Chapter 58
As soon as Wen Xingxue finished speaking, he pushed the little clown doll back into his pocket.
The next second, Xing Nuo felt the world spin.
He couldn’t see anything, only feeling a sense of weightlessness and speed, as if he were flying.
Fortunately, a doll’s senses were less acute than a human child’s; otherwise, he would have been sick.
When he finally felt himself slowing down, Xing Nuo shook his dizzy head, not daring to peek out, and asked in a small voice:
“Big Brother…we back…mushroom house…?”
Wen Xingxue’s voice was still hoarse and indifferent.
“No.”
Xing Nuo mumbled an “Oh” and, gripping the edge of the pocket, asked tentatively:
“Can I…come out…now?”
Wen Xingxue: “No.”
Standing before Wen Xingxue were several brown bear security guards.
The large, realistic-looking teddy bears were quite intimidating, unlike the cute and cuddly ones in the town. They looked almost like real brown bears.
Even larger and more imposing than real brown bears, their several-meter-tall frames looming over the humans, making them seem insignificant.
“You dare trespass in our core factory?!”
“Unforgivable! This is the most important place in our town!”
“All our dolls are manufactured here! No outsiders allowed without authorization!”
The bears roared, their voices filled with rage.
Xing Nuo, curled up in fear inside the pocket, felt like he was going to be deafened by their roars.
He worriedly poked Wen Xingxue’s waist with his small, round hand, wanting to say something, but afraid of interrupting him, he remained silent.
Wen Xingxue drew his blade, the small, tickling sensation from the little one’s hand in his pocket making him smirk.
“Don’t worry, just a few toy bears.”
Just a few C-level small fries, nothing to be concerned about.
As soon as he finished speaking, he moved with lightning speed, appearing beside the bears.
Before they could react, he kicked one to the ground and swiftly sliced through it with his blade.
In a single breath, the toy bear was split in two.
Instead of fluffy white cotton, chunks of human flesh and blood, dismembered limbs, spilled from its insides, some still looking warm and fresh.
Wen Xingxue didn’t even glance at it, swiftly dispatching the other bears.
Within minutes, the one-sided fight was over.
He quickly left, destroying the factory’s surveillance cameras along the way, and arrived at a nearby river.
Tossing his blade into the water, he watched as the blood-red water gradually cleared and called out to the little doll:
“Come out.”
Xing Nuo, who had been hiding quietly, quickly peeked out of the pocket, his messy hair sticking up.
He looked up at Wen Xingxue’s calm face and asked anxiously:
“Big Brother, did…we get caught…stealing…?”
Wen Xingxue shook his head. “No, we didn’t have time to steal anything.”
Xing Nuo was relieved. He had never stolen anything before and didn’t want Big Brother to be a bad person.
“It’s okay…stealing…bad…”
Wen Xingxue sat down, his legs crossed, not responding, and took out the little clown doll from his pocket.
Xing Nuo stood on the grass, his little face tilted up, looking at the star-filled sky above Toy Town.
The wind ruffled his clothes, and dark purple clouds drifted past the silvery moon.
Wen Xingxue, watching the little doll standing by the riverbank, suddenly asked:
“Little clown doll, do you…want to be…human again…?”
Xing Nuo tilted his head, looking at the older brother, and nodded.
“I…want…become human…find Dad…then…become human…”
Wen Xingxue snorted, retrieving his blade from the river.
“Your dad…can turn you…human?”
Xing Nuo nodded emphatically, his small face full of trust and hope.
“Of course! My Dad…super powerful!”
Wen Xingxue wiped his blade and shook his head.
“You’re quite confident. Unfortunately, without the Heart of the Toys, you’ll forever be…a little toy.”
Xing Nuo’s eyes widened in confusion. He shook his head.
“No…Little Green Doll…said…if we fulfill…human wishes…can become…human…”
Wen Xingxue sheathed his blade and scoffed.
“He lied to you. That’s just…false advertising…to sell those ugly dolls.”
He paused, then added:
“And what wishes…can you even…fulfill…?”
Xing Nuo thought for a moment, then tilted his little clown face up and said earnestly:
“Big Brother, you can…wish…for Zaizai…to sleep…every night!”
Wen Xingxue: “…”
“In your dreams.”
Making a wish for this ugly little thing? Was he crazy?
Xing Nuo, persistent, poked Wen Xingxue’s leg and circled him like a little spinning top.
“Make a wish! Then…Zaizai…can fulfill…for you!”
Wen Xingxue stood there, speechless, then, pinching the chattering doll’s mouth shut, said:
“Be quiet. Even if I make a wish, you won’t turn back.”
