Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Doll Is Too Delicate to Take Care of Herself (4)

Tu Jin sat on the sofa for a very long time.

Even after more than two hours had passed, the audacious little mouse who had dared to take advantage of him still hadn’t shown up.

Was this…

Looking down on him?

Fine.

Very good.

It had been a long time since he’d encountered such an insolent little mouse.

His anger reached the point of turning into laughter. Tu Jin rose leisurely to his feet.

He straightened his cuffs and walked out of the room at an unhurried pace, stopping in front of Room 3-03. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Knock, knock!

So, it had finally come to this…

Hearing the knock at the door, Ye Jiujiu held the pillow she’d casually marked in her hands. She was prepared to open the door and smash it into the visitor’s face, then mark him and turn him into a puppet.

As she went to open the door, she lamented to the Death Game in her heart.

“I never intended to provoke him, and I didn’t want to turn him into a puppet either. You know that, right? He was the one who wanted to make the first move. I was only defending myself.”

Why did that sound like there was something wrong with her reasoning?

The Death Game system paused. Even its normally balanced electronic voice seemed to carry a hint of bewilderment.

“According to system detection, your rank is A+, and the maximum effective range of your skills is A+. Tu Jin is S-rank, which exceeds the effective range of your skills. How do you intend to turn him into a puppet?” Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Huh?

Ye Jiujiu had already opened the door and was halfway through raising the pillow.

“…What? Say that again. I didn’t understand.”

Wasn’t her skill supposed to work regardless of rank?

She hadn’t seen anything on the skill panel indicating that there were rank restrictions!

“Isn’t this common knowledge among NPCs?”

When someone of a lower rank uses a skill on someone of a higher rank, the skill’s effect is correspondingly weakened. Certain types of skills even become completely ineffective.

“Wouldn’t anyone discover this after interacting with another NPC even once?” Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

The Death Game system stated this as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. It even seemed a little puzzled by Ye Jiujiu’s overreaction.

“Didn’t you know?”

Surely not? Surely, surely not?

Could there really be an NPC who didn’t even socialize?

Ye Jiujiu, who had spent all her time cooped up in her shop preparing to open for business, had not received a single customer on opening day and had never interacted with another NPC even once: “…”

All right. I know now.

Under Tu Jin’s narrowed, scrutinizing gaze, the hand holding the pillow trembled slightly.

Don’t panic. Stay calm. Things hadn’t reached their worst yet. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

If all else failed…

She would just have to use her last resort.

“Y-Yes? Hello. What can I do for you?”

Ye Jiujiu was the first to avert her gaze.

As though frightened, she hurriedly withdrew the hand she had used to open the door. Without drawing attention to herself, she put the pillow away, then naturally hugged it against her chest, as if that had been her intention all along.

She looked absolutely terrified.

Her movements suggested that she wished she could hide her entire body behind the pillow. Her beautiful eyes held nothing but timid panic.

She was like a gorgeous rose, yet possessed the pure, pristine clarity of white. Her beauty was bewitching without being seductive, and there was an almost contradictory softness about her. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

All one had to do was reach out, and this precious treasure could easily be held in one’s palm. Even if she were unwilling, one could still toy with her as one pleased.

She was slender, harmless, and fragile. She was someone who ought to be held carefully in one’s hands and protected, a delicate ornament that had to be placed somewhere safe lest it break.

Even Tu Jin was momentarily distracted by her beauty.

But only for a moment.

He walked past Ye Jiujiu and, as though he were the owner of the room, settled leisurely onto the sofa in the center.

“What do you think?”

He watched Ye Jiujiu follow him in, a faintly amused smile on his face. It was impossible to tell whether he was pleased or displeased.

“Miss Ye Jiujiu, is there perhaps something you’d like to explain?” Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Admit it? Absolutely not.

Ye Jiujiu blinked innocently. She appeared frightened, but her mind was racing.

What had the system’s information said was this guy’s only interest?

Points?

Making points?

Then…

The smile on Tu Jin’s face completely disappeared. He was reaching the limit of his patience—

Ye Jiujiu, who had just come up with a little idea, poked the game system. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

“If I spend enough points, can I find out what skills other NPCs have?”

“Apologies. This request violates the game’s sole principle: the Supreme Privacy Clause for NPCs and Players. Even if the game were destroyed, this data would be automatically erased.”

Then that was good enough.

After hearing the system’s response, Ye Jiujiu felt that her current situation might still be salvageable.

After all…

Aside from the system, the only person who could know what skills she possessed was herself.

The hotel’s registered information consisted entirely of written records. Identification mainly relied on the room card binding, and no one had asked her to upload an image. Her skill’s characteristics were also quite convenient to manipulate. Moreover, Tu Jin had never interacted with her before, so there was no way he could recognize her immediately…

Since things had already come to this, her situation couldn’t possibly get any worse. Rather than give up, she might as well deny everything, bluff her way through, and take a gamble. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Having figured that out, Ye Jiujiu slowly raised her head and looked innocently at Tu Jin.

She had decided to throw caution to the wind.

“I’m just a little doll…”

As for Ye Jiujiu?

Sorry, but you’ve got the wrong person.

“If you’re looking for my master… I’m afraid you’re too late. My master has already left this instance dungeon…”

“Is that so? Are you saying that, as the boss of this main instance dungeon, I wouldn’t know whether an A+-rank NPC summoned into my territory had left?”

Tu Jin smiled playfully, but his gaze toward Ye Jiujiu gradually turned cold. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

“If you’re not Ye Jiujiu, then why do you have the hotel’s guest mark on you?”

Well, now—

No big deal. She could still keep this under control!

Ye Jiujiu showed not the slightest crack in her composure. Lies poured from her mouth as easily as breathing.

“B-But my master is a Puppeteer…”

The pretty little girl spoke as though it were perfectly obvious, though she looked dangerously close to tears.

“My master’s main body really has left.”

The corners of her eyes reddened. Her voice was soft and delicate, with an enticing tremble at the end of each sentence. Though she was so small and weak, she was still trying to put on a brave front before a predator. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

“As long as there are puppets marked by my master inside this instance dungeon, the game will still consider my master to be present, regardless of the actual circumstances. Besides, I’m my master’s doll. What’s so strange about my master giving me the hotel’s guest mark?”

Of course, none of that was true!

The system couldn’t possibly reveal the specific skills of NPCs, so she could make up whatever she wanted, couldn’t she?

“Oh?”

Tu Jin raised an eyebrow slightly. He stared at Ye Jiujiu for a while, as though he were earnestly considering an unfamiliar question.

“Tell me, if I kill you, do you think your master will show up?”

“W-Waaah! I’m not a puppet. Even if you kill me, my master won’t know…”

The little girl burst into tears. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

“I’m a doll! A doll! I’m different from a puppet. I didn’t have a master’s mark when I was first created!”

Her choked, tearful voice was like a feather lightly brushing against someone’s heart, leaving it unbearably itchy.

And yet, she seemed completely unaware of the effect she was having. She simply tried, with utmost seriousness, to come up with something that might frighten the dangerous predator before her.

“You can’t break me! My master specially made me and left me here to settle a debt with the owner of this hotel. I’m very precious! If you break me, then when… when my new master arrives, he definitely won’t let you off, even if you’re the boss of this instance dungeon!”

As she continued, she seemed to gain confidence. Her voice gradually grew louder and more assertive. By the end, she sounded as though she had convinced even herself, speaking with absolute certainty.

“Let me tell you something! Do you know how amazing my new master is?”

Tu Jin, who had never expected that this little doll’s backer would turn out to be himself: “…”

So… Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

She was using his own name to threaten him?