Chapter Summaries

After nearly dying, Qi Chao woke in an unfamiliar world with an Artisan System, which mistakenly identified his destination as a heartwarming doll fairy tale before loading a dark horror doll world instead. He found himself in a private room with a man offering him a device meant to sexually stimulate dolls, and faintly heard the system’s familiar crackle as he examined it.

• As Qi Chao neared death, the Artisan System appeared and announced that he would enter a heartwarming doll fairy tale.
• After Qi Chao lost consciousness, the system corrected its information, loaded a dark horror doll world, and activated its confidentiality protocol.
• Qi Chao woke in a noisy private room, confused by his unfamiliar surroundings and unable to find the system.
• A man in a pink V-neck told Qi Chao that his S-rank doll must feel good and offered him a device to attach inside the doll’s chest.
• Qi Chao recognized the device’s disturbing purpose, picked it up, and faintly heard an electrical crackle like the system’s voice.

Qi Chao received the original owner’s memories and discovered that the man had abused and imprisoned a little puppet before developing perverse plans to assault him. Furious, Qi Chao headed to the original owner’s villa to save the puppet.

• Qi Chao broke the expensive regulator and secretly contacted the system, then agreed to receive the original owner’s memories.
• The memory transfer caused Qi Chao intense pain, and the system anxiously reported the problem to the General Bureau.
• After the memories settled, Qi Chao learned the original owner had bought a childlike puppet, beaten him until his body cracked, and locked him in a cage.
• Qi Chao realized the original owner had recently begun plotting to claim the puppet, and he piloted a flyer toward the villa to rescue him.

Qi Chao freed the blond doll from his cage and, mistaking the doll’s affection for innocence, comforted him like a father. He left to prepare Energy Stones, unaware that the doll was considering how to kill him.

• Qi Chao saw the blond doll waiting in a cage and broke down in tears over how badly he believed the doll had been treated.
• Qi Chao unlocked the cage, and the doll fell while trying to walk before hugging Qi Chao and comforting him.
• Qi Chao called the doll “Little One” and “Dad,” prompting the doll to discreetly measure Qi Chao’s throat and consider snapping his neck.
• The system warned Qi Chao that the doll was hungry and told him to prepare Energy Stones.
• Qi Chao placed the doll on the sofa, turned on a cartoon, and went to the kitchen while the doll watched him with a predatory gaze.

Qi Chao learned the Craftsman System’s mission and began caring for Lan Luo, the little Doll entrusted to him. The chapter ended with Qi Chao offering Lan Luo chopped pieces of a low-grade Energy Stone because the Doll had gone a week without food.

• Qi Chao asked the system about calling himself Dad and learned that his mission was to create an SSS-rank Doll.
• Qi Chao questioned what had happened to the original owner, but the system said the information was confidential before leaving for System Headquarters.
• Qi Chao prepared a low-grade Energy Stone after realizing Lan Luo had gone a week without taking in energy.
• Qi Chao called Lan Luo away from the projection screen and offered him the Energy Stone cut into snack-sized cubes.

Qi Chao fed Lan Luo diced Energy Stones, stopped him from offering himself up for another beating, and destroyed the torture implements the original owner had used on him. Lan Luo accepted Qi Chao’s promise not to hurt him, then revealed he had stayed silent about the pain because his Master had never asked.

• Qi Chao served Lan Luo diced Energy Blocks, and Lan Luo thanked him and ate them happily.
• Qi Chao noticed the cracks left by the original owner’s beatings as Lan Luo picked up his food.
• Lan Luo took up a whip and knelt, asking whether his Master wanted to whip him, but Qi Chao returned him to the sofa and threw the whip away.
• Qi Chao searched the villa for the original owner’s torture implements and destroyed them while Lan Luo watched warily.
• Qi Chao promised Lan Luo he would not hit him again and asked whether the earlier beatings had hurt.
• Lan Luo said the beatings had hurt and explained he had not spoken up because his Master had never asked.

Qi Chao comforted Lan Luo and gave him his own bedroom, then went to sleep after preparing clothes and Energy Stones for him. During the night, Lan Luo secretly entered Qi Chao’s room and considered killing him, but decided it was not time yet before leaving unnoticed.

