Xyrin Empire-Chapter 716: The Doll Controller Finally Meets the Dolls

Chapter 716: Chapter 716: The Doll Controller Finally Meets the Dolls

The sky over Avalon is clear, and the residents of Fantasy Country love it — what’s the most profitable business in the 21st century? Tourism! It’s a lucrative industry where you just need a piece of lucky land, a glib tongue, a group of old Taoists selling jade, and a couple of fortune tellers who read palms; basically, barring catastrophes, financial crises, or failed tribulations, you’re guaranteed not to lose money.

At least in theory.

Huge transport mother ships seldom appear in Avalon’s airspace because I have always felt that environmental conservation is crucial for this picturesque and eternally spring-like place, but this time is an exception. With my relentless persuasion, the majority of the Fantasy Country’s residents have expressed their eagerness to see the enchanting beauty of the Paradise District in the Imperial Capital, and even though the transfer from Atlantis requires opening a massive space rift over the skies of Avalon, in the spirit of saving every penny possible, the transport mother ship didn’t independently open a portal but directly entered Avalon.

The gigantic flying ship slowly peeked out from the colossal crack in the sky, casting a dense shadow like dark clouds over the endless green prairies, disturbing countless small animals frolicking in the grass. Due to its massive size, the transport mother ship couldn’t land directly on this untouched prairie, so it hovered at a height of one or two thousand meters above the ground. Then everyone transferred to small transporters for landing. Of course, many demons were accustomed to flying on their own — they were more interested in tasting the air of this otherworld to see if it was salty or bland. So, as the transporter descended, a large chaotic swarm of little black dots followed alongside, making it look from afar as if the old plane was flying while shedding parts. Many residents of Fantasy Country had already been amazed by the beauty of Avalon before disembarking from the flying ship, and envied Boli Lingmeng and Yukari Yakumo for working in such a favorable place with endless complaints; they now expressed a strong desire to invest and build houses here.

Boli Lingmeng severely criticized the optimistic attitude of the demons and expressed deep concern, while Yukari Yakumo pointed out sharply that a certain ruthless boss was playing bait and switch, luring property owners with a beautiful prospect and a refurbished property background, only to reveal the exploiter’s true face after the contract was signed; it was as though upon employment, the boss points to the X Building and tells the new staff that’s our company’s office building, only for you to learn after signing the labor contract that the actual office is in Room 404 on the fourth floor of Building A of the X Building, and you even have to share a cubicle with two fortune-telling companies, and the inevitable feeling of being utterly swindled would soon follow...

I engaged in half an hour of intense debate with these two sharp-tongued individuals, striving to prove I had no intention of duping the demons from the start — though even I didn’t believe that.

The end result was that I reluctantly agreed to compensate for the bonuses deducted during Yukari Yakumo and Boli Lingmeng’s work. Only then did these two chiefs change their tune, declaring their strong support for Fantasy Country’s relocation project — it seems that with enough incentive, Ling Meng would not hesitate to sell off the entire Fantasy Country, and even Mother Zi would help count the money...

The transporter landed smoothly on the boundless prairie, a region newly formed as the World Tree continues to grow, still without clear administrative divisions, and even its ecological environment was only half-surveyed by Artemis. It was temporarily named "Morning Breeze Prairie," a name Dingdang pulled from the "World Tree Naming Book," which was a lot better than the initial suggestion of "Alpaca Prairie."

"Whoo — YAHOO!! Prairie!!"

As soon as she stepped out of the transporter, Chiruno started sprinting across the prairie like she was possessed, the immense space and nature’s powerful aura enveloping the area sent her, an elf, into an excited frenzy; there was nowhere this vast in Fantasy Country reserved just for grass. As it was impossible to see any other landscapes looking in any direction, Chiruno became incredibly curious as to what lay at the end of the prairie, and to prevent her from actually dashing off to the world’s end, we had no choice but to tie her up and drag her back.

As an ice fairy, you’re supposed to freeze frogs and make ice pops, content as a "⑨," not pretend to be a little mouse in the prairie... Nazling, come back!

