Chapter 42: Excited Erin

In the old city district, inside a rented house deep on Wutong Road, a burly man nearly two meters tall was squeezed into a single-seat sofa that looked a bit cramped for him. He was bent over, meticulously maintaining his equipment.

It was a beam dagger. The dark red hilt was inlaid with tiny drop-shaped crystals that formed a line running through the entire body of the weapon. The hilt was clearly custom-made for the user, fitting perfectly in the man’s broad hand.

He flipped the dagger, spun it in his palm a few times, then casually activated it. With a faint hum, a bright pale-blue blade flared to life, cutting a scorching arc through the air.

“Take it easy—don’t scratch the coffee table. I’ll have to report it to the bureau and pay for it,” Li Lin said, pulling out a pocket watch and fiddling with it. He glanced up at Xu Jiali across from him. “...That thing’s pretty cool.”

“Cool, right? Earned it with my life,” the big guy chuckled, a smug look on his face. “I saved an Algread astral noble from the ‘Windmill’ in Deep L-3—single-handedly. He gave it to me afterward. Custom-made, best forging craftsmen, best radiant gold crystals. On Algread territory, it can even pass as a knight’s medal.”

Li Lin was curious. “What does it do?”

“...Skip the line for atmospheric transit tickets, take the green channel at hospitals, free admission to the zoo—holidays only.”

Li Lin looked a bit stunned. “That’s... pretty practical. I thought those mysterious Algreads would insist on a bunch of rituals and symbolism for everything.”

“They’re usually pretty mysterious, but even mysterious people have to get by day to day, right?” Xu Jiali shrugged, then added with a bit of complaint, “Hey, operating in the Borderlands is kind of a hassle. There’s a lot of gear I can’t bring over. I even had a chainsword, but before I came, it got classified as a hazard, and now it’s locked in a customs locker...”

Li Lin thought for a moment and was about to speak when he suddenly sensed something. At the same time, Xu Jiali, who also felt it, looked toward the window of the rented house.

In the gradually darkening twilight, a figure had appeared on the windowsill—a petite girl in a dark red coat, leaning against the frame in a rather precarious pose, one leg dangling outside.

She looked at the two men in the room with curiosity. “So, you two are the ‘specialists’ in charge of this block for the time being?”

“You are...” Li Lin frowned, vaguely guessing her identity.

“Just call me Little Red Riding Hood,” the girl on the windowsill waved a hand. “I’m from ‘Fairy Tale.’ Your bureau hired me to help you out in this area for now.”

“Oh, I know you,” Li Lin thought to himself, and a polite smile appeared on his face. “I’ve heard our captain mention you a lot these past couple of days, along with your investigation of this area. I’m Li Lin, field operative of the Second Battalion, Special Affairs Bureau of the Council.”

On the other side, Xu Jiali gave the girl on the windowsill an up-and-down look and said in a low voice, “There might be a ‘big one’ hidden in this place. I thought they’d send Snow White, or ‘The King.’ Not that I’m questioning your wolves, of course.”

Unlike Li Lin, who was still relatively green, Xu Jiali had clearly met Little Red Riding Hood before.

“Snow White’s destructive power would be a bit overkill here—we might not even run into a high-grade entity,” Little Red Riding Hood said casually. “I’ve been active in this area all along, and recently I’ve been investigating the anomalies on Wutong Road. I’m more familiar with it. No worries—Snow White can get here quickly if needed. If we really run into a ‘big one,’ she’s on call.”

As she spoke, the girl got up from the windowsill and waved at the two inside. “I just came to say hi. You should both have my contact info. Call me if anything comes up. Bye~”

The next second, her figure suddenly dissolved into a melting shadow. The shadow vaguely took the shape of a wolf, leaped from the windowsill, and vanished into the night in the blink of an eye.

Leaving Li Lin and Xu Jiali staring at each other in the rented house.

...

After dinner, Yu Sheng sat on the sofa with his eyes closed, listening to the pitter-patter sound darting back and forth between the living room and dining room—first on the right, then on the left, then circling around the sofa a few times.

He opened his eyes and saw Erin running around the living room and dining room. The 66.6-centimeter-tall puppet was carrying an oil painting frame nearly as tall as herself, zipping around on the floor like a little rocket.