• Qi Chao told Lan Luo he did not have to smile or endure being hurt, and promised to stay with him as he learned to love himself.
• Qi Chao chose a bedroom next to his own for Lan Luo and let him sleep in his white suit for the night.
• Qi Chao prepared clothes and High-Grade Energy Stones for Lan Luo before falling asleep exhausted.
• Lan Luo crouched beside Qi Chao’s pillow and considered striking at his heart, but held back because Big Brother and Father would be angry.
• The system returned and witnessed Lan Luo in Qi Chao’s room, then Qi Chao woke at six the next morning to the system’s greeting.

Qi Chao spent the morning sketching a new puppet and told the system that money was his only interest besides his little ones, unknowingly turning down a possible chance to survive. After receiving his expensive delivery, he checked on Lan Luo and found him awake, cheerful, and eager to watch cartoons.

• Qi Chao went to the study and spent nearly an hour sketching puppet designs while the system watched.
• The system asked what Qi Chao liked besides puppets, but he said he was interested in money and had no other hobbies, prompting the system to give up on finding a way to save him.
• Qi Chao received a delivery of High-Grade Energy Stones and clothes for Little One, then carried the stones to the kitchen and worried over their cost.
• Qi Chao went upstairs to check on Lan Luo, who opened the door dressed in a white suit and appeared lively and well.
• Qi Chao petted Lan Luo and led him downstairs after the little puppet eagerly agreed to watch cartoons.

Qi Chao spent the day caring for Lan Luo with food, cartoons, and new clothes, then searched for ways to repair the cracks on the puppet’s hand. He found no repair advice, but a forum post about the Puppeteer Association caught his attention.

• Qi Chao made Lan Luo a rainbow bunny from seven colors of Energy Stone and ate reheated sandwiches with him while watching Superman.
• Qi Chao praised Lan Luo for noticing the new clothes, and Lan Luo happily tried on the outfits and chose white ram pajamas.
• Qi Chao noticed the cracks on Lan Luo’s hand and searched the Doll Enthusiasts Forum for puppet repair methods.
• Qi Chao found no useful repair information and considered seeking out Lan Luo’s maker.
• Qi Chao noticed a forum post mentioning the Puppeteer Association, an organization unfamiliar to him.

Qi Chao learned how Blue Star’s puppeteer industry developed and worried that his Mental Power might be too weak to make or repair dolls. He planned to get tested the next day and realized that leaving the villa would mean leaving Lan Luo alone.

• Qi Chao researched the Puppeteer Association and learned that Mental Power determined a doll’s rank and that the Association controlled the doll-making industry.
• Qi Chao felt sorry for inferior dolls abandoned in garbage dumps, then comforted Lan Luo as the doll watched a projection.
• Qi Chao wondered whether his Mental Power matched the original owner’s A-rank and worried he might not be able to repair Lan Luo’s cracked hand.
• The system suggested Qi Chao get tested at a professional institution, and Qi Chao decided to go the next day.
• Qi Chao realized Lan Luo would be alone in the villa while he was out, despite having been kept there since the original owner bought him.

Qi Chao took Lan Luo to a Mental Power testing agency before their planned trip to the amusement park, while Lan Luo concealed his murderous intentions behind an obedient appearance. The test showed Qi Chao had A-Rank Mental Power.

• Qi Chao promised to take Lan Luo to an amusement park, and Lan Luo privately considered killing him if he made Lan Luo angry.
• Qi Chao packed Energy Stones in Lan Luo's backpack and drove him to the Mental Power testing agency.
• Qi Chao used the VIP passage to meet the deputy director, who performed his test.
• The deputy director told Qi Chao that his Mental Power was A-Rank.

Qi Chao took Lan Luo to an amusement park to see the Brightglow Puppet Troupe, where the crowded outing stirred Lan Luo’s dangerous instincts and unfamiliar happiness. Qi Chao pushed through the crowd to bring Lan Luo onto the stage for a photo, and Lan Luo thanked him warmly.