I expended considerable effort gathering up all the demons who were running around everywhere upon landing, using at least forty meters of rope and a dozen collars in the process. In the process of catching those who strayed, I earned about thirty or forty bite marks, but as the leader of the demons, Yukari Yakumo at least showed support for her boss’s work this time: those energetic individuals were representing the countless relocated residents of Fantasy Country to inspect their new homes, but now it seems, they can’t even manage themselves, so some mandatory calming measures are essential. I believe after being tied up for a while, those demons will stop wandering off.

Just then, a low rumble came from the high skies, presumably the sound of high-altitude winds suddenly changing direction due to being blocked by some large object, as a shadow even larger than the mother ship gradually covered the grasslands around us. I looked up to see that the Floating Island of Atlantis was now moving the rest of its body through the space gate.

"Wow..." Wenwen looked up in awe at the majestic floating continent emerging from the space rift, gasping softly in wonder. The last time Atlantis appeared over Fantasy Country, it had completed the transfer in the middle of the night and its entry point was higher than the naked eye could see, so no one witnessed first-hand how the floating island accomplished that feat; this was something Wenwen always regretted, but now, she was treated to a full spectacle.

The Tengu Girl was snapping photos like mad with her camera, and later it seemed she wasn’t satisfied with taking pictures from the ground, so she simply spread her wings and whooshed into the sky. Cheng Miao, who was also looking up at the sky nearby, was suddenly blown away by the huge wind force for several meters, to Yakumo Lan’s great distress.

Meanwhile, I began pondering a question as I looked at the giant shadow on the ground: With Atlantis blocking the sun like this, the entire prairie and a considerable area nearby would be plunged into darkness. Right now, only a small part of Atlantis was revealed, and the area around us was just extremely dim without reaching the level of midnight. But if the whole thing were to come out... fгeewёbnoѵel_cσm

Without a doubt, Avalon’s lighting market would be facing an unprecedented boom, and the residents here would definitely protest about the lighting issue—these days, even building a high-rise involves careful consideration of the distance between buildings. Who wouldn’t be upset with a sunshade with a radius of hundreds of kilometers placed right above their heads?

When I shared this situation with Sandora, she also agreed it was a problem.

Just as Sandora and I were both troubled by the ecological issues that would arise from Atlantis hovering over Avalon and the thought of revising Avalon’s optical laws seemed too troublesome (mainly because Dingdang might mess everything up), a cheerful greeting suddenly came from afar, carrying the unmistakable sound of a small couple’s sweet reunion, "Ah Jun—"

I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a huge group of people rushing towards us. The one with an overwhelming presence leading the charge was Qianqian, followed by Big Sister and Lin Xue, and behind them was a large group of Lolies or Fake Lolitas, such as Bubbles, Lilina, and the Rose Maidens. Ilya was sitting on Berserker’s shoulder at the end of the line. She was now using a flashlight near Uncle B’s face to indicate she was overtaking him with flash after flash. I believed Uncle B must be enjoying himself terribly, tears of joy streaming down his face.

Moriya was stunned as she watched such a mighty procession charge towards us, shaking in her boots. The little witch who feared neither heaven nor earth was not entirely fearless, the one who spent her years "borrowing" items from places like the Red Demon Mansion was most disconcerted by the sight of a stampeding battalion coming her way. Now she was completely baffled, fiercely tugging on my arm and shaking it hard, "Hey! What exactly did you do to those girls? They’ve come to fight you, haven’t they?"

I couldn’t begin to imagine how a bunch of girls cheerfully running over could turn into an aggressive charge in Moriya’s mind.

"Ah Jun, Ah Jun~! You’re finally back! The carnival was so boring without you!" Qianqian leaped into the air a few meters away and hurtled into her lover’s arms with a whoosh, vigorously rubbing against my chest for a while before leaving with a giggly smile. I hurriedly took Dingdang out of my front pocket. The little creature was still emitting wisps of smoke from its eyes and murmured in a very tiny voice the events that had just occurred: "Too fast... Everything happened too fast... With a bang, Dingdang was flattened..."

