The Self-Disciplined Doll’s Return and a New World

[Ding! The Self-Disciplined Doll sensed your desire to save her. Affection +15! Current Affection: 30]

The moment Lin Ran awoke, system notifications burst forth like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

Presumably, while he had been unconscious, the system couldn’t reach him, so it had accumulated all the notifications in the background, only to barrage him with them the moment he woke up.

In any case… regarding the Self-Disciplined Doll’s affection level—

[Self-Disciplined Doll – Affection: 99 (She might launch a night attack on you)]

[System Evaluation: 99 is the system’s limit, not yours and hers!]

‘Don’t use such a terrifying metaphor to describe affection!’

Not only that, but system rewards were also piled high in the system’s backend messages.

However, Lin Ran had no intention of claiming the rewards just yet; he would deal with them later.

After all, the scene before him was indeed a little…

His dormitory was practically overflowing with dolls.

These were the miniature versions of the unevolved dolls from the first wave, roughly the same size as the Slime Tots when they transformed into humanoids.

The small dolls near him constantly scratched at him, possessing no destructive power whatsoever; the only sensation he felt was an annoying tickle.

To be honest, they were rather cute.

‘—If only he hadn’t seen their evolved forms in his dream.’

Lin Ran was already suffering from PTSD.

Seeing them brought back the dizzying image of his head rolling from his shoulders.

The mere thought of what terrifying forms they would evolve into made him feel a little nauseous.

As for Lim and the others, they seemed to have been guarding him the entire time he was asleep.

The moment she saw him awaken, Lim immediately cried out and flung herself at him.

“Wuwah… I thought… I thought you wouldn’t wake up again…”

At least this Lim was real this time…

Lin Ran was certain.

‘—After all, the succubus constitution was simply too terrifying.’

Rising with a slight blush, Lin Ran surveyed the small dolls surrounding him.

They were indeed mere cannon fodder; Lim had already dispatched quite a few of them during their battles, and there were no signs of evolution.

These were not on the same level as the dolls in his dream that had evolved infinitely, with their abilities growing exponentially, becoming more terrifying with each transformation.

Lin Ran let out a long breath.

The system was back online.

The real Lim.

Dolls different from those in his dream.

Finally… he had returned to reality.

With his mind finally at ease, Lin Ran, harboring a slight desire for vengeance, picked up one of the small dolls.

The small doll flailed its limbs wildly, struggling desperately.

[Target: Small Doll (Fearful State)]

[Romance Potential: 11]

‘He had truly done it; he had returned to reality.’

‘The Self-Disciplined Doll in his dream might not need to die after all.’

‘But he probably wouldn’t see her again, would he—’

“I am pleased that you think so.”

“In truth, I was lying beside you throughout your slumber…”

“…However, I suggest you first placate Miss Lim.”

Just then, from behind Lin Ran, came that familiar electronic synthesized voice.

‘That voice?!’

Lin Ran’s body suddenly stiffened, and his heart skipped a beat.

He turned his head incrementally, like a rusty robot.

A white dress, long silver hair, and fine lines visible at her joints…

It was her.

It truly was her!

The Self-Disciplined Doll stood silently by the balcony, her face still devoid of any expression.

Yet, upon this reunion, she merely shook her head, signaling Lin Ran to disregard her for the moment.

Then, with a serene gesture, she raised a finger and pointed towards the bedside.

Following the direction of her finger—

For some reason, Lim was already curled up on the bed.

Meanwhile, the other Slime Tots had transformed into humanoids, each standing with their hands on their hips, their faces filled with accusations directed at Lin Ran.

“What’s going on…”

Lin Ran blurted out.

After all, he truly couldn’t make sense of the scene before him.

“To emulate Miss Lim, I directly synchronized minds with her during the mind-reading process, which is the most efficient method.”

“I am currently uninstalling that module, so please rest assured.”

“However, Miss Lim knows what transpired in your dream, and before the module is completely uninstalled, she also knows what you just thought.”

Lin Ran pondered for a good while, his not-so-large brain working diligently.

‘He woke up -> Lim happily pounced on him -> His mind was entirely preoccupied with the small dolls -> He completely ignored the tearfully overjoyed Lim throughout…’

‘On top of that, his first thoughts were still about other women…’

‘What kind of human scum was he?!’

