The Committee, Names, and Mana

She remained expressionless, her crimson eyes fixed intently upon him.

Her white dress, disheveled from their movements, brushed against his leg.

“Wait… hold on?! What are you…?”

Lin Ran jolted fully awake, attempting to struggle, only to discover the astonishing strength of the small dolls.

Even his enhanced body found itself unable to break free for a moment.

“These… these are my controlled dolls… You… cannot escape for now…”

The Self-Disciplined Doll’s voice remained steady, yet steam continuously billowed from her head as she spoke.

After an indeterminate time, the pressure on his body suddenly eased, as if his very soul had been drawn out.

The small dolls simultaneously released him, nimbly leaping off the bed.

The Self-Disciplined Doll also dismounted from him, standing by the bed and meticulously straightening her disheveled dress.

However, the white steam above her head grew increasingly dense—

Lin Ran, meanwhile, was huddled dejectedly in the corner of the bed, wrapped in a thin blanket.

He felt like an innocent maiden just defiled by a tyrannical landlord, or a female knight captured by goblins.

Against a timid, lustful loudmouth like Anmeng Yue, Lin Ran could easily gain the upper hand, solemnly driving her out.

But the Self-Disciplined Doll, bringing her subordinates to his room late at night, binding him without a word, and then… defiling him on the spot…

This inflicted an immeasurable (TL Note: ‘亿点点’ literally means ‘a billion points,’ an internet slang for ‘a lot’ or ‘immeasurable’) wound upon his fragile male pride.

“In any case, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, but this is a survival strategy organisms adopt in a post-apocalyptic environment, according to my database.”

The Self-Disciplined Doll stood by the bed, her tone light and airy, as if nothing untoward had occurred.

‘Logically, there’s nothing wrong with that; in extreme environments, most organisms awaken their instincts to leave behind offspring whenever possible.’

“I don’t mean to blame you… it’s just, in the middle of the night, being hog-tied and held down by a group of small dolls… my dignity as a man feels a bit…”

Lin Ran replied weakly, his gaze wandering, clearly still reeling from the recent events.

“However, I fail to understand! I have obtained your genetic sample, which can subsequently be used to create specialized medicines or for biological research.”

“From the results, this is beneficial to both parties, a win-win situation. After all, you also experienced physical… plea… pleasure…?”

As the Self-Disciplined Doll spoke, the first half of her statement sounded as if she were discussing something self-evident.

Yet, the latter half of her sentence was painstakingly drawn out, the word “pleasure” only found after a prolonged search through her database.

Having finished, she abruptly turned and covered her face, rebooting for a while as wisps of steam once again rose from her head.

“Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore, I don’t blame you… Hey, wait a minute, did you just say you can make medicine?”

Mid-sentence, Lin Ran’s lowered head snapped back up.

If she could make medicine, what was a little bit of his ‘chastity’ worth?

‘Come on! Bring it on!’

“Yes. After all, I am a higher mechanical lifeform, and my database contains methods for manufacturing medicine. After analyzing your DNA sample, I can proceed with the corresponding pharmaceutical production.”

“However, rather than medicine-making, its principle is closer to alchemy. While there might be fewer remedies for specific illnesses, basic colds and fevers are not an issue.”

“The primary focus, however, is on things like healing injuries and physical enhancement. With your sample, the effects on you would be multiplied several times over. But all of this requires corresponding raw materials…”

Lin Ran’s eyes gleamed brighter and brighter.

Leaving aside common colds and fevers, the mere ability to enhance his body would be crucial for survival during the upcoming waves of attacks!

While the second wave featuring ‘mechanic monsters’ (TL Note: ‘机制怪’ refers to monsters with specific attack patterns or ‘mechanics’ that players must learn to counter) was manageable, if the next wave brought ‘stat monsters’ (TL Note: ‘数值怪’ refers to monsters that rely purely on high stats like attack, defense, and health, making them difficult to defeat without similar stat increases), improving Lin Ran’s physical attributes would become an absolute necessity!

Most importantly…

If he could sell medicine, he might finally have a source of income.

With this thought, Lin Ran threw back the blanket and sprang energetically from the bed.

Conveniently, dawn was approaching, so Lin Ran called Lim and the others up.

“Now, I declare! The First Round Table Conference of the [Human-Monster Harmonious Coexistence and Development Committee] is now in session!”

Lin Ran cleared his throat, his face a picture of solemnity as he spoke.

“Master, I’m sleepy.”

Lim yawned, her entire body sprawled bonelessly across the table.

‘Indeed, she probably doesn’t have any…’

“Hmph… that broken doll actually resorted to force; she really ought to be dismantled.”

Anmeng Yue crossed her arms, casting a sour glance at the Self-Disciplined Doll.

“Oh? How does Miss Dream-Eating Tapir, with no combat capabilities whatsoever, intend to dismantle me, who cannot dream? I am most eager to find out.”

The Self-Disciplined Doll retorted without ceremony, instantly igniting a war of words.

“Master, Master, what do you wish to discuss with us?”

The only one who answered him earnestly was Slime Tot, the small slime he had rescued.

She had taken on the form of a little girl, and her earnest manner of raising her hand to ask a question made Lin Ran unable to resist pulling her onto his lap, pinching her cheeks repeatedly until she was flushed pink all over.