"I didn’t expect it to be so magnificent," Big Sister said with a gentle smile, tidying up my collar that had been messed up by Qianqian and Dingdang’s wings. She looked up at Atlantis, which was gradually taking up a large portion of the sky. A few little ones jumped excitedly to my side, "Where’s Mercury Lamp? Where’s Mercury Lamp?"

Cui Xingshi and the others had missed their big sister dearly after not seeing her for a few days—if this had been a few months ago, they would not dare to seek their terrifying sister so eagerly.

"I’m here," a cool voice came from mid-air, and then I felt a weight on my shoulder as the tiny doll girl gently sat there, swinging her legs and starting to swing, her tone filled with intense grievances, "Don’t even ask, utterly bland. I’ve been stuck on the ship all the time, those stupid humans wouldn’t even let me on the battlefield, and I’m not allowed to use the Mercury Lamp Corps either."

I tapped gently on Little Light’s head. I hadn’t planned on bringing this little one with me in the first place; it was her persistent cajoling and those little tiger teeth that changed my mind. But after arriving in Fantasy Country and finding the situation a bit complicated, I still insisted on leaving her on the ship. Now, she had been quiet onboard, but would probably start complaining to her sisters once we got home.

...By the way, Little Light acting like this is quite cute, isn’t it?

Anyway, we were all together having a good time, sharing amusing stories from the few days we had been apart, when a voice suddenly piped up inopportunely, "This is..."

A tall girl about sixteen or seventeen, with short golden hair and a red headband, clutching a thick tome under her arm, forced her way out from the crowd of Fantasy Country folk, and stared in astonishment at the cluster of doll-like girls at my feet.

"Dolls? Dolls that move on their own!?"

Marisa looked surprised at the golden-haired girl who was starting to show an interest in researching, "Hey, Alice, don’t tell me you’re just noticing now? Didn’t you see this doll named Mercury Lamp flying around on the ship... Oh, I see, you must have been cooped up in your room again talking to dolls. You never show up even during meals, DAZE, it’s hopeless with you."

At Marisa’s words, I immediately remembered who this somewhat unfamiliar girl was: Alice Maggotroyde. Well, that name is a bit long, so let’s just call her Alice. She’s a resident of Fantasy Country who lives in the Magic Forest and, like Marisa, is a very capable witch. Her specialty seems to be manipulating magic dolls, and her main interest is researching magic dolls. Unlike Marisa who is always on the go and buzzing around everywhere, Alice seems to be more of a homebody type, usually with her homemade magic dolls or engrossed in research. I hadn’t seen her during crises like the Fantasy Country or the Atlantis battles, so I was not very acquainted with her.

But now my impression of her was vivid—she was the first person I had ever seen who had the guts to launch a flying pounce at Mercury Lamp upon first meeting.

"Hey! What on earth are you doing, you idiot!" Mercury Lamp agilely dodged the flying pounce from Alice and shouted in dissatisfaction, "Stupid human, get this crazy woman away from me!"

Alice, a bit frantic, waved her magic book, seemingly trying to take to the air and grab Mercury Lamp, "I just... just wanted to see... Are you really talking by yourself? No one’s controlling you? Who made you? Do you have a name?"

Ever since Mercury Lamp had come to our home amidst a series of chaos, this was the first time I saw her fall back into such an awkward predicament. No one came forward to help the little girl in distress; even Big Sister seemed interested and started to watch the spectacle. Mercury Lamp had dodged Alice’s lunges multiple times and, upon seeing her opponent start to release dolls to intercept her, finally burst into rage. She waved her small hand in the air: "This is your own doing! Come out! King’s Mercury Lamp Army!"

Alice froze momentarily, and in the air around her shimmered numerous space gates, resembling undulating water ripples. Cartoon doll versions of Mercury Lamp, three heads tall and 60 cm in height, began poking their heads out from these space gates. They were dressed in various uniforms, some carrying carbines or the Heart of the Sunrise, with soldier helmets or pirate hats on their heads, serious expressions on their faces, and marching with disciplined steps appeared on the plain and midair. Under Mercury Lamp’s command, they quickly formed an attack formation, encircling Alice and the few dolls she had released.

