What puzzled Diamonds 4 was that the Demon Crow stopped two meters behind him, as if blocked by an invisible air wall, unable to advance even an inch.
Suppressing the fear in his heart, he turned his head to look. It stood motionless, like a dark steel sculpture.
Then, a strange zipper sound rang out. As the red line retracted, a slit opened in the Demon Crow’s chest, and from within, a little lolita’s head wriggled and squeezed out.
Urp—
Ashley’s vision blurred, her little mouth opened wide, and everything in her stomach surged out.
“My stomach… my stomach is going to explode… After drinking… after drinking Pop Soda… never… never fly a plane… Wuu… Lucy…”
Tears streamed down her face.
The series of acrobatic maneuvers—rolls, climbs, dives, afterburners—shook the carbonated-drink-filled lolita back and forth like a cocktail shaker.
Her belly swelled up drum-tight, desperately seeking a release.
Diamonds 4’s brain short-circuited; he couldn’t comprehend any of this.
“You know… why… I didn’t kill you? Because… damn wristband… can’t go any further…”
Ashley had used a high-precision map to delineate her activity zone. She was certain that one more step forward would take her outside the wristband’s range.
Moreover, the wristband lit up with a yellow warning light indicating an impending boundary breach.
Though he couldn’t understand the little lolita’s mumbling, Diamonds 4 sensed a glimmer of hope for survival. But just as he turned, the pupils aglow with that hopeful light reflected a strange bird.
It was pitch black all over, but not a crow. Upon closer inspection, it was actually a parrot dyed black!
Gah—!
The parrot unleashed a terrifying screech at close range, pouncing onto Diamonds 4’s shoulder. Its sharp claws dug into his flesh, the pain piercing to the bone! Near his face, it opened its large, hard beak, but eerily, there was no tongue—its throat was a creepy blood pit, from the depths of which came strange gurgling sounds.
“I’m digging in!” the parrot suddenly said in a stiff, human-like voice.
Splurt!
From the dark, abyssal throat burst a worm-like, eel-like thing with a diamond-shaped head and two rows of razor-sharp silver teeth. It moved at blinding speed, latching onto Diamonds 4’s carotid artery the instant it appeared! It twisted a few times and burrowed inside!
Gulp gulp…
Accompanied by horrific sucking sounds, Diamonds 4’s body deflated like a punctured balloon. His organs, muscles, and soft tissues rapidly drained away until only thin, transparent skin draped over his pallid bones.
The little head retracted, wriggling back into the depths of the throat. The parrot’s body had grown noticeably larger, nearly ostrich-sized.
“Thanks for the meal! Thanks for the meal!” the parrot said, mimicking a human voice.
—
Back at the cinema, the movie had reached its end.
Ashley tiptoed over to Amber’s side and leaned down to check on her.
The silly lolita slept like the dead, subconsciously covering her eyes with her little hand to block the screen’s light. Her wrist left a big red mark on her fair cheek.
This girl… so dumb…
Hmm… kinda cute, though…
But… I’m definitely cuter when I sleep…
Ashley’s gaze grew distant, her thoughts drifting.
“Mmm… huh?”
Still groggy from sleep, Amber suddenly felt something ice-cold press against her face. She shivered and jolted awake.
Ashley moved the chilled soda bottle away from her face and said faintly,
“The movie’s over. Time to go. We can’t occupy seats all day on one ticket—the cinema needs to make money too.”
“Eh? I… I fell asleep?”
The black-haired lolita’s mouth gaped, a trail of crystal-clear drool trickling from the corner. She hurriedly wiped and slurped it up.
“I really wanted to wake you, but it would’ve been rude to other viewers with a loud voice, and shaking your arm didn’t work… Oh right, you don’t even know the movie’s name, do you?” Ashley asked with feigned surprise—truth be told, she didn’t know either.
Amber froze like a hamster, her eyes wide and bright.
After a long moment, her face flushed red, and she stammered,
“Oh no… what was the movie called… I can’t remember at all… Sorry… my mind’s a total blank… I only remember drinking the soda…”
Ashley turned away with mock anger and said,
“If dates are this boring, I won’t go on any more. I was the one who invited you, hmph.”
