Chapter 134: The Embarrassing Doll: Fastest Clearance

“Jiali, open the door.”

A woman’s voice came from outside.

Jiali froze, panic rising—her mother’s voice. Why was her mother home so early today?

“Mom! Run!”

Jiali shouted, sprinting toward the door herself.

“Jiali? What are you talking about? Open the door quickly.”

Click-click.

The doorknob began to turn—Margaret was inserting her key.

Click-click-click…

In the corner of the hall, Finley, struggling to attach his leg, saw Jiali burst out—his single leg instantly bounced again.

Tap-tap-tap…

Click!

The door opened.

Margaret’s face darkened as she stepped in, clearly in a foul mood. “Jiali! How could you—”

Before she finished, her eyes landed on Finley, bouncing click-click-click—and in that instant, she saw something utterly horrifying. Her pupils shrank, and a piercing scream tore through the air.

Instantly, she went mad, clutching the cross pendant around her neck and beginning to recite verses from the Bible.

“The Lord says, all unclean things…”

“…”

Jiali rushed over, grabbing her mother to pull her away—but Margaret shoved her aside. “It’s a demon! It must be cast into hell!”

She pushed Jiali out, then raised the cross, chanting the Bible aloud as if performing a sacred rite.

“...and the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone... they will be tormented day and night forever and ever...”

“Amen!!”

Thud!

Finley, just now fitted with his leg, fell over.

Margaret’s face lit up—but the next second, Finley stood up whole and unharmed, click-click-clicking, grinning wickedly at her.

That little girl was strong. But what about you?

Then he wobbled forward, moving in a comical shuffle.

Margaret’s body trembled, yet she did not retreat—instead, she chanted louder, eyes locked on Finley, bloodshot and wild.

Until Finley stood before her, pulled a needle from nowhere, and drove it straight into her body.

“Ahh!!”

At that moment,

Outside the door, Jiali heard her mother’s scream. Her heart clenched. Though her mother often controlled her, oppressed her, belittled her, and cursed her, she had been raised by her alone—she knew how much effort her mother had poured into keeping them alive. She loved her mother.

So without hesitation, she opened the door.

Yikes!!

Finley, still holding the needle, leapt three feet into the air, his hair standing on end in exaggerated horror, then turned and bolted.

“Mom, are you okay?”

Jiali supported her mother.

“Demon... demon...”

Margaret muttered to herself, her mind clearly shaken.

At that moment,

Squeee!

A braking sound came from outside.

Jiali hurriedly dragged Margaret outside and saw Louis and the others stepping out of the car.

The moment she saw Louis and Emma, Jiali’s tears flowed uncontrollably.

“Louis! Emma!”

She dropped her mother and ran over. She almost embraced Louis—but instinctively stopped, instead throwing her arms around Emma.

Emma frowned, slightly impatient, but gently patted Jiali’s back, soothing her. “It’s okay, it’s okay. We’re here.”

Louis strode inside.

On the way here, he’d been thinking: a moving doll.

Was it Annabelle? Child’s Play? Or some obscure puppet?

Behind him, Maria and Madison stayed outside, helping care for Margaret and Jiali, their eyes constantly glancing inside. Louis opened the door, scanned the room, and his gaze halted on a wooden door that had just stopped moving.

He walked over steadily, unhurried, his ears perked—his enhanced senses now active.

He heard faint sounds from inside the room.

That thing is hiding behind the door!

He licked his lips. Dared to come near my home? I’ll punish you now.

Louis stepped up, standing outside the door, and pushed it open. A creaking sound came from the floor—the wooden planks were scattered with dozens of thumbtacks, now swept aside by the door’s motion.

Thud!

The door slammed into the wall, as if crushing something.

Click-click-click!!

Loud clicking erupted as Finley struggled to squeeze out from the corner, covered in scrapes, thumbtacks now stuck to his feet from the door’s push.

The puppet looked utterly battered.

Louis frowned deeply. This wasn’t at all what he expected.

Dolls resemble humans, triggering the uncanny valley—many horror films use them. But this puppet, though human-shaped, lacked any sense of dread. And this clownish behavior...

He’d never seen a boss that set traps only to get caught in them.

Whatever. Just grab it first.

Whoosh!

Flames curled like serpents through the air, flickering tongues of fire alive with motion.

Yikes!!!