Xing Nuo, his mouth covered, still struggling, mumbled:
“Why?”
Wen Xingxue patted Xing Nuo’s head, the corner of his lips twitching.
“No need to ask so many questions.”
He tucked the little clown doll back into his pocket and walked towards the small mushroom house.
“Let’s go back.”
If they didn’t go back to sleep soon, it would be daylight.
Xing Nuo didn’t know when they returned to the mushroom house. When he woke up, it was already bright outside.
A crowd of people and teddy bears were gathered in front of the house, arguing loudly.
Xing Nuo slid off the bed and padded to the door.
“Don’t…be noisy! What’s wrong…?”
Wen Xingxue wasn’t there, so Xing Nuo, the little master, faced the angry teddy bears alone.
The white bears, seeing the little clown doll, smaller than their paws, sneered.
“Little clown doll, where’s the human who brought you here?!”
“Did he run away, knowing he made a mistake?!”
“He dared to attack our brown bear guards! How dare he?!”
Xing Nuo, intimidated by their angry expressions, their fluffy faces twisted in rage, took a step back.
But he still waved his small hands, trying to explain:
“No…Big Brother…no run…he’ll be back…soon…”
The players who had come to watch the commotion, still confused, asked:
“What’s going on? What happened?”
One of the white bears, its anger making it lose control, bared its teeth at a human player.
“Wen Xingxue broke into our factory! And attacked our brown bear guards! You’d better behave yourselves, or you’ll be turned into dolls too!”
The players gasped, exchanging glances.
What did the factory have to do with this instance?!
Wasn’t the objective of this instance to participate in the doll exhibition?!
They had spent the entire day yesterday working to earn money to buy clothes and accessories for their dolls, and also gathering information about the teddy bears’ preferences to improve their chances of winning.
And Wen Xingxue had gone to the factory?
Two players from the same guild exchanged a look, their faces grim.
Had Wen Xingxue discovered something they hadn’t?
But they couldn’t think of anything unusual about this instance.
The biggest challenge so far was the town’s exorbitant prices and the difficult teddy bears.
If they wanted to clear this instance, they might have to spend all the points they had earned in previous instances.
For those with limited resources, this instance was practically unwinnable.
As they debated, Wen Xingxue finally arrived.
He walked over, picked up the little doll in front of the white bears, and put it back in his pocket.
He glanced at the little doll’s pouting face, his eyelids half-closed, and handed him a small, wrapped sunflower-shaped piece of play-doh.
“Here, play with this.”
Xing Nuo, holding the thumb-sized toy, sighed in relief and poked Wen Xingxue’s hand.
“White bears…said…Big Brother…hurt…brown bears…”
Wen Xingxue shrugged, looking up at the white bears blocking his door, his hands in his pockets.
“Are you accusing me? Where’s your proof?”
The white bears bristled, one of them almost jumping in anger.
“You destroyed the surveillance footage! But we know it was you!”
Among this group of humans, he was the only one powerful enough to defeat the brown bear guards.
If it wasn’t him, who else could it be?!
Wen Xingxue, ignoring the ugly bears, stepped inside and, just before closing the door, said coldly:
“If you have no proof, then I didn’t do it. Come back when you have some evidence.”
He closed the door, shutting out the white bears’ angry roars.
He placed the little clown doll on the table and said:
“Don’t learn…from those…rude bears…even as a doll…you should be…polite…”
Xing Nuo nodded, holding the play-doh, and asked:
“Big Brother, why…white bears…looking for you…?”
He hadn’t seen the fight last night, having been hidden in the pocket, thinking he and Big Brother had simply been running away.
Wen Xingxue didn’t answer, instead poking the play-doh in the little doll’s hand.
“Why…not playing…? Don’t you…like sunflowers…?”
Xing Nuo looked at the play-doh and sighed, thinking Big Brother was acting childish.
He was almost four years old!
He put the sunflower play-doh aside, stood up, walked to the table like a worried little adult, and looked at Wen Xingxue.
“Big Brother…did you go…find work…this morning…?”
He had overheard the other players talking about working to earn money for rent yesterday.
But Big Brother had just been wandering around the town with him!
They hadn’t earned a single coin yesterday!
If this continued, they would soon be kicked out of their little mushroom house!
Wen Xingxue, seeing the little doll’s worried, wrinkled face, chuckled.
His pale, hard face softened for a moment, the amusement in his eyes making him seem less intimidating.
As Xing Nuo angrily placed his hands on his hips, Wen Xingxue simply nodded.
“Yes, I’ll…find work…today…”