Amber’s heart clenched in guilt. She’d been invited to a movie and fallen asleep—not only had she disregarded her date’s feelings, but it was also terribly rude, making her seem ill-mannered.
Worst of all, she’d blown a chance she truly cherished!
But she didn’t know what to say to make amends.
She could recite legal codes, including every amendment and revision, by heart—her colleagues at the Tribunal called her ‘Little Codex.’
She could verbally spar with suspects, sealing off their escapes with airtight logic before delivering the killing blow.
But facing Ashley, her lips moved without a single word escaping, like a child who’d done wrong, anxiously trailing behind Ashley.
In silence, they walked down a quiet long street. Pedestrians were few, the sides lined with small workshops where workers busily fitted hoops onto aluminum cans, stacks of finished products piled nearby, murky wastewater puddles reflecting the sky.
Suddenly, Amber felt that though she followed closely, the distance between them grew ever wider. The blue-haired lolita’s silhouette against the blue sky faded, blurring and vanishing in the streetlight ahead…
She repeatedly wanted to reach out and grab her, but her fingertips always fell just short.
After a long stretch, Ashley finally spoke.
“You know, every time I saw an exciting scene, I turned to look at you, wanting to share the joy and sorrow, but you were asleep. Every time I heard beautiful music, I turned to look at you, wanting to tap the rhythm and hum along together, but you were asleep. Every time a plot twist paid off, I turned to look at you, wanting that moment of mutual understanding and emotion, but you were asleep…”
The blue-haired lolita’s voice was soft and sorrowful. When she glanced back, her eyes shimmered with heartbreaking teardrops.
Amber’s heart twisted in pain. She bit her lip, head down, holding it in for ages—then burst into sobs.
“Waaah… my tongue… is so useless… can’t get the beads out… why… why can’t I get the beads out…”
The black-haired lolita clenched her little teeth, tears gushing forth in torrents. They pooled massively at her chin, forming huge glistening droplets that could splash a crater when they fell.
She’d been a bit dazed before, but Ashley’s words made her realize her grave sin—the unbridgeable rift between them.
No wonder she had a tongue nimble enough to lick beads from a glass bottle—not like those useless amateurs.
Eh?
You’re crying?
I was just messing around—you didn’t take it seriously, did you? No way, right?
Ashley panicked. If the silly lolita tattled to the teacher, Letisia might give her a hard time. A figure like that could crush her just by flicking off dust.
She hurriedly cooed some insincere comforts, wiping the tears with her finger in a physical attempt to soothe—but the more she wiped, the more tears flowed, escalating from sniffles to full wails.
Ashley’s eyes darted as an idea struck. After brewing a moment, she asked,
“Do you know how the movie ends?”
“No…” The black-haired lolita sniffled her cry-reddened nose and mumbled softly.
“Later, I realized your sleeping face was way cuter than that crappy film, so I stopped watching the movie and just watched you instead. To me, you’re the ending of that movie.”
“Urk!”
Amber’s face turned beet red, like she’d drunk too much. She hiccuped, stopped crying, but her childlike mind blanked out.
They walked the rest of the way in silence, Amber keeping her head down, face numb from blushing, even her little ears scarlet.
They parted at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Laurel Street, heading home separately.
Back at her home on Ramhorn Street, Amber opened the door. In the entryway, the rich aroma of simmering sugar-plum compote wafted over—it was her favorite. Normally, she’d dash to the kitchen, grab two slices of bread, spoon on the hot sweet fruit, and take a big bite.
But today, she passed the kitchen like she’d lost her sense of smell, face blank and steps dragging. Even her mother turned to look, puzzled why her daughter had suddenly lost interest—was she sick?
Amber climbed the stairs to her second-floor bedroom, shut the door behind her. The window was open, breeze lifting the gauzy curtains, accentuating the eerie quiet, as if in another world.
“I… I’m in love…” she said to the empty room, lips trembling.
Poor Amber, toyed with in the palm of the bad lolita’s hand.
