Chapter 94: The Doll’s Arrival

When your heart sinks to rock bottom, everything around you seems to fall silent.

But the loud whirring of helicopter rotors snapped Lu Xin back to reality.

Lu Xin instinctively looked up. A helicopter hovered overhead in the darkness, its bright searchlight piercing the gloom. Even some of the people already on the rooftop were drawn by the sight.

The helicopter’s cabin door opened and suddenly a figure plummeted downwards.

It was a slender young girl dressed in an intricate black dress with white patterns. She held a similarly ornate parasol adorned with cartoon characters. She looked frail, yet she jumped straight from the helicopter at least two hundred meters above the ground. If not for her graceful posture, Lu Xin would have thought she’d been pushed.

Stranger still, her speed increased as she fell.

Just as she seemed about to become a splatter on the pavement, she abruptly stopped in mid-air.

Her dress billowed in the wind as she hovered, then slowly descended.

The hem of her skirt fluttered like petals blooming and closing in an instant, possessing a breathtaking kind of beauty.

Suspended there, she turned lightly, surveying her surroundings.

By now, Lu Xin could see her clearly.

She had very fair skin and large eyes, giving her the look of someone straight out of a manga.

But her features weren’t disproportionate like in a manga; instead, they possessed an exquisite perfection, a beauty beyond ordinary imagination, the kind you had to see to believe.

This ethereal quality made her seem almost unreal.

…

…

In that moment, Lu Xin found himself captivated by her.

It wasn’t just him; the crowd on the verge of jumping was also mesmerized.

The men’s eyes instantly filled with fascination.

Even the women beside them wore expressions of enchantment.

All thoughts of jumping ceased. They stood frozen, staring blankly up at the girl.

In that instant, it felt as if all surrounding noise vanished, leaving an absolute silence.

Everyone’s eyes and hearts were fixed solely on this girl.

…

…

“She’s so beautiful…”

His sister’s voice startled Lu Xin out of his daze. He looked down to see her eyes shining brightly. Beneath her messy black hair, a rare, innocent smile spread across her face as she stared blankly at the girl.

“You like her too?”

This was rare, and Lu Xin was quite surprised.

“Mhm!”

His sister nodded vigorously. “I really want to catch her, tear off her clothes…”

Lu Xin stared, momentarily stunned.

Then his sister added seriously, “And sew them back together to wear myself!”

Lu Xin breathed a sigh of relief and asked into the channel, “Who is she?”

A moment of silence fell over the channel before Han Bing’s voice rang out, filled with joy:

“It’s Doll!”

“That’s great! She must have dealt with the Pollution Source in the Main City and rushed over to help…”

…

“So it’s her…”

Lu Xin paused slightly. He remembered Gecko mentioning her.

“Mr. Lone Soldier, please be advised…”

Han Bing sounded like she’d just remembered something, her voice tense with warning. “Don’t stare at Doll, especially not her eyes.”

Lu Xin was surprised. “Why not?”

“Your mind will be affected by her Influence, potentially causing irreversible changes!”

Han Bing spoke quickly, “Stare at Doll for more than a minute, and you’ll never forget her face!”

“Stare for more than three minutes, or look into her eyes, and you’ll fall completely in love with her!”

“Stare for more than five minutes, or spend over an hour within ten meters of her unobstructed…”

Her voice hitched slightly before she continued, “You’ll develop an intense urge to destroy her.”

The previous warnings were shocking enough for Lu Xin.

But the last one struck a chord, and he quickly asked, “Why?”

Han Bing’s voice lowered. “Because you’ll start to feel that Doll doesn’t belong in this world.”

“This world is too filthy, unworthy of her. She shouldn’t remain here!”

…

“She has an Ability like that?”

Hearing Han Bing’s explanation sent an odd chill down Lu Xin’s spine, and he instinctively averted his gaze.

“Actually, it’s not exactly Doll’s Ability…”

Han Bing murmured, her voice barely audible now.

Lu Xin’s attention was drawn back to the people around him. After appearing, the girl simply hovered silently. It was unclear if the parasol allowed her to fly or if she could fly on her own and just happened to be holding it. Regardless, her near-perfect appearance captivated everyone.

She wasn’t actually doing anything, just slowly rotating in mid-air.

Her large eyes seemed somewhat vacant, making it appear as though she wasn’t looking at anyone in particular as she turned.

And yet, it also seemed she was looking at everyone.

Then, the expressions of everyone she ‘saw’ gradually became fervent.

No one wanted to jump anymore. Even those who had already stepped partly off the edge pulled back.

They just stared wide-eyed at the girl, as if even the sky falling couldn’t distract them for a second.

Strange expressions appeared on everyone’s faces.

Some were excited and feverish, while others looked incredibly annoyed and remorseful. Some clenched their teeth and fists tightly. Still others collapsed to their knees, weeping towards the girl…

…

…

The girl remained hovering for only about ten seconds before drifting lightly forward.

But everyone’s gaze followed her, and their feet began to move.

They seemed unable to bear being too far from her, instinctively wanting to follow.

However, as Doll moved further away, they didn’t madly choose to jump off the building. Instead, as if suddenly snapping awake, they let go of those beside them—whether they were single, holding hands with a lover, or even dragging one—hurriedly releasing each other. Then, they surged towards the nearest stairwells, scrambling to chase after her downstairs…

…

…

“What’s happening to them?”

Lu Xin felt a sense of absurdity watching their behavior.

“Doll has already saved them…”

Han Bing’s voice sounded somewhat cheerful as she quickly explained, “The easiest way to stop them is to overlay the existing Influence with a stronger one. That’s what Doll is doing. Because they saw her, their attention and even their feelings of love have been distorted, so the urge for a lover’s suicide has temporarily vanished…”

“Right now, they definitely don’t want to die. They only want to get closer to Doll, maybe hear her voice…”

…

Lu Xin tried to grasp the bizarre logic. “So now…”

“The crisis at Wanzhong Mall is temporarily resolved. I’ll arrange for the Support Team to come in for cleanup as soon as possible.”

Han Bing quickly flipped through her materials. “Right now, Pollution outbreaks are still happening and spreading rapidly in three locations: Tianshui Plaza, Qingjie Bridge, and the old Qingmian Textile Mill in South City. You and Doll should head over to support them immediately…”

“Okay…”

Lu Xin agreed, picking up his pace.

He dashed to the edge of the building and leaped down, tapping lightly on a power line stretched mid-air to propel himself to the rooftop of the adjacent building. He then sprinted along the edge, quickly catching up to Doll, who was drifting ahead. While still airborne, he called out to her, “You go to Tianshui Plaza! I’ll head to Qingjie Bridge, it’s closer…”

“…After all, you can fly!”

…

The floating girl slowly turned her head to glance at Lu Xin.

A flicker of life seemed to enter her large, vacant eyes as she whispered, “Okay.”

At the next intersection, she turned directly west, towards Tianshui Plaza, her dress fluttering gently in the night wind.

Lu Xin didn’t dwell on it, scrambling along the building face towards Qingjie Bridge.

But back on the channel, Han Bing sounded utterly astonished. “Doll… actually spoke to him?”