• After leaving the facility, Qi Chao picked up Lan Luo and turned off the TV during their aircraft ride, teasing the puppet about watching it while traveling.
• Qi Chao took Lan Luo to a busy amusement park and discovered that the Brightglow Puppet Troupe was performing there.
• As the crowd pressed around them, Lan Luo grew agitated and considered acting against the people, but Qi Chao lifted him onto his shoulders.
• Lan Luo felt a rare happiness as Qi Chao carried him through the crowd, then agreed to take a picture with the mascots.
• Qi Chao squeezed through the crowd and reached the stage with Lan Luo, who smiled and told his master he had worked hard.

Qi Chao took Lan Luo around the amusement park, treating him as his child and delighting in his cuteness. Lan Luo briefly considered killing Qi Chao to escape, but the outing softened his mood, while Li Yueya spotted him in a photo and recognized him as one of Doctor’s dolls.

• Qi Chao took a photo with Lan Luo and agreed to let the amusement park display it on the visitors’ wall.
• While Qi Chao searched for snacks in a secluded grove, Lan Luo prepared to attack him, but changed his mind when Qi Chao promised to buy him a headband.
• Qi Chao bought Lan Luo a headband, took pictures of him, and changed their plans so they could spend more time where children gathered.
• At the ring-toss stall, Qi Chao won every prize, and Lan Luo asked for a shoulder ride after noticing the children admiring Qi Chao.
• Li Yueya saw Lan Luo’s photo on the visitors’ wall and recognized him as a doll made by Doctor.

Li Yueya recognized Lan Luo in a leaked photo and sparked a heated Doll Enthusiasts Forum debate. Unaware of the uproar, Qi Chao settled Lan Luo in for the night, then returned to his unfinished doll design and summoned the system when he could not focus.

• Li Yueya recognized the boy in a photo as Doctor’s third doll and posted about it on the Doll Enthusiasts Forum.
• Forum users argued fiercely over the photo and the status of dolls until a moderator locked the thread.
• Qi Chao read the forum, followed his routine for putting Lan Luo to bed, and let him keep his antler headband.
• Lan Luo happily kept the headband and postponed his plan to kill Qi Chao by a few days.
• Qi Chao struggled to concentrate on his character design sketch and called the system, which crossed dimensions to check on him.

Qi Chao learned that the system store sold dollmaking materials but was too expensive to rely on, so he decided to search the Qi Family library for information. He prepared to visit the old residence the next day, leaving Lan Luo at home.

• Qi Chao asked the system about dollmaking materials and learned that he could buy them with Artisan Points earned through side quests.
• The system showed Qi Chao the store’s high prices, including a 10,000-point dollmaking guide, and warned him not to rely on it.
• Qi Chao remembered that the Qi Family’s library might contain dollmaking methods and messaged the old residence’s butler to say he would visit the next morning.
• Qi Chao considered how to handle his two younger half-brothers and hoped to avoid meeting his busy father.
• The next day, Qi Chao told Lan Luo he would be away temporarily and left the doll at home.

Qi Chao returned to the old residence to look for information but ran into his controlling father, Qi Chenming, and his rebellious younger brothers. After Qi Chenming left, Qi Chao was tasked with teaching Qi Feng and Qi Ye, who remained locked in the house.

• Qi Chao arrived at the old residence and found Qi Feng and Qi Ye kneeling before their father, Qi Chenming, after they had been caught attempting to take a woman to a hotel and fighting the vice squad.
• Qi Chenming ordered Qi Feng and Qi Ye to write self-criticisms and instructed the butler to keep them locked inside.
• Qi Chenming questioned Qi Chao about missing work and meeting the Li family's youngest son, and Qi Chao explained that he had wanted to buy something through the black market.
• Qi Chao comforted Qi Chenming about his younger brothers, and Qi Chenming told him to teach them proper values.
• Qi Chenming left for a client meeting, reiterating that Qi Feng and Qi Ye were not to be let out.

Qi Chao learned that Lan Luo's cracks needed to be repaired by the puppet maker who had created him, so he contacted Li Yuqin to get the maker's information. Back at the living room, he stopped Qi Feng and Qi Ye from going out and began talking with them about their injuries and plans.