“Other women have already replaced my value in Master’s heart… I am useless now…”

“Tomorrow, I’ll just crawl back into the sewers… The dark, damp sewers are best suited for a discarded slime like me…”

“This new doll sister is just too beautiful… It’s my fault… I’m not charming enough, my mimicry wasn’t successful enough, I didn’t become what Master wanted, Master isn’t wrong…”

Watching Lim descend into despair, almost transforming back into a slime and flowing into the sewer.

The Self-Disciplined Doll promptly transmitted Lim’s thoughts to Lin Ran.

Lin Ran offered a wry smile, sitting beside Lim and gently stroking her soft, bouncy head.

“Since you saw what happened to me in the dream, you should remember that I recognized you instantly.”

“With such a perfect disguise, such flawless acting, I could still recognize you at a glance.”

“I apologize for neglecting your feelings just now, but Lim’s importance will never change.”

Lin Ran smiled, pulled Lim into his embrace, and patted her body, offering comfort.

‘—At this point, mentioning that he recognized Lim due to her succubus constitution and the system’s affection levels was even more impossible to say.’

Nevertheless, his words about Lim’s importance were genuinely heartfelt.

“Really?! Yay!”

Before the words had even fully left his mouth, Lim had already recovered her smile, her eyes sparkling like stars as she looked at Lin Ran, cheering with delight.

‘Hmm… He needed to strengthen the Slime Tots’ resistance to flirting education; they were far too easy to appease! If this continued, he would start feeling guilty!’

[Ding! Lim received your comfort. Affection +5! Current Affection: 90]

Moreover, her affection level hadn’t dropped at all; in fact, it had even increased.

However, it was precisely Lim’s innocent and straightforward nature that had, from the beginning, allowed him to develop affection for these non-human beings.

On the other side, the Self-Disciplined Doll issued some kind of command, causing the small dolls to cease their assault.

She then picked up a small doll that Lim seemed to have ‘killed,’ wound its spring a few times, and astonishingly, it began to move again.

‘Hmm…?’

‘Clockwork, steam, electronics, threads…’

‘What on earth powers you all?!’

Still, if the small dolls weren’t truly dead, they could prove to be helpful later on.

The problem was, there were simply too many of them; this couldn’t continue, as the room would eventually be unable to hold them all.

‘Use the portal to put them in the next room?’

‘No, no, that wouldn’t work. Zhang Wei’s corpse still hadn’t been dealt with; that room would soon become uninhabitable anyway.’

Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.

‘Rest period!’

‘It was the rest period after the wave had ended!’

‘This meant that outside the dormitory door, there might be another area to explore!’

‘Perhaps there was a solution to his storage problem out there!’

Lin Ran opened his phone, and sure enough, new messages had appeared in the freshman group chat.

[If you have time to open your phone and see this message, then congratulations, you have successfully passed the second wave of attacks.]

[The second rest period has begun. Please proceed to the world beyond the door promptly.]

[Please note: This rest world is rather special. Please bring as many “Crystal Cores” as possible.]

‘Crystal Cores?’

Lin Ran recalled this item; Chen Jing, a student council member, had mentioned that monsters would drop them.

‘But…’

‘He hadn’t killed any monsters yet…’

‘Would it be dangerous if he didn’t bring Crystal Cores? Would he instantly die upon entering?’

Lim, leaning against him, also saw the message on his phone.

As if suddenly remembering something, she spat out a purple crystal.

“It’s from Xia Li, you know. She must have killed one of my kin, and it was left on her body. After we ate her, I forgot to give it to Master, eheh.”

Lim scratched her head with a silly grin.

Lin Ran nodded. With at least one Crystal Core, he probably wouldn’t instantly die upon entering, right?

“Don’t go in yet, you all. I’ll head in to scout ahead! I’ll call for you if I need you!”

With that, Lin Ran, carrying the sole Crystal Core, walked towards the dormitory door.

****

A flash of white light, and the world shifted.

The next moment, a wooden cabin appeared before Lin Ran.

‘…Huh? Wait? A wooden cabin?’

‘Again?’

…