Finley froze, blinking rapidly as the flame serpent circled closer. Too near—it ignited his tiny clothes.

He frantically slapped at the flames, staring fearfully at Louis.

???

Louis’s mood grew increasingly strange.

By the time he finally dragged the thing out, his face was completely black.

He saw nothing remarkable about it—it was pure comedy.

For safety, he’d even dripped bull’s tears to activate spirit sight, tested it with a divine idol talisman for curses...

Nothing. Aside from being unusually hard—like not made of wood—it showed no other abilities.

Oh right. Maybe it’s a little mentally damaged.

Outside, Jiali stared at Maria and Madison, unsure who they were or why they were here.

Emma patiently explained, “They’re classmates from school. Came to help out.”

Maria smiled warmly at Jiali. “Hi, I’m Maria. Louis’s classmate.”

“She’s Madison.” Maria pointed to Madison, who kept staring inside, then tugged her gently to be polite.

Jiali nodded, her eyes lingering on them. If they came along, they must be close to Emma or Louis.

“I’m Jiali.” Jiali said only that.

Madison turned back, saw Jiali’s expression, and twitched her lips. How to put it? She looked just like someone not long ago—pitiful.

She glanced at Maria, who was already looking at her.

They both understood.

Madison: “I’m Madison. What exactly happened in your house?”

Jiali hurriedly replied, “Today... Finley...”

A moving doll?

Maria and Madison’s eyes lit up.

Madison pressed for details. Jiali responded awkwardly—though uneasy, she actually enjoyed this feeling.

They exchanged phone numbers.

At that moment,

Louis had dealt with Finley. He stomped out, face dark, dragging the thing behind him.

Seeing Louis emerge, Jiali stepped forward. “Louis, are you okay?”

“Fine. It’s just an illusion—battery-powered. New tech.”

Louis began making up nonsense.

Doesn’t matter if they believe it—just give some excuse.

Margaret, dazed and lost in thought, suddenly froze. “New tech? Battery-powered?”

"Yes, just like those toys or music boxes."

"Is that so?" Margaret’s voice was dreamy.

"Yes, exactly. This is modern technology." Louis answered firmly.

Beside him, Jiali wanted to speak but held back—what about batteries powering it? Didn’t it try to kill? Didn’t it stab Mom with needles? What toy has such functions?

But she said nothing. She could tell Louis was lying, yet Mom seemed eager to believe this theory—so she wouldn’t expose it.

Besides, Louis was amazing.

No wonder he was Louis.

Finally, amid Jiali’s thanks, the puppet became Louis’s property.

Jiali helped the dazed Margaret back home. As she closed the door, her gaze never left Louis; she touched the thing in her arms.

Click.

The door shut.

Outside, Louis held the puppet while Madison and Maria curiously poked it with their fingers—but the thing remained motionless.

Louis glanced over and realized the thing was pretending to be dead.

A wisp of flame sprouted from his fingertip.

The next second.

Thud!

Creak-creak.

Wooden joints shifted and clacked; the puppet Fenli rose to its feet, trembling, staring at Louis without daring to move.

"It moved!"

Madison stared in astonishment; beside her, Emilia, who had been uninterested all along, showed no surprise.

"Stop staring. Let’s go."

Back in the car.

Madison kept staring at the puppet—clearly, she was fascinated by it.

Soon, the car arrived at school. After dropping them off, Louis returned to the vehicle. He would take this thing to the underground base for containment.

Though this thing seemed useless, anything tied to the mysterious side demanded caution—it was best to lock it away immediately.

Before leaving, Madison stared at the puppet with reluctance, opening her mouth several times, then biting back her words.

Louis pretended not to notice.

He waved his hand, signaling the driver to go.

Even after Louis left, Madison’s gaze remained fixed on him.

"Madison, you really like that puppet?"

Maria asked.

"Don’t you think it’s funny how the puppet trembles?" Madison countered.

Beside her, Emilia rolled her eyes, uninterested in this trivial topic, and walked straight into the school. Better to spend time studying—this semester had several awards with speeches on stage.

She was determined to win them.

…

Louis arrived at the underground base and stared at the puppet before him, which kept glancing around, then instantly froze the moment he looked—pretending it couldn’t see his gaze, as if that made its small movements invisible.

Where should this thing be stored?

(End of Chapter)