• Qi Chao studied books on puppet-making and learned that a puppet's original maker should repair its cracks to avoid damaging its meridians.
• Qi Chao decided to find Lan Luo's maker and asked Li Yuqin for the puppet maker's contact information.
• Li Yuqin sent Qi Chao the contact details for a well-known black-market puppet maker called Doctor, and Qi Chao sent Doctor a friend request.
• Qi Chao found Qi Feng and Qi Ye trying to leave and asked them to sit down with him.
• Qi Chao saw the brothers' injuries, urged them to apply medicine, and advised them not to visit their girlfriends with bruised faces.

Qi Chao contacted Doctor, Lan Luo’s dollmaker, to arrange repairs for Lan Luo’s cracked body and mistook Doctor’s politeness for a soft temperament. Their conversation left Qi Chao convinced that Doctor needed his help learning to stand up for himself, while the system feared Qi Chao had provoked a dangerous villain.

• Qi Chao persuaded the Maple Leaf Brothers to delay going out, then saw that Lan Luo was safely watching cartoons at home.
• After Lan Luo went to bed, Qi Chao messaged Doctor to ask for repairs and apologized for mistreating Lan Luo.
• Doctor agreed to visit Qi Chao’s location and repair Lan Luo once he had finished dealing with something else.
• Qi Chao, drawing on his past experience protecting dolls, urged Doctor to curse him out, believing Doctor was too gentle to show anger.
• The system realized Qi Chao had contacted the villain and secretly ordered a funeral wreath, while Qi Chao continued chatting with Doctor and decided the dollmaker needed to learn how to resist bullies.

Qi Chao told Lan Luo that the Doctor would come repair his cracks, unaware that Lan Luo planned to kill him before leaving with his father. Facing the high cost of the repairs and his dwindling savings, Qi Chao asked the system about exchanging Artisan Points for money and proposed cooperating with its store.

• Qi Chao sent the Doctor a lollipop photo and exchanged goodnight messages with him.
• Qi Chao told Lan Luo that his father would come repair his cracks, making Lan Luo eagerly thank him.
• Lan Luo privately thought he could kill Qi Chao painlessly before leaving with the Doctor.
• Qi Chao decided to teach Lan Luo to read and ordered literacy books.
• Qi Chao realized he had only three thousand currency left and that Lan Luo's repairs might cost at least a million.
• Qi Chao learned that Artisan Points could be exchanged for currency and asked the system how to cooperate with its store.

Qi Chao negotiated with his system to sell clothing designs for points, then took Lan Luo to a park so the lonely doll could play on a swing. Their outing ended abruptly when a boy pulled Lan Luo off the swing, prompting Qi Chao to confront him.

• Qi Chao offered the system nearly fifty clothing design drafts in exchange for points, and the system agreed to ask its superiors about the deal.
• Qi Chao found Lan Luo watching cartoons and invited him to play at a nearby park.
• Lan Luo eagerly changed clothes, went with Qi Chao, and learned to swing by watching another child.
• Qi Chao photographed Lan Luo and sent pictures and a video to Lan Luo's biological father on his Light Brain.
• A chubby boy yanked Lan Luo off the swing, and Qi Chao rushed to check him before angrily demanding to know why the boy had done it.

Qi Chao defended Lan Luo after Little Fatty and the other children claimed the public swing as their own. Little Fatty’s grandmother eventually made him apologize, while Lan Luo’s anger faded as he realized Qi Chao cared for him.

• Little Fatty and his friends insisted that Lan Luo was not allowed to use their swing, and Qi Chao decided to find Little Fatty’s guardian.
• Qi Chao carried Lan Luo and took Little Fatty to his grandmother, who blamed Lan Luo for being older despite learning her grandson was at fault.
• Qi Chao argued with the grandmother and reassured Lan Luo that he would make the other child apologize.
• Lan Luo’s killing intent faded as he listened to Qi Chao defend him and felt the warmth of his embrace.
• Little Fatty’s grandmother finally made him apologize to Lan Luo, settling the dispute.