Chapter 57
The bright midday sun painted the pink and blue streets in vibrant hues.
Xing Nuo, nestled in Wen Xingxue’s pocket, his little hand dangling out, his ugly head drooping, counted the blue tiles on the sidewalk.
“Nine…ten…one…two…”
He reached ten, then started over, unable to count past ten.
Wen Xingxue, hearing the little one’s mumbling, said:
“After ten comes eleven.”
Xing Nuo nodded obediently and continued:
“Seven…ten…eleven…one…two…”
Wen Xingxue closed his eyes, giving up on the little clown doll.
Not only ugly, but also illiterate.
He sighed and continued walking towards the outskirts of town.
Xing Nuo, not understanding what the Big Brother was doing, stayed quietly in his pocket, watching as he walked from south to north, then east to west.
The sun began to set, painting the sky in shades of orange, pink, and purple.
Xing Nuo yawned and tilted his head.
“Big Brother, you no tired?”
Wen Xingxue, his face serious as he mentally mapped the town, shook his head.
“Not tired.”
Seeing that it was getting late, knowing that dungeons were usually more dangerous at night, he returned to his little house with the clown doll.
A group of players were gathered outside the cute, red mushroom-shaped house, seemingly waiting for him. They hurried over when they saw him.
“Big Boss, you’re back?”
Wen Xingxue glanced at them and hummed indifferently.
He opened the door to his house, and just as he was about to enter, a player called out:
“Big Boss, you walked around the town today. Did you notice how expensive everything is?”
Wen Xingxue paused, not wanting to answer.
Xing Nuo, in his pocket, thinking Wen Xingxue hadn’t heard, poked him with his little round hand.
“Big Brother, they asking you…’bout expensive things!”
Wen Xingxue glanced down at the little thing, hummed, and, his hand in his other pocket, replied:
“It’s alright.”
He had plenty of points, anyway.
Another player, annoyed by Wen Xingxue’s nonchalant attitude, snapped.
“What was the point of asking him?! We’re trying to discuss a strategy, and he doesn’t even care!”
Another player pulled him back.
“It’s okay. It’s normal for Big Bosses to be a bit aloof.”
Wen Xingxue watched their little performance and raised an eyebrow.
“Anything else?”
He entered his house, his eyes narrowed, hiding his cold indifference.
“If not, don’t bother me.”
He closed the door, shutting out the players.
Their arguing voices could still be heard through the door.
“I told you not to get so agitated! What do you gain by offending Wen Xingxue?!”
“Nothing! I just don’t like his attitude!”
“Whether you like it or not, he’s still the top-ranked player! And do you have as many points as he does? Being on his good side can only benefit us!”
“I’m done. I’m going home to my doll, Xiaoguo. I can’t deal with you idiots anymore.”
The players had lowered their voices, but Wen Xingxue’s sharp hearing still picked up their conversation.
He chuckled, taking out his knife.
Idiots.
So easily agitated, and they dared to enter a B-level dungeon.
There were always players who overestimated their abilities and looked down on the top-ranked players.
The dungeon would teach them a lesson soon enough.
Xing Nuo jumped out of the pocket and onto the table.
He saw Wen Xingxue produce a loaf of bread from his watch and gasped, walking over to examine it.
He poked it with his little round hand, then stood on tiptoe and touched Wen Xingxue’s watch.
“Bwad in watch? Big Brother, you know magic?”
Wen Xingxue, sitting on the sofa, shook his head.
“No, it’s just a spatial storage prop.”
He tore open the bread bag and took a large bite, half the loaf disappearing instantly.
This was his first meal since last night.
Just a dry loaf of bread.
But he was used to it. He often went for two or three days without eating while in dungeons, sometimes just snacking on chocolate to replenish his energy.
He had survived this long solely because of his powerful ability.
After finishing the bread, he took out another loaf.
He glanced down and saw Xing Nuo sitting on the table, looking up at him expectantly, and paused.
“Do you want some?”
Xing Nuo shook his head and sighed sadly.
“I can’t eat.”
He was just a little clown doll, not needing food or water, not feeling temperature or pain.
He poked his little tummy.
“Zaizai not hungry.”
But when could he turn back?
Wen Xingxue, seeing the little doll’s dejection, quickly finished his bread and said awkwardly:
“It’s alright if you can’t eat. It’s not that good anyway.”
The bread was dry and hard, with no filling, its only redeeming quality being its ability to quickly satiate hunger.
Xing Nuo nodded in agreement.
“Bwad…not cloud-shaped…not pwetty.”
He had eaten bread before, golden and crispy, filled with cheese, shaped like cute little clouds and animals.
He looked up at Wen Xingxue and suggested:
“Big Brother, next time…buy cloud bwad…vewy yummy! Sweet!”
Wen Xingxue, looking at the little one’s ugly face, illuminated by the lamplight, describing how delicious the bread was, almost found him cute.
He chuckled and walked to the window, looking at the rising moon, and for the first time, he didn’t mind the constant chatter.
Silence fell over the town.
The moon, a full, golden orb, bathed the streets in its soft light.
Combined with the baguette-shaped streetlights, the town was brightly lit even at night.
To conserve energy, all the streetlights would be turned off near midnight.
Wen Xingxue opened his eyes and quickly got out of bed.
He put on his black jacket, checked the knife at his waist, and was about to leave when he heard a soft breathing sound.
He paused, turned back, and put the sleeping clown doll in his pocket.
He opened the door and stepped into the night.
The town’s factory operated 24/7. Tonight’s shift was staffed by white geese and yellow ducks.
The geese worked diligently at the conveyor belt, making dolls, chattering and giggling.
“That idiot, Aoli, got his body ripped apart by a human this morning! He’s back at the factory now!”
“Oh my god, he’s so stupid! What’s there to be afraid of humans?”
Another goose, holding a doll, its eyes glowing red, said:
“What’s the point of humans being smart? They’ll all end up as dolls anyway!”
The other geese sighed, looking at the piles of white stuffing, and lamented the town’s declining fortunes.
“But our town is so beautiful, and we have so many cute dolls. Why are there fewer and fewer tourists lately?”
“It’s those humans’ fault! They leaked the secret about us turning them into dolls, so the monsters from other dungeons are afraid to come!”
“Yeah, we should have let the Mayor turn that group of humans from yesterday into dolls!”
“If we silenced them, the other monsters wouldn’t know, and they would come visit!”
The geese and ducks chattered excitedly, their indignation palpable, as if they were about to go and kill the humans themselves.
Wen Xingxue, wearing his mask, hid behind a pillar in the corner of the factory, listening to their conversation.
As a few geese clocked out for their break, Wen Xingxue slipped past them and into another room.
The factory had only one floor. During the day, Wen Xingxue had discreetly explored the area and knew there was a manager’s office in the southeast corner.
He used a prop flashlight and found a map of the factory layout in the office.
As he was studying the map, a voice sounded from his pocket.
“Big Brother, you there?” Xing Nuo, waking up in the darkness, called out.
He climbed out of the pocket, his hair even messier than before, and, seeing Wen Xingxue’s face illuminated by the flashlight, relaxed.
He looked around the unfamiliar room and asked:
“Big Brother, what we doing?”
Wen Xingxue shushed him, his eyes still on the map, and whispered:
“We’re stealing something.”
Xing Nuo’s eyes widened.
“Steal…steal what? Teacher said…stealing bad.”
Wen Xingxue, hearing the little one’s innocent surprise, memorized the layout, turned off the flashlight, and said:
“It’s okay. Once we steal it, it’s ours. Not stealing anymore.”
He then added:
“Stay in my pocket. I’m going to run.”