When Erin started her fourth lap around the sofa, Yu Sheng couldn’t hold back anymore. “Can’t you take a break? Give your shoes a rest too.”

Erin sprinted over to Yu Sheng, her face full of excitement. “No way! I can’t stop! I can run around now—run everywhere! See, I can climb onto the coffee table, and jump off it!”

Before she finished speaking, she had already run off again, first circling half the sofa, then climbing onto the coffee table in front of Yu Sheng using both hands and feet. She took a few steps and leaped from the table onto Yu Sheng’s lap. He tried to grab the darting figure, but Erin nimbly dodged forward, jumping from the sofa to the floor...

Then she dashed to the TV cabinet in the living room, scrambled up with effort, stood on tiptoes, and stretched to reach the TV’s power button. She succeeded.

The puppet girl cheered and turned to look at Yu Sheng with excitement. “I can even reach the TV button! From now on, when you’re not home, I can power-cycle the TV myself!”

Yu Sheng rolled his eyes and tilted his head back in resignation. “Alright, alright, congratulations. You’re amazing.”

The next second, he saw a flash at the corner of his eye—Erin had run back from the TV cabinet. Grabbing the sofa cover with one hand and Yu Sheng’s pant leg with the other, she scrambled onto the sofa in a few moves and sat down beside him.

The tiny puppet, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, wasn’t even as big as a throw pillow.

The oil painting stood behind her, looking like a wall in proportion.

But Erin had adapted to the frame’s presence with astonishing speed. Whether running with it, climbing up and down, or sitting on the sofa, it didn’t hinder her movements at all. There were occasional inevitable bumps, but the puppet didn’t seem to mind.

Yu Sheng found it fascinating.

“Don’t you find it inconvenient?” he couldn’t help asking curiously. “Honestly, if I had to carry a door around all day, I wouldn’t adapt as fast as you...”

“I think it’s fine,” Erin said happily, swinging her body on the sofa. Though the TV was on, her attention clearly couldn’t focus on it. “It was a little awkward at first, but after running a couple of laps, I got completely used to its weight and size. And how should I put it...”

The puppet paused, as if searching for the right words. After a few seconds, she spoke hesitantly: “It gives me a... sense of security. When I carry it, I feel safe and at ease with my back covered. Have you ever felt that way? Like when you sleep, you have to have your back against the wall, or pressed against a pile of quilts.”

“I know what you mean, but it still feels... incredible,” Yu Sheng said, looking at the little puppet beside him. “I thought you’d resent this painting, since it sealed you for so many years, and now you have to carry it all the time.”

“That’s true,” Erin thought for a moment and nodded lightly, but soon a smile bloomed again. “But there’s a saying: ‘Since you’re here, take it easy.’ As long as today is better than yesterday, there’s nothing to complain about.”

“The saying is ‘Since you’re here, make the best of it...,’” Yu Sheng corrected.

“Close enough,” Erin waved a hand casually. She seemed to have finally calmed down from that running frenzy just now, and now remembered the serious matter. “Okay, I’ve pretty much gotten used to my new body. Time to talk about that fox...”

Yu Sheng nodded, but soon frowned slightly, looking at the little puppet who now only reached his knee. “Are you still planning to come with me?”

Erin looked at him as if it were obvious. “Of course. We agreed.”

“In this state?” Yu Sheng tried to phrase it tactfully, but couldn’t find a way, so he just spoke bluntly. “Can you still fight? You’d have to jump just to kick my knee...”

“I’ll kick you to pieces! So what if I’m small?!” Erin bristled. “Who says I can’t fight like this?!”

Seeing this, Yu Sheng quickly offered some soothing words.

Fortunately, Erin’s temper always flared fast and faded faster. She soon quieted down, leaned back on the sofa, and crossed her arms over her chest. “But you’re right. Like this... direct fighting is a bit affected. You can’t expect a 60-centimeter-tall puppet to take a bullet for you, right...”

She shook her head, then shifted her tone. “But don’t worry. A puppet isn’t just about direct combat. I have plenty of other skills. Even with this level of ‘freedom,’ I can still do quite a lot.”

She raised her hand and held it in front of Yu Sheng as if to demonstrate.

Threads of pitch-black silk spread from her fingertips, like eerie spider silk, like living entities, winding and weaving through the air into a net.

“A puppet’s skills are vast!”

Erin looked smug.

(End of chapter)