The Arena of the Empty Tower (Gladiator) Chapter Sixty-six: The Wandering Doll in the City

Li Xiaojing put away her skateboard, used her points to take care of the aftermath and appease her mother, then took a shower and went to bed.

There was thunder tonight, so Li Xiaoyue came to her sister’s room, claiming she was worried her little sister would be afraid and wanted to protect her. But through telepathy, Li Xiaojing knew all too well that it was Li Xiaoyue herself who was scared.

This elder sister really had no authority at all.

Meanwhile, Wu Hui was making his way home under the stormy, lightning-filled sky, holding an umbrella.

Outside of the game world, it really wasn't a good idea to ride a wolf. Wu Hui had taken the subway here, but it was too late now and the trains had stopped running, so he had to walk home.

A bit of a miserable situation. He felt he’d made a poor decision—maybe he should’ve bought an electric scooter instead...

Two stations’ distance: not too close, not too far. Wu Hui’s stamina was enough to run it, but this dreadful weather, with a thunderstorm in the middle of the night, left him thoroughly drenched and bedraggled.

“Big brother.” In the rain, a little girl’s voice called out, “Can you do me a favor?”

Wu Hui turned his head and saw a girl in a dress staring at him with dark, shiny eyes. Her expression was troubled, as if she’d just been crying.

He put on his glasses and scanned—just a series of question marks. Only the most basic stats: height, weight, and an obvious charm value, which was nine.

The last time this happened was when he used the glasses to look at his own sister.

In other words, this little girl in front of him was on the same level, or perhaps even higher, than his sister.

“What do you need help with?” Wu Hui pushed up his glasses. Running away now might provoke her, so he had no choice but to negotiate.

Honestly, a little girl suddenly appearing on the roadside on a stormy night and asking for help in such a logical manner... Even without the glasses, Wu Hui knew something was off.

“Can you help me find my mommy?” the girl asked, tilting her head.

Wu Hui slipped a hand into his pocket. “Your mom... What’s her name? What does she look like? Where was the last place you saw her?”

He stopped, not moving any closer, because his instincts were screaming danger.

In his pocket, relying on memory, Wu Hui opened an app and sent a message to Li Xiaoyue. In the Demon God’s Playground app, team channel communications were absolutely secure. If he made a call or sent a regular text, the creature in front of him—wearing a little girl’s skin—would probably notice.

In the middle of the night, Li Xiaoyue, still roughhousing with her sister, suddenly received Wu Hui’s message. Sensing serious business, Li Xiaojing let go of her sister, who’d been pinned to her lap, and watched as she opened the window and cast her mental power into the distance.

Connection established.

Wu Hui’s voice sounded through the mental link: “Call 133xxxx7202 for me. There’s no time to explain.”

Li Xiaojing: “Are you in danger? I’ll come help you right away.”

Li Xiaoyue started dialing, while her sister quickly changed clothes—apparently skipping underwear, slapping on some gear, grabbing a baseball bat and a submachine gun, donning a mask, and shooting out the window on her skateboard.

But soon Wu Hui told her not to come yet, and by that time, Li Xiaoyue had already reached Wu Tong by phone.

Woken by a girl calling in the middle of the night, Wu Tong was surprised, but quickly understood the situation from the message relayed by Li Xiaoyue on Wu Hui’s behalf. She climbed out the window immediately.

Except for not needing to change clothes, her reaction was much like Li Xiaojing’s.

“Big brother, why are you just standing there? Won’t you come over?” The little girl tilted her head, looking pitifully at Wu Hui.

Wu Hui stayed silent, thinking about how to stall for time. In theory, the enemy should be extremely weakened, or maybe just toying with him. Otherwise, she would’ve attacked by now.

Li Xiaojing had already arrived nearby on her skateboard. Of course, she followed Wu Hui’s instructions and didn’t approach.

The rain quickly drenched her, her clothes clinging tightly to her body. (The description could have been more detailed, but...)

Wu Hui didn’t move in response to the little girl’s call. Through the mental link, he received updates from his side through Li Xiaoyue.

It was certain that this little girl was connected to a level ten player. Whether she was a puppet or host was unclear.

And she was definitely in her weakest state, but still not someone a level two player could handle. Even though Wu Hui was less than five hundred points away from advancing to level three, it was still impossible for him to defeat a level ten player, no matter how weakened.

So, all he could do was stall.

“I’m coming,” Wu Hui said.

In the rain, his fish lung potion and ice powers would be particularly effective. With a handful of nightmare chess pieces, even a rematch with Zhao Xingluan wouldn’t scare him now.

Li Xiaojing and Li Xiaoyue weren’t far away either. The three of them could work together to stall until Wu Tong arrived—it should be manageable.

Wu Hui took a deep breath and stepped forward.

A button rolled to a stop at his feet.

“Big brother, my doll’s button fell off. Can you pick it up for me?”

...Wu Hui really wanted to ask, do you actually think this would trick anyone? Most people would suspect they’d wandered into a horror movie by now.

He didn’t look down at the button, which resembled an eyeball. Instead, as he signaled Li Xiaojing to get ready, he activated a chess piece from his pocket.

The dire wolf appeared. The peasant was sacrificed. The black knight emerged. The nightmare fighter and torchbearer appeared.

Four summoned creatures attacked at once. Wu Hui stomped on the eyeball button, and the little girl let out a piercing, bloodcurdling scream.

Li Xiaojing arrived on her skateboard through the rain, her baseball bat landing with a loud crack on the girl’s head.

The Falling Stones tome activated, throwing knives and bombs flying.

From a distance, Li Xiaoyue cast her Fire Tome, Light Tome, and Hail Tome. In her last game, she’d played alone in a library and won these low-level magic books as rewards, picking up another with points.

Amid the screams, the hollow sockets of the little girl’s eyes turned to Li Xiaojing. Even with her mask for mental protection, Xiaojing was stunned for a moment—until Wu Hui’s flintlock shot interrupted the girl’s attack and he pulled Li Xiaojing back.

Their thin clothes were soaked by the rain, and a sheet of ice spread across the ground.

The girl’s feet were frozen by the Hail Tome and Wu Hui’s ice power. Li Xiaojing regained her senses, grabbed Wu Hui, and sped away on her skateboard.

Since the skateboard floated, it wasn’t affected by the icy ground. The little girl screamed again, her body now covered with countless patches and stitches from the barrage of attacks. Clearly, the three level two players had dealt her a significant blow.

She’d only wanted to devour a level two player’s soul to recover, but ended up being thrashed by a bunch of kids. Miss Doll was thoroughly enraged now.

P.S. This is the second chapter today—please vote and add to your favorites!

By my calculation, next month I’ll owe about twelve chapters, so I’ll probably start a routine of three chapters a day to make up for what’s owed.