“Ahem, ahem.” Lin Ran indulged in playing with the little creature for a while before regaining his serious demeanor.

“Simply put, it’s about names.”

Lin Ran said, still holding Slime Tot.

“Eh?”

At this, the three mischievous monster leaders were surprisingly in agreement.

“Isn’t it about making medicine?”

“Exactly, I thought we were going to discuss how to sell medicine and get rich.”

The Self-Disciplined Doll and Anmeng Yue were quite aligned on this point, seemingly having discussed it beforehand.

Yet, Lim’s reaction was surprisingly the most intense.

“Master… please don’t change my name, what have I done wrong…?”

She instantly sobered up, gazing piteously at Lin Ran.

As she was currently the only one Lin Ran had named, her line of thought was not entirely incomprehensible.

After collecting his thoughts, Lin Ran finally spoke.

“Not your name, but the Self-Disciplined Doll, the small slimes, and the little dolls.”

At his words, silence fell for several tens of seconds.

Then, a thunderous roar of cheers erupted.

“Hooray!”

“We’re getting names!”

“Master, Master, quickly, quickly!”

Even Lim mingled among the small slimes, cheering and celebrating that her name wouldn’t be changed.

Although the small dolls couldn’t speak, they scrambled to climb onto Lin Ran, with the leader already gently patting him with its small wooden hand.

The Self-Disciplined Doll stood by, translating in her emotionless, mechanical tone:

“Very happy, thank you, excited.”

‘Indeed, it’s a doll’s tone.’

“I thought you were going to talk about medicine first, so I guess this doesn’t concern me.”

Anmeng Yue conjured a can of beer from who-knew-where, and began drinking it nonchalantly, appearing entirely detached.

Lin Ran, however, shook his head, his gaze sweeping over every member present.

“Medicine-making is also a very crucial matter, but precisely because we need to make medicine, I must give you names.”

He paused, his tone exceptionally serious.

“Because I hope this is my utmost [contribution] to you first.”

“Because, what follows, is [taking].”

Lin Ran took a deep breath, then brought out all the raw materials he and the Self-Disciplined Doll had discussed that could currently be processed.

[Slime Mucus], [Doll Hair], [Corrosive Liquid], [Wood Ash].

Two of these, the liquids, could be extracted from slimes and were renewable resources, making them relatively acceptable.

Doll hair and wood ash, however, would undoubtedly need to be taken from the small dolls and were non-renewable resources.

Especially wood ash; given that the wooden house couldn’t be dismantled and repairing it required crystal cores, extracting wood ash was almost equivalent to scraping off a part of their bodies.

Lin Ran was actually very worried; he feared rejection from the small slimes or the small dolls.

Because, just thinking about it made it seem painful.

Before he even finished speaking, the small dolls had already darted up, rubbing and scratching at his face.

‘Are they angry?’

Lin Ran inwardly cursed, ‘This isn’t good. Was taking wood ash really too much?’

But the next second, the Self-Disciplined Doll spoke up to explain.

“They are urging you to hurry; they are a bit impatient.”

“They also said that exchanging such a small price for a name is incredibly worthwhile.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Ran found himself somewhat unable to comprehend the monsters’ values.

But since they liked it, then let the naming begin!

“Alright! First, a disclaimer: my brain capacity is limited, and I’m terrible at naming, so the names might be a bit generic. Please don’t mind! One by one!”

“You! From now on, you’ll be called R-1, short for ‘Robot-1.’ Those of you who are close, follow him and be R-2, R-3…!”

“The one who held me down the tightest in the middle of the night, yes, you! You’ll be Doll Leader One! D-1! How’s that?!”

“And those socially anxious ones huddled in the corner, if you don’t come over now, you’ll be S-1, S-2! Socially Anxious One, Socially Anxious Two, and so on!”

Witnessing this affectionate scene, the small slimes also grew excited.

Anmeng Yue, standing by, was already too stunned to speak, the beer can in her hand nearly crushed flat.

“This mana reserve… is he really human? Naming consumes mana, doesn’t he know that?”

She grabbed the Self-Disciplined Doll beside her, her face etched with confusion.

“I have analyzed the genetic sample taken just now. Mr. Lin Ran is indeed, without a doubt, human.”

“You broken doll, are you ******* showing off?”

Anmeng Yue shook her head, unable to comprehend why.

She knew better than anyone that bestowing a name upon a monster required a massive infusion of mana.

And once successful, this also meant a substantial mana input in return.

Their strength would undoubtedly soar, and even evolution wouldn’t be impossible.

Lim’s ability to stand out among the small slimes was partly due to her rare physique.

On the other hand, it was also because she was the only named slime.

The small dolls’ willingness to pay any price for a name served precisely this purpose.

Conversely, the actual name given was entirely unimportant; thus, Lin Ran’s pathetically poor naming ability faced no opposition from any of the small dolls.

Yet Lin Ran… continued to bestow names one after another, without showing the slightest hint of fatigue.

‘Could the mana within him be inexhaustible?’

Meanwhile, Lin Ran’s naming continued.

“Hey, Self-Disciplined Doll, you’re next!”

…