Gilgamesh behind me was hopping madly and shouting, "Copyright infringement! This is my skill! This is a blatant copyright infringement! I’m going to report you to the City Management Team! I’m going to find your parents!"

I slapped Jil on the back, "Her parents are here, you go ahead and tell."

Golden Shining glared at me fiercely, then looked down at Little Baobao who was cheering for Mercury Lamp, and suddenly turned to run away in tears, "You bunch of lowlifes just wait! Wuuuu..."

I think Gil’s unusual behavior now had an indistinguishable connection with the time she was dragged by Chiruno to play the WAAAAAGH game with Dingdang. Those three strands of ahoge are my witness.

Surrounded by a plethora of three-headed dolls, Alice’s few rudimentary magic dolls were quickly overwhelmed. Although Mercury Lamp wasn’t particularly ruthless, her dolls still managed to knock down Alice’s creations. Alice herself put up an exceptionally tenacious fight, and after twelve seconds of intense combat, the skillful and magically adept witch succeeded in halting her retreat and squared off from below against more than a dozen three-headed Mercury Lamps. The unfortunate girl, who was never great at hand-to-hand combat, had just been flipped over by a sweeping leg from Kusanagi Mercury Lamp. Her body immediately became a pile with dozens of dolls stacked on top, with only her head sticking out.

"This is...this is a doll...of dolls...how amazing!" Alice struggled to lift her head, "I must find out how this technology is accomplished, do these other dolls also have such..."

"Too bad," Cui Xingshi said, resting her hands on her hips and giving me a sideways glance, "someone is a very biased father!"

You don’t say, if a Titan Cui Xingshi comes out, the book might as well change its name to ’Toy Story’!

"Alright, alright, Little Light, that’s enough. She’s a guest," I stepped forward and patted Cui Xingshi’s little head, while gesturing for Mercury Lamp to return to my shoulder. The enthusiastic group of three-headed ones who had been clambering onto the "Doll Mountain" on Alice suddenly dispersed like birds and beasts, chirping away without a trace. "Alice, right? If you want to learn advanced doll-making techniques, sign here— ". You get a half-price discount on tuition fees with a Paradise housing card, and you can even exchange real magic skills with many talented mages you can’t even imagine. Go on, don’t hesitate, sign this contract and become a Magic Girl~!!"

Confused, Alice got up and swept a distrustful glance at me, but soon, her attention was captured by the sheet of paper in her hands:

Non-academy students now have opportunities to enroll! Initiated personally by the honorable Master of Time serving as the honorary dean, the Imperial Military Academy-Alchemy System is starting registration for winter holiday remedial classes! Residents of Shadow City with an aspiration to become alchemists and possessing a certain foundational knowledge (tourist scholars from Otherworlds are also welcome, but please be prepared for the accompanying fees) may register for the training. After passing the post-training examination, qualifiers will be guaranteed acceptance into the Military Academy to become official academy students!

Please bring a one-inch holographic photograph and a temporary/permanent Shadow City Identification Card to the registration point.

Registration deadline: These next two days.

Age restrictions for registration: Both pre- and post-mortem acceptable; if post-mortem, please visit the Dark City office in the Capital beforehand to handle the transfer formalities.

Race restrictions for registration: Anything goes, as long as you can read.

Registration point: Second door opposite the shopping street at the Imperial Military Academy; ask Uncle Wang for directions.

Instructor contact method: Yell your heart out beneath the window of Building No. 8 at the Military Academy faculty dormitories (make sure to put your back into it. The teacher lives on the twenty-eighth floor and is a little hard of hearing.)

Note: This notice was personally drafted by the great Lord Qianqian, Master of Time, without any edits. All consequences and inquiries are in no way related to this printing factory. We wish you a pleasant enrollment—if you can find your way, that is. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote with your recommendation and monthly tickets at Qidian.com; your support is my greatest motivation.)

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