Chapter 57
The bright midday sun cast a vibrant glow on the pink and blue streets.
Xing Nuo, nestled in Wen Xingxue’s pocket, his small hand dangling out, his ugly head drooping, counted the blue tiles on the pavement.
“Nine…ten…one…two…”
Reaching ten, he would start again from one, never reaching double digits.
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 didn’t understand what the older brother was doing, quietly staying in his pocket as he walked from south to north, then east to west.
He walked until the sun began to set, the sky painted in hues of orange, red, pink, and purple.
Xing Nuo yawned and tilted his head.
“Big Brother, you…not tired…?”
Wen Xingxue, his expression serious as he mentally mapped out the town, shook his head.
“Not tired.”
Seeing that it was getting late, aware of the dangers that lurked in instances at night, he returned to his little house with the clown doll.
A group of players were gathered in front of the cute, red, mushroom-shaped house, seemingly waiting for him. They hurried over as soon as they saw him.
“Boss, you’re back?”
Wen Xingxue glanced at them and gave a noncommittal hum.
He opened the door to his house and was about to go inside when a player stopped him.
“Boss, you walked around the town today, did you notice how ridiculously high the prices are here?”
Wen Xingxue paused, not particularly interested in answering.
Xing Nuo, in the pocket, thinking Wen Xingxue hadn’t heard the question, poked him with his small, round hand and whispered:
“Big Brother…they asking…prices high…”
Wen Xingxue looked down at the little thing, hummed in response, put his hand in his other pocket, and replied:
“It’s alright.”
He had plenty of points anyway.
The other players, seeing Wen Xingxue’s nonchalant attitude, one of them snapped angrily:
“What’s the point of asking him?! We’re trying to discuss a strategy, and he doesn’t even care!”
Another player pulled him back, sighing.
“It’s alright. It’s normal for bosses to be a bit…temperamental.”
Wen Xingxue, watching their little performance, his eyes narrowed.
“Is that all?”
He stepped inside, suppressing his cold, ruthless gaze.
“Don’t bother me if you have nothing else to say.”
He closed the door, shutting out the players.
Their arguing voices continued to drift in from outside.
“I told you not to get so worked up! What do you gain from offending Wen Xingxue?!”
“Nothing! I just can’t stand his attitude!”
“Even if you can’t stand him, he’s still the top-ranked player! And do you have as many points as he does? Being on good terms with him can only benefit us!”
“I’m done! I’m going home to my doll, Xiaoguo. You guys can offend all the bosses you want.”
The players lowered their voices, but Wen Xingxue’s sharp hearing still caught their conversation.
He snorted, taking out his blade.
Idiots.
So easily agitated, and they dared to challenge a B-level instance?
There were always players who overestimated themselves, looking down on the top-ranked players.
But the instance would soon teach them a lesson.
Xing Nuo jumped out of the pocket and onto the table.
He watched as Wen Xingxue pulled a bread roll out of his wristwatch, his eyes widening in surprise. He walked over and poked the bread with his small, round hand, then touched Wen Xingxue’s wristwatch.
“Bread…inside 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 package and took a large bite, half the bread disappearing instantly.
This was his first meal since last night, a dry bread roll.
But this was normal for him. He often went for two or three days without eating while in instances, occasionally having a piece of chocolate to replenish his energy.
His survival depended solely on his powerful ability.
After finishing the bread, he took out another one.
He glanced down and saw Xing Nuo sitting on the table, staring at him with his little button eyes, his chin resting on his small hand. He paused.
“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 small belly.
“Zaizai…not hungry…”
But when could he become human again?
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…very good…”
The bread roll had no filling and was quite dry and hard. Its only merit was its ability to quickly satisfy hunger.
Xing Nuo nodded in agreement.
“Bread…not…cloud-shaped…not pretty…”
He had eaten small bread rolls 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 bread…very yummy! Sweet!”
Wen Xingxue, listening to the little one describing how delicious the bread was, his ugly little face seeming slightly more adorable under the lamplight, smiled and walked to the window, looking at the rising moon. For the first time, he felt that even constant chattering wasn’t so bad.
All was quiet.
The moon in the sky above Toy Town was a full, golden orb, its light bathing the streets in a soft glow.
Combined with the baguette-shaped streetlights, the town was brightly lit even at night.
Near midnight, to conserve energy, all the streetlights would be turned off.
Wen Xingxue opened his eyes and quickly got out of bed.
He put on his black jacket, checked the knife at his waist, and walked to the door.
Hearing another soft breath in the quiet room, he paused, turned around, and tucked the sleeping clown doll into his pocket.
He opened the door and quickly vanished into the night.
The toy factory in Toy Town operated 24/7. Tonight, the shift workers were a group of white geese and yellow ducks.
The geese worked diligently at the conveyor belt, making dolls, their chattering and laughter echoing through the factory.
“That idiot, Aoli, got his body ripped apart by a human this morning! He’s back at the factory for repairs!”
“Oh my, he’s so useless! What’s there to be afraid of humans?”
Another goose held up a doll, its eyes glowing red.
“What good is their intelligence? They all end up as dolls anyway.”
The other geese sighed, looking at the fluffy white cotton, and lamented the town’s recent decline.
“But why are fewer and fewer tourists coming to our beautiful town, despite all our lovely dolls?”
“It’s those humans’ fault! They revealed the secret of us turning them into dolls! That’s why the monsters from other instances are afraid to come here!”
“That’s right! We should have let the mayor deal with that group of humans yesterday! Turn them all into dolls!”
“Silence them, and the other monsters wouldn’t know, they would come back!”
The geese and ducks chattered indignantly, as if ready to attack the humans at any moment.
Wen Xingxue, wearing his mask, hid behind a pillar in a corner of the factory, listening to the workers’ conversation.
As a few geese clocked out for their break, he quickly slipped past them and into another room.
The factory had only one floor. During the day, Wen Xingxue had carefully explored the area, noting the factory manager’s office in the southeast corner.
He had found a map of the factory inside, using a prop flashlight.
As he studied the map intently, a voice echoed from his pocket.
“Big Brother…you there…?” Xing Nuo, having woken up in darkness, called out.
He quickly climbed out of the pocket, his hair even messier now, and, seeing Wen Xingxue’s face illuminated by the flashlight, relaxed.
Looking around the unfamiliar room, he scratched his chin.
“Big Brother…what…doing…?”
Wen Xingxue shushed him, his gaze fixed on the factory map, and whispered:
“We’re stealing something.”
Xing Nuo’s eyes widened.
“Stealing…? Teacher said…stealing…bad…”
Hearing the little one’s innocent surprise, Wen Xingxue memorized the layout, turned off the flashlight, and said:
“It’s alright. If we succeed, it’s not stealing.”
Then he added:
“Stay in the pocket. I’m going to run.”
