsh brightness, then looked toward the cage in the living room.

Inside the three-meter-tall silver cage, an eleven- or twelve-year-old boy had his eyes tightly shut. He wore a small white suit and curled into a ball like a kitten. Under the lights, every strand of his hair seemed to glow softly.

Hearing the sound, the boy's eyelashes trembled. His blue eyes slowly opened and looked toward the door. He tilted his head, seemingly unafraid of the person who had beaten him countless times.

The boy sat up, gripping the cage's silver bars with both hands. He gave the person at the door a soft, kitten-like smile, as if he were happy to see the man.

"Master."

His voice was soft and sweet, quiet but filled with obvious delight.

Pure, spotless dolls always forgot pain easily.

The blond doll loved his master so much. Even though that scumbag beat him and restricted his freedom, he still loved his master.

Qi Chao burst into tears.

The winter night wind howled. A twenty-eight-year-old grown man stood in the doorway, crying like a dog.

What he did not know was that ever since seeing the doll, the cowardly system had curled into a ball and activated its silence protocol, terrified of revealing any confidential information.

Chapter 2

Qi Chao had not cried many times in his life.

At twenty-eight, what kind of awful things had he not been through?

Even when he had been tricked into a pyramid scheme den, he had not been afraid, but this time was different.

The blond doll had been locked in a cramped cage, yet he still gave the murderer a sweet smile, as if he had no idea what disgusting things the murderer had done to him.

Anyone would feel heartbroken seeing this.

Qi Chao was no exception.

He was a dollmaker. In thirteen years of work, he had made thirty dolls, and every one of them was his child.

Just imagining his own precious child, whom he cherished in his palms, being treated like this made Qi Chao's eyes sting. He wanted nothing more than to kill someone.

Crying aside, he had not forgotten that the little doll was still locked inside the cage. Qi Chao found the key on the coffee table, but his hands were trembling too badly for him to get it into the keyhole.

Throughout it all, the blond doll kept staring at Qi Chao's face, as though puzzled by why his master was crying.

He tilted his head. His slightly curly golden hair bounced in the air with the motion. After the cage opened, he slowly crawled out through the door. When he stood up, he seemed to lose his balance and tipped to the left.

Qi Chao had just reached out to catch him when the little doll had already fallen to the floor.

He sat on the ground in a daze and looked around, as if the fall had stunned him. But when he looked up and saw Qi Chao, a delighted smile appeared on his face. The blond doll clumsily got up, threw his arms around Qi Chao's waist, and rubbed his fluffy head against Qi Chao's stomach. In a soft, soothing voice, he said, "Master, don't be sad."

From Qi Chao's angle, all he could see was the little doll's fluffy blond hair. His tears immediately flowed even harder.

He crouched down and hugged the doll, his voice hoarse as he said, "Little One, Dad isn't sad."

Qi Chao's old fatherly heart completely fell apart.

He had clearly been beaten, scolded, and hurt, yet when his master was sad, the little doll not only held no grudge, but even after falling down, still thought about comforting his sad master.

What kind of angel was this?!

Because of his position, Qi Chao did not see the blond doll's expression turn incomparably cold the moment he heard the word "Dad."

The doll wrapped his arms around the man's neck, his fingers discreetly measuring the man's throat, as if considering from which angle to snap his neck. There was none of that previous adorable, healing demeanor left.

Aaaah! The host was doomed!

It had only been a few minutes, and he had already stepped on the demon's landmine?!

At the same time, the system screamed soundlessly within the host's consciousness. It knew all too well how dangerous this world was.

It should not have worried about so much. It should have stopped the host from seeing the doll while they were still on the aircraft!

Could the host die before even completing the process? Was it about to break the General Bureau's record for the shortest failure time?! Nooo!!!

Thinking this, the system hurriedly canceled the silence protocol and spoke up: [Host, according to data analysis, the little doll's hunger is increasing. You may go to the kitchen and prepare Energy Stones.]

No matter what, it had to separate the host from the demon doll first.

Dolls needed to replenish their energy.

The last time the little doll had eaten was a week ago.

A week ago! Damn it!

Qi Chao froze for a moment, then immediately stood up.

His movement was too sudden, startling the blond little doll. His azure eyes widened slightly.

"Little One, sorry, sorry. A little pat on the head won't scare you."

Qi Chao immediately felt a little guilty. He hurriedly stroked the little doll's hair to comfort him. Seeing the doll narrow his eyes comfortably like a kitten, Qi Chao's heart nearly melted.

Too cute. Too well-behaved.

Sob, sob. He was practically an angel.

He picked the doll up and placed him on the sofa. Before leaving, he ruffled the little doll's fluffy head again. "Little One, wait on the sofa. Dad will make you something tasty."

After saying that, Qi Chao deliberately turned on the projector and played Blue Star's most popular cartoon.

After seeing the little doll give him a soft smile, Qi Chao left in satisfaction.

In the vast living room, only the cartoon's cheerful laughter could be heard. As Qi Chao headed toward the kitchen, he had no idea that the obedient little doll in his eyes was staring fixedly at his retreating back.

The doll's gaze was cold and clinging, winding around him like a hungry python hunting prey as he considered where to take the first bite.